The Portland daily press., 1880-03-23
THE CAP'N SPEAKS.
He Alleges that the Republicans Changed
the Returns.

Fogg's Chronicle publishes stirring letter
from Cap'n Chase. The letter was written
while the Cap'n was sojourning in Haverhlll
whittier he went just about the time it was an
nounced that he and his fellow tabulators
were to be summoned before the Hale COM
mittee. Not that we mean to insinuate that
the two facts had any connection with one
another. Oh, no. 1t is we'll known that the
Cap'n is largely interested in shipping, and
Haverhill is famous place for shipping. Ii
the piouS Fogg were cons ilted as to the re-
markable coincidence of the Capn's call away
and the publication of the fact that ne was 10
be summoned before the committee, he would
undoubtedly see in it the hand of the Great
jehovah The Cap'n, however. is not 50
pious as Fogg and would doubtless attribute IL
to chance merely. The letter seems to have
been written not only for the purpose OF de-
Tending himself but also for stiffening up
Brother Fogg. One would suppose from the
tone Of it that Brother Fogg had begun to sus-
pect that there might have been some "she-
nanigan' in the count and that Brother Chase
had set himself to work to reason him out
that suspicion. The letter was not written for
publication, but Fogg, to use his own words,
thought ''the exigencies of the times, caused
by the determined efforts and hellish plot OF
the Jim Blaine Gang to fasten manipulation
of the returns on the late governor and coun-
Gill; together with the third great mistake of
Gov. Garcelon in recognizing legislature that
his own acts condemned as revolutionary. by
testifying before them, just as though they
had right to summons him, justify the publ
cation" Fegg seems to have anticipated that
the Cap'n would not be particularly pleased
with its publication, for he proceeds to
fatter him a little by saying that "the
words of Capt. Chase cannot be doubted; that
he is straightforward, honest and conscien-
tious man, whose opinions and statements car
ry weight with Them Here is the letter:
HAvERHILL, Mar. 18th.
Bro Fogg:-I read your letter in the Post;
have seen all the testimony Garcelon and Saw
yer had given up to Saturday night.
How can we expect returns now to cores
pond with our actions when the Traitor Cham
berlain had charge of the governors room some
days after the governor left it, and during
which time neither any of us nor Mark Hard
ing were there nights? So what do we know
about who was providing round among the re-
turns?
Now bear in mind that Chadbourn forced
Sawyer to give up those documents and would
not allow him time to copy them and have
copies certified. Was not that proof that as to
the motive? Have they not been in the hands
OF the same class of rebels that stole the gov
ernor's and your letters? Would not such
men, who stole the state, stole the governors
letters, stole your letters, forced Sawyer to
give up the returns before he could take certi-
fled copies of them; who tried to bride Swan
and Hartman with money; who did buy
Sproul, perhaps others-would not such set
forge, alter, scratch or ink returns, or do any
thing else to complete their hellish scheme?
say yes! We know nothing about what may
have been done to those returns since they
were stolen from their legal custodians.
The innocence which the Cap'n manifests
in this letter is very childlike "How can we
expect the returns to correspond with our &C
tions," asks the Cap'n. Now the trouble is,
Cap'n, that the returns do CORE spond with
your actions perfectly. If they didn't you
would have some ground for your charges that
the Republicans had changed them.,. On the
Hebron return the name of Henry q. Walker
has been changed to Henry G. Walker. You
say the Republicans changed that G. to G..
If that is so why did you throw out the vote
of Hebron? If that G.. was c.. when you
and your fellow tabuators had it before you
why did you not count the vote Of the town
for Henry G. Walker? In the town of Goulds-
boro Oliver P. Bragdon has been changed to
Oliver B. Bragdon. You say the Republicans
did that. Then why did you throw out the
town? The Fusion clerk of Buckfeld swears
that he never wrote the name of the town in
the body of the return. 1t appears there now
You say the Republicans did it. Then how
could you count that town if the name wasn't
there, since yon threw out town in Penob-
scot county for the reason that its name did
not appear in the return? Who tore the slips
off from the Fairfield returns? Your fellow
Councillor Brown says he saw them on them.
Did the Republicans tear them off for the
purpose of showing that your plea that the
two sets of returns from Fairfield could not be
distinguished had good foundation? Who
inserted the A. in the return from Wells, thus
making it possible to count votes returned for
Josiah Slower for Josiah A. Slower? Did the
Republicans do that? Then how could you
count Wells for Josiah A. Slower if the A.
has been interpolated since the returns left