Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-03-03

Ns UP o. the Ev1dence-The Lying
statements of Anderson, jerks, Webber,
ct al. Dismissed, and the Decision Reaoh-
gu i'ased on the Laws and the Facts-AIl
OF. which Shows Mr.. 1ilden to Have
been Honestly Elected and the Present
occupant OF the Office Placed there by
Most Outrageous Frauds.
WASHINGTON, March 2.-On Saturday MIR.
Potter, chairman of the investigating commit
tee, submitted report which he had prepared
TO the committee, and it was adopted by vote
OF SIX Democrats to three Republicans-Gen
Butler being absent. The three Republicans,
Hiscock, Cox and Reed, will prepare a
minority report. Mr.. stenger, Democrat,
member OF the committee. who was chairman
OF the subcommittee in Louisiana, has also
prepared report. Mr.. Potter's report is neces-
sarlly long, as it deals with all the points that
have been before the committee except the
oipher dispatches, which will be made the sub
]ect OF special report, and will be presented
TO the committee tomorrow. Mr.. Potter's re-
port is regarded by those who have perused it
slnguiariy impartial and judicial. They say it
10 enGIely oevold OF rhetoric, ornamentation
ana Vltuperative denunciation, and derives it's
force solely from the close, logical deduction Of
facts presented to the committee. Some Dem
ocrats regard it as wanting in color or not as
strongly expressed as the facts warrant, and it
is not until kelly that some members of the COM
ml5tee belonging to the party will present an
additional expression of their views. The re-
port Of Mr.. Potter in the opening sets forth
what 1t was proper for Congress Ito investigate
and what not, and the difficulty of conducting
an investigation into the conspiracies which
have been successfully carried out, while the
successful party remains in power. It adj
mlts that the confessions of the conspirators.
who have become dissatisfied, is worth but lit
tie, but points to the fact, not generally under
stood, that about the essential features Of the
election and canvass in Florida and Louisiana,
there is no substantial dispute before the com
mlttee, the Republicans having called no
witnesses in Florida and few in Louisiana, ex-
cept as to the conduct of the visiting states
men, and incidentally about intimidation. It
jerks, Mrs. jerks, Weber and that class of
witnesses, and deals with the case upon the
general and controlling facts alone
The report is divided into three parts, the
fist of which refers to Florida the second to
Louisiana, and the third to the forged electoral
certificate. Beginning with Florida, it cites
the law directing the Presidential electors to
be appointed by the votes cast and the can
vassing board to canvass the votes cast, and
claims that the Tlden electors, having received
majority of the votes cast in the State were
thereby necessarily entitled to be declared
elected, and that the canvassihg board by re-
jecting without warrant of law a portion of the
votes, SO as to show majority for Hayes, un-
lawfully counted Tilden out It states that
the canvassers delayed this announcement until
the morning of the day the electors were to
meet and vote, SO, although action was in
stantly taken to GUST the Hayes electors no de-
cision could be had until the Hayes electors
had met that same day at noon and voted.
The report then recites the Judgment of the
supreme court, which subsequently decided
that the Hayes electors were not elected nor en-
titled to cast the vote Of the State, and that
the Iilden electors were, and also the iudg-
ment of the court in the action brought by
Drew, the Democratic candidate for Governor.
to obtain recanvass where the court decided
that canvassers on refusing to count the votes
cast had defrauded Drew and unlawfully seated
Stearns. The legislature OF the State there
upon directed a recanvass of the electoral vote
ID accordance with this decision of the SUI
preme court, the judges of which were Repub-
llcans, and the recanyass showed the Tilden
electors chosen. The Governor then issued a
certificate to the Tilden electors as the true
electors. but the electoral commission refused
to consider the judgment of the courts the ac-
ton Of the legislature and the certificate given
by the Governor in favor of the Tilden cleo
tors, and held that it could not take notice of
any action by the State after the 9th of De-
cember.
The report draws attention to the fact that
such wrong might be repeated in any State
at any Presidential election, by c anvassers
Withholding the announcement of the result of
the election until the day fixed for the meeting
of the electoral college, and then declaring the
persons who had never been voted for at all to
be electors, when, according to this decision.
such electors would be entitled irrevocably to
cast the vote Of State. 1t therefore recon-
mends law providing that where there is a
dispute as to who we're the real electors of any
State, the judgment of it's committee of last
resort, If certified to Congress before the
meeting of the two Houses of Congress to re-
ceive and count ELECTORAL vote, shall be con-
elusive as to the right Of tho disputing elee-
tors, and ssuch vote from the State shall be
counted, unless the two Houses of Congress
shall otherwise agree.
the canvassing board was not only illegal bat
fraudulent and cites the instance in which
they rejected Democratic votes on unwarranted
grounds, and refused to reject fraudulent Re-
publican votes. It deals at length with the
claim of the Republicans that they were en-
titled to the vote of the State on the face of
the returns by reason Of the Drigger fraud. by
which bogus return from Baker county was
furnished the canvassing board, which they at
first rejected but which, after they were ordered
to count the vote as cast, they fraudulently
took in place of the true return. It then deals
with the conduct of the visiting statesmen,
and particularly that of Gen. Moves as con-
trasted with that of Gen. Francis G. Barlow.
whose fidelity to all his obligation and integri-
ty, independence fairness and truth, the report
commends.
In regard to Louisiana, the report begins
with reference to the anomalous powers pos
sessed by the returning board, which, it says,
never before existed elsewhere Under it cleo
tors and returning officers had the greatest
power over receiving and counting of votes.
Under the pretext that the color tie divided
political parties they had used this power to
count the State for the Republic
cans, and had been exposed by the Republican
commission of the forty third Congress, which
had reported that the whites and blacks of that
State being equal, and some of the blacks and
all the whites having voted for the Democrats
in 1874, thel State had necessarily been carried
by them, although counted for the RepubIi.
cans. Hereupon the Republicans set about
false census in which they made it appear that
there were Is 1000 more black voters in the State
than white, and as illustrating the fraudulent
nature of this census, the report refers to the
fact that while this census reported but 81 900
colored men, women and children in New
Orleans, it made out of them nearly 25, 900
colored voters.
1t then instances the fraudulent registration
that was basod upon this fraudulent census,
whereby it was made to appear that tho regis
Tered Republican voters exceeded the white
voters in the State more than 10000, while ac-
tually there were no more, and the refusal of
The authorities to correct TINS false registration
in cases where it's falseness was pointed out.
From this the report recites the direction by the
Republican authorities to the supervisors Of
requiring them to return the votes &C
sording to the census, that is stating the col
pred adults by that census in their parishes
were so many, and that they were expected to
return Republican vote corresponding to that
# they ever expected any reward of prefer
ment,