The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-15

| fioi iua Sase. "A large number OF the
foremost lawyers of the American bar
argued pro and con for week.
By the deciding vote of Justice Brad
| ley, the fifteenth man, the commission re-
solved that the legality of the Florida
election would not be considered by IT.
No dispute in the case of Florida would
be considered after the commission had
determined that Governor Stearns, car
petbagger, had certified to the election
of Hayes electors. Evidence was Of
| fered that the one of the four Haves
electors certified by Governor Stearns
one Humphries was a salaried officer of
the treasury department of the United
| States on December 6, 1876 when he
voted as elector for Hayes, and was thus
| disqualified as an eector Evidence was
| offered that the circuit court of Florida
and the supreme court of that state had
| decreed that the Hayes ELECTORS nor any
one of them had been elected, chosen or
| appointed az such electors or elector y
but that the Trlden electors were duly
elected, chosen and appointed electors of
President and vice president of the
| United States
Commissioner Bradley objected to the
Introduction of the DEGREES of the state
court of Florida as evidence. He said
| The validity of the first certificate
| tStearn's) cannot be controverted by evil
dence of the proceedings held in the
courts of Florida by quo warrante. >
| Commissioner Clifford the presiding Off
| Ger, said in reply Neither the public
or the citizens having power to defeat
the Vaccinations of fraud, perjury and
| forgery II the measures adopted for that
| purpose III this case are held to be in
effectual and insufficient" Clifford ex-
planned that the proceedings in the state
| courts were begun before December e,
when the electors were required to vote
at the state capitol. In a word the demo-
Gratis had been prompt and had pursued
their purpose vigorously and without
| fault. 5
| Senator Edmunds from Vermont. a
! very able lawyer, and one of the five
commissioners on the part of the Senate,
was elected to draw up the report of
the commission on the first case before
! 1t, that of Florida. This report substan-
! tantially closed the work of the commits
| sion. 1t announced that the commission
| would accept the electors certified to
| by the governors of the several states
| involved in the contest that the COM
mission would not ''go into evidence
aliundo on the papers opened by the
president of the Senate in the presence
persons than those regularly certified
to by the governor of the state of Flor
| ida We're chosen electors.
This ruling closed the work of the
commission as to the settlement of any
dispute in the state of Florida, Louisiana
and South Carolina. The returning
boards in the states were left unchal-
lenged in their work; the carpetbag gov
ernors were yindicated in their certifi-
Gates. that sought to reverse the edict
of the polls.
On February 10 the president of the
commission sent formal notice to the
two houses of congress that the Florida
case had been determined. Immediately
the two houses met to resume the count
and Florida went, by rape, into the
Hayes column.
The alphabetical rule was resumed for
calling the state. Louisiana thus reached
again objectors appeared, many of them
They alleged fraud ON the part of the
state returning board, by which some
10000 majority given by precincts for
Tilden and Hendricks electors was
changed to a majority for Hayes and
Wheeler electors.
Evidence was offered to the effect that
one of the electors claimed for Hayes
Morris Marks by name. was at the time
of his alleged election United States dis
trict attorney. and had never resigned.
Another elector from Louisiana claimed
for Hayes was Henri Burch. who held
ever since, three high state offices, with
salaries. to which Governor Kellogg had
appointed him. Both Marks and Burch
were ineligible as presidential electors
The case of Louisiana was put to vote
and the commission again decided that
the certificate of Governor Kellogg
closed the dispute. No evidence of lille
gality of election of Hayes electors could
discredt the governors certificate.
The joint convention reconvened, the
finding in the Louisiana case was ac-
cepted by both houses. and that state,
by rape most fragrant fell into the
Hayes column
Objection made TO Michigan re-
turns and to returns of other states, but
were mot pressed.
The returns from oregon We're opened.
Two sets were found. Both We're re-
ferred to the commission. The commis-
sion found one of the two certified to
by the governor, democrat, and the
other by the secretary of state. The
governors certificate was now disallowed
and the finding made in favor OF the set
certified by the secretary of state.
1t appeared that the Hayes electors
had been chosen, but one of the three
was past master and therefore ineli-
gible. The democratic governor refused
certificate to him, but issued one to
the Tilden eector who had received the
master resigned and was appointed and
certified by the senators of the state.
South Carolina was reached in the
county by the joint convention. Contest
ing electors appeared and that case, the
last in order. came before the commission
Evidence was offered that the election
was a farce; that United States troops
in all parts of the states dominated the
polls; that the state supreme courts
three justices, all republicans, had de-
cided the democrats won the day.
The original ruling in the Florida case,
not to go behind the governors certifi-
cate, was now restored after. the rever-
sal of it in the Oregon case. South Caro-
lima, by rape, fell into the Hayes col
umn. 7-rF .tt s.. f-st 4assa,
1t was now 4:05 o'clock in the morning
of March 2, two days before Inaugural
ton day. The joint convention of the
two houses of congress at this hour an
nounced the result of the election as
determined by the electoral commission
The commission by the deciding vote of
Justice Bradley in each case gave the
contested votes of Florida, Louisiana and
South Carolina. one by one, to Hayes
because the carpetbagger governor of
each state had certified to the Hayes
electors. The commission by the deciding
vote of Justice Bradley, refused to accept
the certificate of the democratic eoyer-
nor of Oregon to the electors from that
state because one of the three was a
democrat.
The vote as announced by the Joint
convention, stood for Hayes 1856, for TIL
den 1884,