Year: 1879

most omen voting fraud personal violence
After recting the duties OF the Returning Board the
report goes on crticse the conduct of the Florida
Board threats of personal violence, IL states,
made against member of the Returning Board by
the democrats. and he was followed by armed men at
night to his house from sessions OF the canyassers.
dist gushed representative of the democratic
party endeavored to influence his action by tie
offer of money. In conclusion the minority de-
sire to say 'most emphatically among all the
of Tallahassee while the Board in session. in
the interest of the Tilden electors. including those
bearing gifts; among all the supporters OF the Tiden
electors in Florida in attendance including those who
thre tened assassination, with the aid of private de-
tectives who; in consultation with the majority
OF the committee, have been hunting for testimony
no has been found to testify to a fact bearing
members of the Board of State Canvassers OF
Florida" The attack on General Noyes is denounced
unwarraned, there being no evidence that he held
any questionable communication with any member
of the State Canvassers. As to the result OF the
the majority report. that the Canvassng Board could
only the county returns by aggregating the
nn s nse ha %
ity; following the rule laid down by the supreme
Court and they had 200 majority purgng the county
vice of the democratic Attorney General, and they
had 900 majority


With regard to Louisiana affairs the report devotes
most attention to the sherman letter. The majority
report it states, fails to say explicitly whether the
Anderson and Weber had testified to had been writ
ten. They, the minority, empha'cally declare that
it does not. and that the palpabe periures OF both
the witnesses named justify feeling of deep disgust
that they should be treated as capable of creating


who has borne high character in the most rcspon-
sible service of the country for five and twenty
years. The conduct of the visiting statesmen at New
Orleans is then considered and that OF Messrs Shcr
man, Garfield. Hale Kelley and others. whom it was
sought to impeach. was declared consistent and and
special attack seemed 10 have no original
Foundation but the testimony Of anderson. and
witnesses was shown i'll his effort to
assai Stanley Matthews. Tho minority thought the
whole committee should unite in reporting that the
whole foundation for the orgina! resolution so far
this part of the case is concerned, had been shown
to be false testimony. and the manufactured docu-
mcnts of a man totally unworthy of notice Before
the Returning Board were many aiidavits to
acts OF gross violence and intimidation mid in
assumed i'll their report that these afidavits were
falsely and frandulent'y % %made and that this
Visiting Committee. We find the testimony taken
before this committee rather sustains than i'm
peaches them. The report then reviews at some
length the testimony upon which this criticism is
based and from that goes on to discuss the making
of second set of election returns for Louisiana
The minority admit that two OF the electors were
absent and that their names were signed by other
parties and that this made the certificate spurious
but they claim that the spurious certificate and re-
turns were not considered, as the records OF the
Electoral Commission clearly show.


CONCLUSIONS


The last point the report touches upon is the
wormley conference, in regard to which it distinctly
denies the alleged .sbargan to seat Hayes altogether
The report concludes I'VE not aware that any
thing has been found more significant of wrong than
the notorious circular of the Democratic Campaign
Committee OF 1876, in which they advise the parade
Of the democratic clubs on horseback, and
their marching as organized bodies to
81 he the with Of es
united strength; the recommendation OF systematic
warning to the negroes that we have the means to
carry the election and to use them, and the
like. To ignore this, the majority have done,


forces to conclude that the time has not yet come
when q fair review of the aud just judg-
ment in regard thereto is possible. We report
that the new matter referred to does not i'm
plcate Mr.. Sherman or Mr.. Noyes in any improper
cipher dispatches have been confessed to be
systematic and deliberate efforts to corrupt the
Florida, South Carolina andsOregon by bribes offered
in the shape of great sums OF money. Whatever
arc our differences with the majority of the COM
mittee in other respects. we should most heartily re-
joce to find some methods by which all opportunity
for fraud or violence might be removed
from our elections. AS to Presidential cleo
tions the matter of choosing electors is by
the constitution exclusively committed to
State legislation that we method OF federal
interference. The proposition of the majority there
FORE that the election of electors should be PASSED
upon by the highest court OF each State Is impract
cable because federal legislation cannot deal with
the subject We can imagine that IT would have
been satisfactory to the of of the cipher
dispatches to have that court determine who were
the Presidential electors in South Carolina, but in
view Of this testimony. cannot join in the report
that of honest elections would necessarily
be furtherrd by such change The change needed
is in the spirit and temper OF the community, tho
cultivation of respect for law and right the recogni
ton by the strong OF the rights OF the weak, and
when progress is made in this direction we shall wit
equal progress toward purity at elections.
and not till then. We regret. therefore. that
the result of an investigation in which the
taking of testimony continued till the last day but
one of the Congress- and is stil incomplete must DC
House, great mass of evidence has accumulated
which neither be considered nor acted upon by
lie in the daily consideration Of It, upon which the
minority insisted is the only matter OF profit to any