The daily gazette., 1878-03-05
Vernon Parish .Eorgeries
THE STATES PRISON oFFEN cE5
COMMITTED FOR Hayes
0 XXX 5 A IKE.


DULENT PREsIDENT-FoRGE ERY TO
HIDE FoRGERY AND PURa RHY TO
CONCEAL AID THE STORY OF wELL's
CRIMx TOLD BY HIS CLERK, LITTLE
FIELD.
We have already shown, by the official
papers Of the Returning Board and by
extracts from the testimony taken before
two committee Of the House of Repre>
sentatives, how the parish OF Vernon, with
ten polls, which cast votes for the Hayes
electors and CAT for the Tilden electors
was by daring forgery certified by Wells,
Anderson, Cassenave and Kenner, on
Jan 10, 1877, to have east IT'S votes for
Hayes aud 400 votes for Tilden. The
special object of this forgery was TO elect
a Republican State Senator, Parish
Judge, and All Attorney, who were friends
and neighbors of Wells.
AS any marked discrepancy between
the local and national tickets would
excite suspicion, the fraud was carried
through both, and Hayes was benefited
TO the extent of the forged alteration.
When the returns from the Supervisor of
Elections Of this parish we're opened by
the Returning Board there was no pro-
test, affidavit, or objection of any kind
accompanying them;and when they were
sent TO the clerks OF the board the word
"compile" was written upon them, sig
nifying that they were 10 he reported In
the consolidated statement OF votes"
exactly as returned by the supervisor
The forgery was, therefore, al after
thought, aud we now propose TO show
how II was executed, and under whose
direction.
A fortnight after the promulgation Of
the vote OF the State, a Committee OF the
the House went TO New Orleans to in
vestigats the boards proceedings, aud
with only an imperfect knowledge Of the
forgery. they interrogated Wells as TO
the transportation of votes from one side
10 the other. He could give no explana-
tion, was confused, though there must be
some mistake or a clerical error. After
that examination he required his clerks
to find lumber ofpolis which would
aggregate the number Of stolen votes, then
had affidavits manufactured and ante-
dated, ON which TO throw out these polls,
with certificate from the secretary Of
his own board and the clerk of the SEN
ate committee, TO give the fraud a sem>
Iblance of formality. Thus he hoped TO
escape detection.
But this bungling attempt at deception
only made the second forgery more trans
parent, because, though 178 votes might
be taken from 1ilden by this swindling
tprocess, they could not possibly be car
risd over to Hayes. The hand by which
the first forgery was perpetrated was that
of James II. Littlefeld, and the seeond
was signed by Charles i. Abel, "Secre-
tary Of Board of Returning Officers."A
Littlefeld was examined by two commit
tees, and his testimony was consistent
throughout, and was supported by the
!. production of the originalforged returns
which he failed to destroy, with two
others, when so directed by Wells. He
was first examined on Jan. %, 1877, and
refused to answer the leading questions
of the committee, but after comforting
with his friends he made clean breas
: of the whole matter on the second day
He was evidently in high favor witt
, the carpet-baggers and their confederatet
, and he enjoyed their fullest confidenc'
, until they became separated by his dis
closures.
: Mr.. Lawrence of Ohio, on behalf O
, the Republicans, cross-examined Little
field sharply on all the principal points
but without weakening his testimony il
the least. Indeed he rather strengthened
the witness, and brought out more dana
ging revelations by his questions.
Vernon parish is no exception to thu
general course of the Returning Board
and attention has been drawn to 1t par
ticularly, because the forgery was made
: so palpable at Washington by the pro
A duction of the original paper which Lit
tlofield had saved from the flames Th'
: original returns of the Supervisors in tn
} other parishes showed that the election
= had been conducted peaceably, al,
without protest of any kind. The aft
2 davits of Intimidation" were manufac
, tured in the Custom House long afte
the election, and in direct violation
= of law. Some of them were audulent
q ly inserted in the returns with false date
and one of the clerks of the board wa
:. detected n open session in the very ac
+ of interpolating fabricated protes
, among the papers.
From beginning to end, the action
| conspirators was an organized iraud
: coupled with forgery and wholesale pei
Jury. Wells was the directing spirit, bn
+ Anderson was equally deep in the vii
= lainy and the 1.-TWO niggers,' as Well
designated them in offering to sell thei
votes, knew perfectly well what the.
II were doing when they assisted at she
isecret sessions of the board, and signs
certificates declaring Hayes elected i
the face of eight thousand majority TO
1ilden. Justlce requires they should g
TO the penitentiary as an example an
as a punishment for these crimes; bu
Justice also demands that their oonfedel
ates in high places, and:the beneficiarie
!, Of the Fraud should be sternly pursue
L and nuni shad