The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-01-01
THE MAINE MUDDLE.

/ 6DeCldi W tIC SluNAiibessA NN -
"Senator Kellogg says the Maine sit
uation is precisely the Louisiana sit
uation over again when he ran for
governor against MEnery. Tie lat
ter received the greatest number OF
votes on the face of the returns, but
under the technicalities of the State
law Kellogg and his legislature were
declared elected, by throwing out
votes on technical points allowed un-
der the law. Two legislatures were
set up and two governors. Kellogg
says he called ON Grant. who was
then President, and he issued proc
lamation declaring he (Kellogg) the
legal governor and his Legislature the
legal legislature, and that was the end
of the matter, as the M'Eneryites subN
mitted. He says he sees no remedy
for the Republicans in Maine.
New Orleans Picayune: "John
Sherman says that the Democrats of
Maine are idiots because the state can
vassers have returned an anti-Repub-
Iican majority in the Legislature. We
do not understand thai the Maine can
vassers suborned testimony, and con-
nived at the forgery of official docu-
ments to accomplish their purpose, or
that they violated the law in any way.
If they had been guilty of these things
anybody but John sherman, and his
confederate visiting statesmen would
have right to call them scoundrels.
But why idiots, Mr. John Sherman ?
Suppose fer the sake of the argument
that the Maine Democrats stole votes
away from Republicans-do you call
that idiocy? Were you an idiot when
you helped the Louisiana returning
officers to steal Mr. Tilden's electoral
votes and give them to Mr. Hayes ?
Were you an idiot when you paraded
Eliza Pinkston from the customhouse
to the Statehouse to give the false tes
timony in which you and your allies
had coached her, and to act the scene
which you had made her rehearse in
your presence? Were you an idiot
when you approved Of the forgery of
the Vernon returns, and when you
advised the Republican agents as to
methods of getting up spurious affida-
Wits and eXtralegal protests -? Were
you al idiot when you took the office
of Secretary of the treasury III part
payment of your share in this work ?
Speak up, Mr.. John Sherman. Tell
US whonr you really consider to he
the idiots and whom the scoundrels."
New Orleans Picayune: The New
York World puts the case very neatly
when it says that the Republican the
ory of the duties of returning boards
ami State canvassers, until some new
exigency shall call for the revision of
the theory, is simply this: That the
functions of Republican canvassers
are judicial, and that the functions OF
Democratic canvassers are purely
ministerial. That is tc say, it is the
right and duty OF the Republican can
vassers to go behind the face of the
returns when the object is to elect de
feated Republican candidates, but that
Democratic canvassers must stick to
the face of the returns, even when
the law decided differently, errors,
forgeries and all. 1t happens that
the State canvassers in New York are
Democratic. The county returns,
as they came up from the boards of
county supervisors, gave Mr.. Hoskins
for lieutenant governor, a small ma
iority over Mr.. Potter-not quite
three hundred. The Democratic
State committee had collected a mass
of evidence going to show that a ma
iority of the votes had really been cast
for Mr.. Potter, but enough to defeat
him had been thrown out by the coun-
ty canvassers for alleged imperfec-
tions. Nevertheless the State can
vassers certified the election of Mr.. !
Hoskins, whereat the Republicans are
entirely content. So they were con-
tent VIXEN the bogus returning board |
of 1872 made by 4 purely fictitious
count of the vote of Louisiana, based |
on nothing but Republican idea
of the fitness of things, and entirely
ignoring the genuine and official re-
turns. So likewise they were COM
tent when another Louisiana return
ing board made ducks and brakes of
the official returns of the election OF
1876, thereby cheating MIR. Tilden out
of the Presidency, and turning over
the office to a defeated candidate.
But they me very unhappy about
Maize, because the process of elimina-
ting defective returns from the count,
a process which in that State is per-
fectly legal, results in overcoming
their assumed majority in the legisla-
ture. Hence they howl for blood,
cry all sorts OF havoc, and threaten
to let slip the dogs of war which they
keep in training for such an emergen-
cv All of mhich Is very much too