The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1880-09-16

i--hAA -
in my mind is to ask why did General
Garfield spend eighteen days in the in
ner room of the Custom House? Why
did he have private interviews with the
Colored and white people whose testt.
mony was to be taken to be used before
the Returning Board? and why did he
prepare inteFrogatories for the witnes-
ses2 will answer in his own words:
@ But don't you understand that in
the cases where you suggested that inter.
rogatories should be prepared instead Of
evidence, they were to go hefore the Re.
turning Board? A. Yes, sir.
And when his work of taking the tes-
timony was completed he turned his at
tention to the preparation Of a brief. A
brief, as you all know, is lawyers ar
gument in writing. will show you
what he says upon that subject, on page
797 of the report:
@ Was that brief furnished to the
Returning Board2 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.
@ Written after you left New Orleans2
A, A considerable portion of it. l had
written summary of the evidence be
fore that, but considerable portion Of
the brief was written in pencil on the
cars after l left New Orleans on my
wav home.
You see he completes the evidence
He is the only man that prepares 1t for
West Feliciana after tle evidence had
been turned over to him, and when he
had done that work on his way from
New Orleans to Washington he prepares
an argument in the case.
GARFIELD KNEW TILDEN CARRIED THE
STATE,
wish to connect directly this trans
action with the duties of the man who
takes the solemn oath t. deal fairly. 1t
was his duty as member of the Com.
mission to deal fairly,
The next question is,what did Garfield
know in regard to Louisiana. That we
6nd on page 803 l say he knew that
Louisiana was Democratic by 5000 ma
jority when he sat in that inner room
and had private conversation with the
witnesses and prepared interrogatories
to guide and control their testimony,
when he was at that work, and when he
was writing brief to make it appear the
other way, he knew that Louisiana had
cast Democratic majority of 5000, and
here is his sworn testimony on that sub.
ject:
Q Did you get any idea how the vote
of Louisiana stood from the face of the
returns2 A. l had all those ideas that
could be got from the newspapers and
the leaders of the different parties. We
had had, Of course, very full information
Of that sort.
@ Presuming that there we're not
some Parishes to be thrown out by the
Returning Board, it was very clear that
tie State had gone for Nichols and Til.
den, was it not? A. 1t was very well
understood by the time | got there, and
indeed, before | got there, that if moth
ing but the face Of the returns was to be
considered, and If every vote sent up
was to be treated as legal vote, Mr.. Til.
den was ahead. [Applause.]
z. And If every vote sent up was a le-
gal vote, and some more Republican
votes were not found, it was very clear
that the State had gone for Nichols and
Tilden? A. Yes sir.
There is your man, Republicans, that
you propose to place in the chair that
Washington occupied, A voice, "No,
never."] 1t will never be done. No man
with record like that did ever take that
chair, and in the kind providence of an
eternal God it will never occur. He
knew by the returns that Tilden, for
President, and Nichols for Governor,
we're elected in the State of Louisiana,
and yet when he knew that, he says
when he got to New Orleans he stayed
there eighteen days, and all that he did
was to sit in that inner room where no.
body could fnd him except they passed
from the public hall through another
room, and there alone with poor ignor.
ant witnesses, he prepared interrogato.
ries, and talked with them, and that
those interrogatories and that talk went
to the Returning Board and furnished
the sCoundrels of that Board the pretext
to return against the truth that Tilden
was beaten in Louisiana. Gould you sup.
pose that this man was to return to
Washington and become a juror and de.
eide whether Tilden or Hayes was elect.
ed, and to decide between man and
man whether Hendricks or Wheeler
was elected Vice President. He says on
I page 1893: II heard of nothing of the
kind THAT is, of decision then made.)
l don't think any of our party had
heard of it for we left in great anxiety as
to what the result would be-" Then a lit.
tie further on he says: "We went away
from the meeting, and within perhaps
three hours from that time at least by
the first train after that we left New Or
leans. / know that there was great anx,
iety amongst us all as to what the result
would be, and we had no word or hint OF
it until we had passed Bellair on Tues
day morning, when q dispatch was
received addressed to some of our num-
Der, perhaps to Senator Sherman, giving
US the first information Of the ConClu'
sion of the Returning Board" And what
do you, fair minded men that have from
time to time taken your seats upon the
jurors.box, what do you think Of the
man that is to come on to Washington
to try the CauseP
"THE WORK Is DONE"
Being anxious in his mind as he leaves
New Orleans, and all the way from that
city until he reaches Bellair. until he
reaches Ohio, he is in a state OF great
anxiety, and then dispatch comes al
lightning speed, "The work is done,