Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-06-10
McDONALD'S VIEWS.
The Hoosier Senator Tells What He
Thinks About the Potter Investigation

Thinks About the Potter Investigation
Go Ahead With 1t, But Don't Disturb the
Monumental f raHd.
Senator Mcdonald, Of Indiana, has writ
ten letter in response to request for a
statement of the views presented by him to
the National Democratic committee at its
late meeting in Washington. The Senator
says:
/ said that had no doubt whatever that
the majority of the votes, legally cast for
Presidential electors in the States of Louis
lana and Florida had been cast for Messrs.
Tilden and Hendricks, and that the boards
of returning officers in those States had vio-
lated the laws of their respective States in
making the canvass and returns in favor
of the Hayes and Wheeler electors, and in
doing this they had committed the grossest
frauds and the biggest crimes
and that in the commission of those frauds
and crimes they had been aided and abetted
by the leaders of the Republican party.
That an electoral commission, which had
been created for the purpose and charged
! with the duty of ascertaining the true elect
oral votes of those States, had, by strict
party vote, refused to look into the alleged
frauds, but received the results of the fraud
ulent and illegal canvass made by the can
wasting officers as tho truth, and counted the
votes cast by the fraudulent electors as the
s'votes provided for by the constitution Of the
United States," and thus consummated the
greatest political crime of the age-a crime
by which a majority of over two hundred and
| sixty thousand of the voters of this country
were cheated out of their choice of chief
magistrate. The electoral commission hav-
| ing thus, as far as it was in their power SO
to do, closed the door to the investigation
officially of this crime against popular
rights, it was the duty of the peoples repre-
sentatives to bring all of the facts to light
and to brand them upon the brow of the
party which had perpetrated them. That
the investigation could not prove failures:
that in the case of Florida no one pretended
| now that the canvassing board had
not violated the laws Of the State in exercis-
ing powers they did not possess, and that if
| they had executed the law they would have
been compelled to return the Tilden and
Hendricks electors as the electors for the
State; and if no other fact is put into an
official form than the statement lately made
! by repentant member Of that board as to
the motive which governed him in doing the
illegal act, and the Influences which the Re-
publican leaders brought to bear upon him
to stimulate him to commit the deed, it will
be worth the labor and time that will be re-
quired to take the proof.
In regard to Louisiana, the secret hi story
of that most infamous political crime by
which popular majority OF over six thous-
and was changed into minority of more
than three thousand, and one-tenth of the
whole vote of the State rejected, may not
ever be fully known. Vet it will, in all prob
ability, be in the power of the committee of
investigation to fill up the missing links so as
to show by whose advice and counsel the
returning board boldly set the law at de-
fiance by refusing to fill the vacancy in their
body, by receiving contesting papers not
made out and attached to the returns, as the
law required, and by rejecting polls and
parish returns when no officer of
election had made any charges against them
of any kind; and it may also get at the
bottom facts in regard to that organized
affidavit mill set up in the custom house.
where perjury was suborned by wholesale.
That these and many more facts could be
brought to light, and hoped they would,
that the people might see how corrupt and
arrogant party had trampled their rights
under foot, and that measures might be
taken to prevent their recurrence in the
future.
But there is nothing in the investigation
nor in the facts that may be elected that can
affect the title to the Presidential office.
That was definitely settled when, on the 4th
of March, 1877, Mr.. Hayes was duly in
stalled in office for the term prescribed by
the constitution. The power to choose a
President is by the constitution confded to
the States. From the provisions of the con-
stitution it is manifest that it was not the
design of the trainers TINT any federal au-
| thority, OF any department of the federal
government, should exercise any control
over the selection of the chief magistrate
| of the nation. The only branch of con-
gress that is vested with any power to choose
President in any contingency, when that
contingency arises acts for the States and
not as component part of the federal Leg
| islature. When, therefore, the result is
once reached and the solemn declaration of
been made, and the person thus designated
has been duly installed in office, the forces
of the constitutionfor selecting President)
for that time have been exhausted, and there
is no power legally anywhere under the con-
stitution to review the act OF reverse the de-
cision. 1t might well be commended that
when the House Of Representatives had,
under the contingency provided for in
the constitution, selected President and
the term of that House had expired
that the next House or some other part of
the federal government might at some future
| time undo what had thus sole1nnly been
done and make another declaration of some
other person as President, and thus keep the
Presidential office in constant agitation. 1t
may be asked. Is there no remedy for com
pleted fraud by which person not really
! elected has been indicted into the Presiden-
tial Office? 10 this I answer, in my iudg
ment, none except by an appeal to the
people when the time shall come to elect
| successor. There are some political crimes
of such magnitude that they can only be
dealt with by the people in their sovereign
capacity, and this, i'll my opinion, is one of
i them.
The electoral count, acquiesced in by the
Senate and House of Representatives until
the solemn declaration of the constitution
was announced, has rendered the title Of the
present incumbent of the Presidential office
| as unassailable as any of his predecessors,
| and he can only be legally deprived of it by
! impeachment under the constitution for I'M
| peachable crimes within the meaning of the
constitution committed bv him: and in my