Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1883-11-08
"The Great Fraud"

Under this head the New York Tri-
bune favors the "old ticket" and gives
Its reasons as follows:
1--WE have always favored the renomi-
nation of the old ticket, and that for the
same reason professed by great many
Democrats, namely, that the Electoral
frauds of 1876 need more thorough ex-
animation than they have yet received.
Some people are under the impression
that when the Potter Committee obtain
| ed the confessions of Smith Weed, Man
ton Marble, William L. Pelton, they had
been concerned in plot to buy che
| Electoral votes of Florida and South
Carolina for Mr.. Tilden, at cost of
Sl3O 600, and that the TrIbunes story
of that conspiracy, as revealed in our
translation of the Cipher Dispatches,
was correct; and when, moreover, these
agents agreed in declaring that they
acted without Mr.. rilden'S knowledge
when the committee got as far as this,
we say, some people believed that there
was no more to be told. This is delu-
sion. The inq uiry was arrested Just as
it began to be most interesting. The
point of prime Importance was hardly
touched. This was the source from
which Pelton obt aimed, or expected to
obtain, the large sums of money which
he agreed to furnish for the bribery of
Electors. He pledged himself to supply
Weed with $4,000 to purchase the
votes Of South Carolina, and Marble, or
Woolley, or both of them, with $4,000
for similar purpose in Florida. He
had not the money himself, but he was
sure that he could get it at days no.
lice; and, indeed, it has never been made
clear that the Florida bribe, at any rate,
was not actually placed in his hands.
His dispatches in cipher to his confiden
tial agents on the very last day of the
count, indicate that he was absolutely
certain of the moneys being forthcom-
ing on the moment. Now if he did not
look to his uncle for this money, who
was his treasurer? One of the Repub-
licau members of the committee neatly
expressed the general curiosity when he
asked Colonel Peltou if he believed that
there was any gentleman in the United
States who was ready TO take S5O,OOOI
out of his own pocket to buy the Pres!-
dency for another gentleman? 1t was
about this period of the examination
that Colonel Pelton fell into state of
intellectual collapse, answered questions
at random or failed to answer at all,
made some compromising illusions to
the Democratic National Committee. to
Mr.. Edward Cooper, to Mr.. Scott, of
Erie, and to Senator Barnum, and be-
came so plainly incapable OF going on
with his testimony that the committee
compaSsionately dismissed him. Moth
ing further was ever done to trace the
source of that $4,000.
New the temperance of the old
ticket will naturally raise again this
unanswered question; and we are glad |
of it, because the question has some
thing more than historical importance.
If Mr.. Tilden did not know of the cor
rupt contracts, was not to furnish the
money for them. and was not EXPECTED |
ultimately to reimburse those who did |
furnish il, then the voters of the United |
States ought to find out what persons or
what organizations stand ready to sup
ply funds to Democratic vote-brokers
for the purchase of Electoral Colleges.
That problem has a-direct bearing upon
every election, whether Mr.. TiIden's
personal fortunes are involved i'm il, or
not. What the unknown authors of the
great fraud tried to do for Mr.. Tilden in
1876. they would try to do again, for him
or for any other Democratic candidate.
under equal promises Of success"