The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1879-03-13


they had more than could be read by
man reading ten hours day for Two
weeks,
The report states that the Returning
Board would never have so outraged the
Deople but for their enCour cement from
visiting statesmen and the support which
they and the troops gave them. Ihen
follow details how some OF the visitors
we're deceived by local managers and in
noCently 60 operated in frauds OF the Re
turning Board, while others did not. 1t
refers very briefly to the alleged bargain
by which Hayes, who got 3 900 votes less
than Packard, got counted in while Pack :
ard went out, and mentions Sherman's
offer to prove intimidation, but rol lte
out that when the committee offered to
receive 1t the evidence was not prodHced
and they were met by some sham excuse
for not producing it, How they had ex
amined many of the witnesses that were
before the Returning Board, who, in al
most every instance recounted ana eX-
plained how they came to make their
false affidavit in the first place and how
such statement as they made before the
Returning Board were totally unfound'
ed.
THE SHERMAN LETTER.
II then refers to the Sherman letter,in
regard to which it simply states the facts
as they stand, showing letter was ac'
tnally written, and largely influenced po'
litical action in Louisiana whoever sign
ed it, and drawing attention to the at
tempt in the interest Of Sherman by Mrs
Jenks, whose husband and brother are
employees of the Treasury D9partment,to
induce the committee to produce forged
letter.
The Florida portion Of the report is
followed by list of all persons connect
ed with the election there who have been
appointed to Office, and Louisiana by a
still longer list of persons in that State
appointed to office.
FORGED CERTIFICATES.
The third part of the report deals with
forged Louisiana electoral certificates. 1t
tells how the Vice President, having re-
fused the first certificate. the Republicans
secretly manufactured another, ante Cat
ing and making it in paper and printing
to resemble the one previously made,
How, having very little time to prepare
it, and it being impossible to get all the
electors to New Orleans to sign it within
that time, it became necessary to forge
the signatures of two absentees; that thus
there were put to triplicate paper eigh-
teen forged signatures, which were at
tached on December 20, in a small upper
room in the State building, then in
charge of Conquest Clarke; how the max
ing of this second certificate was conceal
ed until it was produced before Congress;
how, when it was referred to the EIecto'
raj Commission, it was not read, but or
dered 10 he printed, and the printing was
changed and the Electoral Commission
were served with two printed copies OF
the forged certificate, perfect in form and
no copy of the genuine but the deiec.
tive how, after the Com mission had
given its decision, the record Of the Com
mission was changed so that the forged
certificate, copies of which were really
before the Commission, was suppressed
and a record made to show as if the gen
uine detection certificate had been con-
sidered and passed uDon; how this was
not done by accident but by
design, and not only in one of the pub
lished records of proceedings of the Elec.
toral Com mission but in both, although
made months apart; how Republican
managers were informed by Kellogg that
there was something wrong about the
second certificate, and how all the way
through there lies thread of design to
impose forged certificate on Congress,
and then he suppressed it, 30 that, If dis
covered, the record might show as If it
had never been produced. The burlesque
John Smith) certificate sent from Lou
isiana by mail after the forged certificate,
and suppressed from the records, cannot
now be found. The report regards it as
part of the same fraud, its object being to
mislead and draw off attention from the
forged certificate. The report then recites
how all persons connected with the for
gerry have been appointed to office, and
the suspicious circumstances connected
with the appointment of the same, and
particularly charges that Kellogg and
Clark, his private secretary, were privy
to the forgeries,
The report calls attention to the dan
ger of returning boards and the greater
danger of controlling elections and can
vassing boards by Federal troops, and
above all to the crowning danger with
which the country is threatened by rea
son of the enormous patronage centered
in the Presidency, which makes the
Presidential Office 30 great that in order
to control it the grossest frauds and vio-
lations of law may be expected on the
part of those who desire to profit by that
patronage. 1t concludes with finding
that the full effect was not given to the
Electoral votes of Florida and louisiana
that Noyes, Sherman and others enCour
aged this result; that the second certit
este from louisiana was forged, as to two
of its names, Kellogg and Clark being
privy to it, and that Tilden and Hend
ricks received a true maj iority of the
Electoral vote, aud we're the real choice
of the people of the United States at the