The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1879-03-08
The Potter Committee Reports.

The evidence, it is said, would take one
ten hours a day for three weeks to read,
and certainly must be rather full. The
majority report is clear, concise dOcu-
meat, remarkably free from partisanship.
The Republican press admit its logical
conclusions, and extreme Democratic jour
mails regard it too tame, while recognizing
its powerful deductions and clinching tes-
timony that shameful frauds were resorted
to to secure the Inauguration Of the Re
publican nominees.
The minority report meets with little
support from any source. It is mainly
composed Of au analysis of the cipher tele-
gram Investigations, and is lame partisan
attempt to connect Mr. Tilden with them.
Mr.. Tilden, however, has long since cleared
his skirts Of any stain whatever in the dis
patch transactions and received verdict
of acquittal at the hands of the people,
aud the minority representations can have
no effect upon him or the Democratic
party.
GEN Butler, a member Of the iEgestiga-
ton committee, made an additional report,
embodying his own views ofthe testimony.
Among his conclusions is ''that the count
Ing in Of Mr.. Hayes was obtained by a
series of gross and unjusti6able IRREGULAR
ties and frauds"
One fact stated by the majority report
is, that some one hundred ofthose engaged
in the election Irregularities and frauds in
Florida and Louisiana have been rewarded
by office BY the Hayes administration.
The names of these men are Incorporated
in the majority report and not questioned
in either of the others
Mr. Hayes, however, is secure in his
title, Congress at the time of moving an
investigation, declared that he should not
be disturbed. That was n mistake, and
the report can have no effect in dethron-
ios fraud and Furnishing the guilty. Hayes
and his cabinet will still administer their
offices, now, at least, known to have been
obtained through unlawful and disgraceful
practices. Mr. Hayes, also, to be consist
cut, will have to retain all the rogues in
Office who helped TO secure his election.
The report will have the effect, though, of
confirming the popular belief that through
fraud alone the Hayes adm inistratiou gcv-
crned tbs country from 1877 to 1881, and
will be an everlasting blot upon the record
of the Republican party and every Office
holder from the President down. Every
official must know aud feel that he is hold
ins his position against the will Of the
people. The report viii have the further
effect, We belive, Of securing Mr.. Tilden a
denomination, and an overwhelming cleo
ton in 1880.
Below we give synopses of the three
reports, the first two FROM the Baltimore
Ssa and the other from the New York
World:
II seems to lave been the object of the
chairman N the majority report OF the Potter
committee to weigh only the facts aud the
evidence and to state he logical deductions
to be made from them, without rhetoric and
without heated augmentation. Partisans
complain that II is "eolorless," but that fact
gives the report its chief value in the ewes OF
the impartial seeker after truth. Ii is TO the
credit Of the trainers Of the report also that
they have carefully thrown out or discounted
IN iull the testimony Of interested, doubtful
and dlsereditable witnesses, Of which, indeed
the committee had rather more than their
share before them. Anderson and the .Ienk.
ses and all that bad lot are summarily dis
missed from the account, not even being nc.
copied as makeweights. These circumstances
give the report much more force than il would
otherwise have been likely 10 have, and seem
TO eniitle the conclusions of the committee Mt
least TO a respectful attention. The report 4
in three parts, one devoted TO Florida. the
second to Louisiana, the third to the forged
electoral certificate; and altogether il presents
an array OF cunning and interruptions devices
heretofore unheard OF, and following one af
ter another and doyetailing to the common
end OF giving the electoral votes Of those
States TO the republican candidates in the
presidential election, spite Of all showing Of a
contrary result in the popular vote. As TO
the forged electoral certificate, the committee
claim that the acting Vice President having
rejected the first certificate from Louisiana,
the republicans secretly manufactured anoth
er, as nearly IN fac simie to the FIRST us posi-
Bile; that they antedated this aud forged the
signatures to it Of two absentee electors. The
committee claims that this was done under
Kellogg auspices, aud that Kellogg notified
the republican managers at Washington, so
that the original OF the certificate was kent in
the background through all the electoral com.
mission proceedings, mot by accident. bat BY
design and THAT all the way through there
lies thread Of design to impose the forged
certificate upon Congress aud then to suppress
ii, so that VI discovered the record might show
as if ii had never been produced The re.
port concludes with finding that, upon all
these various showings, '.Iilden and Hen.
bricks received a true majority of the electo.
raj vote, and were the real choice of the peo.
pie Of the United States at the last presiden.
tial eleelion.i'
The minority report, signed by Messrs. His
cock, Cox and Reed, after handsomely nc.
knowledging the courtesy and fair dealing Of
the chairman Of the committee, complains
that the majority gave an opinion in regard to
the fioFidaease on er pdrte testimony, though
the fact is that that report is chiefly based on
the testimony Of Messrs. Noyes, Barlow, Cow.
gill, McLin, Siearns and VIM. r. Chandler.
The rest this report is rather in the uature
Of special plea in favor Of the idea Of Mr..
lilden's completely in the cipher Telegram
business, IN spite Of his categorical denial Of
any knowledge OF or connection with il, and
n spite Of the further fact that even had he
been Peltons or Smith Weeds nccompIicq
after the election It would not have made him
any the less the President elect Of the United
States, provided he was entitled to and &C,
tually received the electoral vote of Florida
The weakness Of such position, in the face
OF the positive assumptions embodied in ths
majority report, must be obvious to all
General Butler, in his report upon the Pot
ter investigation, concludes from the evidences
that there was no full and free election II
Louisiana, and that the electoral vote Of The
State onght not to have been counted; thai
the majority OF the votes actually cast IN thai
State were for Tilden and Nichols; that If tht
vote OF the State Is counted al all, the vote,
OF the bulldozed parishes were within the iusl
exercise of the Jurisdiction Of the 3eturnino
Board, 10 be rejected ia the proper exercise
Of Us Judgment; that in the remainder Of the
State the majority Of votes were cast for Pack.
I nd RI