New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-06-04

THE ROGUES GALLERY At WASHINGTON
Investigating committees must deal with all
sorts of people, and committee which digs
under the surface OF Louisiana politics expects
in the natural course of events to uncover a
great many crawling things which do not
show well in the light of day. Yet it does seem
as if Mr.. Potter and his friends might have
done well to make their disclosures with a
prudent regard for the public nerves. If they
had begun with one OF two mild and common
place rascals, and so led up gradually to the
big ones, the community might even have
borne Anderson without wincing, and listened
TO his confessions if not with compOsure
at least with no such violent aversion
and disgust as that enteTprising jour
nalist and politician now appears to in
spire Anderson all at once and unprepared
for, is quite too much. owe are but boys
"yetD wrote the ex-supervisOr of registration
to one of his pals during the critical days
when he was negotiating with Major Burke
70 sell the election to the Democrats for the
sum of $4,000 in hand and $1,000 year
for four years eve are but boys yet; should
eve 90 with the right it Will give us reputa-
"tion and standing that would otherwise re-
"quire years to acquire" Because he was
Young, he said. he had half a mind to do
right,-that is, TO take the $4, 900 and sell
out. But there was much to be thought of.
It might be possible to sell out to both SIDES.
AS matter of precaution, Messrs. Anderson
and Weber accordingly prepared and signed
an affidavit in which they declared that at
the request of Messrs. Packard, Kellogg, Pit
kin and Nash they had just subscribed to a
periured protest against the election in East
and West Felciana Parishes, making oath that
the voting in those parishes was not free and
fair, although they knew at the time that
their oath was wholly false. With this pre-
cious document, duly attested-probablyt the only
paper ever known in which q man deliber-
ately and freely attested his own perjury in
order to make money by proving himself a
scoundrel-the two ex-supervisOrs proceeded to
business.
The career of Mr.. Weber being cut short by a
Democratic bullet, Mr. Anderson was left to
carry on the speculation alone. The day after
signing the affidavit in which he swOre that
he had protested against the East Feliciana
returns at the request Of Kellogg g. Co, we
find him writing to p. C. Butler that he had
not protested, and urging that person to join
him in selling out to Major Burke. The
second day we find him doubtful how far he
could depend upon Burke, and evidently
thinking about dealing with the other
side. On the fifth day he Is dis
satisfied with everybody, and indisposed to
ego step further without written guar
"antee." On the 9th day he made, as he tells
the committee, a written agreement with c..
z. Nash, Member of Congress, to suppress
"evidence showing that the parish of East
"FehcianA was fairly carried by the Demo-
"cratie party" on condition that Nash would
secure for HIM the position Of Naval Officer at
New-0rleans-a place which is not commonly
supposed to be in the gift Of Representatives
from the Feliciana region, All these transac-
lions represent Anderson in most extraordi-