The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1880-07-03
Garfield and the Electoral Commission.

James A. Garfield was one of the eight cleo
toral commissioners who delivered under oath
series of contradictory and inconsistent de.
cisions by means of which the lawfully elected
President was cheated out of his office Gar.
fields attitude on the commission, like Sena.
tor Morton's, was peculiarly embarrassing
since he had opposed the bill creating me com
mission as unconstitutional, and attacked II rs
empowering the commission to go behind tGe
returns and investigate the action OF the state
officials, and vet consented to act as a commits
sloner, and declared upon his oath that the law
conveyed no such power THIS point was put
in speech made by the Hon, Abram 5. Hewitt
February 2i, 1879, in answer To SANDER ut
tered by Garfield against Tilden MIR. Hewitt
said
think, however that can account for THIS
Extraordinary proceeding. During the pro
gress of TINS debate u gallant soldier, an able
| lawyer who has been Attorney. General OF my
state and who is a saunch Repubican-Gen'
Leral Francis C. Barlow, Of New Iork--has
given evidence on the lower floor OF THIS CAPT
toll that the vote of the state OF FLORIDA had
been unjustly counted for Mr.. Hayes; the con
clusion being that if 1t had been counted Tor
Mr. Tilden he would have been occupying the
White House instead Of its present dc facto
and not de lure tenant. This evidence must
|
quick; it must have revived the memories OF
eight to seven; it must have reminded him
how, when the electoral bill was pending IN
this House for one whole evening he devoted
himself to proving that the law creating the
commission was unconstitutional, but thar II
| it should be passed it would be the duty of the
commission to take evidence of fraud and 90
behind the returns And yet when he was
made a Judge, acting under a law which lie
| had declared to he unconstitutional ana which,
AS he had affirmed, required evidence to he Ia
ken, he consented to violate the Constitution
and to deny the admission of the evidence
which was necessary to arrive at The truth.
The speech to winch Mr. Hewitt referred
was doubtless that reported from page 96S to
page 973 of the Congressional Record, second
session of the Forty fourth Congress Atpage
972 Mr., Garfield considers the power conferred
upon the commi sion to send for persons and
papers and hear evidence. He says:
| The two houses Of Congress say in effect &c
this commission: ave transfer our powers tC
you. Consrue them for yourselves. Use OF
refuse them, as you please. 1t you choose 'c
contine yourselves to the papers that have been
delivered to the President of the Senate, halt
there. If you conclude to enter the Electoral
College and overhaul them, enter. Ii you
choose to content yourselves with such an eX
animation, stop there: but If you wish TO 60
deeper and embrace within the scope of your
examination all the states and all the officers
of the states, all the ballot boxes and all the
ballots in them, do so.
As a member OF the Electoral Commission
Mr. Garfield delivered an opinion on the
proposition made by Charles OConor to In
troduce evidence in the Florida case, arguing
not only that it would be ,nexpedient, but a
violation of the powers conferred by the act
creating the commission, to go behind the re
turns. And on every subsequent offer o: proof
he took the same ground. The folly to which
he was reduced by this piece of selt.stultitica
ton is manifest from the fact that he voted in
the Louisiana case that the certificates marked
Nos. and were 1.-The votes provided for by
the Constitution Of the United States" though
il is now known that certificate No. was ir
regular in form and certificate No. 3 a forgery