A 
 
 POLITICAL CRIME 
 
 THE 
 
 HISTORY OF THE GREAT FRAUD 
 
 BY 
 
 A. M. GIBSON 
 
 "The refuge of lies shall be swept away, and the hiding-place 
 of falsehood shall be uncovered." ./. S. Black, to the Electoral 
 Commission Feb. 27, 1877. 
 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 WILLIAM S GOTTSBERGER, PUBLISHER 
 
 II MURRAY STREET 
 
 1885 
 
COPYRIGHT BY 
 
 WILLIAM S. GOTTSBERGER 
 
 1885 
 
 S. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE election of Tilden. and Hendricks by the people: Sectional 
 prejudices and class interests: The crime of the nineteenth century 
 Admitted by republicans: The patriotism of Mr. Tilden: His prefer 
 ence for private life: The great labors he had performed in the service 
 of the State: The irreparable loss to the people of the United States: 
 The foolhardy attempt to maintain alien governments m the Southern 
 States - their overthrow hailed with joy by all good people, .pp. 1-9- 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE preparation for the great fraud begun in 1873-74: The 
 effect of the Black Friday, San Domingo, French Arms, and Cre"di 
 Mobilier inquiries: The public conscience awakened: The 
 bill defeated : A new scheme devised to perpetuate the rule of ambitious 
 men : The third-term programme : The twenty-second joint rule and 
 Morton s Electoral-count bill : Grant believed Mr. Tilden was elected : 
 The Electoral-commission bill a revamping of the Federal device of 
 1800- The inconsistencies of the rulings of the Electoral commission 
 pointed out -one ruling for Florida, another for Louisiana, ^^ 
 another for Oregon PP 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE conspiracy hatched: The preliminary preparations by W. E. 
 Chandler: The emissaries from the departments at Washington: 
 Hayes admitted his defeat after Zach. Chandler claimed his election: 
 The situation in Florida: The canvassing board without judicial 
 powers The talk with President Grant over Jay Gould s private wire : 
 The orders issued to the military: Grant s dispatches analyzed : The 
 Republican visiting statesmen disregarded the President s instructions : 
 They prevented a fair count of the votes actually cast pp. 49^3 
 
II CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 W. E. CHANDLER reaches Florida and reports the situation to 
 Hayes : He calls for men who can speak authoratively for Hayes : Tele 
 grams to Zach. Chandler calling for men and money : The efforts of 
 Chandler to show a majority for Hayes on the face of the county 
 returns : The fraud by which this was accomplished : The two Baker 
 county returns: The disadvantage the democrats labored under: 
 What the cipher dispatches between the conspirators disclose: The 
 carpet-bag rogues afraid of treachery: What Chandler wanted with 
 Mathews : The work Noyes did pp. 64-79. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE canvass of the county returns : Chandler outwitted the Demo 
 cratic visitors : The Baker county return again: Hamilton, Jackson, 
 Manatee, and Monroe counties : The votes therefrom unjustly ex 
 cluded by the State canvassers : The Republican frauds in Alachua 
 county: The confession of Dennis: The disgraceful conduct of ex- 
 Governor Noyes : The frauds in Leon and Jefferson counties : The 
 confessions of Bowes and Bell: The plans of Chandler nearly de 
 feated by Barlow : The conduct of Barlow considered : Cowgill s 
 scruples overcome pp. 80-97 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE supreme court decided that the county returns must be ac 
 cepted by the state canvassers : The mandate of the court obeyed as to 
 the state ticket : The trick by which the returns for electors were made 
 to show a majority for Hayes : The Baker county return twice re 
 jected accepted by the canvassers : McLin and Dennis tell on the 
 visiting statesmen : Noyes, the particular friend of Hayes : The prom 
 ises he made : The rewards McLin and Dennis received : Hayes per 
 sonal endorsement of Dennis : How the subordinate rogues were paid 
 for their services : The price of visiting statesmen .pp. 98-113. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PREPARATION for frauds: The state census of 1875 the basis of 
 fraudulent registration: Republican managers determined to prevent a 
 fair election: The bad characters who were selected for supervisors of 
 
CONTENTS. Ill 
 
 registration: The registration frauds in New Orleans and in the par 
 ishes demonstrated by official statistics : Depriving democrats of the 
 right to vote: Registration of negroes facilitated: The election was fair, 
 free, and peaceable: The proof of this conclusive: The election law 
 analyzed: What was required in reporting intimidation or violence: 
 Laws conferring such great power on returning officers must be strictly 
 construed PP- "4-134- 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 A GAIN of 2500 votes in New Orleans by means of registration 
 frauds made the republicans hopeful of the state: Provision made be 
 forehand for the Returning Board villainy: The Republican visiting 
 statesmen: How they prated about the forms of law and encouraged 
 their violation: The monument they left behind: The manufacture of 
 affidavits in the custom house: The modus operandi: The supervisors 
 of registration did not make their returns according to law: They 
 brought them to New Orleans to be doctored: Evidence of intimida 
 tion had to be supplied by means of perjury and forgery: The part 
 played by visiting statesmen: The Sherman letter: The evidence con 
 cerning it: The use made of the New Orleans Post-office: The mails 
 tampered with: What was done in the postmaster s private office: 
 A statement by one of the principal actors: Falsification of re 
 cords PP- 135-153. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE Returning Board not in a hurry to begin canvassing: Why 
 the vacancy in the Board was not filled: The characters of Wells, An 
 derson, and the two mulattoes: Time consumed to allow the affidavit 
 mill to begin grinding: The farce of inviting northern democrats to 
 witness the opening of returns: The tampering with returns: Stough- 
 ton s clerical error: Returns held back to be falsified: The Eliza Pmk- 
 ston case examined: A set-up job: Her story gotten up for the occa 
 sion: It was rehearsed in the custom house: The character of 
 Pinkston: She offered to retract and expose those who had used her : 
 She was unworthy of belief: Three efforts to count out the Tilden elec 
 tors before the work was done: How Kellogg improved affidavits: 
 Testimony of Kelley, supervisor of Richland parish: The counting-out 
 finally accomplished PP- 54-1 72- 
 
IV CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE counting-in finished and same day the Hayes electors met 
 and voted : They did not comply with the Constitution and the laws 
 of the United States : Tom. Anderson carried the defective return of 
 electoral votes to Washington: The President of the Senate 
 pointed out the failure to comply with the law : Anderson opened the 
 package and discovered defect in certificate : What passed between 
 Anderson and the President of the Senate : A conspiracy to suppress 
 the defective returns and manufacture new ones : How this was 
 done : The persons who conspired : The forgery of the signatures of 
 Levissee and Joffroin, two absent electors : Those who knew of the 
 forgery : Kellogg warned Senator Morton : Why he gave the warn 
 ing: The testimony of Anderson, Clark, Kellogg, Sheldon, Kelley, 
 reviewed and analyzed : The way Kellogg took care of Kelley : The 
 Smith bogus return : Proceedin gin joint convention : The way Morton 
 managed the Electoral commission: A chapter of crimes.. .pp. 173-197. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 How the Republican visiting statesmen disobeyed General 
 Grant s instructions : How they prostituted themselves : Preaching 
 rigid adherence to "forms of law" they encouraged disregard of the 
 same : John Sherman made Secretary of the Treasury and Almoner of 
 the fraudulent administration : His pet bank in New York : Stanley 
 Mathews, his services and reward therefor: James A. Garfield, his 
 work and reward : William M. Evarts, what he did and how he was 
 paid : E. W. Stoughton, author of the infamous report to the President, 
 made Minister to Russia : John M. Harlan made Justice of the Su 
 preme Court of the United States for helping to get rid of Packard: 
 Joseph R. Hawley sent on a pleasure trip to Paris: John Coburn 
 also paid: Eugene Hale and William D. Kelley rewarded with 
 " patronage." > pp. 198-213. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE character Gen. Sheridan gave \Vells : "A political trickster 
 and dishonest man": Well s anxiety to be bought : The messages he 
 sent to the republicans in Washington by a government agent: His 
 letter to Senator West: "There s millions in it:" The government 
 
CONTENTS. V 
 
 agent s interview with Don. Cameron : The electoral votes of Louisiana 
 offered to the democrats for $1,000,000: The proposal indignantly 
 spurned: The arrangement made with the visiting statesmen : The 
 money Kellogg raised for some purpose : How the visiting states 
 men stood by the members of the Returning Board : The disgraceful 
 telegram to Tom. Anderson: The history of the trade by which 
 Hayes was finally counted in: New and interesting facts concerning 
 the filibustering in the House of Representatives: The Wormley 
 Hotel conference: The trial and conviction of Tom Anderson for 
 forgery 214-247. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 WILLIAM Pitt Kellogg s interest in the result of the Returning 
 Board s work: His character delineated: He assisted in the alteration 
 of the affidavit of Supervisor Kelley : His part in the forgery of an 
 ante-dated set of electoral certificates : His knowledge of the forging 
 of the names of Levissee and Joffroin, two absent electors, to the 
 electoral certificates: Kellogg took into his confidence William M. 
 Evarts, E. W. Stoughton, Zach. Chandler, and Senator Morton : The 
 knowledge of the forgery must have been known to the other so-called 
 Republican electors: Kellogg s negro messenger threatened to "peach" 
 and was taken care of by Kellogg : Kellogg had to buy his seat of the 
 Returning Board Legislature: He filled the New Orleans custom 
 house with the rascals in order to get them to retract affidavits : How 
 Kellogg was saved from indictment and conviction for bribery while a 
 senator by George Bliss : How the Hayes electors were rewarded : 
 Packard got " consideration and position. " pp. 248-268. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE rewarding of the registration officers : Hahn and McArdle 
 were taken care of: George L. Smith s services and pay therefor: 
 Lewis, Badger, and McMillan get their "sops": The character of 
 Jack Wharton : His evidence as to the corruptibility of J. Madison 
 Wells : His mouth sealed by the U. S. marshalship : Hugh J. Camp 
 bell s services and reward : H. Conquest Clark, Kellogg s private 
 secretary: His share in the forging of electoral certificates: Still a 
 pensioner of the government : Thomas S. Kelley, Kellogg s negro 
 messenger, still a clerk in the second auditor s office of the Treasury 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 department : Hardy and Smith paid for their rascality :^ C. L. Fer 
 guson, his services and reward pp. 269-282. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE services and reward of "a roper-in " for a snake show: 
 The difficulty Kellogg had in getting an affidavit from M. J. Grady: 
 Grady s. services and reward: James E. Scott, supervisor of Claiborne, 
 had to be "induced" to make an affidavit: James E. Anderson and 
 the trouble he gave carpet-baggers and visiting statesmen : How he 
 was feared by Sherman, Evarts, Stanley Mathews, and Hayes : A 
 long list of minor rogues Moore, Kempton, Maloney, Leon, Rowan, 
 Underwood, Creagh, Brim Loan, Howard, and Swazey, their services 
 and the rewards they received : Thomas S. Kelley, the hold he had 
 upon Kellogg : How he has been cared for : The two Dinkgraves, 
 Norton, Dumont, Chapman, Sheradin, Twitchell, Delacey, Souer, 
 Dickerson, Brown, Milon, de Joie, Jones, and Johnson what they 
 did and what they got pp. 283-297. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. \ 
 
 THE Roll of American dishonor : The centennial era of the Re 
 public disgraced : The apology of the instigators and promoters of 
 the Great Fraud analyzed : The facts which have been proved against 
 "the visiting statesmen:" The Florida case: The Louisiana case: 
 A shameful story : The dishonesty of the defense put forward by 
 "the visiting statesmen :" Their names linked for all time to those of 
 the Louisiana and Florida rogues: Retributive justice: How all the 
 chief beneficiaries of the Great Fraud feared exposure: Mathews and 
 Jim. Anderson: General Grant knew the Louisiana rogues and was 
 prepared to believe them capable of any villainy pp . 298-309. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 REVIEW of Louisiana carpet-bag politics ; Lincoln s plan of recon 
 struction: The first provisional government: The illegal attempt to 
 amend the constitution of 1864: The New Orleans riot and massacre 
 the result of incendiary appeals to the negroes: Gen. Hancock s benef 
 icent rule: The election of Warmoth and the enactment of registra 
 tion and election laws : The character and purpose of these laws : Anal- 
 
CONTENTS. VII 
 
 ysis of the laws: Senator Edmunds pronounces the election law in 
 conflict with the State constitution: The character of Warmoth: He 
 delineates the characters of his opponents: Universal corruption: The 
 Custom House party: The attempt to impeach Warmoth: The use of 
 the troops: The Carter- Warmoth war pp. 3 IQ -335- 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE quarrel of Warmoth with the Federal administration: The 
 people s party: The election of 1872: The investigation by the Senate 
 committee of privileges and elections: The Returning Board embrog- 
 lio: The infamous conduct of the Federal judge, E. H. Durell: The 
 scathing report of the majority of the Senate committee: The usurpa 
 tion of Kellogg sustained by Federal troops: The conduct of Attorney- 
 general Williams: Warmoth turned out: The people do not recognize 
 Kellogg s government : The September revolution : The election of 
 1874: The verdict of the people again set aside: The conduct of the 
 Returning Board denounced by a Republican congressional com 
 mittee: The interference of the military: The speech of Mr. Evarts: 
 The Federal administration denounced pp. 336-354- 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 OPINIONS of George W. Childs, Hamilton Fish, Jesse Seligman, 
 Chauncey Depew, Ex-Secretary Robeson, John A. Logan, New York 
 Tribune, Albany Evening Journal, New York Evening Post, Rev. 
 James S. Chadwick, Surgeon-General Gunnell, Ex-Governor Bedle, 
 George C. Bates, as to the influence exerted over General Grant by 
 unscrupulous and unworthy friends pp. 355^359- 
 
 FAC-SIMILE of card from General Grant to Mr. Maddox. ..p. 360. 
 
 STATEMENT of D. J. M. A. Jewett, containing analysis of Louis 
 iana registration and election laws, and facts known to him about the 
 illegal action of the Louisiana Returning Board in the cases of De 
 Soto, Bossier, Webster, Morehouse, Ouachita, East Baton Rouge, 
 East Feliciana, Richland, Second Ward, Orleans, Lafourche, and 
 Claiborne Parishes, and about Visiting Statesmen pp. 361-373. 
 
