The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1879-03-12
Majority Report From the Potter Com
mittee.

WASHINGTON, March 2.-On Saturday Mr..
Potter, chairman of the investigating commit
tee, submitted report which he had prepared
10 the committee, and it was adopted by a 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 4 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 spatches which will be made the sub
iect Of a special report, and will be presented |
to the committee tomorrow. Mr. Potters re- |
port is regarded by those who have perused it |
singularly impartial and judicial, They say it |
is entirely devoid of rhetoric ,'rnamentation |
and vituperative dsnunciation, aud derives its
force solely from the close, logical deduction of
facts presented to the committee. Some DEM |
ocrats regard it wanting in color not rs
strongly expressed as the facts warrant, and it
is not unlikely that some 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
what it was proper for Congress to 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. 1t adj
mits that the confessions of the oonspirators,
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
men. and incidentally about intimidation. 1t
dismisses entirely the testimony of Anderson,
jerks, Mrs. jerks, Weber and that class of
witnesses, and deals with the upon the
general ard 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
certihcate. Beginning with Florida, it cites
the law directing the Presidential electors to
be appointed by the votes cast, and the can
wasting board to canvass the votes cast, and
claims that he Tilden electors, having received
q majority If the votes cast in the State, were
thereby necessarily entitled to be declared
elected, and that the calvassing board by re-
jecting without warrant of law portion of the
votes so to show majority for Hayes I'M
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-
eislon could be had until the Hayes electors
had met that same day at noon and voted.
The report then recltes the Judgment OF the
supreme court, which subsequently decided
that the Hayes electors were not elected nor en-
titled to cast tine vote of the State, and that
the Tilden electors were, and also the judg-
meut 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 recanyass of the electoral vote
in accordance with this decision of the SUI
preme court, the judges of which were Repub-
icans, and the recanvass showed the Tilden
electors chosen. The Governor then issued a
certificate to the Tiden 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 Ill favor of the Tllden 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 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 tc
be electors, when, according to this decision
such electors would be entitled irrevocably tc
cast the voc of State. It therefore recon-
mends law providing that where there is
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 the disputing elee
tors, and such vote from the State shall be
counted, unless the two Houses of Congress.
shall otherwise agree.
The report then argues that the action o.
the canvassing board was not only illegal bu
fraudulent, and cites the instance in which
they rejected Democratic votes on unwarrantee
grounds, and refused to reject fraudulent Re
publican votes. IT deals at length with th
claim of the Republicans that they were en-
titled to the vote of the State on the face o
the returns oy reason of the Drigger fraud. b.
which bogus return from Baker county wa
furnished the canvassing board, which they a
first eiected but which, after they were ordere
to count the vote as cast, they fraudulent
took in place Of the true return. It then deal
with the conduct of the visiting statesmen
and particularly that of Gen. Noyes as cor
trasted with that Of Gen. Francis G. Barlow
whose fidelity to all his obligation and integri
ty, independence, fairness and truth, the repor
especially commends.
In regard to Louisiana, the report begin
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 creates
power over receiving and counting Of votes
Under the pretext that the color tie divide
political parties they had used this power t
fraudulently count the State for the Republ
cans, and had been exposed by the Republica
commission Of the forty-third Congress, whic
had reported that the whites and blacks of thu
State being equal, and some of the blacks an
all the whites having voted for the Democrat
in 1874, the State had necessarily been carrie
by them, although counted for the Republ
cans. Hereupon the Republicans set about
false census, in which they made it appear tn:
there were Is, 600 more black voters in the Stat
than white, and as illustrating the fraudule1
nature of this census, the report refers to tt
fact that while this census reported but 81, O(
colored men, women and children in Ne
Orleans, it made out of them, nearly Is OF
colored voters.
The report states that the returning boar
would never have outraged the people BIZ
for their encouragement from the visitr
statesmen and the support which they and tt
troops gave them.
Then follows details of how the same visito
were deceived by the local managers and il
nocently co-operated in the frauds of the r
turning board while others did not. It refe
very briefly to the alleged bargain by viii,
Hayes had 8 00D votes less than Packard e
counted in, while Packard went out al
mentioned Sherman's offers to prove intimid
ton, but points out that whenever the col
mittee offered to receive it the evidence W
not produced, and they were met by some sha
excuse for not producing it; how they had e