New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-07-20
MR.. D1yEyPoRTs DISCLOSURES.

PEELED by political eXlgencleS TO enJtr upon 'ho
| investigation, but 1t has done so with hesIta-
ton and ill-concealed reluctance. Mr.. Dayen-
ports examination has been postponed again
and again, while all sorts of witnesses, war
ranted not to give the Democrats any trouble,
have been allowed to express themselves with
the greatest freedom 1t is more than a year
and half since the present inquiry was under
taken. 1t is eight months since Mr.. Daven-
port addressed his indignant letter to Senator
Wallace claiming the right to be examined
The delay In calling the one man who knows
most about the subject of inquiry is not sur
prisng for it is well understood that Mr.
Davenport has made a thorough study OF the
case under consideration, and that he Is very
sharp.
He has now opened so much of his budget
as the Democratic members Of the Committee
could not prevent his exhibiting, and the dis
closures are certainly sensational. 1t appears
that at the election of 1868 the Democratic
majority in the City of New-York was about
10000, and this was sufficient to overcome a
large Republican majority in the rest OF the
State, with 10000 votes to spare 1t has al
ways been believed that the Demo-
cratic vote in that year was to
a large extent fraudulent, and Mr.. Daven-
port was employed by the Union League Club
to conduct certain investigations. He discoy-
cred that between 10000 and 10000 bogus
naturalization papers were issued in the single
year 1865 chiefly by judges Barnard ana
McCunn. The fraud began in the Court OF
Common Pleas, under Judge CardOzo, III 1866.
bat it was stopped there Dy the honest Demo
! cratic clerk of the court, Mr.. Jarvis, who
| peremptorily refused to issue the fraudulent
papers. The business was then taken over to
| McCunn, in the Superior Court (1SG7, and
| the next wear Barnard, IN the Supreme Court,
| lent a hand. The first thing that arrested sus-
piciOn in searching the records was the ex-
traordinary number of tie citizens manufac-
tured by these two judges. Previous commit
tees of Congress had inquired of all the
Judges who issued naturalization papers how
| long the process took. Judge Brady said five
minutes ; the others agreed that eight or ten
| men an hour was as many as they could nat
uralNe. But it appeared from the court
records that Judge Barnard turned out voters
at the rate of 500 an hour, and McCunn was
not far behind him. In October, 1868, Che
month before eectIOn) over $1,000 naturall-
cation papers purported to issue from the SUI
preme and Superior Courts-every one, with
few inconsiderable exceptions, bearing the name
of Barnard or McCunn. On the 18th OF October
the number reached the extraordinary figure
1920, whereas, according to the testimony
of Judge Brady and his colleagues, the ut
most that two judges could have accomplished
during the time these courts sat on the 18th
of October (about five hours each) was the
naturalization of 100 or 100 men.
Further search shows that there was no rea-
sonabe proportion between the number OF
naturalizations and the preliminary declara-
tions of intention. The experience of the
courts since 1865 proves that about half of
those naturalized are on the record as declar-
ing their intention to become citizens, the rest
being men who came to this country under
age. or who served in the army, and are there
fore not obliged to file declaration. But In
1868 the usual method was to issue all these
fraudulent papers as if to persons exempt from
declaration on account of their age on arrival.
MIR. Davenport obtained the aifidavits of one
thousand men who acknowledged that they hal
been naturalIzed as minors, although they
were over age, many of them from forty to
sixty wears old, when they landed. Even with
all these frauds the work did not go on fast
enough, and at least 10000 naturaliza-
ton papers were accordingly issued in
blank, without any application for them,
or transaction of any kind in court, or any
record appearing on the books Three thou
sand of these bogus papers were seized by the
police at liquor store in Prlnce-st.; they
were intended for use in Connecticut, where
contract had been made to furnish them at
80 cents apiece. Mr.. Davenport speaks from
nersonal knowledge about the blank certificates,
for he has had many of them-sOme thou
sands-in his possession. An examination of
the court records for the past twenty-five
vears shows that the number of naturaliza-
tops has run from $500 to 10000 year.
heine highest of course In years of political
excitement. Even in 1867, when the frauds
hogan to be heavy, it was only 1880.
But in 1868 it went up to 10000 or more.
Probably nobody will ever know the exact
figures, because no record was made on the
books but it is ascertained that Barnard's
court had 80, 900 blanks, and used all except
800 of them.
In the preparation of these false papers the
conspirators committed the most reckless blum
ders. Certificates purpOrting to issue from the
Supreme Court were dated back to 1865, al
though that court never naturalized any one,
and no blanks were ever printed for it until
1868. Sometimes the imaginary applicant for
naturalization was represented as a native of
this country or even of this city Sometimes the
application was signed in good hand by wit
nesses who are found to be now unable to write.
Often the names OF prominent citizens
as witnesses-August Belmont. John T. Hoff-