 INDEX pp. 375-402. 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 department : Hardy and Smith paid for their rascality :-v C. L. Fer 
 guson, his services and reward pp. 269-282. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE services and reward of "a roper-in " for a snake show : 
 The difficulty Kellogg had in getting an affidavit from M. J. Grady: 
 Grady s. services and reward: James E. Scott, supervisor of Claiborne, 
 had to be "induced" to make an affidavit: James E. Anderson and 
 the trouble he gave carpet-baggers and visiting statesmen : How he 
 was feared by Sherman, Evarts, Stanley Mathews, and Hayes : A 
 long list of minor rogues Moore, Kempton, Maloney, Leon, Rowan, 
 Underwood, Creagh, Brim Loan, Howard, and Swazey, their services 
 and the rewards they received : Thomas S. Kelley, the hold he had 
 upon Kellogg: How he has been cared for: The two Dinkgraves, 
 Norton, Dumont, Chapman, Sheradin, Twitchell, Delacey, Souer, 
 Dickerson, Brown, Milon, de Joie, Jones, and Johnson what they 
 did and what they got pp. 283-297. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. \ < 
 
 THE Roll of American dishonor : The centennial era of the Re 
 public disgraced : The apology of the instigators and promoters of 
 the Great Fraud analyzed : The facts which have been proved against 
 "the visiting statesmen:" The Florida case: The Louisiana^case: 
 A shameful story : The dishonesty of the defense put forward by 
 "the visiting statesmen :" Their names linked for all time to those of 
 the Louisiana and Florida rogues: Retributive justice: How all the 
 chief beneficiaries of the Great Fraud feared exposure: Mathews and 
 Jim. Anderson : General Grant knew the Louisiana rogues and was 
 prepared to believe them capable of any villainy pp . 298-309. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 REVIEW of Louisiana carpet-bag politics ; Lincoln s plan of recon 
 struction: The first provisional government: The illegal attempt to 
 amend the constitution of 1864: The New Orleans riot and massacre 
 the result of incendiary appeals to the negroes: Gen. Hancock s benef- 
 cent rule: The election of Warmoth and the enactment of registra 
 tion and election laws: The character and purpose of these laws- Anal- 
 
CONTENTS. VII 
 
 ysis of the laws: Senator Edmunds pronounces the election law in 
 conflict with the State constitution: The character of Warmoth: He 
 delineates the characters of his opponents: Universal corruption: The 
 Custom House party: The attempt to impeach Warmoth: The use of 
 the troops: The Carter- Warmoth war pp. 310-335. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE quarrel of Warmoth with the Federal administration: The 
 people s party: The election of 1872: The investigation by the Senate 
 committee of privileges and elections: The Returning Board embrog- 
 lio: The infamous conduct of the Federal judge, E. H. Durell: The 
 scathing report of the majority of the Senate committee: The usurpa 
 tion of Kellogg sustained by Federal troops: The conduct of Attorney- 
 general Williams: Warmoth turned out: The people do not recognize 
 Kellogg s government : The September revolution : The election of 
 1874: The verdict of the people again set aside: The conduct of the 
 Returning Board denounced by a Republican congressional com 
 mittee: The interference of the military: The speech of Mr. Evarts: 
 The Federal administration denounced pp. 336-354- 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 OPINIONS of George W. Childs, Hamilton Fish, Jesse Seligman, 
 Chauncey Depew, Ex-Secretary Robeson, John A. Logan, New York 
 Tribune^ Albany Evening Journal, New York Evening Post, Rev. 
 James S. Chadwick, Surgeon-General Gunnell, Ex-Governor Bedle, 
 George C. Bates, as to the influence exerted over General Grant by 
 unscrupulous and unworthy friends pp. 355~359- 
 
 FAC-SIMILE of card from General Grant to Mr. Maddox. ..p. 360. 
 
 STATEMENT of D. J. M. A. Jewett, containing analysis of Louis 
 iana registration and election laws, and facts known to him about the 
 illegal action of the Louisiana Returning Board in the cases of De 
 Soto, Bossier, Webster, Morehouse, Ouachita, East Baton Rouge, 
 East Feliciana, Richland, Second Ward, Orleans, Lafourche, and 
 Claiborne Parishes, and about Visiting Statesmen pp. 361-373. 
 
 INDEX pp. 375-402. 
 
A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The election of Tilden and Hendricks by the people : Sectional prej 
 udices and class interests : The crime of the nineteenth century 
 admitted by republicans : The patriotism of Mr. Tilden : His 
 preference for private life: The great labors he had performed 
 in the service of the State : The irreparable loss to the people of 
 the United States : The foolhardy attempt to maintain alien govern 
 ments in the Southern States their overthrow hailed with joy by 
 all good people. 
 
 ON Tuesday, November yth, 1876, the people of the 
 United States, by their suffrages, selected for President 
 and Vice-President, Samuel J. Tilden and Thomas A. 
 Hendricks, and were deprived of their choice by illegal 
 methods, bolstered by frauds, perjuries, and forgeries. 
 
 Sectional prejudices, engendered by years of violent 
 political agitation, and intensified by civil war, the excite 
 ment of a fiercely contested presidential campaign, and vast 
 and widely ramifying financial interests, warped the judg 
 ment of many good men and constrained them then to 
 countenance and acquiesce in the acts of politicians bent on 
 self-aggrandizement, intent upon the gratification of their 
 ambition, and determined, at all hazards, to perpetuate their 
 power. Calm reflection, sober reasoning, deliberate con 
 sideration in the midst of the wild excitement of that hour 
 was, perhaps, more than ought to have been expected. 
 
2 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 The surprising thing is that within less than a decade an 
 almost complete revulsion in the opinion of the minority 
 should have taken place. 
 
 Those who actually participated in the conspiracy to 
 nullify the will of the people, of course, attempt to justify 
 their conduct, but it is indeed seldom that any others appear 
 as the defenders or apologists of the extraordinary means em 
 ployed to accomplish that crime. This well-nigh universal 
 change in the sentiments of republicans has been naturally 
 evolved, and is another and striking proof of the deep- 
 seated and inherent sense of justice and right which char 
 acterizes the American people. It would have been passing 
 strange if this change had not occurred. It would have 
 been cause for wonderment if a people jealous of their 
 liberties, devoted to the principles of constitutional govern 
 ment, reverently believing in the sacred right of local self- 
 government, and treasuring up the glorious traditions of 
 their ancestors had not risen above party prejudices and 
 made manifest their disapproval of the crime of the nine 
 teenth century. 
 
 What a monstrous crime it was ! And what dire disas 
 ters and innumerable woes it would inevitably have led to, 
 if the man who represented the cause of liberty and law, 
 justice and right had not been a true patriot, a great states 
 man, a wise political philosopher ! Humanity would have 
 had cause to mourn had not Samuel J. Tilden possessed a 
 well-poised, evenly-balanced, serene mind; and had not 
 those he represented been consistent and staunch friends of 
 law and order. Had he been an aspiring demagogue, a 
 selfishly-ambitious politician, instead of a broad-minded, 
 far-seeing leader of men, civil war, in all human probability 
 could not have been averted. But he possessed that rare 
 quality of looking beyond the present turmoil and divining 
 
MR. TILDEN S ADVICE. 3 
 
 the evolutions of the public conscience. He reposed im 
 plicit confidence in the people. Had his advice been 
 heeded by those who aspired to the leadership of their 
 party in Congress there would have been no resort to an 
 extra constitutional tribunal to decide the electoral dispute. 
 He would have had the House of Representatives plant 
 itself firmly on its constitutional rights and calmly awaited 
 the result. The position would have been impregnable. 
 Desperate as were the men, who were seeking to set aside 
 the constitutionally-expressed will of the people, they 
 would not have dared to assume the fearful responsibility of 
 unsettling the foundations of the government. The timid 
 Democratic leaders in Congress, disregarded Mr. Tilden s 
 advice, and accepted the arbitrament of a tribunal so con 
 stituted as to leave to the determination by chance the 
 deciding vote. 
 
 How dignified, manly, and self-respecting, was the bear 
 ing and conduct of Mr. Tilden during the eventful months 
 intervening between the ;th of November, 1876, and the 
 4th of March, 1877 ! Personally it was not a deprivation 
 to lose the presidency. Predisposed to the life of a student, 
 weary of the strife of the forum, possessing ample for 
 tune, caring not for the pomp and circumstance of official 
 life, Mr. Tilden, at sixty-three years of age, with health en 
 feebled by unremitting attention to his clients, private, and 
 public, and by unselfish labor in the cause of Democratic 
 institutions and good government, would have greatly pre 
 ferred the unalloyed pleasure of private life, the communion 
 with books, the recreation of travel, and the society of con 
 genial friends, to the vast, the more than herculean, labor of 
 " working out a reform of systems and policies," and extir 
 pating "the cancerous growths of false constructions and cor 
 rupt practices " during " years of continuous mal-administra- 
 
4 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 tion, under the demoralizing influence of intestine war, and 
 of bad finance." He would not have been content with 
 "gliding through an official routine." He had "never ac 
 cepted official service except for a brief period, for a special 
 service, and only when the occasion seemed to require . . . 
 that sacrifice of private preferences to the public welfare." 
 For forty years, without thought of an official career, he 
 had " devoted at least as much thought and effort to the 
 duty of influencing aright the action of the governmental 
 institutions " of his " country, as to all other objects." He 
 had acted upon the belief " that there is no instrumentality 
 in human society so potential in its influence upon man 
 kind for good or evil, as the governmental machinery for 
 administering justice, and for making and executing laws. 
 Not all the eleemosynary institutions of private benevolence 
 to which philanthropists may devote their lives, are so 
 fruitful in benefits, as the rescue and preservation of this 
 machinery from the perversions that make it the instrument 
 of conspiracy, fraud, and crime, against the most sacred 
 rights and interests of the people."* 
 
 Animated by no selfish considerations he began the war 
 fare against official plunderers who held the city and state 
 of New York in their iron grasp. The labor he performed 
 in breaking to pieces the Tweed ring was enough to have 
 broken the health of a physically stronger man. Following 
 this came the administration of the affairs of the state and 
 the overthrow of the Canal ring. This latter corrupt com 
 bination was the complement of the former. Together 
 they dominated the politics of the state and exacted tribute 
 from the commonwealth and its great commercial metrop 
 olis. Their combined power to control parties, to dictate 
 
 * Mr. Tilden s letter to Chairman N. Y. Dem. State Com. Tune 10 
 1884. 
 
A TITANIC STRUGGLE. 5 
 
 nominations, to influence legislation, and sway the adminis 
 tration of justice, was no secret. In their plenitude of 
 power they truthfully boasted of their ability to make or 
 mar the political fortunes of men. They contemptuously 
 snapped their fingers at their unorganized victims, and, with 
 the insolence of robber barons of old, sneeringly asked, 
 "what are you going to do about it?" 
 
 The answer in due time was made by Samuel J. Tilden. 
 It was a titanic struggle. The thieves had millions stolen 
 from the people. They were entrenched at every point. 
 They had made governors. They owned legislatures and 
 courts. The people had to be organized. The control of 
 party machinery had to be wrenched from the hands of the 
 robbers and their allies. The municipal government had 
 to be rescued from the spoilers and the state redeemed. 
 The moving spirit, the controlling mind, the master hand, 
 throughout the long and arduous contest for the supremacy 
 of right, the vindication of justice, was that of Mr. Tilden.^ 
 The services Mr. Tilden rendered the great metropolis 
 and his native State in uprooting, prosecuting, and bringing 
 to punishment the Tweed ring of the city, and the Canal ring 
 of the state, of New York made him the most conspicuous re 
 former of his time. It is one thing to theorize and quite an 
 other to perform. His reforms were accomplished in the face 
 of formidable organized opposition. The degree of acumen, 
 the power of analysis, the intellectual force, and the skill of 
 organization and concentration required in these great under 
 takings have rarely if ever been found united in one man. 
 It would have been strange if these remarkable qualifications 
 and really wonderful performances had not made Mr. Tilden 
 the candidate of the people in 1876. Public sentiment de 
 manded the redemption and reformation of the Federal gov 
 ernment. The people wanted an executive who had the 
 
6 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 capacity, the moral courage, the experience, and the per 
 sistent determination to restore the administration of the 
 government to its pristine purity and simplicity. 
 
 Had Mr. Tilden been installed as President of the 
 United States, corruption in high places would have ceased, 
 the public service would have been reformed, the moral 
 standards of the people would have been elevated, the 
 overgrown civil list would have been pruned of its excres 
 cences, and an effete accounting system adapted to the needs 
 of the government of an infant republic, but soon thereafter 
 abandoned by the mother country whence it was derived, 
 and which long since ceased to be a check on dishonest 
 officials, would have been replaced by one simple and ef 
 ficient. The great work which he would have accomplished 
 this generation will not see performed. A man of his men 
 tal equipment, of his vast and varied experience, of his 
 genius to originate and capacity to execute, of his grasp of 
 details, of his analytical methods, is rarely found. 
 
 The men who conspired to defeat the will of the people 
 in 1876 knew what they were about. They knew that if 
 Mr. Tilden became President of the United States the in 
 vestigations which would follow would be directed by one 
 who was indefatigable, relentless, and perfect master of the 
 art. They knew what the result would be and the effect it 
 would produce on the public mind. Eternal dishonor 
 would have been the portion of many, and permanent re 
 tirement to private life the inevitable lot of a still greater 
 number. ^ The Credit Mobilier exposure, and the half 
 hearted inquiry by a partisan committee which followed, 
 had brought in a Democratic House of Representatives. 
 The inquiries that body instituted, though unskilfully con 
 ducted, and balked at every turn by executive power, 
 resulted in the impeachment of one cabinet officer and the 
 
CLASS INTERESTS. 
 
 disgrace of two others* The public indignation thereby 
 a oused was but a foretaste of the storm of popular rage 
 "hich would have ensued if the all-pervading rottenness and 
 corruption, the almost inevitable result of the long continu 
 ance of one party in power, had been completely laid bare. 
 cL interests dreaded a change. The reformation of 
 abuses and the administration of governmental affairs , for 
 h Tbenent of the whole people, would - unsettle valuesj by 
 iisturbing "vested rights" in official jobbery. Combina 
 tions to deplete the public treasury by means of star-route 
 *ai frauds and naval contracts did not want the exiting 
 conditions disturbed and past transactions **** 
 They were ready to unite with "syndicates," and the rep e- 
 Ltltives of southern carpet-bag governments, to de yt he 
 will of the people, and prevent the installation of the m 
 they had selected for chief magistrate. The power of these 
 organized influences can scarcely be over-estimated. But 
 Z would have been as chaff before the wind if the exist- 
 !!; /administration had been responsive to public sentin.n 
 instead of their creature and *P^ Mab \^ y - JJ 
 false counts in Florida and Louisiana were possible only by 
 the countenance and under the protection of the 
 
 o-overnment. ,. , , 
 
 The desperate means, necessary to accomplish t 
 gigantic frauds by which the people of those states were 
 d franchised, and their verdict at the ballot-box reversed 
 would not have been resorted to without the sancUon of 
 the chief executive of the nation. What bold 
 constitutional power, what utter contempt of pubhc sen 
 ment it required to sanction such proceedings 
 
 As the war passions and prejudices had died away the 
 disappearance of alien governments in Virginia, Kentu 
 
 * Belknap, Robeson, and Williams. 
 
