Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1893-02-02
The HISTORY OF a FRAUD.
~. Haycs' THt1e to the Fresidency and
How Ie was Obtained.

IL. Hsycs' Tlt2e to the rrcstdency and
How Ie Was Obtained.
These are the words of Hon. William
NJ Evarts in referring to the great
crime By which Samuel j. Tiiden was
kept out of the Office of president of
the United States. and by which the
late Rutherford B. Hayes was seated:
1T Is all q matter of history, !" said Mr..
Esarts- You see, when one party
gets in the other is out So there must
be diversity of opinion"
II is all n matter of history. Death
wipes ont some scores. and softens per-
eonal Judgment But If death wiped
out all scores, if the disposition to say
only kind things of the departed were
allowed to overcome the tr nth. history
with its lessons and warnings could not
be written The accepted record of the
past would be one continuous. amiable
falsehood-
An otherwise creditable and honora-.
BILE life was blackened forever by the
acceptance of stolen ofice. There are
nov advanced two views Of the con-
duct of Mr.. Hayes ut the critical time
which tested the quality of his soul;
and both are false One Is the view of
the partisanship which devised the con-
spiracy to defeat the will of the people,
and pro6ted along with Mr.. Hayes by
the success Of that conspiracy. It is
fersely expressed by the leading re-
publican newspaper. mo other presi-
dent" says tie New York Tribune,
lever had 50 valid and incontestable a
title to the office Whatever may be
said of the struggle over returning
boards in the three contested states it
cannot be denied that by the concur
rent action of both houses of congress
and of the United States supreme court
his title to the presidency was passed
upon. sanctioned and guaranteed. The
supreme legislative council and the
court of last resort united in certifying
TO the validity of his election. and it
was morally impossible for him to act
otherwise than he did in taking his in
auguration oath" Those who hold
this view maintain that Mr.. Hayes was
honestly elected as president; that his
title. originally good, was strengthened
and confirmed by the eight to seven
votes OF the electoral commission; and
that in taking the Office Mr.. Hayes took
only what was his own.
The other theory regards Mr.. Hayes
as having possessed no better title to
the presidency than that which he de
rived from a tribunal of doubtful con-
stitutionality, but of practical neces-
sity in the emergency that arose from
the contested election. Many repub-
hcans and a few democrats are now
saying that although the frauds in
Louisiana and in Florida. and the
II
gave to Mr.. Hayes an Office that had
rightfully belonged to Mr.. Tilden, both
parties had virtually agreed to abide
by the decision Of the improvised court,
and Mr.. Hayes only did his duty in
standing by the verdict They acqmt
him of personal blame. He was inno-
cent, whoever may have been guilty.
In other words, according to this view
of the events of 1876 and 1877, Mr..
Hayes was morally right in taking and
occupying an Office that morally be-
longed to Mr.. Tilden, whom the people
had chosen.
Merely to state these propositions is
to exhibit their falsity. 1t is not our
purpose to thresh old straw anew, but
no occasion is more appropriate than
the present for reminding the people
that the late Rutherford b Hayes was
himself n party to the conspiracy by
which he profted and an active agent
in promoting the monumental crime
The proof of this is found in the mn
disputed fact that the corrupt agree
ments entered into while the success of
the conspiracy was still doubtful were
carried out to the letter by Mr.. Hayes,
as the beneficiary, after he had been
fraudulently seated in Mr.. Tiiden's
place. Others had made the bargain;
he paid.-N. Y. Sun.