Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-02-12
Work of the Wallace Committee.

work OF the wallace Committee.
Patriot.
The investigating committee of the
United States Senate of which Senator
Wallace is chairman resumed work last
week i'll New York city. The purpose OF
the committee in visiting New York was
to take testimony in regard to the manner
i'll which the federal election laws were adj
ministered i'll that city in 1878 In two
days thirty-scvcn witnesses were examined.
4 majority of whom were citizens who
were disfranchised and arrested by the
United States marshals under the direction
of the notorious Davenport.
1t was proved before the committee that
the persons arrested by ol,ier OF Daven-
port were first taken to tie Republican
headquarters in the Assembly district in
which they were arrested. There they
were examined by politicians connected
with the Republican organization who had
no official connection whatever with the
United States court and 10 jurisdiction
or power at all in the matter. Afterward
! they were taken before the United States
! commissioner
Thirty of the thirty-seven witnesses
| were arrested because they had alleged
fraudulent naturalization papers issued in
| 1868. These witnesses, in every case,
were shown the original papers found on
! file in the office of the clerk of the superior
! court of the city of New York, which were
| produced before the committee by the
| clerk of that court. They each identified
the signature to the oath of allegiance
found therein to be their genuine sigma
| ture, and swOre that that oath OF allegi-
ance was taken by them at the time OF
their naturalization and that they each
knew the witness testifyins to their resi-
dence and saw him sign his name and be
sworn. All of these witnesses swOre that
they got certified naturalization papers in
1868, and voted regularly upon them with
out difficulty from 1868 to 1878. Many of
these were men of family, and all resi-
dents for over fifteen years i'll the city Of
New York prior to 1878. Many OF these
naturalization papers had been issued by
the courts to soldiers honorably discharged
from the federal army for service during
the rebellion.
One case of soldier named John Wright
was shown, who served 4 years in Il New
| York regiment, and WIS naturaliZed by
reason of such services, and tried to vote
in November, 1878, after having voted
every year since 1868 without difficulty.
lie was arrested by the deputy marshal at
the polls, taken to the Republican hea,i-
quarters, from thence before Davenport,
detained severa! hours, imprisoned in the
iron cage with some fifteen others in the
upper story OF the pDsto.iice building ana
was not permitted to go until he promised
not to vote. All OF the men called to testi-
fy were men apparently i'll the lower walks
of life. but sober and industrious. Not one
of them has ever been held to answer to
charges made against him Oh election day.
| 0lS hot
brought to Republican headquarters from
the polls where they had been arrested, and
were examined there. Two of these men
were found to be Republicans, and per-
mitted to go free. The third one was
found to be a Democrat, and sent down
to Davenport at the postoffice, where he
was held to bail and his naturalization
paper taken from him. In one case a
warrant had been executed, the party
arrested and brought before Daven-
port the warrant was signed by Daven-
port. and alleged information under
oath against the party arrested.
His counsel followed him and examined
into the question. The counsel was
sent by the district attorney to an upper
room in the postofiice building, where he
found one Stephen Mosher, who had 4
large pile of information before him,
which he was signing. He asked for the
oath against his client, and was handed a
bundle of papers not indorsed nor folded,
containing about fifty atli,lavits relating
to that Assembly district. Not one oi
these had the name OF Davenport or any
other official annexed to them. On ex-
animation of them he found the infOrm;,-
ton against his client in the same condi-
ton, and not sworn to, although his
client had been arrested three hours before
upon q warrant based upon this intornla-
ton.
These facts serve to expose the iniIut-
Gus uses to which the Republicans applied
the provisions of the federal election laws.
1t is estimated that many thousands of cit
izens who were justly and lawfully entitled
to vote were disfranchised in 1873 by the
Vaccinations Of Davenport. The com
mittee will return to New York in i few
weeks and complete their work.