A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 Missouri, Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Ar 
 kansas, and Mississippi, was hailed with general approval by 
 the northern people. All self-respecting men admitted that 
 the history of these monstrous perversions of the principles 
 of representative government would remain through all 
 time unparalleled as a record of shameless corruption, 
 wholesale official immorality, and political debauchery! 
 While the English language is spoken the words carpet 
 bagger" and "scallawag" will be employed to express the 
 contempt which every decent man feels for the alien and 
 native who oppresses, robs, and wrongs a helpless people ! 
 
 In 1876 "carpet-bag and scallawag" rule dominated in 
 but three states. The Republican party originally had a 
 respectable white following in Florida among the northern 
 settlers who migrated there, after the war, for health and 
 legitimate business pursuits. But the dishonesty of local 
 officials, the corruptibility of legislators, and State officers, 
 the ease with which jobbers carried schemes to increase the 
 debt and rob the state of its public lands, had disgusted 
 this class and arrayed them on the side of the native whites 
 South Carolina, with the sole exception of Louisiana was 
 afflicted with the most unscrupulous and despicable gang of 
 public plunderers that ever preyed upon any community 
 The native scoundrels surpassed in loathsomness of private 
 morals, and official dishonesty the product of any other soil 
 The career of Frank J. Moses cannot be paralleled in the 
 annals of any other people. The two carpet-baggers who 
 e matchless are John J. Patterson and William Pitt Kel 
 logg. They were the Jonathan Wilds of South Carolina 
 and Louisiana carpet-bag politics. But the cleverest of all 
 the -carpet-baggers" was Daniel H. Chamberlain As 
 Attorney General and Governor of South Carolina he was 
 the associate and master of the most consummate scoundrels 
 
CARPET-BAG RULE. 9 
 
 that ever fattened off an unfortunate people, and, strange to 
 say, he survives to play in company with respectable people 
 the role of a political moralist and civil-service reformer ! 
 That men whose political aims are professedly high, and 
 who proclaim from the house tops their intention to elevate 
 the standard of official life, and purify our politics, should 
 countenance a man like Chamberlain, and fellowship with 
 him, must be accepted as proof that the drift of public 
 morals is from bad to worse ! 
 
 The pecuniary cost of "carpet-bag and scallawag " rule 
 in the South may be reckoned by the hundreds of millions, 
 but who will undertake to calculate the extent of the degra 
 dation of public and private morals resulting therefrom ? 
 Where is the adventurous student of social statics who 
 will venture to estimate the effect of the teachings and ex 
 amples of "carpet-bag and scallawag" leaders upon six 
 millions of people just emerging from the night of slavery, 
 and whose proneness to falsehood, theft, and kindred vices, 
 was therein engendered ? Naturally imitative, predisposed 
 to steal and lie, is it strange that negro legislators were the 
 facile tools of their white leaders, and that black men 
 readily became swift witnesses to bolster by perjury the 
 stories of intimidation and outrages invented by unscrupu 
 lous rogues to gull the northern masses ? Unfortunately 
 the influence for evil of these political adventurers was not 
 confined to the South. Its ever-widening circles ran over 
 the whole land. Could the presence of a Patterson, a 
 Kellogg, a Dorsey, a West, a Conover, in the Senate of the 
 United States fail to have a deleterious effect upon the 
 morals of the Nation thus disgraced ? 
 
10 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The preparation for the great fraud begun in 1873-74: The effect of 
 the Black Friday, San Domingo, French Arms, and Credit- Mobi- 
 lier inquiries: The public conscience awakened: The Force bill 
 defeated : A new scheme devised to perpetuate the rule of ambitious 
 men: The third-term programme: The twenty-second joint rule 
 and Morton s Electoral-count bill: Grant believed Mr. Tilden was 
 elected : The Electoral-commission bill a revamping of the Federal 
 device of 1800 : The inconsistencies of the rulings of the Electoral 
 commission pointed out one ruling for Florida, another for 
 Louisiana, and still another for Oregon. 
 
 As early as 1873-74 some of the Republican leaders 
 saw plainly that, unless Congress conferred extraordinary 
 powers upon the President of the United States, the 
 southern states, still oppressed by carpet-bag governments, 
 would inevitably, and speedily, regain their constitutional 
 rights. It became apparent within less than a year that 
 their party was rapidly losing its hold upon the northern 
 masses and that in the presidential contest of 1876 the re 
 sult would probably depend upon the electoral votes of sev 
 eral of the reconstructed states. With a fatuity which now 
 seems very remarkable, these leaders failed to perceive 
 that the northern people were becoming disgusted with sec 
 tional politics. Three notable scandals during President 
 Grant s first term had made a decided impression on the 
 public mind. Reflecting patriots contemplated with no 
 little uneasiness the revelations made by the Black Friday, 
 the San Domingo, and French Arms investigations. Im- 
 
PUBLIC CONSCIENCE. 
 
 mediately succeeding the election of 1872 came the as 
 tounding disclosures of the Credit-Mobilier inquiry No 
 other event in the political history of the country produced 
 such immediate and wide-reaching results. The revelations 
 were indeed startling. Half a score of popular idols were 
 overturned, or defaced, and otherwise damaged. Not only 
 was the public confidence shaken in men who had theret 
 fore commanded almost universal respect and esteem, but 
 the people began to lose faith in the purity, integrity, ai 
 disinterestedness of Republican leaders. 
 
 The public conscience thus rudely awakened by tnes 
 revelations began, insensibly, to realize the enormity of the 
 southern, the sectional policy of the Republican party. 
 This change in sentiment was at first of slow growth. The 
 passions and prejudices incident to the war for the preserva 
 tion of the Union befogged the popular mind and the car 
 pet-bag and scallawag rogues systematically originated and 
 disseminated stories of horrible outrages alleged to have 
 been perpetrated by southern whites upon negroes and 
 southern republicans. Their political allies in Congress 
 converted the Federal government into a propaganda for t 
 manufacture and dissemination of outrage stories. As t 
 bert Spencer says every falsehood has some remote conne. 
 tion with the truth." Southern outrage stories originally had 
 some basis of truth, but nevertheless they were as a : 
 monstrous exaggerations and perversions. In certain sec 
 tions of the South there were rude communities and t 
 straints of law were slight. The natural effect of alien rul 
 is to create lawlessness. The carpet-bag and scallawag 
 rulers were intent upon plunder and the laws they enactec 
 were a grievous burden upon the people. In a short 
 the administration of justice became a mockery and soa 
 order began to give way to anarchy. The wonder is that 
 
12 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 the demoralization was not more general and wide reaching. 
 Had the white population been of any other than Anglo- 
 Saxon origin the result of the attempt to fasten negro and 
 carpet-bag rule upon the southern states would have been 
 frightful. 
 
 The attempted imposition of ignorant negro and dis 
 honest and corrupt alien white rulers upon a people of An 
 glo-Saxon lineage was a wicked and foolhardy experiment. 
 The history of the race ought to have taught the authors of 
 the scheme that it was inevitably doomed to failure. But 
 to the very last, men like Oliver P. Morton, George S. 
 Boutwell, Zach Chandler, and Roscoe Conkling, who were 
 personally honest, and who had, and have great intellectual 
 power and patriotic impulses, were determined to prevent by 
 Federal military power the overthrow of these alien govern 
 ments. They, and the men of less intellect and meaner 
 motives, who followed in their wake, were willing to disre 
 gard the warnings of the Fathers of the Republic, and the 
 examples of the past, and bestow the presidency a third 
 time upon General Grant. Preparatory to driving through 
 the famous and infamous Force bill, which the radical leaders 
 of the Republican majority had devised, an attempt was 
 made, in the closing days of the Forty-third Congress, to 
 adopt, in the House of Representatives, a gag rule to de 
 prive the minority of its constitutional rights. This was the 
 first practical step in the third term programme. 
 
 Had the Force bill become a law constitutional liberty 
 would have ceased to exist south of Mason and Dixon s 
 line. The rule of the bayonet would have been supreme 
 throughout that entire region. But the skill, the admir 
 able parliamentary tactics, the wonderful endurance of 
 Samuel J. Randall, secured the defeat of the attempt to im 
 pose the gag rule on the House, and the Force bill was 
 
SECTIONAL POLITICS. 13 
 
 killed. It was a memorable struggle. For seventy-two 
 hours, Mr. Randall, without sleep, and with only such re 
 freshments as could be hastily swallowed at his desk, mar 
 shalled the Democratic minority and by sheer endurance 
 wore out their adversaries. A few years after this gallant 
 fight against the gag rule in the House of Representatives 
 it was resorted to in the British House of Commons to 
 secure the passage of iniquitous legislation against Ireland. 
 The advocacy of such a measure by Mr. Gladstone was a 
 surprise to his American friends. 
 
 Failing to pass the Force bill the radical republicans, 
 under the lead of Senator Morton, attempted to accomplish 
 by indirection what that measure was to have enabled them 
 
 to d namely: to control the Presidential election of 1876. 
 
 The election of an overwhelming majority of democrats to 
 the House of Representatives in 1874 ought to have been 
 accepted by the desperate leaders of the hitherto dominant 
 party as notice that the disclosures of the past few years 
 had shaken public confidence in the honesty and unselfish 
 ness of Republican statesmanship, and that the country was 
 tired of sectional politics. The campaign of 1874 had been 
 fought by them on the old issues of southern disloyalty and 
 southern outrages. The response of the people was a dis 
 approval of sectionalism, of carpet-bag rule in the South, 
 and a demand for the reformation of abuses in Federal af 
 fairs. The overthrow of the Kellogg government in Loui 
 siana, by armed force, on the nth of September, only a few 
 weeks before the October elections, seemingly increased 
 Democratic majorities in erstwhile Republican strongholds. 
 
 The men who had so long wielded power, instead of de 
 riving wisdom from this exhibition of adverse popular feel 
 ing, were only made desperate and reckless. They deter 
 mined at all hazards to defy the unmistakable will of the 
 
14 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 people. The vast machinery of the Federal government, 
 the almost unlimited financial resources, subject to assess 
 ment for political purposes, and the use which they could 
 make of the army, were not enough to satisfy them. They 
 were resolved not only to play the game of politics with 
 loaded dice, but to cheat in the count, if necessary. With 
 this end in view Senator Morton reported from the Committee 
 on Privileges and Elections, January 26, 1875, an Electoral- 
 count bill, and despite the strenuous opposition of the Dem 
 ocratic minority drove it through the Senate in less than 
 thirty days. However, the rules of the House of Repre 
 sentatives prevented any such haste in that body. The at 
 tempt to so amend those rules as to allow the majority to 
 gag the minority had been made as the preliminary to rush 
 ing through the "Force bill" and had failed. 
 
 Morton s Electoral-count bill provided first, that the 
 affirmative action of the two houses of Congress should be 
 required to reject any certificate of electoral votes, and 
 second, if there was " more than one return " from a state 
 " purporting to be the certificate of electoral votes given at 
 the last preceding election for President and Vice-President 
 in such state " only that one should " be counted which the 
 two houses, acting separately shall decide to be the true 
 and valid return." This was just the opposite of the 
 twenty-second joint rule which had been adopted by the 
 Republican majorities of the two houses in 1865 when the 
 purpose was to prevent the counting of any electoral votes 
 from the states lately in rebellion and thereby express con 
 gressional disapproval of President Lincoln s plan of recon 
 struction. That rule provided that " no vote objected to 
 shall be counted except by the concurrent votes of the two 
 houses." This rule was rushed through hastily and secretly 
 January 30, 1865, to supply the place of a joint resolution 
 
PARTISAN PURPOSES. ! 5 
 
 which had been passed, specifically providing that, Virginia, 
 North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, 
 Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and Tennessee, 
 were not entitled "to representation in the Electoral college 
 for the choice of President and Vice-President of the 
 United States for the term commencing on the 4th day of 
 March, 1865," and which it was apprehended the President 
 would not approve. However, Mr. Lincoln did approve 
 the bill and sent a message to Congress in which he stated 
 that he had given his approval solely because he believed 
 that the counting of the electoral vote was a matter entirely 
 beyond the province of the Executive, and expressly de 
 claring that he withheld expression " of any judgment of 
 his own on the subject." 
 
 The joint rule of 1865 remained in force and under it 
 three electoral counts were had, in 1865, 1869, and 1873. 
 Upon the assembling of the Congress in December, 1875, 
 on motion of Senator Edmunds, the Senate resolved that the 
 rules of that body, and the joint rules of the two houses, 
 except the twenty-second joint rule, heretofore in use, should 
 be continued until otherwise ordered. It had theretofore 
 not been customary for the Senate, whose organization 
 continues from- year to year, to formally readopt its rules 
 and reaffirm the continuance of the joint rules. The House 
 which is reorganized every two years does readopt its rules. 
 
 The House of Representatives, which assembled and 
 organized on the first Monday in December, 1875, was 
 largely Democratic, and, therefore, if the twenty-second 
 joint rule had been continued in force any electoral votes 
 which that House refused to count would be rejected. The 
 rule made for partisan purposes, and which had served, on 
 three occasions, partisan ends, would no longer answer the 
 probable necessities of partisans, and hence they dispensed 
 
1 6 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 with it. The effect of the action of the Senate was to leave 
 the two houses without any pre-arrangement for counting 
 the electoral votes in February, 1877. But prior to 1865 
 there had been no joint rule relating to the subject. Thereto 
 fore the two houses, a short time in advance of the day fixed 
 by the act of 1792 the second Wednesday in February 
 for the opening and counting of the electoral votes, agreed 
 merely upon the place of meeting and the order of proceed 
 ings. Various attempts had been made, previous to the adop 
 tion of the twenty-second joint rule, by one or the other of 
 the two houses, to assume the power to determine the valid 
 ity of electoral votes and to count the same, but there had 
 been no agreement. The significant feature of the twenty- 
 second joint rule is that it recognized the existence of power 
 in either house to reject electoral votes. No one before that 
 time had been venturesome enough to assert that the Consti 
 tution did not guarantee to a state the right to its quota of 
 electoral votes. An attempt was made, in 1800, and in 1821, 
 to enact laws which recognized the power of the two 
 houses to decide upon the regularity of certificates of elec 
 toral votes and provided the methods of exercising such 
 right, but each time there was no agreement. Political ex 
 pediency was the moving cause of the adoption of the 
 twenty-second joint rule as partisanship was the origin of 
 the bill reported by Morton and passed through the Senate 
 in 1875. The first, was a gross violation of the Constitution, 
 and, the second, was intended to give the Republican senate 
 the power to violate the spirit of the Constitution if the 
 necessity therefor arose. It was conceived, formulated, 
 reported to the Senate, and driven through, for no other 
 purpose than to give that body, which would continue till 
 after March 4th, 1877, to be controlled by republicans, the 
 power to compel the counting of the electoral votes certified 
 
I 7 
 
 FRAUD CONTEMPLATED. 
 
 to by the governors of the states of Florida, 
 South Carolina. The act of 1792 required the executive 
 authority of each state to certify the lists of electors who 
 had been appointed. This certification by the state execu 
 tive authority was the authentication to the President of the 
 Senate and to Congress of the selection and appointment of 
 the electors. The executive authority of the above-named 
 states was in the hands of unscrupulous and daring men. 
 In each of those states there were Returning Boards com 
 posed of unprincipled men who would not hesitate to do 
 anything necessary to perpetuate their party in power, pro 
 vided they were protected and rewarded. If the necessity 
 arose the will of the people of those states could be nulli 
 fied by returning and certifying as elected candidates for 
 electors for President and Vice-President of the United 
 States who had been repudiated by the people. 
 
