The Portland daily press., 1879-03-10

derstood that the cipher was known 10 the househod
OF nr. Iilden. All The rest Of the dispatches, Of
which we have at least hundred in cipher CENTER
ed in Mr.. Pellon. No other man appears to have
known ANYTHING about them. After so much pains
had been taken to cause all the information relating
to the proceedings after the election In the Soul hem
states to be gathered into the hands Of Mr. Thden's
nephew, then residing In his house, Mr.. Tilden in
our judgment, never assumed the position of gnor-
aDce and Indifference as to what going on, which
was pretended to your committee. 1t has been u'g-
ed in Mr.. Ilden's behalf that as soon he became
aware of the South Carolina negotiations he prompt
\ ly suppressed them, and we asked to draw the
inference that he was guiltless of all.
Had these Transactions ceased when Hardy Solo,
mons went home bad Pelton been discharged from
his pleDary superintendent of Mr.. Tidens affairs
there might have been some show Of reason in this
plea. But Mr.. Peton remained 10 full control, the
Florida negotiations vent on, the attempted bribery
IN Oregon followed, all under the guidance of the
resident nephew, Mr.. Peton. To as we LOOK
over the whole situation, IL likely that it
was originally intended that the plan of Mr. Tiden
and Colonel Pelton was, that Mr.. Cooper should be
called on for the money, which he was to furnish
,oithoat communication Nth Mr.. 7yIden. Pelton
says he told Cooper not TO tell alden. That night
Mr. Cooper did not, but on reflection the next day
probably thin kiog that he had already sDcef
and that If Mr. Tlden wanted the Presidency in that
way he had better pay for IL himse he went TO Mr..
TIlden. OF course. Mr.. Tiden could lake part in
such open transaction, as it had now become Colo
mel Pelton was called home, a wiser aud more Sc
cretive man Tue Florida ard Oregon matters we're
never communicated to Mr. Cooper So far as the
evidence before discOses, the Florida negotiations
never went outside Is GrameTcy Park. Whose sc-
ceptauce sent to Florida or is referred to in tel
egram w" to Woolley, of december IA b, we have
not found out; as 10 that telegram Mr.. Marbles
memory could not aid us.
When we come to add to all these eircum-
stances the TACT that no demand was ever made by
M. Tiden for Opportunity to vindicate himself
until the last moment, until in fact 1t had got to be
choice between coming process OF appearing to
come voluntarily, we are driven TO the Conclusion
that II Mt I1lden had told all he knew OF these
transactions we should have been in possession OF
material to form an undisputed judgment.
THE INVESTIGATION NOT SATISFACTORY.
1t will be easily understood by those who have no
ticed the delays, both in commencing and carrying
out Of this investigation, that it has been neither
full, searching nor systematic. Mr.. Wooley. who
should have been a correspondent with Mr.. Marble,
was summoned too late Mr. Hardy Solomons was
not found. No attempt was made TO examine into
the truth of matters either in Florida South Car
olina We do not say this in any spirit Of criticism
on the actions Of the majority. The ateness Of the
comm encement of the inquiry precluded thorough
ness
| 81. The next question then to be considered Is
whether either the Florida or South Carolina Re
turning Boards were for sale. be South Carolina
part is quickly disposed Of. The testimony Of Mr.
Weed was played with by shrewder men than him
self for purposes entirely proper, and in mllner
entirely justifable.
| As to Florida, Mr.. woolley has not been before
| us, and Mr.. Marble has probably not favored US
with the full facts Of his attempt. So far, however,
/
| "danger- -signapD, we have followed it up and it
/ ends this way: Mr.. Dyke, the party named, tele-
graphs that he never knew anything about 1t him
self; he was told by Mr.. Robertson that Repub-
lican Congressman said they could be bought. MIR.
Marbles statement amounts then to this man told
| him that man told him that third man told him
| that the Canvassing Board could be bought. This
may not be consistent with bis preparations for
bribery but all the evidence he vouchsafes
The truth is that al this clamor aOout fraud is
made because the canvass changed the 'f4ce Of the
rstorns" Now. there is nothing sacred alb Iut the
i The very existence OF Canvassng Board (and
something of that kind exiss in every sate) implies
that the face OF the returns safe guide
final arbiter Of elections. In Florida the face Of
the returns gave but nnety-one majority to Tilden
The final count gave the state the other way ely
| can be no ground for charging corruption without
other evidence. Five times at least this House has
decided as to its own members against the 'iace OF
| the returns" and always by substantially strict
partisan vote. There are hundred Uemoc ats and
| hundred Republicans in this very House who have
| in every election case voted invariably Tor the
who was OF their politics That may be evidence of
| partsanship, but surely not of corruption. when
the hundred Democrats voted to reverse the ace Of
| the returns did they violate any sac ed.paIla1ium
of liberties lay themselves open 60 charges Of
| corruption? Perhaps the former, certainly not the
| latter.
