The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-09-30
VOL. XIII--NO. 45.


You will make it to you tonight by his own
evidence. What does the journal say to me?
That I have furnished no respectable
evidence. when have referred by pago
and document to the sworn testimony
OF Garfield himself. What did he do2 First,
gentlemen, said that they distributed parishes
among these visiting statesmen, and that in the
distribution of the parishes for investigation and
manipulation, the parish of West Fehciana fell
to James A. Garfield. will read what he swore
to, and after tonight it shall not be before the
intelligence of Indiana what Hendricks said,
but the question now shall be what Garfield
said. In his answer to a question. he says !:
"Thereupon, in order to make our work of ex-
animation and our knowledge of the case as
full as possible, the suggestion was adopted
that all the testimony relating to one parish be
given to one man, and the testimony relating to
another parish should be given to another man.
Among the parishes that were contested were
the parishes of Feliciana, and believe that Mr..
Sherman assigned these parishes to Mr.. Parker
and myself, saying that we could divide them
between us as VIC chose. suggested to Mr.
Parker to take his choice. he took East Felici-
ana; took West Feliciana."
80. What did you take it for?"
1 will give the answer of that pregnant ques-
ton, and, when it is answered, the Journal saws
that the man that the Republicans have upon
their. r.banner for candidate is adisgraced man.
"a. I mean by that to say that took the
hvered to the Returning Board, touching the
election in West Feliciana and for convenience
of examining these papers, as l did not reside
at the st. Charles Hotel, 1 occupied room at
the Custom House in the corner of the build
ing"
This is coming close up to Garfield and closer
to the Journal
az don't know now whose room it was !; it
was a room not very much used 1 think it was
one of the private Offices, perhaps of the Col
lector himself"
You recollect who was Collector, don't YOU
1t was Packard that was running for Governor,
and that could not hold his office, although he
got 1 600 more votes than Hayes, who got the
vote of Louisiana.
Gentlemen, what do you say to the PROPOSE
ton which made in my speech month ago
that Garfield went to Louisiana as a partisan ;
that he occupied one of the rooms of the Gus
tom House for the purpose of making ur the
evidence for the Returning Board but we will
go good deal further than that. This ques-
ton that 1 make tonight is not to a subordi-
nate writer on the Journal repeat, it is to
John G. New, owner of the paper, and the
Chairman of the Republican Central Committee
of Indiana. 1t is John c. New that 1 shall
brand if he does not place my answer as
prominently in his paper tomorrow morning
as the article 10 the Journal this morning.
Where was this room in the Custom Hoase
l said this was an inner room, and propoGe to
prove that by Garfield himself.
".
is a negro woman, Emily Mitchell? A. In a
private office in the Custom House.
80. One Of Gov. Kellogg's rooms? A. No,
sir in one of Mr.. Packard's rooms in the Gus
tom House.
80. Who was there besides you two? A. 1
don't think there was anybody else present
when she was there
%. Who brought her to the room2 A.
can't say; somebody brought her there.
cta had 10 chi in her Inc
sat down. and asked her to tell me the story
of her husbands death, with all the partiou-
lars, and told her that all wanted to know was
the exact truth about it.
40. Was there door-keeper to the room
A. think there was nobody by at all.
80. But was there any door-keeper outside
the door? A That don't know.
so. Do you remember that there was a
door-keeper for that room? A. That door
communicated with another room there was
no door into the hall 1 think that door COM
municated with the next room, which commun-
icated with the hall"
Was it an inner roam or not gentlemen?
That is what Garfield swears to. The Journal
says it is not true. That is between Garfield
and the Journal, and between them 1 would
not know which to believe.
80. So she did go from hall into that other
room before she would get into the room where
you werei A. Yes"
is settled question.
80. Was that door, leading from tho outer
door into this, open or shut? A. 1 don't
know.
90. Who occupied the outer room at the
time? A. There were several Custom House
clerks who had desks behind a sort of railing >
A very little more, gentlemen, about these
| rooms:
40. In that inner room was there anybody
beside yourself? A. Nobody"
He was asked whether there was anybody in
that inner room but himself, and he says no.
Not that there was no inner room, but there
was nobody in the inner room but himself
Some of the men who were getting up state
ments about other parishes came in there, but
the room was assigned to him. There you have
it-an inner room reached only by passing
| through another room from the public hall
| and that inner room was assigned to James A
| Garfield, and he occupied it and received the
| witnesses there, as will proceed to prove. 81
| the question, What did he do in the innel
room? and that question was asked him undel
oath.
80. What did you do? A. took all those
papers, commencing with the protest, and ther
| read them carefully and made a careful brie
| of their contents, giving the summary of eacf
| witness in my own way, as would if were
lawyer in the case"
| There is Garfield at New Orleans-the mai
that asks to preside in the cMef Office of thi
great nation. There is Garfield sitting in tn
inner room in the Custom House, where tn
light Of day and the judgment of the American
| people was cut off, and receiving the evidenc
that turned the parish Of West Feliciana, AM
examining them as though he were lawyer il
| the case, and SO he swears, "When had com
pleted that I felt q great deal of anxiety to Sc
the men who had testified if Icould." 1t wa
| not enough to read the evidence as it had bee
fixed up for the negroes and the whites, but
kho,, hat 4 falf
deal of surprise and astonishment at the reve
lations contained in these documents. That
went there with not little apprehension tina
there must be good deal of lying in tue pa
pers of both sides connected with the election
| made inquiry and found that a considerabl
| number of these witnesses were in tn
city. made out a list of perhaps one-haf o
three-fourths of the names of the witnesse
whose testimony / had examined, an
inquired for them and procured inter
views with them. 1 sat down wit
them and asked them to tell me i
their own way tho stories of their relation t
the election. 1 cannot name all these witnesse
with whom conversed, but some of them re
member distinctly. Mrs. Amy Mitchell q sha
have something to say about her directly, th
young woman whose husband had been kllle
during the progress of the registry or election
also remember Judge Dual, parish Judg
whom examined in the same way. Gas to th
result of the examination" Mark thi
"AS to the result OF the examination,
course, it was entirely unofficial; it was col
versation Of my own with these witnesses.
draughted some interrogatorles to draw OF
more fully from some of the witnesses the test
mony which they had given rather in brief, an
some of the interrogatories which subsequent
were appended to the testimony, of these wi
nesses." Now, notice what he has sworn tC
That he occupied that room, and that when IL
testimony was all handed to him relating to IL
parish of West Felicsana, he examined it an
the testimony, and he made out list of on
half or two-thirds of the witnesses, and he sci
for them one by one. He examined them, ar
when their testimony was not as full as he
sired, he prepared {. .itonal interrogatorie
which went, in some cases at least, before IL
Returning Board. This comes really very clos
around the journal and Garfield. "The sun
mary in the testimony in the case of We