The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-10-14
citizens for no offenss defined by any law

soa AZ on0hoo 0euucu Uy auy law
and without tho pretense of q trial by
court or jury. II this could be done
there was manifestly no security LEFT for
life or property. Plainly II could not be
done without fat violation of the Con.
stitution, which In express terms forbade
it. But the men who then ruled US vita
rod of iron insisted upon 1t, and wa
could not be certain that the Judges,
State and National, might not be sun.
dued by their influence. Tho hearing OF
the cause before the Supreme Court Was
great crisis in the constitutional history
Of our country. There was a place il,
the argument which nobody could fill so
well as General Garfield, and besougLt
him TO help us in this desperate extrem.
ity to rescue American liberty from the
utter destruction with which it was
threatened. He responded with noble
alacri!y, and made q great argument in
which he proved not only the continued
ey',tence but the inestimable value of
the Constitution. He demonstrated that
the right OF trial by jury at all times and
all places wac indestruc,ible, and that
any officer, civil or military, would vic.
late his oath If ne attempted to pnt the
military above che ciril authority. He
affirmed the whole Democratic doctrine
on the subject, aud showed it to be incon.
testibly right. His sincerity was un.
doubted, for, like the rest of lis, he en-.
gagged in the cause as G labor Of love,
without fee or any reward except the
thanks Of true men.
Such were his true convictions. But
when We came to deal with the same sub.
ject in his political capacity he surren.
dered everything to his party. He voted
for military despotism and regular sys.
tenn of kidnapping and murder in all the
States of the South. In the same act
were other provisions which he certainly
understood to be in direct conflict with
every section of the Constitution. In all
this he did not transgress, like others. in
Ignorance or in passion; he sinned
against light and knowledge and on a
cold calculation of partisan policy. 1t
10 an infinite pity that such man should
be rot only false to his country but .alse
to himself.
'!hat makes all this very much worse
is his denunciation of General Hancock
for eaying that the military was constitu.
tionally subordinate to the civil power.
and that liberty was still the inheritance
of the American people; fer these were
propositions which ne himself had as.
serted and knew to be true.
1t might be expected that the course
Of man 80 influenced would frequently
defect from the straight path, and one
great aDeTratiOn we CBuuUL but rrmem.
6er.
Mr.. Tilden was elected in 1876. A
false return was the only resource against
him. do not believe that General Gar.
field, 1T let alone, would commit an elec-
tion fraud any more than he would steal
horse or sheep. But when the man.
ayers OF his psrty demanded his aid i'm q
great swindle he could not refuse. Un-
der that coercion he went down to Louis.
lana and there found it absolutely certain
that Tilden electors had been "duiy ap-
pointed" ut legal and full poll, SO
peaceably conducted that there was not
even q squabble about it in the whole
State. And the appointment so made
was attested by and accorded upon the
certificates and the oaths of election
officers adverse to the appointees in all
their feelings and wishes. There was no
earthly excuse for denying this; no con.
tradiction of it could be honest. To
count the State for Hayes was thing
that could be done only by impudent and
nnmitigated fraud. For q time hoped
that General Gar6eld's share in that
great crime had consisted in passive
acqulescence, ar am surprised by the
proofs recently brought forward Of his
active assistance in It's perpotiation. His
judgment as member of the Electoral
Commission was thing to be expected.
for he must long before that have con-
vinced himself that fraud was rs good
way as any other of clecting President.
In a political game he did not think that
anybody had moral sense enough to
abstain from throwing die which he
himself had loaded to win the State.
This liability to be rushed into evil
courses by his party associates had
brought upon him much odium which he
does not deserve in the transactions Of
the Credit Mobilier. The stock distri.
buted by Oakes Ames was intended to
inhuence the legislation of Congress cor
r!uptiy: He and tho company who put it
into his hands meant business, and that
business was bribery. Undoubtedly
those members who took it knowing the
nature of the thing were great criminals
and wholly unworthy to retain their
seats. But General Garfield, though he
certainly agreed TO take the stock and did
actually take dividends upon it, had no
suspicion of its connection with the
Union Pacific Railroad or Of the conflict
which its possession might create between
his private interests and his public duty.
He was as guiltless as the child unborn
OF any dishonest meaning about the
whole business. ! believe this not mere
ly because he told me 30, but because it
is probable in itself and corroborated by
many circumstances. If he had stuck to
it he would have been credited by oil
men as implicitly as he was by me.
Fearing that his political friends might
influence him to depart from it, wrote
beseeching him to stand fast upon the
defense he had made me. That he did
not take this advice is the bitteress regret
H1 n: life Rnt "!he party" would not
let him take it. The accusation struck
at tine highest heads in the House aud
the Senate They had hnf nna answer.
and that was positive denial of the fact
that any stock had ever been taken by
them; and on that line they expected
AIr. Ames to swear them through. Gen.
eral Garfield, for the benefit Of others
and to bis own great Injury, united in
making this false defense. Their witness
failed them, and they were all convicted.
After the report of the committee wrote
Mr.. Blaine the letter which has been ex-
tensively puhliDhed, and which was an
effort to pu. General Garfield back upon
the true ground, which no never ought TO
have abandoned. But It was too late.
regret sincerely that General Garfield
is q candidate, or that he should be
placed in any position which calls for
Criticism on hia on0dfrnt 10 a ,,ubJ;o r,o,,