 It is, therefore, evident that years previous to the Presi 
 dential election of 1876 the Republican leaders in Congress 
 anticipated the probability of the people of the United 
 States defeating at the polls the candidates of their party. 
 They were determined to hold on to power regardless of the 
 popular verdict expressed by constitutional methods. Their 
 first attempt to prepare for such a contingency was to pass 
 through the Senate a bill which would authorize the Presi 
 dent to exercise directly absolute power whenever he, or 
 rather they chose, in any or all of the southern states. De 
 feated in this adventure they endeavored to enact an Elec 
 toral-count bill which would enable them to count the 
 electoral votes of these southern states regardless of how 
 the majority of the people therein might vote. The two 
 measures were to have been complements of each other, but 
 the former being defeated they did not abandon the latter. 
 Failing, in February, 1875, on account of the near approach 
 
1 8 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 of the dissolution of the Forty-Third Congress, to pass 
 their bill, they renewed it in 1876, hoping to delude the 
 Democratic house into accepting their measure. In this 
 they were disappointed. 
 
 Notwithstanding the defeat of the Force bill which was 
 to have authorized the exercise of unconstitutional power 
 by the President and the employment of whatever force he 
 deemed necessary in southern states, they did induce the 
 President to in effect declare and enforce martial law in 
 South Carolina pending the election in that state in 1876. 
 The whole eastern seaboard of the United States was 
 stripped of soldiers who were quartered in different locali 
 ties in that state to overawe the people and prevent a fair 
 and free exercise of the right of suffrage. The proclamation 
 issued by the President on the lyth of October, 1876, and 
 the quartering of thirty-three companies of United States 
 troops in several counties of South Carolina which followed 
 thereon were indefensible acts. He did these things upon 
 the mere request of the governor of that state who did not 
 establish the existence of " insurrection and domestic vio 
 lence." 
 
 It was merely asserted by the governor that " com 
 binations of men against law exist in many counties who 
 ride up and down by day and by night in arms, murdering 
 some peaceable citizens and intimidating others," and 
 that these combinations " cannot be controlled or sup 
 pressed by ordinary course of justice." All this might be 
 true and not constitute the " insurrection and domestic vio 
 lence " contemplated by the Constitution. But it did furnish 
 a pretext for the employment of the United States troops un 
 lawfully on election day and that was all that was wanted. 
 The laws* of the United States expressly provide that no 
 * Sec. 2002 R. S. U. S. 
 
THE OLD FEDERAL DEVICE. 19 
 
 person " engaged in the civil, military, or naval service of 
 the United States shall order, bring, keep, or have under his 
 authority or control any troops or armed men at the polls 
 when any general or special election is held in any state, 
 unless it be necessary to repel the armed enemies of the 
 United States, or to keep the peace at the polls." And yet 
 troops were at the polls in many localities in South Caro 
 lina, not for the purpose of repelling the armed enemies of 
 the United States or to preserve the peace, but to aid 
 deputy marshals of the United States in making illegal ar 
 rests and to intimidate voters. 
 
 The Electoral-commission bill was a revamping of the 
 device of the Federal party in 1800 to nullify the will of the 
 people. It was clear to the federalists at that time, as it 
 was to the republicans in 1875, that the democrats would 
 triumph in the approaching presidential contest, unless 
 some extraordinary measures were taken to reverse the 
 people s verdict. The bill of 1800 was the extraordinary 
 and unconstitutional scheme which was to enable the Fed 
 eral leaders to count in their candidates who, as they clearly 
 foresaw, were doomed to defeat. The people of that 
 period believed that the federalists meant to convert their 
 government from one of limited powers into an absolute 
 despotism. The alien and sedition laws justly excited their 
 fears and moved them to great wrath. The increase of the 
 army, under pretense of repelling the aggressions of the 
 French Republic, but really for the purpose of enabling 
 Hamilton, if he succeeded in creating the opportunity, to 
 strengthen the Federal government, created the gravest ap 
 prehensions in the popular mind. 
 
 The fourth Presidential election, it was foreseen would, 
 probably, turn upon the result in Pennsylvania, New 
 York, and New Jersey. How striking the parallel between 
 
20 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 the struggle of 1800 and that of 1876! In Pennsylva 
 nia the general election law expired by limitation and 
 the Federal majority in the senate of that state would 
 not consent to its renewal. Hence, the legislature to 
 be chosen that year would have the appointment of 
 Presidential electors. It was a foregone conclusion that 
 the democrats would have a decided majority on joint bal 
 lot in this new legislature. The federalists conceived the 
 idea of contesting the choosing of electors for President and 
 Vice-President of the United States by the Legislature of 
 Pennsylvania on the ground that they should be selected 
 by districts notwithstanding the fact that there was no law 
 providing therefor. On the other hand they had an en 
 tirely different scheme for New York. The new legislature 
 of that state, chosen in the spring of 1800, was Democratic 
 and upon it devolved the duty of choosing Presidential 
 electors. But the term of the preceding legislature did not 
 expire till the first of July. The federalists of New York, 
 acting upon the advice of * Alexander Hamilton, designed 
 to have the electors chosen by a legislature which ceased 
 to exist before the appointed time for choosing them came 
 round. It was a bold and illegal design which Hamilton 
 euphoniously denominated a justifiable expedient to defeat 
 Jefferson. It did not succeed because the Governor, John 
 Jay,t although a federalist, refused to be a party thereto and 
 declined to call the legislature together for the purpose. 
 
 The federalists had a majority in both Houses of Con 
 gress, and expecting the new House to be Republican,! 
 
 * Hamilton s Works, vol. vi, p. 438. 
 
 t Life and Writings of lohn Jay, vol. ii, p. 414. 
 
 t The followers of Jefferson called themselves Republicans. Their 
 opponents nick-named them Democrats and insisted that they were the im 
 itators in the new world of the Revolutionists of France. The Tefferson- 
 lans adopted the name applied to them by their enemies 
 
A GRAND COMMITTEE. 21 
 
 "they deliberately and unscrupulously determined to enact 
 a law which would enable them to win by foul, if compelled 
 to lose by fair, means."* The bill of 1800 provided that on 
 the day before the second Wednesday in February each 
 House should select by ballot six persons, who with the 
 Chief Justice of the United States, or one of the associate 
 justices, should form a Grand Committee which was to 
 "have power to examine and finally decide all disputes" 
 relative to the election of President and Vice-President of 
 the United States. Each House was to choose two tellers 
 who were to receive the certificates of electoral votes and 
 note their contents. Thereupon the Grand Committee 
 having been organized was to take possession of all the doc 
 uments, certificates of the electors, and all the certificates 
 and other documents transmitted by them, or by the execu 
 tive authority of any state, and all petitions, exceptions, and 
 memorials against the votes of any of the electors and the 
 persons for whom they had voted, together with all the tes 
 timony accompanying the same. The Chief Justice was 
 to act as chairman of the Grand Committee, which was to 
 sit with closed doors and from day to day till it concluded 
 its labors. It could send for persons and papers, administer 
 oaths and punish witnesses for contempt "as fully and abso 
 lutely as the Supreme Court may and can do in cases 
 depending therein." 
 
 This tribunal unknown to the Constitution was to 
 have the extraordinary power "to inquire, examine, de 
 cide, and report upon the constitutional qualifications of 
 persons voted for as President and Vice-President of 
 the United States, upon the constitutional qualifications 
 of the electors appointed by the different states, and 
 whether their appointment was authorized by the state 
 *McKnight s Electoral System of the United States, p. 263. 
 
22 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 legislatures or not; upon all petitions and exceptions 
 against corrupt, illegal conduct of the electors, or force, 
 menace, or improper means used to influence their votes, or 
 against the truth of their returns, or the time, place, or 
 manner of giving their votes." It was, however, provided 
 that there should be no inquiry as to whether each state 
 had her proper quota of electors or whether the electors 
 were chosen by a majority of the votes in his state or dis 
 trict. Whatever the judgment of this Grand Committee 
 might be it was to be a finality. 
 
 This bill was unconstitutional beyond a doubt. Every 
 senator and representative then in Congress who had been a 
 member of the Constitutional Convention opposed and de 
 nounced it as violative of the letter and spirit of the Consti 
 tution. But the desperate federalists who doubted their 
 ability to defeat Thomas Jefferson in the approaching Presi 
 dential contest were determined to pass it. They put the bill 
 through the Senate but in the House the wily republicans, 
 with the assistance of John Marshall, succeeded in so 
 amending it as to take away the powers on which its 
 authors in the Senate chiefly relied to accomplish their pur 
 poses. The House amendments made the judgment of the 
 Grand Committee revisable by the two Houses and re 
 quired a concurrent vote to reject any electoral votes. The 
 Senate insisted that a concurrent vote should be necessary 
 to count disputed votes and a non-agreement resulted. 
 
 The people having in 1876, by constitutional methods, 
 indicated their choice for President and Vice-President to 
 be, Samuel J. Tilden, and Thomas A. Hendricks, the Repub 
 lican politicians determined to disregard the people s will, 
 and at the risk of civil war, and in defiance of every prin 
 ciple of justice and right, and in violation of the letter and 
 spirit of the Constitution of the United States, as well as of the 
 
MORTON S INCONSISTENCY. 23; 
 
 Constitution and laws of three states, to instal their defeated 
 candidates. The Returning Boards of Florida, Louisiana, 
 and South Carolina, flagrantly disregarding the election 
 laws which gave them existence, returned as elected Repub 
 lican electors for President and Vice-President when in fact 
 in the two first-named states, and, probably, m the third, 
 the Tilden and Hendricks electors were chosen. This mon 
 strous crime, as we shall hereafter demonstrate, was not 
 only instigated by Republican leaders, but the perpetrators 
 thereof were protected and rewarded by the beneficiaries 
 of the frauds, perjuries, and forgeries by which it was ac 
 complished! , 
 The Republican leaders having failed, as their ] 
 prototypes did, to make unconstitutional provision, before 
 hand to count the electoral votes as necessity might dictate, 
 had to fall back on the old bill of 1800. Upon the reas 
 sembling of Congress, in December, 1876, there appeared 
 to be a division of views on the part of Republican senators 
 as to the best method of accomplishing the conspiracy to 
 defraud the people which had thus far been successful. 
 Some maintained that it was the constitutional prerogative 
 of the Vice-President to determine all disputes relative to 
 certificates of electoral votes, and to count the same, and 
 declare the result, which declaration was to be accepted as 
 final, conclusive, and irrevocable. Of this number was 
 Oliver P. Morton who, less than a year previous, had re 
 ported to, and carried through, the Senate his Electoral- 
 count bill which made the President of the Senate a mere 
 figurehead in counting the electoral votes. It must, there 
 fore, be concluded that Senator Morton s plan, advocated 
 by him as late as the spring of 1876, was either the result 
 of ignorance or of partisan motives. His sudden conver 
 sion to the belief that the President of the Senate alone had 
 
24 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 jurisdiction in determining questions which he maintained, a 
 short time before, was the province of the two Houses of 
 Congress, cannot be accepted as sincere. It was due to the 
 fact that the President of the Senate was a man who would 
 do the bidding of his party. 
 
 The purpose of the radical Republican leaders was to 
 assert and maintain the power of the President of the Seriate 
 to count the electoral votes. Mr. Morton was the repre 
 sentative of these desperate men who constituted the large 
 majority of their party in the two houses of Congress. But 
 they could not succeed without the support of the President 
 of the United States. He was the master of the situation. 
 A small minority of republicans, and among them some of 
 the strongest men intellectually in Congress, were opposed 
 to the assumption of this extraordinary power by the Presi 
 dent of the Senate. 
 
 It was well understood that General Grant had the 
 personal belief that Mr. Tilden was elected. He was 
 familiar with the prior history, character, and doings of 
 the chief actors in the Louisiana transaction, and was fully 
 convinced that the vote of Louisiana belonged to Mr. 
 Tilden. Confirmatory testimony on this subject has become 
 public since the death of General Grant. 
 
 Mr. George W. Childs, who was perhaps the most inti 
 mate personal friend and confidant of General Grant, in 
 a letter signed by himself containing reminiscences of the 
 General and published on the 5th day of September, 1885, 
 in the Philadelphia Ledger, of which he is the proprietor, 
 has made the following statement : 
 
 " He was staying with me in Philadelphia during the canvass of 
 the election between Tilden and Hayes, and on the morning of the 
 momentous day after the election, when the returns gave Tilden a ma 
 jority of all the Electors, he accompanied me to my office. In a few 
 
GRANT S BELIEF. 
 
 " 
 
 
 " 
 
 a, . and o, 
 
 Louisiana as for Tilden." 
 
 Col A K McClure, editor of The Times of Philadel 
 phia, says that* Mr. Childs was not only " the most mttmate 
 personal friend General Grant had during the las ten or 
 fifteen years of his life," but avers that - it well known 
 that in grave politic* explications Mr Chjta *jn 
 privately and unreservedly consulted by the 
 
 PHILA., Sept. 8, 1885. 
 
 nd the world. Myrecol- 
 Grant, before the latter starieu on = J "r ^iTulc 
 
 lection of the conversation agrees ^J^ the mos t intimate per- 
 Mr. Childs was, according to my o^serva ^ ^ ^^ ^^ Q{ h]S 
 sonal friend General Grant had dunnL u eyen in e 
 
 , ^ : u i^,n nmoner their acq . ^ unreserve dly 
 
 consulted by the general. company at dinner, informs me 
 
 ^^4=^SSSSSS 
 ttMss^Aj^gsSwS 
 
 A. M. GIBSON, ESQ. 
 
26 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 Colonel McClure not only confirms the exact accuracy of 
 Mr. Childs report of the substance of the conversation 
 which occurred "just before General Grant started on his 
 journey around the world " in the presence of Mr. A. J. 
 Drexel, Mr. Childs, and himself, but adds that since the 
 publication thereof in The Ledger and The Times Mr. 
 Drexel has informed him that he has a distinct recollection 
 of the language used on that occasion and vouches for the 
 correctness of the version given by Mr. Childs and himself. 
 The conversation on General Grant s part was spontaneous 
 and his statement that " he expected from the beginning 
 until the final judgment, that the electoral vote of Louisi 
 ana would be awarded to Mr. Tilden," was candid and 
 unreserved. Those who knew General Grant well know 
 that he talked with the utmost freedom and frankness when 
 alone with his friends. 
 
