Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1880-10-06
THAT INNER ROOM

JOnn sherman, Sellc0nstructed SUI
porvisor of election returns gave this
work to Garfield In 1876 West Fe.
liciana gave !, ,24S votes for Tilden and
7Ts votes for Hayes, Democratic ma.
jority of 40, and upon Garfield was
devolved the job OF getting rid of this
majority and reversing the decision Of
the ballot, On being asked what he
took the returns for he answered:
A. mean by that 10 say that took the copies
Of oil the official papers which were delivered to
the Returning Board touching the election ia
West Felieiana and for convenience Of examin-
ing these papers, as did not reside at the ST.
Charles hotel, / occupied room In the Custom
House in tho corner Of the building.
Within that inner room of the New
Orleans Custom House sat Jas, A. Gar.
field for eighteen days manipulating
the returns of West Feliciana parish.
How he performed that infamous task
he told under oath TO the Committee
of Congress as follows:
QaestiOn--what did you do Answcr--I took
all those papers, commencing with the protest
and read them carefully and made a careful brief
Of their contents, giving a summary Of each wit.
ness 10 my own way, as would II ] were a law.
yer in the case. When had completed that
felt great deal Of anxiety to see the men who
bad testified, If could. II was enough to read
the evidence as 1t had been fixed up for the ne
groes and the whites, but It was more than that
confess felt good deal Of surprise and aston =
ishment at the revelations contained in these doc
uments. That | went there with not a little ap
preLension that there must be a good deal Of ly-
ing 10 the papers Of both sides connected with
the election. l made inquiry and found that
considerable number Of these witnesses were In
the city. | made out list Of perhaps one-bAlf or
three fourths Of the names Of the witnesses whose
testimony | had examined, and inquired for them
and procured interviews with them. sat down
with them and asked them to tell me In their own
way the stories OF their relation to the election
cannot name all the witnesses with whom con-
versod, but some Of them / remember distisctly.
Mrs Amy Mitchell, the woman whose husband
bad been killed during the progress Of the regis
try or election. also remember Judge Duall a
parish judge, whom examined In the same way.
As TO the result Of the examination, OF course II
was entirely unofficial; II was 10 conversation Of
my own with these witnesses dropped some in
terrogatories to draw out more fully from some
Of the witnesses the testimony which they had
given rather In brief, aud some Of the inttToga-
tories which subsequently, were appended to the
testimony Of these witnesses.
When the afiidavits were not com.
plete enough for the purpose of Gar
field be dropped interrogatories in or,
der to draw out more fully the wit.
nesses." 1t was necessary to manu-.
iacture testimony as basis for the
contemplated crime against the people
OF the United States, and Garfield tells
how it was done. Into that inner
room, away from the sight of men,
witnesses were brought to Garfield to
make their perjuries. II their affida-
Wits did not reach far enough he says
he prepared additional interrogatories
to be propounded to them to which
they went and made oath.
One OF these witnesses was Amy
Mitchell, who was brought into that
inner room of the Custom House.
There was no one in the room but the
poor negress and Garfield. She told
her story but il was not satisfactory
to her inquisitor, who prepared new
for her to which she
swore. Amy Mitchell aferward went
before a Committee of Congress and
swore that there was not word OF
truth in the testimony which she gave
in answer to Garfeld's questions. By
this infamous method Garfield prepar.
ed the testimony in an inner room Of
the Custom House upon which he ad.
vised the Returning Board Of J. Madi.
son Wells to throw out the entire vote
of West Feliciana parish, There is no
picture in our political history so re.
voting as that of James A. Garfield
bid away in that back room lending
his craft, cunning, and dishonesty to
the forging of afiidavits tor poor ig'
norant negroes to be used in over.
throwing the election of a President OF
the United States.
When the work Of infamy was com.
pleted the visiting statesmen left New
Orleans. Garfield says there was great
anxiety" among them as to what the
result would be. There was the same
anxiety that burglars feel as they re.
treat from the scene of their crime. IL
was not until they reached Bellair,
Ohio, that dispatch was received by
John Sherman that the Returning
Board bad completed the work OF in.
fanny. The "lawyor in the case" who
manipulated the returns of West Fe.
liciana returned TO Washington and
became q Judge on the Electoral Com.
mission. When the bill was pending
before Congress Garfield, in real OF
ieigned opposition to it, said:
at assumes the right Of Congress to 70 down
into the colleges and inquire into all the act,
and facts connected with their work. i, assumes
the right Of Congress to 60 down into the States
TO review the act Of every officer to open every
ballot box, and to examine every ballot cast BY
100000 Of Americans"
A good many Democratic members
of Congress has their misgivings about
the electoral bill. Garfield took this
method Of assuring them that the bill
authorized the Commission to examine
the real facts and render decision in
accordance with truth and justice. On
account of this Interpretation of the
bill they all the moro readily assented
that he should be made member Of
the Commission. But some who knew
the false character of the man and
were shocked at the part which he
took in New Orleans were not caught
by his lure and protested against max
ing him judge who had been, accord
ing to his own admission, an attorney
When he became a member of th,
Electoral Tribunal he voted to close
the door against investigation of fraud
West Fcllciana returns and all, and
held that the certificate Of the Return
ing Board of ]. Madison Wells, based
on peJured testimony like that of Amy
Mitchell, prepared by James A Gar
field, was beyond the reach of inquiry
Thus the electoral crimo was consum