Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1880-03-24
Mr. Hale interviewed.
From the Ner York Tribune 22nd-l

his family, on his way South. He Is some
Via, worm down by the hard work of fight
ing and exposing the conspiracy to steal the
government Of his State, and intends to take
advantage of the interval between the adj
;ourument of the Maine Legislature and the
active opening Of the Presidential campaign
70 recuperafe a little. He goes. with his VIE
and children to Savannah, BY sea, and FIJI
probably make Aiken 5. c.. his resting place
His report on the fusion conspiracy vas COM
pleted and presented before the Legislature
adjourned on Thursday last In conversation
with representative OF the tribune, q .ne
Fifth Avenue Hotel, yesterday, Mr. Hale re-
viewed the principal points developed BY the
Investigating committee. and spoke OF tne
amasing appearance Of ignorance and aston
ishment assumed by Governor Garceion'
wnen confronted with the undeniAble eviden,
70. Of erasure., alterations and bare-faceo
forgeries in the returns
ssDid YOU come to the conclusion, MI.
Hale was asked, THAT the frauds were deiio-
erately planned in advance and were the WORK
Of the master mind:'
..Nv belief is that the fusion leaders frst
thought they could count out the republican
majority on technical points, where they couid
claim. as Garcclon tried TO do for time,
that they were only executing the law, out
that. finding this was not practicable ahd
getting more desperate As they progressed
With their undertaking, they nnaiiy
grew reckless and determined to stop
al nothing to secure their ends. There was
no doubt master-mind, outside the Tower
ernor and Council, pushing them forward
I refer 20 PiIlsbnry; but do not know that
any one member Of the body which manlpu-
lated the returns ought to be assigned the
rank of chief villain. In fact, the frauds are
of such varied nature that they suggest
variety of intellectual effort"
Some Of the deaocratic papers suggest thar
-rhe ensures, additions and forgerles may
have been made after your committee sot
the returns in order to justify your charges
These papers may think that suggestion
a shrewd dodge, but they forget that we nave
the tabulations made by the Council and that
they agree with the altered returns, and that
certificates were issued based upon the re-
snlt Of these alterations. Such talk is puerlle
Some of the expedients to which Garceion
and his Council resorted to to manufacture
fusion majority in the legislature were ahaz.
ing for their lack of decent consistency ana
their utter recklessness. Here Mr.. Hale ex-
planned some of the changes, erasures. Tor
geres and other expedients, OF the fusionis's'
with which our readers are SO familiar tiat
we omit this part of the interview.
Were there any fusionist members OF
your Investigating Committee"
Eyes. there were two-Mr. ingalls, and
Mr.. HILL"
"What did they say TO the facts develop
ed?'
They made a minority report, In when
they said they could not deny that the facts in
the majority report were substantially IN &C
corlance with the evidence, but that they
were unwilling to give their assent to all our
arguments and conclusions. They presented
no conclusions of their own, however. lhey
regret in their report that the members OF the
Council did not see fit to appear before the
committee when invited to do so, and as they
saw. explain the irregularities which exist
s'Were YOU able to fix the fraudulent tam
perng with returns upon any one or more
members of the Coancilr'
mo: we traced them to the Council Cham
ber Who did the work inside we are not
able to establish"
"Will the matter be pursued in the
courts?"
| II think there will be some trials for the
purpose of bringing out testimony, though in
| the present state of political feeling Juries
will disagree"
| on the fusion party? Will it hang together
and make another campaign this yearr'
"Probablv the democrats and greenbackers
will nominate separate candidates for Govern
or and unite on candidates for the legislature
as they did last year. The fusion leaders
will go upon the stump and make a noisy, an
grv canvass, denying the clearly established
charges of fraud. They have lost their heads
completely. and are blind to the condition Of
popular feeling. Up to the last moment they
will imagine that they have chance OF sue
cess but when the votes are counted they
will find an overwhelming majority against
them The amendment proposed to our con,
stitution requiring only plurality instead OF
! a majority to elect a Governor will be adopt
ed. aud will be operative upon the returns OF
the September election. Thus we shall be
spared from any repetition OF the performance
of last year