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

+ WASHINGTON, March 2.-On Saturday MIR.
Potter, chairman of the investigating commit
tee, submitted a report which he had prepared
to the COMMITTEES, and it was adopted by vote
of six Democrats to three Republicans-G 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 q report. Mr.. Potter's report is neces-
sarily long, as it deals with all the points that
have been before the committee except the
cipher dispatches, which will be made the sub
ject of special report, and will be presented
to the committee Tomorrow Mr.. Potter's re-
port is regarded by those who have perused it
singn1larly impartial and judicial. They say it
is entirely devoid of rhetoric, ornamentation
and vituperative 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 unlikely thatsome members of the COM
mittee belonging to the party will present an
additional expression of their views. The re-
port Of Mr. Potter in the opening sets forth
and what not, and the difficulty of conducting
an Investigations 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
mittee, the Republicans having called no
| witnesses in Florida and few in Louisiana, ex-
cept as to the conduct of the visiting states
iy1ci ;n%; l.
dismisses entirely the testimony of Anderson,
jerks, Mrs. jerks, Weber and that class of
witnesses, and deals with the case upon the
general and controlling facts alone.
The report ia 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 cam
vassing board to canvass the votes cast, and
claims that the Tilden electors, having received
a majority of the votes cast in the State, were
elected, and that the canvassing board by re-
jecting without warrant of law 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 Tlden electors were, and also the iudg.
ment of the court in the action brought by
Drew, the Democratic candidate for Governor,
to obtalna recanvass where the court decided
that canyassers on refusing to count the votes
cast had defrauded Drew and unlawfully seated
Stearns. The legislature OF the State there
upon directed recanyass Of the electoral vote
IN accordance with this decision of the su.
preme court, the judges of which were Repub-
l!cans, and the recanvass showed the Tlden
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 &C.
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.
| cembsc.
The report draws attention to the fact that
such wrong might be repeated in any State
at any Presidential election, by canvassers
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 q
dispute as to who we're the real electors Of any
State, the judgment of its 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 the disputing elee-
tors, and Hsuch vote from the State shall be
counted, unless the two Houses of Congress
shall otherwise agree.
Ihe report then argues that the action OF
the canvassing board was not only illegal but
| fraudulent, and cites the instance in which
they rejected Democratic votes on unwarranted
grounds, and refused to reject fraudulent Re.
publican votes. 1t 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. Noyes as con
! trasted with that of Gen. Francis @. Barlow,
| whose fidelity to all his obligation and integri-
ty, independence, fairness and truth, the report
! especially commends.
In regard to Louisiana, the report begins
with reference to the anomalous powers pos
sessed by the returning board which, it saws
| 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 nsed this power to
fraudulently 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 Republi.
cans. Hereupon the Republicans set about q
false census in which they made it appear that
there were 25 900 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 IS 900
colored veters.
1t then instances the fraudulent registration
that was basod upon this fraudulent census
whereby it was made to appear that the regis
tered Republican voters exceeded the white
voters in the State more than 10000, while ac-
tuallv 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
parishes requiring them to return the votes ac-
cordlng to the census, that is stating the col
ored adults by that census in their parishes
were SO many, and that they were expected to
return a Republican vote corresponding to that
if they ever expected any reward Of prefer
ment.
notwithstanding this organized fraud says
the report, when the elections were over the
Democrats had majority as returned by Re-
publican election officers Of some 10000, the
vote polled being the largest ever polled in the
State, and larger in proportion to the popula-
ton than that of other States. The Republic
can officers made returns of the vote accord
ingly and declared that the election was per
fectly peaceful and fair. The Republicans, in
order to overcome this majority, then usurped
bowers not given To them.