Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1878-06-05

udu DeeH lTduu. WeDcT Willie al
West Feliciana short time after the
canvass of the votes by the returning
board was assaulted and murdered in
broad daylight. This again showed
that the kuklux democrats who had
carried the election by force and fraud
were Just the kind of men to do such
work, and did not hesitate to take the
life of anybody who stood in their
way, even boldly in open day. The
murderers of Weber have never been
punished to this day.
Anderson was either in fact or pre-
tended to have been shot at by the
kuklux exhibiting bullet holes in his
clothes. The democratic congressional
committee, or rather the democratic
portion of it, reported to congress as
follows concerning Anderson's account
of the assault on him:
"The proof shows that it was and is
the better opinion of those who in
vestigated the alleged attempt to take
his life, that he did the shooting him
self. Capt. Benjamin H. Rogers, of
the United States Army, Col. Frank
Powers, and J. p. Monyhan, the two
former Republicans, and the latter a
Democrat and Sheriff of the parish,
gave the subject careful investiga-
ton. Capt. Rogers swears that he
could never fully satisfy himself
fman than Anderson, he might not
have been SO much in doubt; but says:
II could not believe him under oath,
in any way, shape, or FORM" He
shot at for this reason: that he issuch
a trickster that could not place any
confidence in him in any shape or
manner. l think he is man who
would be liable to shoot at his own
coat in order to make political capital
out of it." Says that Col. Powers ex-
pressed the opinion that it was a "put
up job" by Anderson himself, and
that that was his (Rogers' impress
siOns at the time"
However this may be, there can be
no question but that Weber was MUIR
dered. Under this state of the case
this man Anderson was continually
representing to John Sherman and
Others that his life was in great
danger, and that he could not live in
safety in Louisiana on account of what
he had done to secure an honest count
of the vote. 1t was under these cir
cumstances that Sherman and others
no doubt said to Anderson that they
would do what they could to provide
for him. The letters he exhibits in
his testimony in many points bear
evidence of want of genuineness
though nothing in them in the light
of circumstances amount to anything
that can be deemed prejudicial unless
it be some of those purporting tocome
from Stanley Matthews, and they may
be properly and easily explained by
him. In SO far as these letters are
concerned of course it will be inn
proper to judge of them in the light
of Anderson's testimony only. 1t is
evident that Anderson has become
dissatisfied with what the republicans
have done for him, and that he has
struck Tilden to make a raise, and
that Tilden's barrel has been again
opened for the purpose of opening
Anderson's mouth to contradict his
sworn testimony given before the
congressional committee. Anderson
is now telling his story and perjuring
himself, or else he did it before. The
size of his story we suppose is gagued
by the size Of the pile Tilden gave
him. We have nodoubt of the result
ofthis investigation, and that the out
come will be perfect overthrow of
this last conspiracy from Grammercy
Park.