The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-05-31
FELICIiNA ANDERSON
INTERVIEWED NY A NEW YORK
HERALD REPORTER.
The Celebrated Letter That sherman
Wrote to Weber and Anderson and
what Promises He Made Them.


the Potter resolution In regard to the Fell
ciana parishes Of Louisiana, particularly as
10 the completely Of James +. Anderson In
The alleged frauds there. were 50 indefinite
hat the denial Of Anderson did not excite
nrprse. Anderson, who was supervisor OF
Elections in East Feliciana is now living III
hiladelphia, He was in Washington this
morning. The following interview with him
will show the reason he 50 plumply denied
tbc nrelimiuarv statement of the resolution
and will doubtless also anticipate some OF the
cvidenc. tn he adduced before the investigat
TEyou came back pretty hard at Mr. Potter |
FOR the way he worded the Louisiana part OF
his resolution. Why didn't some a,, o. 3, his adv
II don't know. 1t seems TO me that TINS
whole thing has been botched was not GO
ING to sit still and be charged with forging |
protests in East Felienna PARISH when dsn,s
acted were crooked. My connection with
that affair was very badly misrepresenIea D, by
fieve that half a dozen men IN Congress Know
INST what the facts were and what they OK
Y keot to prove by the Witnesses.
h abo s1Gs @,,n s6ermans alleged con
pecton with the Louisiana frauds
II don't care If do tell They have been
living about me long enough. Inc tepnbsl-
cans seem to think that my card to Mr.. Pot
| ter the other day means that ! am gong 10
stand by them. Why did not they remember
me when needed help? Now am independ,i,,
ent Of them, and intend 10 Keep So b;, 49,
90 on with the story, and you can Judge
! whether am able to give any evidence chicu-
lated to make certain parties tremple
little
| with Secretary Sherman. what was us
date2"
"The protest to the vote Of East Felicinna
Is dated N9yemhsr 10; that o1 We" sh.r rn,,
A.reached New Orleans about the sixteenth OF
he month Things were then in n very crit
Ical condition. Dan Weber, who was super,
visor of elections in West Feliciana had
signed his protest, but had not From what
heard at the time felt sure that Dan was
acting in the line of duty by putting his name
to the protest, because in one part Of Inc par
ish down in the river region, there was
small body Of disorderly roughs who inter
fercd with the negroes from pure cussedness,
There was not much politics about 1t. Dan
was not very firm in the latin, now
ever. He had his doubts whether the protest
should be made to cover SO Iauch and made
up my mind that did not propose TO TESTIFY
officially to intimidation when there was was, no no
sign of it on election day The thing mao an
been set up befol ehand. but had no right to
swear that any voters were inerfered with
unless | knew OF actual cases OF violence on
election day. There we're none. The election
was as peaceful as any in the country. So
refused to sign. 1t was very few days after
this. as the dates show, when Sherman
arrived In New Orleans, Dan Weber a a1d
were both weak. and it was vital
that our parishes should be thrown out. l
told you months ago of the way my signature
was obtained to u blank sheet OF paper and
how that was afterward filled in without my
knowledge with most sweeping protest. ac-
companied by forged jurat. That was g
fraud, and ! had made up my mind to de-
$nounce 1T. just then the visiting statesmen
G,Il SU1INr,r and both OIL
backbone. There is no use In telling great
long story now, but we were written to by
Secretary Sherman. We wanted written
guarantees that we should be cared for II We
allowed this crookedness to go unrebuked, SC
that the Returning Board and the Republi
can party could profit by the wrong .,
did the Secretary write to each OF you Z Z
mo; the letter written to us jointly. LII
did not come through the mail IT was
directed to ID. A. Weber and James +. Ander
son The stories about their being two letters
are false. It was transmitted to us through
third party.
How did the letter read r. m.=-
"Well, it was one of those shrewd things
which nobody but shrewd politician woult
devise He simply said that we should b.
literally cared for If we stood firm"
Don't you suppose that when Mr.. Sherman
is placed on the stand he can laugh at tina
letter and say that the only object OF It was Z
let you know that the leaders of the Republi
can party would stand by you IT you performed
your duty p
eyes. / realize the force of that but it hap
pens that the vital point In this matter con
he wrote that letter. that Weber had hi
doubts about how far his duty would stretch
and that | was on the point of denouncing tn
forgery of which had been made the victim
"And you think you can prove that he wa
fully aware of all these facts and meant his
letter to be a guarantee that you should b
provided for II you consented to shut you
eyes and hold your tongue
W"Ihat is exactly what we expect to do. Sun
pose that Lawrence testifies that he informe'
Sherman Of the way things stood in the Fe
licana parishes, and suppose that Pitkn ties
titles that Sherman understood the situation
exactly and suppose Whitney testities NOR
fully than he did before the Morrison com
$mittoe that one day at the st. Charles Hotel
Sherman letter and said: I've got enough
here to burst the whole thing, Then wher
will Sherman be?'"
What ever became of that letter."
Il gave it to Dan Weber and / don't know
exactly what he did with it. You remembe
he was murdered at St Francisville YER
shortly afterwards. There has always been
peculiar mystery hanging about his murder
I have heard that the Democrats claim t
have Photographic copy Of that letter, but
can't state whether 1t Is true or not. You als
remember when we called on Mrs, jerks las
winter that she ntimated that the origina
letter was safe and sound in place where i
could be easily reached. That may be true
but the great Importance OF the investigation
SO Tar as sherman Is concerned, VIII cOnSlS
in proving, not that such II letter was writer
and not that it contained such and suc
words, but that he knew when he addressed j
to us that we were being bribed to submit t
forgeres."
"Do you think Pitkin will testify"
: Il know he will"
n And you have no doubts you can make the
y matter SO clear that the country will under
stand it,"
y Il believe we can make Sherman come dow
from his high horse
When do you expect to he summoned?"
Il have not the least iiea. i am ready an
time. | never took a cent from any membe
Of the Republican or Democratic party. | an
under no OBLIGATIONS to do an thing but tel