The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-09-30


evidence in full, and that evidence, in answer
ing the inteITogatories, was the evidence Of
SwayZee that was printed.
"The nextman, Napalus, remember well, for
he had very striking story of having been
partly hung, and having been dragged with
rope around his neck. He was one of those TO
whom lnterrogatories were propounded after
the filing of efirst affidavit" Now, gentlemen,
he mentions the most remarkable case in
which he prepared the questions for the wit
nesses the case of Amy Mitchell SO I will read
what Garfield swore to in regard to that case.
60 As regards the case of Amy Mitchell.
which made an impression on vou can you tell
whether it was before or after you were fur
nished with copy of her affidavit that you had
| this conversation with her? A. 1t was after
ward 1t was the reading of the affidavit that
impressed me, and asked to have her sent to
me.
40. see that the affidavit appears to have
been sworn to the 30th of November? A.
advised them to take fuller statement by in
terrogatories from Amy Mitchell, and think
propounded a portion of the interrogatories.
The preliminary statement, tine simple affidavit,
was earlier"
Now, gentlemen, will turn over page and
see what the case of Amy Mitchell was. Turn
ing the leaves of book.] She first made an
affidavit in the Custom House, where she was
examined privately by James A. Garfield. That
affidavit was not full enough. He prepared ad-
ditional interrogations to be propounded to her
| and she answered those interrogatories, and, in
| her testimony before this same committee, she
| afterward swore that there was no truth in the
statement given In response to Garfelds inter-
| rogatories. In answer to question propounded
by Gov: Cox, of Ohio, who is Republican, Amy
Mitchell said-she repeated her direct testimony
that every statement contained in the affidavit
was false; that she did not say anything because
she knew it, but said what they told her to say.
| Her testimony also showed that she had been
0ITNed inf lNl1~
| the committee. don't say that Garfield was
| present when she swore to the answers TO inter
| rogatories, but he prepared the interrogation
| that were answered, and he prepared the inter-
rogatories after he had an interview with that
colored woman, when there was no person be-
| sides themselves present and the same woman
| comes before the committee of Congress, not
| in an inner room, not when the light of Gods
| day Is shut off, but she comes before the COM
mittee of Democrats and Republicans, and in
| that testimony given undertoath and under the
test of a cross-examination by the Republican
| members Of the committee, she says there was
not a word of truth in the testimony which she
| gavc in answer to Garields questions. The
| next purpose, gentlemen, l have in mind is to
ask why did Garfield spend eighteen days in the
| inner room of the Custom House? Why did he
| have private interviews with the colored and
white people whose testimony was to be taken
to be used before the Returning Board? and
| why did he prepare interrogatories for wit
nesses? !? will answer in his own words:
| 90. But don't you understand that in the
| cases where you suggested that interrogatories
| should be prepared instead of the evidence,
they were to go before the Returning Board
| A. Yes. sir"
And when his work of taking the testimony
| was completed he turned his attention to the
preparation of 8 brief. A brief, as you all
know, is a lawyers argument in writing. will
show you what he says upon that subject on
page 1917 of the report:
go Was that brief furnished to the Re
| turning Board? A. No. sir. That brief was
never furnished to anybody but the President
| of the United States. In fact considerable
portion of the brief was written on the cars on
my way to Washington.
| so. Written after you left New Orleans? A.
| A considerable portion of it. had written a
summary of the evidence before that, but a
considerable portion of the brief was written
/ in pencil on the cars after I left New Orleans
| on my way home"
You seehe completes the evidence. Heis the
| only man that prepares it for West Feiciana
| after the evidence had been turned over to him,
and when he has done that work on his way
from New Orleans to Washington he prepares
| an argument in the case. I wish to connect
directly this transaction with the duties Of the
| man who takes the solemn oath to deal fairly.
| 1t is your duty as a member of the commission
to deal fairly. The next question is, what did
| Garfield do in regard to Louisiana? That we
find on page S03. I say he knew that Louisi-
ana was Democratic by 5000 majority when he
| sat in that inner room and had private CONVEX
sation with the witnesses, and prepared inter-
rogatories to guide and control their testimony;
when he was at that work. and when he was
writing a brief to make it appear the other
| way he knew that Louisiana had cast Demo-
cratic majority of 5000, and here is his sworn
testimony on that subject:
| so. Did you get any idea how the vote of
Louisiana stood from the returns? A. l had
all those ideas that could be got from the
kl,a load of
parties We had had, of course, very full in
| formation of that sort.
80. Presumipg that there were not some
parishes to be thrown out by the Returning
Board it was very clear that the State had gone
for Nichols and Tilden, was it not? A. 1t was
very well understood by the time got there
that if nothing but the face of the returns was
to be considered, and if every vote sent up was
to be considered legal vote, Mr.. Tilden was
ahead.
go. If every vote sent up was legal vote,
and some more Republican votes were not
found, it was very clear that the State had gone
for Nichols and Tildeu? A. Yes"
There is your man. Republicans, that you
propose to place in the chair that Washington
occupied. 1t will never be done. No man with
record like that ever took that chair, and in the
kind providence of an eternal God it will never
occur. He knew by the returns that Tlden for
| President and Nichols for Governor were elected
knew that, he says when he got to New Orleans
| he staid there eighteen days, and all that he did
was to sit in that inner room, where no one
could find him except they passed from the
public hall through another room, and there,
alone with poor, ignorant witnesses, he pre-
pared illterrogatories, and talked with them
and that those interrogatories and that tall
went to the Returning Board and furnished the
scoundrels of that board the pretext tC
return against the truth that Tlden was beate1
in Louisiana. Do you suppose that this mar
Was to return to Washington and become
Juror and decide whether Tilden or Hayes wal
elected. and to decide between man and maj
whether Hendricks or Wheeler was elected Vic.
nothing of the kind-that is, Of decision theI
made. 1 don't think any of our party hat
heard of it, for we left in great anxiety as tt
, what the result would be- Then little fur
meeting, and within perhaps three hours from
that time, at least by the first train after that
| we left New Orleans. l know there was grea
, | anxiety among us al as to what the resul
would be, and We had no word or hint of
until we had passed Bellalre on Tuesday morn
, ing, when dispatch was received addressed t
, | some of our number, perhaps to Senator Sher
man, giving us the first intimation of the con
( clusion of the Returning Board And what d
you fair-minded men that have from time t
| time taken your seats upon the jurors box
| what do you think of the man that is to com
on to Washington to try the cause?
| Being anxious in his mind Us he leaves Me-
Orleans, and all the way from that city until
reaches Bellaire, until he reaches Ohio, he Is i
-: a great state of anxiety, and then a dispatc
= comes at lightning speed, " The work is done,
> ''The work is DONE" and there is no anxiet
cry is committed. The people of the Unite
t States have been beaten in their might an
d majesty and in their glorious sovereignty I
: the ballot-box. They have been beaten lii
|, the old lion who had his paws entangled in tt
e meshes of the net. The great people OF th
g United States are beaten, and a part of IL
: work was done in that room, and forever frol
It this time Infamous room in the Custom Hous,