The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1879-02-20

@ And you had learned from Mr.,
Cooper, aud should have learned from
! Col. Pelton that he had been to Baltl'
more to c0nsun mate plan for the pur
chase of the action OF the CanVnsslng
Board Of SJnlh Carolina, which would
insure the election of the Tilden electors
there. Did it not occur to you, upon
being told that, you ought to find out
bow he stood to the committee? A -
Your question assumes more than is true
| did not learn thar he had gone there to
consummate. l learned he had gone
there simply 10 receive au offer.
O.-Is there much difference between
the way you state it and the way state
Il? Al think there is,
q We'll, what might he inferred from
his communication to Mr., Cooper, that
he might draw on him next day for from
60 to $50 900. He had gone to Baltimore
to meet Mr. Weed and another gentle
man from South Carolina What then,
would those facts infer except that he
had gone 70 GoDsnmmate an agreemenli
Al did not understand that he had
gone for that purpose.
Odd you understand from Mr., Pei
ton the amount Of money he expecteop
Al did not. l only understood he had
gone to receive proposition or look into
one.
@ Now, understanding that he had
been indscreet enough to go to Bllt-
more, even to look into proposition for
the sale OF the electoral certificate of a
State, did you not think you were called
upon to learn his relations to the Ma
tional Democratic Committee, and how
far he was committing that body, and
| how far he was committing YOURSELF A
/ thought the best way to deal with such
transaction was to stop ii; not to do it
myself, and to stop anybody else doing
it. think the thing in Florida would
have been better than what vas done
there Mr.. HisCoCk is not going to search
my moral understanding, presumed
Q-Not ct all l am trying to search
the relations between you and your
nephew, and between your nephew and
the National Democratic COmmitteeP. A,
The object is TO imLute to me some fail
ure of duty, and l propose to answer
that question fully,
Q-I have endeavored to be fair, and
it seems to me the true way to answer, is
to answer as far as you can directly, and
not by assa!ling any one else. Al do
not desire to assail any one else but
when sublimated standard of morals is
set up for me, propose to analyze it and
see whether the party who proposes it
lives up to it himself.
O. i desire to call your attention to
one thing more. You have said if you |
had entertained or consented to such an
idea as influencing those Boards venally, |
the last person in the world you would |
have chosen for that purpose would have
been Col. Pelton. Now, | ask you to
remember that answer, and then, if you
can, state why you did not deem it prop
er and perhapsyOur duty, afteryou learn
ed of his visit to Baltimore, to have call |
ed the attention of Mr., Cooper, or Mr.. |
Hewitt, both able and distinguished men
to the fact that they must take charge
of this matter; and Mr.. Pelton must be
left out of the correspondence; that they
must give it their personal action, lest
you and the Democratic party should be
compromised, and perhaps scandalized
by the actions of Col. Pelton? Ain
the first place / supposed these gentle
men were giving personal attention, and
they had the real power and Pelton he'd
not. Mr.. Cooper particularly had custo
dy Of the money, without which Pelton
could not do anything to the extent of
cent. In the next place Cooper was the
man from whom 1 derived my informa
ton about what was being done exGu-
siVely. Mr., Hewitt was his brother.in.
law, and they needed no warning on the
subject. REGARDED the Baltimore trans
action as foolish and wrong, but. au in
chOate transaction. Now, the civil law
does not recognize purposes until they
embOdy themselves in action. The
church puuishes such purposes only as
sinful thoughts. Pelton had not, so far
as l knew, done anything except receive
3 proposition from Republicans to sell
those certificates. 1t did not seem to me
so important as if there bad been any
possibility of similar transactions sue
and, without meaning to excuse
him, / may say the atmosphere was full
If rumors of the venality of the Return
ng Boards in those three disputed States
md of their frauds. | declare, before
God and my country, that it is my entire {
belief that the votes and certificates of {
south Carolina, Louisiana ard Florida {
we're bought ard the Presidency was
controlled by the purchase, Pelton. see '
ng that condition of things, committed
10 error-a wrong. He adopted the idea {
hat it was justifable to fight fire with s
ire, He adopted the idea that when he I
aw the Presidency being taken away {
rom a man who had been elected by a
he people in law and fact, it was legiti- 8
nate to defeat that crime by adopting t
he tactics of those who were perpetrat- {
ng it. | do not justify him, but l say 9
hat his error was exCusabe. adopted '
different system, a different code of t.
thiCs. scorned the elevation to Pres. q
Dental fame by such means as were en-. t
'loyed to attain that position. PeltOn t,
i'd not act up to that standard. He has G
een tried and condemned, ard public o
pinion may punish him, but at the same Il
ime even that fault is to be judged of il
cCording to the facts at the time, and
to what was being done and f.
that was done. His act was an inchoate u
fence. On the other side, the act that n
'as done was an accomplished and con- ii
minated wrong. Itgave up the Presi- a,
ency of the United States to man who q
las not elected, and the representatives a
nd champions of that condition of p,
lings are the men whose conscienCes Il
re troubled now with the inchoate a
rong Of Col. Pelton, which 1 crushed Il
nd stopped. Il