The pretense that the action of Canvassing Board
cannot reverse the face OF RETURNS without cOrrup
tion, is only equalled by that other pretense that
because one side coud not buy them the other side
| did.
| 4th. The next subject on which we desire to ex-
| press opinions is whether there were any Re-
publican dcspathes similar in character to those Of
| Mr.. 11den's agents.
There is hardly any e1idence before this COM
| miltee on which any such inquiry can be founded; !;
| kind of shadow hunt for some dispatches supposed
to be destroyed hunt has not been successful but
the extreme disposition which we think we 10 the
| report OF the majority to exAlt suspicious into
proofs has warned us that it is nee1fal set out
the facts relating to this matter. After the dis
patches we delivered up by the Western Union to
the Senate committee they were in charge OF that
committee, composed of Re- ubicaus and Demo-
Gratis subject TO the equal tight OF the house com
mittee, composed of Democra aud Republicans to
examine them and use them in evidence.
After some time it was generally understood that
no discoveries having been made as to the 'neuts
of these dis patches neither party luld make much
use OF them. 1t has been claimed by some that a
truce agreed upon embracing all the telegrsms.
| OF this, however, We will. speak hereafter. When
| this understanding was reached, there was in
stance where the te,egrams Of Republican were
withdrawn. General Brady had been in Florida,
and had sent some kilograms in substitution cipher,
which he wished to preserve as memenioes. He took
| them out, preserved them, and produced them be-
fore the committee. This is the only ins where
any dispatches were shown to have been taken from
| the committee rooms. Before The dispatches were
| called for from the Western Union. Mr.. Tyn
bad caused certain dispatches to be gathered up and
delivered to him. These dispatches between
himself, Mr. Foster and Mr. y Chandler.
| Two or three employees Of the Telegraph company
misrecollecting these kilograms and msnterpreting
them, gave us versions OF them from memory which
1
| future and which might have been of serious in
jury to all concerned mad not dr. Tyner been abe to
and ex lained the dispatches we're found to relate
to the transfer of funds for the Indiana ampaigo
These all the dispatches Of which there is the
slightest evidence or suggestion OF withdrawal either
from the committee-r0om or from the telegraph
company. OF the kilograms sent to the senate Com
mittee of Privileges and Elections full lists were
to he committee, who have never deemed Il worth
while 10 subsaDtate any suspicious Of the destruc-
Among her suggestions which have been made is
this: Some OF our testimony goes to show that .
truce was agreed upon by the different paries each
| agreeing not TO touch the others kilograms
This was probably not so because Mr. j Il. Tucke
was not the man to violate such an agreement b.
| OF the Knott-Field committee report. But, upo
the basis that there was such truce it has been al
legged that. because the Republicans willing d
suppress both sets Of cphers, theirs was as bad a
Nr. 1ilden's. To this the answer l. short aud con
: elusive The Republicans never knew until October
| 1878, what mass OF attempted crime had almos
. | slipped from their grasp u would have been ten
porary trouble have had their dispatches disclosed
else to the Democrats Had they bad the iaintes
: dream Of the blnapza that before them the
never wOuo have battered it for their fimsy cipher
! | ABOUT "rany,'' Floridas and ''cottou fevers.f'
At the same time it may be proper to say tha
there is to believe that only bankbooks wer
included 10 the truce, the Democrats beginning o
Mr.. Chandler and the Republicans proposing TO re
! taliate on Mr.. Iilden, which called malt. We al
not deem it worth while to go into this matter, be
| cause time so limited that Il must have dis
placed more important matters. The records Of tn
o House Commiuee on Privileges and Elections, 1t b
believed will disclose the true facts.
In the Oregon case our testimony adds little,
am thing to what tue public already knows troI
Senator Mitchells report and the Tribune extra w
. have. however, noticed one thing, that among th
kilograms before us there are large number froI
Governor Grover, announcing with absolute Dos
tivenes that Hayes had carried Oregon by a consit
t erable mi jority. How little sanctiy there wa.
the face Of the reiurns' there, the c)unIry too
knows.
u We cannot close our comments on these dispa'ehG
Il without expressing at least hope that hereafter tt
. country may be spared that spectacle o. hypocri'
which is involved in the literature OF fiaud write
) by men who male ready to bEbe.
TennysOn at Hlme aud Abroad.
y Mr.. renpyson's orders in reference to the I'D