 General Grant s belief as expressed to the Republican 
 leaders in Mr. Childs private office, " Gentlemen, it 
 looks to me as if Mr. Tilden was elected," was not 
 a transitory impression made by incomplete returns 
 published the morning after the election. It became a con 
 viction which grew and strengthened as the full returns 
 were received and all the facts were developed. The 
 Republican leaders were bent upon carrying things with 
 a high hand in Washington, and they depended upon 
 General Grant to acquiesce in and maintain whatever 
 course they determined upon. Their intention was to have 
 the President of the Senate assume the right to count the 
 electoral votes, and to determine all questions as to dis 
 puted certificates of electoral votes. The probability of 
 such a contingency arising, as has already been pointed 
 out, had been contemplated, and at the beginning of the 
 Forty-fourth Congress Senator Edmunds had quietly man- 
 
MR. HEWITT S IMPRESSION. 
 
 aged to have the twenty-second joint rule dropped by the 
 Senate The preparations were made before and after the 
 assembling of Congress in December, 1876, to sustain m 
 debate this assumption of extraordinary power by the 
 President of the Senate. It was confidently proclaimed 
 that the Senate would sustain this programme, and that 
 President Grant would see to it that whoever the Presi 
 dent of the Senate declared to be elected was inaugurated 
 and installed as President of the United States. But the 
 conspirators reckoned without their host. 
 
 The plan of the Republican leaders to count in Hayes 
 without regard to the House of Representatives never re 
 ceived any encouragement from General Grant. Shortly 
 after Congress met in December he, through Hon Ham 
 ilton Fish, secretary of state, indicated to Hon. Abram S. 
 Hewitt chairman of the National Democratic Committee, 
 and a member of the House of Representatives, his desire 
 to have a conference with him on the all-absorbing subject 
 of the electoral count. General Grant made known to 
 Mr Hewitt his purpose to take no action in regard to the 
 contests in Louisiana and South Carolina over their state 
 governments which could be made to look like the expres- 
 Bion of executive opinion in regard to the result of the 
 Presidential election in those states. While he refrained 
 from expressing to Mr. Hewitt his judgment upon the acts 
 of the Returning Board in Louisiana he said plainly that 
 they ought to be the subject of a fair and impartial ex 
 amination. The impression made upon Mr. Hewitt by 
 General Grant was a most favorable one and the report he 
 made to his Democratic colleagues encouraged them to 
 hope for a pacific and favorable solution of the electoral 
 dispute and the defeat of the Republican conspirators. 
 Mr Childs states that General Grant sent for him to 
 
28 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 come to Washington and talked with him freely on the 
 subject of the count of the electoral votes and the embar 
 rassing course of the leaders of his party in Congress. He 
 said to Mr. Childs: "This matter is very complicated, and 
 the people will not be satisfied unless something is done in 
 regard to it which will look like justice. Now, he con 
 tinued, I have spoken of an Electoral Commission and the 
 leaders of the party are opposed to it, which I am 
 sorry to see. They say if an Electoral Commission is ap 
 pointed you might as well count in Mr. Tilden. I would 
 sooner have Tilden than the republicans should have a 
 President who could be stigmatized as a fraud. If I were 
 Mr. Hayes I would not have it, unless it was settled in 
 some way outside the Senate. This matter is opposed by 
 the leading republicans in the House and the Senate and 
 throughout the country." 
 
 This statement by Mr. Childs is fully corroborated by 
 other gentlemen who were cognizant of what occurred at 
 the National Capital during that period. The interview 
 General Grant had with Mr. Hewitt caused the repub 
 licans great uneasiness and desperate attempts were made 
 by them to prejudice the mind of the former by misrepre 
 senting the latter. The fact that the President sent for a 
 number of Republican senators to ascertain their views on 
 the subject of the electoral count, as Mr. Childs states he 
 did, was well known at the time to many democrats in 
 Washington. It was no secret to those well informed in 
 regard to what was going on at the National Capital 
 that Senator Conkling and the President were in full ac 
 cord and that the advocates of the ultra Republican pro 
 gramme accused Mr. Conkling of an intention of betraying 
 his party. He was in a very large measure held respon 
 sible for the policy of the President. So firm was the con- 
 
SENATOR CONKLING. 29 
 
 viction that Senator Conkling could not be trusted to de 
 cide the questions of fact and law involved in the electoral 
 dispute irrespective of the evidence and the truth, that the 
 Republican senatorial caucus refused to nominate him for 
 one of the members of the Electoral Commission. This 
 was the more significant because Mr. Conkling was, ac 
 cording to Mr. Childs, the senator who, at the request of 
 President Grant, undertook to carry through the Senate 
 the Electoral Commission bill. Mr. Childs says: "Grant 
 was the originator of the plan. He sent for Mr. Conkling, 
 and said with deep earnestness: This matter is a serious 
 one, and the people feel it deeply. I think this Electoral 
 Commission ought to be appointed. Conkling answered : 
 < Mr. President, Senator Morton is opposed to it and 
 your efforts: but if you wish the Commission carried, I can 
 do it. He said, < I wish it done. " The determination 
 of the Republican caucus to leave Mr. Conkling off the 
 Commission was extraordinary in view of the fact that he 
 was a member of the committee that framed the bill and 
 was the only Republican senator on the committee who 
 was omitted. He was not made a commissioner because 
 he was known to be in accord with President Grant and 
 to coincide with him in the conviction that the vote of 
 Louisiana rightfully belonged to Mr. Tilden. 
 
 It is to be accounted for that notwithstanding this per 
 sonal conviction that Mr. Tilden was entitled to the elec 
 tion General Grant should have allowed the influence of 
 his official position to be used to defeat the will of the 
 people. The explanation must be found in the unbounded 
 ascendency which he allowed those whom he believed to 
 be his friends, to exercise over him. Zachariah Chandler, 
 the chairman of the Republican National Committee who 
 was the inspirer of the most violent acts for reversing the 
 
30 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 true result of the election, was General Grant s Secretary 
 of the Interior. Mr. Cameron who was deeply involved 
 in the conspiracy was General Grant s Secretary of War, 
 and directed the military movements of the army in aid of 
 the conspirators. Mr. Robeson who was interested in 
 perpetuating the corrupt system by which he became so 
 notorious, was General Grant s Secretary of the Navy. 
 
 These men carried with them the whole mass of the 
 Republican party adverse to the opinion of the President, 
 while the parasites who surrounded General Grant could 
 not endure the prospect of terminating the system by 
 which they were fattening. General Grant s personal 
 convictions were smothered under the overwhelming in 
 fluences which surrounded him. 
 
 It might seem incredible that General Grant could be 
 so enthralled were it not for the concurrent testimony of 
 his most intimate friends and supporters which is contained 
 in the eulogiums and reminiscences published since his 
 death.* 
 
 That General Grant was susceptible to the influences 
 which surrounded him is the concurrent testimony of those 
 who knew him best. His acts frequently did not comport 
 
 * In the appendix a number of extracts from a great many reminis 
 cences and eulogiums are given in support of the statements made in the 
 text in regard to the influence that often controlled General Grant. The 
 following eminent gentlemen who were his intimate personal and political 
 friends are quoted: Mr. George W. Childs, Hon. Hamilton Fish, Mr. 
 Jesse Sehgman, Hon. Chauncey Depew, Ex-Secretary Robeson, Hon. 
 John A. Logan, Surgeon-General Gunnell of the U. S. Navy, and the 
 following leading Republican newspapers, the New York Tribune, the New 
 York Independent, the New York Evening Post, the Albany Evening Jour 
 nal, the Philadelphia Press, the Phila. Ledger. Mr. George W. Childs 
 says : He showed a great tenacity in sticking to friends longer than he 
 ought to have done. * One of his expressions was, Never desert a 
 friend under fire ! " Mr. Jesse Seligman says : " He was so honest himself 
 that he took the word of those about him as fact without question." Hon 
 Chauncey Depew says : " His great fault as President * * * was his selec 
 tion of confidants m men." Hon. John A. Logan says : " He was a most 
 confiding man * * such confidence * * * being the cause of all the 
 serious trouble I ever knew him to have." 
 
GRANT S WEAKNESS. 3 1 
 
 with that innate sense of justice and right which was ordi 
 narily one of his most shining characteristics. This yield 
 ing to the advice of those who had his confidence, without 
 thought of the motives which might actuate them, was 
 his conspicuous weakness. Those he liked were bound 
 to him by hooks of steel. The consequences of indiscnmi- 
 nating fidelity are often disagreeable and not infrequently 
 disastrous. General Grant was fond of attention and not 
 averse to flattery. He was readily responsive to the ap 
 proaches of rich men. He had been very poor and had 
 borne the embarrassments of poverty with great manliness, 
 but he was crushed, broken when the possibility of ending 
 his days in penury actually stared him in the face. He 
 was a devoted husband and a fond father, and his family 
 was always first in his thoughts. His was not the metal of 
 the elder Brutus ! 
 
 General Grant was no doubt reluctant to disappoint 
 his political friends. They exerted great influence over 
 him. But there was a point beyond which he would not 
 go. He often suffered them to have their own way and 
 frequently to very nearly compromise his personal honor 
 and official fame, but his good fortune and hard common 
 sense generally preserved him from the seemingly inevita 
 ble catastrophe. In the whisky frauds his confidence 
 was shamefully abused by those who owed everything to 
 him, and his blind confidence nearly involved him in their 
 dishonor. More than once his reputation was nearly 
 smirched by his apparently unreasoning faith in the un 
 scrupulous members of the District of Columbia ring. He 
 would scarcely believe Belknap guilty when he confessed 
 and begged to be allowed to resign. Grief and affection 
 impelled him to grant a dishonored friend s petition with 
 out reflecting that thereby he shielded him from the right- 
 
32 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 eous judgment of a high court of impeachment. He 
 clung to Attorney General Williams despite the demands 
 of outraged public opinion until feminine eccentricities 
 forced a resignation which should have been demanded 
 long previous. His confidence in, and adherence to, 
 George M. Robeson is inexplicable save upon the un 
 safe rule, " never to desert a friend under fire," which Mr. 
 George W. Childs says was one of his favorite expressions. 
 
 The belief of General Grant in the election of Mr. 
 Tilden and his conviction that the electoral votes of 
 Louisiana should have been given to him by the Electoral 
 Commission, are strangely at variance with his approval of 
 the extraordinary partisan conduct of Mr. Cameron, Sec 
 retary of War, in ordering troops to Florida and placing 
 them at the disposal of Governor Stearns to be used, as 
 they notoriously were, to assist in the consummation of 
 the grossest frauds. The same is true of Cameron s orders 
 to the commanding general in Louisiana. But when 
 Grant s dispatches to General Sherman are analyzed in the 
 succeeding chapter, it will be seen that while he yielded to 
 the solicitations of his political friends and was willing to 
 go very far in the employment of troops for political pur 
 poses, he was reasonably guarded in his orders to the gen 
 eral of the army. 
 
 The Republican politicians who were invited to go to 
 Louisiana to witness the count of votes and observe the 
 conduct of the Returning Board, did not observe his 
 injunction " to see that the board of canvassers make a 
 fair count of the votes actually cast." He did not rebuke 
 their partisan and dishonest course. On the contrary, 
 he seemingly approved the report they made justifying 
 the outrageous and indefensible action of the Returning 
 Board by transmitting it to the Senate. But was this 
 
INCONSISTENCIES. 33 
 
 an approval of the report or an endorsement of the conduct 
 of its authors ? The report and the accompanying ex-parte 
 statements make a printed volume of several hundred 
 pages. Did he read this mass of manuscript ? Did he not 
 consider himself merely the medium through whom it was 
 to be transmitted to Congress ? That body was in his 
 judgment not only competent but bound to pass upon the 
 evidence affecting the matters in dispute. The Executive 
 was without any other power in the premises than moral 
 influence and the weight of his great office. 
 
 General Grant specially requested W. E. Chandler to 
 remain in Florida until the canvass was completed by the 
 state canvassing board, and he did not publicly commend 
 Francis C. Barlow of New York, the one solitary " visiting 
 statesman " who conscientiously endeavored to act upon 
 the instructions of the President " to see that the board of 
 canvassers make a fair count of the votes actually cast." 
 The manly, honest report Mr. Barlow made to the Presi 
 dent, giving it as his deliberate judgment that Mr. Tilden 
 was entitled to the electoral votes of Florida, was not sent to 
 the Senate as was that submitted by John Sherman and his 
 colleagues in justification of the monstrous Louisiana frauds. 
 
 The ordering of a large military force to Washington 
 before the meeting of Congress, in December 1876, was 
 denounced at the time by democrats and was doubtless 
 believed by them to be an attempt to overawe and intim 
 idate the representatives of the people. That this concen 
 tration of troops at the Federal capital had this effect is 
 true. But the representatives of the people ought to have 
 been made of sterner stuff, and in the language of that 
 grand old patriot, Judge Black, ought not to have betrayed 
 the rights of their constituents until the Federal soldiers 
 actually made their appearance in hostile array at the door 
 
 3 
 
34 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 of the Hall of Representatives. Their ancestors in 1800 
 were not awed or intimidated by the threats or the prepara 
 tions made by the federalists to defeat the election of 
 Jefferson. The timidity, the base cowardice, of many 
 Democratic members of Congress in 1876 was exhibited 
 by their silly twaddle, their trembling expressions of fear 
 about Grant arresting and incarcerating them at Fortress 
 Monroe. 
 
 It is not my purpose to defend or to impeach the con 
 duct of General Grant. His acts must speak for them 
 selves. He was a silent and patient man, but to those in 
 whom he had the most confidence he confided his convic 
 tions in regard to the fraud of 1876, and they have spoken. 
 So far as Mr Childs is concerned it was not his fault that 
 his statement was not published until after General Grant s 
 death. It was prepared several weeks before General 
 Grant died, with the expectation that it would be made 
 public immediately. 
 
 The zeal of General Grant s friends to relieve his 
 memory of the odium of participation in the Great Fraud 
 is commendable. It is another evidence of the fact that 
 connection with that monstrous crime, whether direct or 
 indirect, has proved a veritable shirt of Nessus to all par 
 ticipants. A justice of the Supreme Court four days after 
 being a party to the rendition of a partisan and unjust de 
 cision of the Electoral Commission in the Louisiana case 
 was impelled, it is to be hoped by a troubled conscience, 
 to write to a friend and express his regret that he could 
 not see his way clear to decide so as " to cure what I fear 
 was a great wrong of the Louisiana Returning Board."* 
 
 While Senator Morton maintained that the President 
 
 "See letter of Justice W. Strong to Geo. W. Jones, M c Knight s Elec 
 toral System of the United States, p. 108. 
 
THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION. 35 
 
 of the Senate was the sole repository of judicial functions 
 in counting the electoral votes, Mr. Conkling and a few 
 other Republican senators in accordance with General 
 Grant s wishes, insisted, as. Morton had the year before, 
 that the two Houses of Congress must determine whatever 
 disputes might arise in the progress of the count. A select 
 committee of seven was created by a resolution of the 
 House of Representatives to act in conjunction with any 
 similar committee appointed by the Senate, to prepare and 
 report without delay a measure for the removal of differ 
 ences of opinion as to the proper mode of counting the 
 electoral votes for President and Vice- President of the 
 United States and as to the manner of determining 
 questions which might arise as to the legality and validity 
 of the returns of such votes made by the several states, 
 to the end that the votes should be counted and the result 
 declared, " by a tribunal whose authority none can question 
 and whose decision all will accept as final." This resolution 
 was adopted on December 14, 1876, and on the i8th the 
 Senate responded by creating a select committee composed 
 of seven senators with power " to prepare and report, 
 without unnecessary delay, such a measure, either of a 
 legislative or other character, as may, in their judgment, 
 be best calculated to accomplish the lawful counting of 
 the electoral votes and best disposition of all questions 
 connected therewith, and the true declaration of the re 
 sult," and also with power "to confer and act with the 
 committee of the House of Representatives."* 
 
 The committee thus provided for were on the part of the 
 House, Henry B. Payne, of Ohio, Eppa Hunton, of Vir 
 ginia, Abram S. Hewitt, of New York, William M. Sprin 
 ger, of Illinois, George W. McCreary, of Iowa, George F. 
 * Count of Electoral Votes, p. 3 
 
36 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 Hoar, of Massachusetts, and George Williard, of Michigan ; 
 and on the part of the Senate, George F. Edmunds, of Ver 
 mont, Oliver P. Morton, of Indiana, Frederick T. Freling- 
 huysen, of New Jersey, Roscoe Conkling, of New York, 
 Allen G. Thurman, of Ohio, Thomas F. Bayard, of Dela 
 ware, and Matt. W. Ransom, of North Carolina. 
 
 The House committee having the initiative, it would 
 naturally be presumed had a well-defined programme in 
 view and a thoroughly digested and prepared measure 
 ready. But this was not the case. The committee met, 
 organized, and appointed a sub-committee, with William 
 M. Springer as chairman, to prepare a history of Electoral 
 Counts, a work which had already been performed and 
 published by private enterprise. Weeks were dawdled 
 away in this work of supererogation, and the only draft of a 
 bill, which has survived, was one submitted by George W. 
 McCreary, of Iowa, a republican, and which, singularly 
 enough, provided, in express terms, that the commission 
 created by it should go behind the returns, and examine 
 into, and decide upon, the legality and rightfulness of the 
 disputed electoral certificates. 
 
 In the meantime the Senate committee was at work, 
 but there was no concert or consultation between, or among, 
 the Democratic members of the two committees. There 
 was absolutely no advice or consultation with the president 
 elect. A full month elapsed before the result of the House 
 committee s deliberations was reached which was an informal 
 agreement on the McCreary bill. It was not till January 
 13, 1877, that this inchoate measure was submitted to Mr, 
 Tilden. Meanwhile the Senate committee had reached a 
 conclusion, a Republican minority disagreeing, the Demo 
 cratic senators, and Senators Edmunds and Conkling, uni 
 ting upon a measure drafted by Mr. Edmunds which was a 
 
DEMOCRATS BETRAYED. 37 
 
 revised edition of the bill of 1800, emasculated of its good 
 provisions, and with all of its bad features retained and some 
 new ones added. The Democratic senators who had given 
 their assent to this revamped Federal device of 1800 not 
 only had not taken into their confidence their fellow-demo 
 crats on the House committee, but they had refused to 
 even hint to senatorial colleagues of the same political 
 faith what the outcome of their deliberations was likely to 
 
 be! 
 
 When the Senate committee had agreed upon 
 measure, which suited two republicans and three democrats, 
 the House committee was invited to a conference. The 
 joint meeting was held, and upon the democrats of the 
 House committee objecting to the Senate committee s bill, 
 the Democratic senators coolly informed them that they were 
 irrevocably committed thereto and would stand by it. One 
 provision they and their Republican colleagues subsequently 
 consented to abandon, namely that which left the selection 
 of the determining vote of the Commission to lot. 
 
 To contrast the Democratic leaders in the Congress of 
 1800 with those of 1876 would not be fair. Intellectually the 
 latter were not comparable to the former. They lacked, also, 
 the convictions, the courage, the experience, and above all 
 the disinterestedness, of their great predecessors. The ap 
 pointment of the committee of December 14, 1876, by the 
 House of Representatives was a mistake. The proposition 
 embodied in the resolution of that date to create a tribunal 
 whose authority none can question and whose decision all 
 will accept as final" was an absurdity, as well as an impos 
 sibility. The Democratic majority in the House of Repre 
 sentatives ought to have taken its stand upon the Constitu 
 tion and maintained its position at all hazards. Later it 
 constituted a committee on the powers and privileges of the 
 
38 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 House of Representatives in counting the electoral votes. 
 It is a woful pity that this was not done earlier. That 
 committee, on January 12, 1877, reported resolutions af 
 firmative of the coequal powers of the House of Representa 
 tives in the counting of the electoral votes and denying the 
 proposed assumption of power by the President of the Sen 
 ate to determine in regard to disputed returns, and to count 
 the votes as he saw proper. Here was a modest and 
 moderate declaration of constitutional powers and rights on 
 the part of the House and the issue should have been 
 forced. But before these resolutions could, under the rules 
 of the House, be called up for debate, and the great battle 
 for the right begun, the Senate and House committees 
 agreed upon the Electoral Commission. 
 
 The strangest thing, probably, that ever occurred in po 
 litical history was the acceptance by Democratic senators 
 and Representatives of the rehabilitated Federal device of 
 1800 to count out the candidates the people had selected 
 and to count in the ones the people had repudiated. It was 
 an exhibition of moral cowardice, of political degeneracy, 
 and ignorance of the history of American politics, which 
 ought to cause every intelligent and self-respecting demo 
 crat to hang his head in shame! The Electoral-commission 
 bill, modelled on the one of 1800 by Senator Edmunds, did 
 not provide, as that one did, that the constitutional qualifi 
 cations of the electors for President and Vice- President 
 should be inquired into, examined, decided, and reported 
 upon. The reason for this departure from the original 
 model will appear hereafter.* Instead of the Chief Justice 
 being selected as a presiding officer with a casting vote as 
 in the bill of 1800 four associate justices were taken, two 
 democrats and two republicans, who were to select a fifth. 
 * See post decisions of Electoral Commission on eligibility of Electors. 
 
THE FLORIDA CASE. 39 
 
 The bait held out to the Democratic gudgeons was the. 
 possibility of Justice Davis being selected as the fifth judge.. 
 Their Republican adversaries were far better informed than, 
 they in regard to the character of Judge Davis. Under no 
 possible circumstances could he have been induced to ac 
 cept. A more honest, upright, and conscientious man 
 never lived and one more averse to assuming political re 
 sponsibility. It was a constitutional characteristic. On 
 the bench he always sought to evade a square decision if a 
 political question was involved, and an opportunity to. 
 dodge the main issue was invariably embraced by him. 
 Happily for Judge Davis, and greatly to the chagrin of the 
 democrats, just as the Electoral-commission bill became a 
 law enough so-called independent republicans in the Illi 
 nois legislature joined with the Democratic members thereof 
 to elect him to the United States Senate. This furnished 
 Judge Davis the excuse, he was longing for, to decline the 
 proffered place on the Electoral Commission. Mr. Justice 
 Bradley was selected as the fifth judge. 
 
 The Florida case was the first to be referred to the 
 Electoral Commission, the law providing that the certifi 
 cates of the electoral votes should be canvassed in the al 
 phabetical order of the states. There were two important 
 questions involved in this case: first, the honesty, the right- 
 fulness and the legality of the action of the Returning 
 Board in returning as duly chosen, and the governor in cer 
 tifying the appointment of the Republican electors for that 
 state; and, second, as to whether, Frederick C. Hum 
 phreys one of the electors, so returned and certified, was, 
 under the Constitution, eligible, he being a Federal office 
 holder at the time and disqualified by Article 11, Sec. i, 
 Paragraph 2, which says, that no "person holding an office 
 of trust or profit under the United States, shall be appointed 
 
40 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 an elector." The Commission avoided the first issue by 
 deciding eight to seven "that it is not competent under 
 the Constitution and the law, as it existed at the date of the 
 passage of said act, to go into evidence aliunde the papers 
 opened by the President of the Senate in the presence of 
 the two Houses to prove that other persons than those 
 regularly certified to by the Governor of the State of Florida, 
 in and according to the determination and declaration of 
 their appointment by the board of state canvassers of said 
 state prior to the time required for the performance of their 
 duties, had been appointed electors, or by counter proof to 
 show that they had not, and that all proceedings of the 
 courts or acts of the legislature or of the executive of 
 Florida subsequent to the casting of the votes of the electors 
 on the prescribed day, are inadmissable for any such pur 
 
 pose "* 
 
 Now witness the self-stultification of the Commission in 
 its next solemn utterance ! 
 
 "As to the objection made to the eligibility of Mr. 
 Humphreys, the Commission is of the opinion that, without 
 reference to the question of the effect of the vote of an in 
 eligible elector, the evidence does not show that he held the 
 office of shipping-commissioner on the day when the elec 
 tors were appointed."* 
 
 First, they decide that it is not competent for them " to 
 go into evidence aliunde the papers opened by the Presi 
 dent of the Senate in the presence of the two Houses," that 
 is to say the certificates of the electors: and second, they 
 admit that they did go into evidence aliunde the certifi 
 cates to prove that Mr. Humphreys was not ineligible! Was 
 there ever a more monstrous perversion of justice self-con 
 fessed by a tribunal of eminent and would-be respectable 
 
 * Electoral Count, p. 196. 
 
THE LOUISIANA CASE. 41 
 
 judges, senators, and representatives, sworn on the Holy 
 Evangelists to " impartially examine and consider all ques 
 tions submitted, . . . and a true judgment give thereon, 
 agreeably to the Constitution and the laws !" 
 
 3 Again, notice that they leave undecided in the case of 
 Humphreys the question of the effect of the vote of an 
 ineligible elector." That is to say at that time they had not 
 made up their minds whether the exact unqualified language 
 of the Constitution of the United States prohibiting the ap 
 pointment of a "person holding an office of trust or profit 
 under the United States " was a bar to counting an electoral 
 vote or not. In the case of Humphreys they had admitted 
 proof aliunde the certificate to show that he was fit, but it 
 was probable that there might be some other cases where 
 the electors might be proved to be ineligible and, therefore, 
 they reserved their judgment. It required every vote to 
 which the democrats, on the face of the papers, did not 
 have an incontestable right, to elect Hayes and Wheeler, 
 and as they had undertaken the job of counting them in 
 they did not mean to allow a constitutional prohibition to 
 stand in the way of accomplishing their undertaking. 
 
 When the Louisiana case was reached the partisan ma 
 jority of the Commission had come to the conclusion that 
 they could not apply the same principles laid down in the 
 Florida case. Accordingly, they held that it is not com 
 petent to prove that any of said persons so appointed elec 
 tors as aforesaid held an office of trust or profit under the 
 United States at the time when they were appointed, or that 
 they were ineligible under the laws of the state, or any 
 other matter offered to be proved aliunde the said certificate 
 and papers."* 
 
 Electoral Count, p. 422- 
 
42 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 In this case they endeavored to be consistent and were 
 bold enough to decide that it did not matter whether an 
 elector was disqualified by the Constitution of the United 
 States or that of the State of Louisiana, his vote must be 
 counted anyhow. 
 
 Let us examine briefly this decision as to eligibility 
 of electors. The Constitution of the United States con 
 cedes to the states representatives in the electoral college 
 equal to the number of their senators and representatives in 
 Congress. But at the same time it absolutely prohibits the 
 appointment by the state of senators and representatives 
 or other persons holding offices of trust or profit under the 
 United States. The object of this prohibition is apparent. 
 It was to preserve " the purity and freedom " of the elec 
 toral college from any possible contamination from the 
 presence of Federal office-holders who might be influenced 
 by their positions under the general government. More 
 over, as the fact of the holding of offices of profit or trust 
 under the United States must be notorious there was no 
 necessity of proving that persons held them. The Congress 
 of the United States is as much bound to take notice of the 
 fact of the appointment of persons to office in a case of this 
 kind as it would be to take notice that George F. Edmunds 
 was a Senator of the United States or Joseph Bradley an 
 associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. 
 The people of a state might elect, and the executive author 
 ity certify the election of a person who held an office of 
 trust or profit under the United States ignorant.ly, but, 
 nevertheless, that person so elected and certified, being dis 
 qualified, the state must inevitably forfeit that electoral vote. 
 The proposition is plain and simple. The prohibition would 
 not have been inserted in the Constitution if the framers 
 thereof had not intended it to be absolute. They did not 
 
INELIGIBLE ELECTORS. 43 
 
 insert meaningless or superfluous words in that instrument, 
 much less whole phrases. 
 
 Two of the electors returned by the Returning Board as 
 chosen were disqualified by the Constitution of the United 
 States A B. Levissee and O. H. Brewster, the one being 
 United States Commissioner and the other Surveyor General 
 of the United States Land Office for the State of Louisi 
 ana They resigned their offices temporarily, absents 
 themselves for a short time from the meeting of the electors 
 and were substituted for themselves by their colleagues, and 
 then appeared, took part in the proceedings, and voted for 
 Hayes and Wheeler. O. H. Brewster was immediately 
 thereafter reappointed Surveyor General, and Levissee reas- 
 sumed the functions of United States Commissioner, 
 clear, therefore, that the disqualifications of these men could 
 not be removed by their farce of resigning the Federal offices 
 they held * The question was raised before the Commission 
 that electors for President and Vice-President, being ap 
 pointed by the states, might be held to be state officers U 
 they were, then four more of the men, returned by the Re 
 turning Board as electors, were disqualified under the con 
 stitution of Louisiana, which provides, that "no person 
 shall at the same time hold more than one office." Kellogg 
 was de facto governor of the state, Peter Josephs, J. Henri 
 Burch, and Morris Marks were also officers of the state. 
 
