Morning journal and courier., 1891-07-10
AN OPEN LETTER

AN OPEN LETTER
 From Hon. Lynde Harrison to Editor Porter.
 . NEW HAVEN, July g, 1891. !.
 MT. Porter, Hartford, Conn: .i@s
 me letter which have received this
 week, containing an editorial article cut from. an issue of the Evening Post of 8
 recent date, entitled s'The Whole Story"
 The personal impertinence concerning my
 motives contained in it does not require
 any answer, but as you have in that article
 made the same mistake which you have heretofore shown by misrepresenting facts |sin which the public haveFRn interest, it is Fsquite proper that should write you tnis letter te show that your memoryis at fault in many particulars, and to give the pub !, lic ana opportunity of knowing certain strnths which you have persistently sup pressed whenever you have expressed your self upon this subject. Neither the Palla- dinm nor myself have at any time since Hast, t,Noyemberchanged the opinion, which has always been expressed, to wit, that General Merwin is entitled to the office of governor and that the democrats elected their candidates for at least three of the other state offices. s- The facts concerning my entire par tioipation in, and much of your ,eonnec-. ton with, this particular controversy, and which facts can De proven by the testi- mony of several persons, are substantially as follows:
 During the latter part of the month of November, 1890, it became apparent that the democrats would take decided ground, against the power of the general assembly to investigate and correct the returns of the presiding officers. Such a course would prevent General Merwin from be- ing elected in joint convention. Two. or three republicans, about that time, who had become overloaded in the campaign, suggested that proper way to compel the democratic senate to investigate the returns and give General Merwin his rights, would be, to have the republican house block any steps toward declaration of the result concerning the other state
 officers; and it was urged by them that the desire of the democratic candidates to ob- tain possession of the minor offices to
 which they had been elected, would be so
 strong that the democratic senate would
 be compelled to yield it's position on the
 ROV0TuOISulpe 1NOdAAy oAA OPUoAASouo WAo heard of this plan objected to it as unfair,
 unworthy of serious consideration and as quite unlikely to bring about the desired result for General Merwin. Such 8 plan might have been bold, but it was conceded by nearly all who discussed it, that such 8 course if taken by the republicans would put them as much in the wrong as the democratic senate would be, if it should refuse to correct errors affecting the gov ernorship. Because such rumors were dis
 cussed in the community, on the 3d of De-
 cember, 1890, the Palladium announced
 editorially that the republicans believed in
 Merwin ought to be elected, after the re- turns had been properly investigated, they did not propose to use the minor offices as
 club to force the democratic senate to in-
 vestigate. The Palladium said in that arti- cle: ''If it shall appear that any or all of them (the democratic candidates for the
 minor of6ces) have been honestly elected, there is no republican intention to attempt a smart game of endurance with the demo- crats. This is the republican position as the Palladium understands it and as set forth by some of the most trustworthy men in the party. General Merwin is not
 turing other men to enhance his own inter-
 ests; nor do his republican friends and
 supporters believe in such campaign of
 unreasonable and uni ust resistance. It is
 not the Connecticut temper"
 A few days after the publication of that
 editorial there was gathering in neigh
 boring city of several of the leading re-
 publicans of the state, and General Mer-
 win among them. The subject was dis
 cussed at that time, and with two excep-
 tions no one who was present advised or # 41o
 cratic candidates for lieutenant governor,
 etc., out of office beyond such 8 time as
 was necessary for the usual examination of the returns; and this notwstandfng any course that might be taken by the demo- crats in relation to the governorship. General Merwin was present and expres sed himself in approval of the position taken by the Palladium in the editorial of De- | cember 3. No republican newspaper dis | sented from the Palladium's advice, and no Republican leader disagreed publicly, if at all, with the opinions of General Merwin as expressed. From that time I never heard the impolitic plan ! urged by any one until the evening of Jan 1 uary 7, 1891. At that time you came to l my rooms at the Allyn house with several friends. The several gentlemen had gath cred there for the purpose of determining what course should be taken by the repub- licans in the house, after the action which the democratic senate had taken that after noon, in declaring the democratic candi- dates, including Judge Morris, elected. The senate had refused to appoint a joint committee on canvass of votes. Several members of the house were present, to- gether with some of the gentlemen who acted as counsel for the republicans. I was requested to prepare proper form of resolutions raising house select com mittee on the canvass of votes, and giving such committee power to ex- anime the returns for state officers. While I was preparing the draft, some one in the room suggested that if the senate should persist in the action it had taken, it would be well for this committee to refuse to make any declaration in rela- tion to the election of minor state officials until the senate had backed down from it's position on the governorship. I immedi- ately stated that I should consider such 8 course very unfair, very unwise and very bad politics, if not almost dishonesty it. self, and that if such @ course were taken did not wish to have anything more to do with any council on the subject, and should ask to be excused from having any thing more to do with the preparation of any papers. You sat in the room and looked at me, and bowed and expressed your OoclueU dpprOVdl OI Iuo souGluoutS l had expressed. Others who were present agreed with us, and prominent gentle man who had acted as counsel stated that he did not believe it would be necessary to
 take such a position as that. The next
 day the resolutions which had been pre-
 pared in my rooms were passed, and
 house select committee was appointed to
 investigate the returns for state officers
 and to report to the house. The members
 of that committee were Messrs. Greene,
 Judson, Futile, Buell. and yourself, as re-
 publicans, and three democrats. After
 your appointment upon that committee the
 house adjourned from that day, January 8,
 to January 20. I did not appear before
 your committee at any time, and I had no
 knowledge of what was being done, except
 as I was informed by the newspapers.
 That committee completed the taking of
 testimony before January 21. On that day,
 being the day when the joint assembly
 was held for the election of United States
 senator, went to Hartford. After the adjournment of the house you met me with two or three others at the foot of the steps leading from the speakers desk, and requested me to go to the Allyn house and meet yourself and the other republican members of the committee on elections, for the purpose of discussing the kind of report that you should make upon the evidence which you had taken. You ex-
 pressly stated that you objected to doing what you had been urged by some gentle