The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1878-05-09
THE WORDS OF A WITNESS.
From the Pittsburgh Post.

of the interview with the representatlV
of the Post that he would not have gon,
q to Florida on any considerations Of pri
!. vate or personal character, but he dix
not think it right to decline the mission
n assigned him, because of its importance
It and the hope that he might be instru
o mental in reaching the exact truth.
> Reporter-Was there any CO operation
! : between the Republican visitors and th'
e Democratic?
4 Mr., Hay-The Republican delegation
y consisting of Messrs. Noyes, Barlow, Lev
J, Wallace, Chandler, and others co-opera
e ted with the Republican managers. VIM
Q +, Chandler was the most active OF theil
number in the presentation of their cast
j. to the Returning Board. Gen, Barlow o
New York dissented in several essentia
: particulars from the action of the board
Reporter-What judgement did you
form from The final action of the boardi
Mr.. Hay-That they took up the pre-
cinctreturns, and made just such changes
in defiance Of every principle of law
and fair dealing, as were requisite to
count out the Tilden electors, and give
the State to the Hayes electors, the Re-
publican State officers and Congressman.
To do this they cut off about thousand
Democratic votes giving the Hayes elec>
tors sufficient majority to permit their
Governor and Congressman, who run sew
eral hundred votes behind Hayes, being
counted in by small majorities. The
board assigned no particular reason for
its action, and it had no more right to
act as it did than the canvassers at Har-
risburg would have to throw out of their
canvass of votes the returns of Allegheny
county.
Reporter-What reasons were assign.
ed?
Mr.. Hay-None, The pleas ofthe Re.
publican counsel we're intimidation and
irregularities, but no intimidation was
shown to exist; in this they utterly failed.
As to the Irregularities, they were not
such as would make void an election
where fraud was not shown. The board
threw out the Democratic votes because
they had the power, and were determine
ed to accomplish their purpose without
law, right, or reason.
One of the most distinguished of the
Republican visitors from the north, "a gen
tleman known to the whole country said
to me the action of the board twas fla
grant case of the application of one rule
to Democratic precincts and another rule
to Republican precincts" This was the
way the majority was secured for the
Hayes electors.
To bring about the result manufactured
yes, that's the word. manufactured
the board threw out Manatee county Civ.
ing 236 majority and as regularly return
ed and canvassed as any county in the
State; they threw out one precinct in
Key West,giving 34I Democratic major
ity. in the face of conclusive evidence of
witnesses brought before the board they
changed the vote of Hamilton county
from 267 Democratic majority to II4;they
changed Jackson county from 90 Demot
cratic to PIT Republican majority, on
weak pretence Of Irregularities, and they
cut off % votes from three Democratic !
precincts. The only Republican votes
cut off were 90 from Jefferson, and this |
they could not avoid because the election |
was not held at the appointed place.
This shows net abstraction of 1868 |
votes from the Tilden electors.
The board, after struggle, were cons
PEELED to count Baker at o5 majority for |
Tilden, and abandon the forged return
which gave Hayes Al. In Alachua they |
accepted and counted forged return
from Archer precinct, which was proven
beyond all controversy to have been sub.
stituted for the genuine return, and which
increased the total vote of the precinct
from 326 to 535 5,and the Republican ma.
jority from "A to 263 On this point Mr..
Hay said;
The fact that the number of votes cast
at the Archer precinct was only 326, and
not 535, was conclusively shown to the
State Board by the oral testimony of the
two inspectors at the precinct, one a
Democrat and the other white R sDub>
lican. The latter further testified that he
had been paid SGoo by the County Sheriff
land one of the county canvassers) to
sign false statement showing the in
creased vote of Archer precinct. 1t was
shown by the testimony of reputbale cit.
liens that the vote had been announced
al the close of the canvass on the night
of the election at 326, and not 535. One
of these witnesses was requested by the
to assist in the actual count,
and did so. Another was merchant in
business in Archer for eleven years, and
in the county for twenty>one, who per-
sonally knew every one who voted that
day but four or FIVE. He was at the polls
from the opening to the close, and wrote
down the names ofevery voter and pro-
duced the memorandum of every voter,
and produced the memorandum to the
State Board. This showed false return
had been substituted from the precinct
for the true one.
Mr.. Hay detailed other testimony SUBJ
mitted before the board of the most cons
yincing character, but it had no effect.
They counted the false returns. 1t was
not necessary for Hayes, but was impor-
.ant to the State officers and Congress
men. Mr.. Hay further said:
my only desire in going to Florida
was to ascertain the truth. l went for no
partisan purpose. travelled great deal
over the State to ascertain facts bearing
on the result, and talked with all classes
and parties, l had intercourse with the
Supreme, Circuit, and County Judges,
with persons in the State and county
with prominent men Of both
parties, with lawyers, merchants physis
clans, clergymen and with many colored
persons of intelligence. To my mind it
is clear beyond doubt or question that
the Democratic candidates for electors
and State officers-and it is made mani>
fest by the returns themselves-had a
clear majority of the legal and honest
votes cast in Florida. If the returns had
shown the success of the Hayes electors
by one vote, | should gladly have so de.
clarad and aznrassnd r,,r dotn--.,;ra at;ara