The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1880-09-24
rl;n opt tho fol,owing and when

Clip out the following, ana WHICH
you hear Democrat talking about
the fraudulent election of Hayes
shove it under his nose, and ask him
to disprove 1t If he can. Any one
may satisfy himself of the truth OF
the statements therein contained by
searching the records:
"On tho 14th day of December,
1876, the House of Representatives
passed II resolution providing for II
Joint committee of seven Representa-
tives and seven Senators to report
some measure for determining all
questions concerning tho mode of
counting the ELECTORAL votes for
President and all legal questions per-
tanning thereto, to the end that the
votes should be counted and the re-
suit declared by u tribunal whose
authority none can question. ana
whose decision all will accept as final.
The Senate passed II similar resolll-
ton, and the result was the appoint
ment of committe composed of four
| Republicans. Senators Edmunds,
| Morton, Frelinghuysen and Conkling,
and three Democratic Senators, Thur
man, Bayard and Ransom, and OF
four Democratic Representatives,
Payne, of Ohio, Hunton, Hewitt
and Springer, and three Repub'
lican Representatives, McCrary
Hoar and willard, TO prepare and re-
port such bill, On the 18th of Janu,
airy, 1877, these committees reported
a bill to the two houses in the precise
words in which the same became 4
law on the Goth of January.
The vital point in the act, was that
when any qestion on which the two
houses could not agree was referred
to the Commission, the decision OF
that Commission should be final and
conclusive, unless the two houses by
concurrent votes, should dissent there
from and otherwise order.
The law provided for the appoint
ment of fifteen Commissioners-iive
Senators. five Representatives and
five Justices of the Supreme Court
Justices Clifford, Dem Field, Dem,
Strong. (Rep.) and Miller, (Rep.),
were designated by the numbers OF
their judicial districts to be members
of the Commission, and these -four
were to select the fifth Justice
They selected Justice Bradley. The
Commission was constructed rs fol
| lows:
Republicans. Democrats.
| Justice Stronr, Justice CLIFFORD.
| Justice Miller, Justice Field,
| Justice Bradley, senator thurman
| senator Edmunds, Senator BaSard,
Senator Frelinghuysen, Representative Payne,
| senator Morton. Representative iuhtoh
| Representative iloar, Representative AbDot'.
| Representative Garfield.
On the Goth of January, 1877, Mr.
Payne, Democrat of Ohio, reported
the bill to the House, and, refusing
to allow any amendment to be offered
moved the previous question, and the
billed was passed yeas 1911, nays SO,
not voting, II. On the same day the
bill passed the Senate--yeaS, II, nays
II. not voting. 10.
The vote politically was thus divid'
ed on the passage of the bill by the
two Houses of Congress. In the
House OF Representatives the vote on
passing the bill stood:
Rep Dem
For the bill LOT
Against the bill............99. ...,.... ....' ].
| Not voting. ............. I..,..,....,,....
In the Senate the vote OH passing
the bill stood:
| Rep. Dem
For the bill ...............2l..,. ,2t
Against the bill......,...,l6 ..........
Not voting. ...... o......
at will be seen, therefore, that the
law creating the Electoral Commits
sion, with all its powers and authOri'
ty, failed to raceive majority OF the
Republican votes in either house; that
it received q Democratic vote in the
Senate which had two exceptions
and there were only twenty Demo
cratic votes in the House which were
not recorded IN its favor. 1t was
passed in both houses by a Demo
cratic vote which was substantially
unanimous.
|, | by this act of Congress the two
houses made the Commission an um'
pire TO determine all the questions
involved, its decisions i'm every case
being declared the lawsul judgement
of the two houses of Congress, unless
set aside by II majority vote in the
two houses, each house voting seper'
ately. AS no one of the decisions OF
Commission least on no important
question-was thus set aside, those
decisions became by law the judg
ment of the two houses, and the
voter were counted, and the result
declared precisely as this law. passed
by the Democrats in both houses,
prOyided that it should be done. And
this is the whole story of the fraud.