 * During the count of the electoral votes in 1837 the question i of the 
 would not entitle him to vote as elector, under the Constitution, 
 
44 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 The Commission also decided " that the returning-offi- 
 cers of elections who canvassed the votes at the election for 
 electors in Louisiana were a legally constituted body, by 
 virtue of a constitutional law, and that a vacancy in said 
 body did not vitiate its proceedings." The constitution of 
 Louisiana article 48 prescribes who the returning-officers of 
 elections shall be to wit: the officers of elections at the 
 different polling places throughout the state. Senator Ed 
 munds on the 1 6th of March, 1875, declared in the Senate 
 in unequivocal language that the election law creating the 
 Returning Board was in conflict with the constitution of the 
 state. And yet Mr. Commissioner Edmunds on February 
 16, 1876, voted that the election law of Louisiana creating 
 the Returning Board was not in conflict with the constitu 
 tion of that state. Representative George F. Hoar made a 
 report to the House of Representatives in 1875 in which he 
 used the following language in regard to the Louisiana Re 
 turning Board s conduct in the election of 1874 " we are 
 all clearly of the opinion that the Returning Board had no 
 right to do anything except to canvass and compile the re 
 turns which were lawfully made to them by the local offi 
 cers, except in cases where they were accompanied by the 
 certificates of the supervisor or commissioner provided in 
 the third section.* Hereafter it will be shown how much 
 more grossly the Returning Board violated the law in 1876 
 than in 1874, and yet Mr. Commissioner Hoar voted Feb 
 ruary 1 6, 1876, that the presidential electors returned as 
 elected by that Returning Board must be accepted as legally 
 elected. 
 
 When the Oregon case came before the Electoral Com 
 mission the Republican majority had to reverse themselves 
 again and make law to suit the necessity of the occasion. 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 261 43d Cong, and Sess. p. 21. 
 
THE OREGON CASE. 45 
 
 It has been seen that in the Florida case the Commission 
 decided that it was not competent to go into evidence 
 allunde the certificates although they had gone into ev.dence 
 to show that Frederick C. Humphreys, a Republican elector 
 at the time of his appointment, did not hold an offi. 
 trust or profit under the United States. And, again, that m 
 the Louisiana case they had held that it was not necessary 
 to prove that an elector did not hold an office of trust or 
 profit under the United States, and that the vote of an in 
 eligible elector must be counted the Constitution of the 
 United States to the contrary notwithstanding. It would 
 seem at first glance that these diverse rulings ought to have 
 been sufficient to cover the Oregon case. They were not, 
 because, it was necessary, in order to bring . u, .the Florida 
 and Louisiana electoral votes for Hayes and Wheeler, that 
 the Commission should hold that the persons "regularly cer 
 tified to by the governor of the state, and according to the 
 determination of their appointment by the returning off 
 cers " were the legal electors* And if this ruling was ad 
 hered to in the Oregon case it would compel the counting 
 of one electoral vote of that state for Tilden and Hendricks 
 which would give them the requisite 185 votes and make 
 them President and Vice-President of the United States 
 
 The returning officers of Oregon were, under the law, the 
 Secretary of State and the Governor. J. W. Watts, one of 
 the Republican candidates for presidential elector, was a 
 postmaster at the time of his election and therefore disquali 
 fied under the Constitution of the United States. The Sec 
 retary of State held that a disqualified person could not be 
 chosen to an office, and therefore certified that his opponent, 
 who had received a less number of votes, was elected. The 
 Governor coincided and the certificate of election, or appoint- 
 * Electoral Count, p. 422. 
 
46 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 ment, was given to E. A. Cronin, a Tilden elector. Cronin 
 gave his vote for Tilden and Hendricks in due form and for 
 warded one copy of his certificate to that fact to the President 
 of the Senate, deposited another with the judge of the United 
 States district court, and carried the third to Washington 
 and delivered it to the President of the Senate. He had 
 needlessly gone through the form of organizing an electoral 
 college which neither the Constitution nor the laws of the 
 United States require, and for that purpose had appointed 
 two persons to act with him. Nevertheless, his vote for 
 Samuel J. Tilden, for President, and for Thomas A. Hen 
 dricks, for Vice- President, was regularly before the two 
 Houses of Congress and was, according to the decision of 
 the Commission in the Florida and Louisiana cases, 
 a legal vote and should have been so determined and 
 counted.* 
 
 But the Commission found a way out of the dilemma by 
 deciding " that the secretary of state did canvass the returns 
 in the case before us, and thereby ascertained that J. C. 
 Cartwright, W. H. Odell, and J. W. Watts had a majority 
 of all the votes given for electors, and had the highest num 
 ber of votes for that office, and by the express language of 
 the statute those persons are deemed elected. " And they 
 further held " that the refusal or failure of the Governor of 
 Oregon to sign the certificate of the election of the persons 
 
 " By the statute of Oregon, the process of appointing an elector is a 
 series of steps, from the ballot-box up to the certification by the Governor and 
 Secretary of State ; these steps are specifically described, and there is no 
 * C * P nor to the last> at which the appointment is declared to be complete. 
 In judging such a case the Commission precluded themselves from 
 any interference with such a lawfully-appointed elector by their acceptance 
 )t the fraudulent returns of the Louisiana returning officers, and by their 
 decision in the Louisiana case, above quoted that it is not competent to 
 prove that other persons than those regularly certified to by the governor 
 ot the state, and according to the determination of their appointment^ the 
 returning officers for elections, were appointed electors. " 
 
 McKnights Electoral System of the United States, pp. 106-7. 
 
THREE FALSEHOODS. 47 
 
 so elected does not have the effect of defeating their ap 
 pointment as such electors."* 
 
 In making this decision the Commission suppressed 
 facts, misstated the law of Oregon, and were guilty sugges- 
 tionis falsi. They failed to state that the secretary of state 
 certified to the governor that E. A. Cronin had been elected 
 and that J. W. Watts had not ; they misquoted the law by 
 not stating that the secretary of state and the governor con 
 stitute the returning officers and they had held, in the Louisi 
 ana case, that an elector is not appointed in the language 
 of the Constitution until he has received the certificate of 
 the governor " according to the determination of . . . appoint 
 ment by the returning officers." They suggested a false 
 hood by so wording their decision as to leave the impression 
 that the secretary of state had certified to the governor that 
 Watts was elected. 
 
 Notwithstanding the rule laid down by the Commission 
 that evidence aliunde the certificates was not competent, the 
 evidence of the Postmaster- General was taken to show that 
 Watts had resigned his place as postmaster. 
 
 If receiving " the highest number of votes " was, as the 
 Commission held in this case, evidence that the electors 
 were to be " deemed elected " how about the Democratic 
 electors of Florida and Louisiana ? The former had a clear 
 majority of 91 over their opponents, and the latter nearly 
 8000 majority ! But is it not needless to indicate further 
 the inconsistencies, the perversions of law, and the self-con 
 fessed stultifications of the partisan majority of the Electoral 
 Commission ? There were in all nine Republican electors 
 who were disqualified by the Constitution of the United 
 States they being Federal office-holders. In only the cases 
 of Florida, Louisiana, and Oregon could the question of 
 * Electoral Count, p. 640. 
 
48 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 the eligibility be brought before the Commission and in each 
 the decision was radically different.* 
 
 Let us now turn to the preliminary scenes in this drama 
 of fraud and follow step by step the conspiracy to nullify 
 the will of the people which resulted in the crime of the 
 Century. 
 
 * Three of the Republican members of the Electoral Commission 
 were constrained by public opinion to make at different times a defense of 
 the extraordinary decisions of the partisan majority. Mr. Justice Strong 
 frankly admitted that he feared that a great wrong had been done in the 
 Louisiana case. Mr. Justice Bradley claimed that he had serious doubts in 
 the Florida case and asserted that he wrote and rewrote several opinions. 
 He, however, came to the conclusion that the act of a sovereign state ex 
 pressed through the regularly constituted authorities thereof having juris 
 diction of the matter could not be inquired into by Congress or in other 
 words that evidence alluude the governor s certificate could not be taken by 
 the Electoral Commission which merely exercised such powers as the two 
 Houses of Congress possessed. Mr. Commissioner Hoar based his defense 
 upon the same grounds and insisted that the determination of the Commis 
 sion maintained the sovereignty of the states in its true consitutional sense, 
 and claimed that this assertion and maintenance of state rights would 
 stand as a bulwark against the natural tendency toward centralization of 
 power in Congress. But it is noteworthy that not one of the Republican 
 members of the Commission have attempted to explain and reconcile the 
 manifest inconsistencies of the different rulings of that body. It is also 
 worthy of note that no defense of the rightfulness of the decisions has been 
 attempted. The justifications which have been essayed are based upon 
 purely technical grounds. The fact that three of the majority have been 
 constrained to attempt a defense of their conduct shows that they recognize 
 the rightfulness of the popular condemnation of their acts. Mr. Justice 
 Miller admitted with Mr. fustice Strong that the ballots in the boxes in 
 Louisiana elected the Tilden electors, but he did not go so far as his col 
 league did and concede the probable commission of a great wrong by the 
 Returning Board in counting in the Hayes electors. 
 
 The Republican leaders being compelled to accept the dictum of 
 General Grant and agree to an Electoral Commission won in the end by 
 the sacrifice of their consciences. It was not a very great sacrifice. 
 
THE CONSPIRACY. 49 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The conspiracy hatched: The preliminary preparations by W. E. 
 Chandler : The emissaries from the departments at Washington : 
 Hayes admitted his defeat after Zach. Chandler claimed his elec 
 tion : The situation in Florida : The canvassing board without 
 judicial powers: The talk with President Grant over Jay Gould s 
 private wire : The orders issued to the military: Grant s dispatches 
 analyzed : The Republican visiting statesmen disregarded the 
 President s instructions : They prevented a fair count of the 
 votes actually cast. 
 
 ON the night of Tuesday, November yth, 1876, tidings 
 of disasters came from every quarter to the rooms of the 
 National Republican Committee in the Fifth Avenue Hotel, 
 New York City. Long before the dawn of the succeeding 
 morning the members of the committee and the throng of 
 anxious inquirers had sought repose with the conviction that 
 their party had met its Waterloo. Just after the last of the 
 managers had left William E. Chandler arrived from New 
 Hampshire.* He found only a few clerks in the committee 
 rooms, who quickly told him what the situation seemed to 
 be. The chairman, the secretary, everybody, had gone 
 away believing that victory perched on the banners of their 
 adversaries. Mr. Chandler took up the dispatches and 
 read them through. The outlook was indeed desperate. 
 
 * " I wish to state here that when I arrived at the Fifth Avenue Hotel 
 before daylight on the morning of the 8th of November, I found the com 
 mittee rooms vacant; everybody had gone to bed. There was no one at 
 the hotel (meaning the committee rooms) except a clerk." W. E. Chan 
 dler s testimony, H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 21, 45th Cong., sd Sess. p 527. 
 
 4- 
 
5O A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 Later telegrams only confirmed the earlier bad news. The 
 only comforting account came from the New York Times 
 office, which was to the effect that the democrats claimed 
 as absolutely certain but 184 electoral votes. But on the 
 other hand Chandler could only figure out for Hayes 166 
 electoral votes. There were 369 electors and if the demo 
 crats were certain of 184 they only needed one more to give 
 them a majority of all the electoral votes. The republicans 
 only having sure 166 required nineteen votes to make a 
 majority. 
 
 It was clear that the nineteen votes must come from 
 Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina. Here then was the 
 opportunity to retrieve disaster. Chandler s plan of oper 
 ations was instantly conceived and the execution thereof 
 immediately begun. He dictated and had sent in his own 
 name and in that of the Chairman, Zach Chandler, dis 
 patches to the governors* of Florida, Louisiana, and South 
 Carolina which inspired them with hope but left no doubt 
 that upon the result of the counting in their respective 
 states the seating of Hayes depended. These were followed 
 by other telegrams of like import to men in the same 
 states. Before noon the next day the news from the Pacific 
 
 * The following were the dispatches to Florida "The presiden 
 tial election depends on the vote of Florida, and the democrats will try 
 and wrest it from us. Watch it and hasten returns. Answer immedi 
 ately Also " Hayes defeated without Florida. Do not be cheated in 
 returns. Answer when sure." 
 
 To Louisiana "The presidential election depends on the vote of 
 Louisiana, and the democrats will try and wrest it from you. Watch it 
 and hasten returns. Answer immediately." 
 
 To South Carolina "Hayes is elected if we have carried South 
 Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana. Can you hold your state? Answer 
 immediately." 
 
 These dispatches bear date Nov. 7, but W. E. Chandler testified to 
 the Potter committee that they were " really written and sent on the morn 
 ing of the 8th." He arrived at the Fifth Avenue Hotel after midnight of 
 the jth. 
 
 H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3 d Sess. /. 526, also No. 42 
 Mis. Doc. 44th Cong. 2 d Sess. of H. R.,p. 434. 
 
CHANDLER S PROGRAMME. 51 
 
 coast confirmed the dispatches of the previous night which 
 said California and Nevada had been carried by the demo 
 crats. 
 
 When Zach. Chandler, and others, who had left the 
 night before dispirited and hopeless, returned to the com 
 mittee rooms the next morning they found W. E. Chan 
 dler, who quickly explained the situation and outlined his 
 scheme. It was in brief, first, to unequivocally claim the 
 election of Hayes and persist in claiming it; second, bold 
 and skilful men, who could be depended on under all cir 
 cumstances, must be immediately sent to Florida, Louisiana, 
 and South Carolina; third, ample means must be provided 
 for all contingencies; fourth, communication must be 
 opened with the President and Secretary of War as soon as 
 possible and ample protection by the military secured for 
 the Returning Boards. The New York Times had, at his 
 suggestion, that morning claimed the election of Hayes and 
 Wheeler on the assertion that Florida, Louisiana, and 
 South Carolina had been carried by the republicans. 
 
 Mr. Chandler proposed to take charge of the work in 
 Florida, and to go thither at once. A credit must be 
 opened for him at the Centennial Bank of Philadelphia,* 
 whose officers were his friends and could be trusted to keep 
 accounts which would not prove troublesome in the future. 
 He selected Florida as the scene of his operations because 
 he knew the powers of the board of canvassers of that state 
 were simply ministerial and great delicacy and ingenuity of 
 management, as well as bold, decisive conduct might be re 
 quired to accomplish their purposes. In Louisiana and 
 South Carolina there were many bold, unscrupulous, and 
 resourceful men who might be relied on in any emergency, 
 provided they were encouraged by the presence of promi- 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 471. 
 
5 2 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 nent northern republicans who could speak authoritatively 
 of the future, and provided, also, the authorities in Washing 
 ton spoke in no uncertain tones and emphasized their utter 
 ances with the proper display of military power. 
 
 Zachariah Chandler was bold and unscrupulous, if not 
 resourceful. If his lethargic mind could not have originated 
 the scheme so quickly devised by the more active brain of 
 the New Hampshire Chandler, it could comprehend all the 
 details. A man of tremendous energy and perfect fearless 
 ness, Zach. Chandler would not have hesitated if the un 
 dertaking had embraced the nullification of the expressed 
 will of the people of a dozen instead of only three states. As 
 the members of the National committee and the local party 
 managers of New York City gathered at the headquarters, 
 Wednesday, they were informed of the exigencies of the 
 situation, and the desperate measures necessary to bring 
 Mr. Hayes in. The chairman had promptly sent the 
 famous but untruthful dispatch, to which he undeviatingly 
 adhered, "Hayes has 185 electoral votes and is elected." 
 That day and night the arrangements for men and means 
 to be sent to Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina were 
 made, and before Thursday evening they were on their 
 way. W. F, Chandler left Wednesday night for Florida, 
 and from Lynchburg, Va., wrote the following letter to 
 Zach. Chandler under cover to M. A. Clancy:* 
 
 "THE ARLINGTON, 
 
 "Lynchburg, Va., Nov. 9, 1876. 
 
 " My Dear Sir : Please think over and guard every possible con 
 tingency in all the states. Ascertain what the laws of every Hayes 
 
 H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 526. 
 
"DON T TELEGRAPH. 
 
 53 
 
 state are about vacancies. There is danger of some form being neg 
 lected, especially in Oregon, which is so far away, and has a Democra 
 tic governor. Will Senator Edmunds give his best thought to this 
 subject and notify every Hayes state what precautions to adopt to 
 search their state laws carefully and obey them literally ? 
 
 " Colorado must be specially looked after, and the danger of bribery 
 of the legislature guarded against. 
 
 "I got delayed over night and shall omit Raleigh, but want to see 
 Chamberlain about Oranges before eating the latter. [Florida before 
 reaching there.] I will telegraph Clancy, and will sign Everett 
 Chase and you may telegraph me same way, care the governors, and 
 sign Clancy, and not Z. C, and don t telegraph unless necessary. Re 
 member Crapsey was to telegraph J. J. Ridenour, 5th Ave. You left 
 that off the cipher." 
 
 Thomas J. Brady,* with a force of special agents of the 
 Post-office Department, followed Mr. Chandler, bearing also 
 a sum of money for immediate use. The Department of 
 Justice ordered its available detectives to report to Chan 
 dler at the earliest moment in Tallahassee. William A. 
 Cook, of Washington, at Chandler s suggestion, was sent to 
 Columbia, South Carolina, to overlook operations at that 
 point, and messengers were dispatched to New Orleans, 
 bearing sinews of war, and intelligence that representative 
 men would follow immediately. There was absolute silence 
 preserved about these movements. The telegraph was re 
 sorted to only in cases of necessity, as W. E. Chandler had 
 advised. 
 
 The reiterated dispatch of Zach. Chandler, " Hayes 
 has 185 electoral votes and is elected " was interpreted 
 by Hayes himself as without serious significance. In 
 an interview published in the Cincinnati papers,t Thursday 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, Part 4, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 59. 
 t N. Y. Sun, Nov. 9, 1876. Dispatch from Cincinnati. 
 
54 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 morning, the defeated candidate said : " I think we are de 
 feated in spite of recent good news. I am of the opinion 
 that the democrats have carried the country and elected 
 Tilden, as it now seems necessary for the republicans to 
 carry all the states, not set down as doubtful, to secure even 
 a majority of one. I don t think encouraging dispatches 
 ought to be given to the public now, because, they might 
 mislead enthusiastic friends to bet on the election and lose 
 their money. I do heartily deprecate these dispatches." 
 
 Although Mr. Hayes indulged in some hypocritical ut 
 terances about his sorrow for the fate of " the poor colored 
 men of the South," whom he so readily abandoned later, to 
 secure the presidency, he was, doubtless, sincere when he 
 admitted in this interview his defeat and deprecated the 
 dispatches coming from the chairman of the National com 
 mittee. At that time he did not know and probably did 
 not dream of the object the desperate party leaders had in 
 view. 
 
 It was an undertaking from which timid men would 
 have shrunk with fear, and which honorable men would 
 have contemplated with horror. It was absolutely known, 
 Thursday evening, that the people of Florida, and Louisi 
 ana, had chosen Democratic electors. Therefore, the will of 
 the people must be disregarded. The result determined by 
 the constitutional methods at the polls must be reversed. In 
 Louisiana the machinery, provided by an alien and wholly 
 irresponsible government might be abused for this unholy 
 purpose. The election law, enacted in defiance of the State 
 Constitution to enable a few scoundrels to continue their 
 corrupt and detestable rule, prescribed certain methods 
 by which the people might be disfranchised. Unless these 
 were strictly observed the Returning Board, as will be seen 
 hereafter, could not legally reject a single vote which had 
 
THE CONSPIRATORS. 55 
 
 been returned by the election officers. However, the Re 
 turning Board was composed of desperate men who would 
 scruple at nothing, provided, they were protected, and as 
 sured of adequate rewards. 
 
 In Florida the situation was altogether different, 
 board of state canvassers was not vested with discretionary 
 powers. Their duties, plainly prescribed by law, were sim 
 ply ministerial. They could not legally do anything but 
 canvass the returns as the county returning officers for 
 warded them and declare the result. A majority of the 
 board of canvassers were republicans. They were known 
 to be weak men, but were supposed to be fairly honest. 
 
 It was of the utmost importance to the conspirators that 
 they should have the countenance and apparent support of 
 the President of the United States. They knew the 
 weight the name of General Grant would have with the Re 
 publican masses and the encouragement and confidence it 
 would give to the men in Florida, South Carolina, and 
 Louisiana upon whose active and unscrupulous cooperation 
 the success of their scheme depended. 
 
 The President was in Philadelphia attending the closing 
 ceremonies of the great exhibition which had been held in 
 commemoration of the centennial anniversary of the Dec 
 laration of Independence. The Secretary of War was also 
 in Philadelphia. There was no doubt of his readiness to 
 cooperate in any undertaking to maintain his party in 
 power, His political training had fitted him for desperate 
 enterprises of this kind. He had the confidence of General 
 Grant and exerted a potent influence with him. Mr. 
 George W. Childs has discovered to us the fact that " an 
 eminent Republican senator " and other leading repub 
 licans" were early at his office to meet General Grant the 
 morning after the election, and the unanimity with which 
 
56 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 they, " notwithstanding the returns " insisted that Hayes 
 was elected. Grant, Mr. Childs asserts did not agree to 
 this, but contented himself with merely expressing a nega 
 tive opinion. Undoubtedly this expression of General 
 Grant s opinion was quickly communicated to the chair 
 man of the National Republican Committee in New York. 
 It is certain that on the following day there was great 
 perturbation manifested by the Republican managers 
 gathered at the Fifth Avenue Hotel. It was deemed of 
 the utmost importance that George F. Edmunds, Zach- 
 ariah Chandler, Chester A. Arthur, and Alonzo B. Cornell 
 should have safe means of communicating with the Presi 
 dent and the Secretary of War in Philadelphia. 
 
 It would have attracted attention and excited suspicion 
 if a meeting between the party managers and the President 
 and the Secretary of War had taken place at this time either 
 in Philadelphia or New York. It would not do to use the 
 wires of any telegraph company, because, a tell-tale record 
 might be left behind. Moreover, it would not be safe to 
 trust unknown telegraphers. How was the difficulty to be 
 overcome ? George F. Edmunds had long been the confi 
 dential adviser of Jay Gould. He knew that a private wire 
 connected Gould s house with Philadelphia. It would be 
 easy to connect that wire with one running into the Conti 
 nental Hotel where the President and the Secretary of War 
 could meet. This was done and the necessary preliminaries 
 arranged for a confidential talk between the conspirators 
 gathered at Jay Gould s house in New York and the Presi 
 dent and Secretary of War in Philadelphia. 
 
 The first and most important thing was to secure the 
 fullest possible cooperation of the President. In this 
 work Senator Edmunds was an invaluable agent. After 
 Senator Conkling probably no other man could have 
 
GENERAL GRANT S ORDERS. 57 
 
 exerted more influence with the President. The situ 
 ation was carefully and ingeniously explained and the 
 utmost stress was laid upon the conditions of affairs in 
 Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina. The imminent 
 danger not only of an outbreak was dwelt upon, but it was 
 doubtless insisted that the lives of the Republican canvassers 
 would not be safe unless an overwhelming force of Federal 
 troops were present to awe the turbulent populace and re 
 strain daring Democratic leaders. It was urged that gen 
 tlemen of high political standing and eminent personal re 
 spectability ought to be invited to go to the capitals of the 
 different states to secure a fair count of the votes. It is 
 not to be wondered at that the President under these cir 
 cumstances should have accorded all that was asked by his 
 party friends. The responses from the President were satis 
 factory and that very night the following orders were issued.* 
 
 " PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 9, 1876, 10:40 P. M. 
 To Gen. W. T. Sherman, 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 Order four companies of soldiers to Tallahassee, Fla., at once. 
 Take them from the nearest points, not from Louisiana or Mississippi, 
 and direct that they be moved with as little delay as possible. 
 
 J. D. CAMERON, Secretary of War." 
 
 "PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 9, 1876, 1 1 P. M. 
 
 To Gen, W. T. Sherman, 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 In addition to the four companies ordered to Tallahassee, order 
 all troops in Florida to the same point, and if you haven t more than 
 the companies named, draw from Alabama and South Carolina. Ad 
 vise me of receipt of this and your action. 
 
 J. D. CAMERON, Secretary of War."" 
 
 "PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 9, 1876, 11:15 P. M. 
 
 To Gen. W. T. Sherman, 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 Telegraph General Ruger to proceed at once to Tallahassee, Fla., 
 
 * Ex. Doc. No. 30, H. R. 44th Cong, ad Sess. pp. 22, 23. 
 
58 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 and upon his arrival there to communicate with Gov. Stearns. Say to 
 him to leave affairs in South Carolina in hands of an entirely discreet 
 
 and reliable officer. 
 
 J. D. CAMERON, Secretary of War." 
 
 These orders were obeyed and the Secretary of War 
 was informed of their execution. The next day the Presi 
 dent telegraphed Gen. Sherman as follows : * 
 
 "PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 10, 1876. 
 [Received at Washington, Nov. 10, 1876, 2:16 P. M.) 
 To Gen. W. T. Sherman, 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 Instruct Gen. Augur in Louisiana and Gen. Ruger in Florida to 
 be vigilant with the force at their command to preserve peace and 
 good order, and to see that the proper and legal boards of canvassers 
 are unmolested in the performance of their duties. Should there be 
 any grounds of suspicion of fraudulent counting on either side, it 
 should be reported and denounced at- once. No man worthy of the 
 office of President would be willing to hold the office if counted in, 
 placed there by fraud; either party can afford to be disappointed in 
 the result, but the country cannot afford to have the result tainted by 
 the suspicion of illegal or false returns. 
 
 U. S. GRANT." 
 
 This order to Gen. Sherman was intended for the 
 public and was given forthwith to the press. The Presi 
 dent was evidently anxious to satisfy the public that he 
 would not be a party to "fraudulent counting." He con 
 cluded that he had not expressed exactly his idea and 
 therefore sent from the Centennial Grounds the following 
 dispatch to Gen. Sherman : 
 
 "PHILA., Nov. 10, 1876 
 
 [Received at Washington, Nov. 10, 76, 2:12 P. M.] 
 To Gen. W. T. Sherman, 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 Send all the troops to General Augur he may deem necessary to en 
 sure entire quiet and a peaceable count of the ballots actually cast 
 * Ex. Doc. No. 30, 44th Cong. 2d Sess. p. 24. 
 
ANALYSIS OF THE ORDERS. 59 
 
 They may be taken from South Carolina unless there is reason to ex 
 pect an outbreak there. The presence of citizens from other states, I 
 understand, is requested in Louisiana, to see that the board of can 
 vassers make a fair count of the votes actually cast. It is to be hoped 
 that representatives and fair men of both parties will go. 
 
 U. S. GRANT." 
 
 The Federal troops in South Carolina * had, two weeks 
 before the November election, been increased by ordering 
 thither every available man on the Atlantic seaboard from 
 Fort Monroe northward making in all thirty-three com 
 panies stationed in different parts of that state. Ten of 
 these companies, with two from Atlanta, Georgia, with 
 Gen. Ruger in command, were sent to Florida, under 
 orders to act in conjunction with Governor Stearns. Three 
 full regiments had already been ordered to New Orleans 
 before the last dispatch to General Sherman was sent by 
 the President.! The two telegrams of the President of 
 November 10, to General Sherman were not in accordance 
 with the arrangement made the preceding night over Jay 
 Gould s private wire. Their language shows that Grant 
 was endeavoring to guard against some apprehended ex 
 cess of zeal. Their tone is confirmatory of Mr. Child s 
 statement about Grant s belief in Tilden s election. The 
 commanding generals were directed, first : " to see that 
 the proper and legal boards of canvassers are unmolested 
 in the performance of their duties." Second: "should 
 there be any grounds of suspicion of fraudulent counting, 
 on either side, it should be reported and denounced at 
 once." The first direction could be carried out easily 
 enough. 
 
 There was no danger whatever of the " boards of can- 
 * Ex. Doc. No. 30, H. R. 44th Cong. 2d Sess. pp. 17, 18, 19, 20, 
 
 21, 22. 
 
 t Ibid, p. 27. 
 
60 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 vassers " being molested in the performance of their duties. 
 General Sheridan,* who was ordered to New Orleans, arrived 
 there on the i5th and reported on the i6th that there was 
 " very little excitement " and " no appearance of any trou 
 ble." It was of course entirely within the scope of executive 
 authority to have instructed General Augur in Louisiana 
 and General Ruger in Florida, in the event of an outbreak, 
 to cooperate with the local authorities " to preserve peace 
 and good order." No other use of the Federal troops was 
 justifiable, and in strict compliance with law even that 
 could not be ordered until the f governors of the respective 
 states had reported that they were unable to preserve the 
 peace and protect all classes of citizens against domestic 
 violence, unlawful combinations or conspiracies. 
 
 But how were the commanding generals to discover 
 whether there were "any grounds of suspicion of frau 
 dulent counting on either side," and to whom were they 
 to report and denounce it ? The counting was to be 
 done by the Canvassing Boards. In Louisiana the can 
 vassers were without exception republicans, and in Florida 
 only one was a democrat. How could the commanding 
 generals ascertain whether there were any "grounds of 
 suspicion of fraudulent counting" unless they had been 
 directed to supervise the reception, as well as the canvass- 
 
 ! Ex. Doc. No. 30, H. R. 44 th Cong, and Sess. p. 41. 
 Tri rt -H ^ Y dls P atch askin S for tro PS came from Governor Stearns of 
 Flonda, on November 9 th and was as follows : " We shall need an army 
 
 hnor? I U H ; > U SpeC al train leavi "S here last ni & ht for the Chatta- 
 >chee to dispatch couriers to verify and secure intact the returns from 
 western counties, was ku-kluxed a few miles west of here, and the train 
 thrown from the track, which was torn up and blocked in several places. 
 SSLJ3 TF&JP o he P rotection Possible." This dispatch was sent to 
 Philadelphia to the President by Geo. W. Childs, who also informed him 
 of the consultation to be held that night over Jay Gould s private wire. 
 
 SSJSlSSK **? SP ? da J train bdng ku - kluxe d was a lie. There were no 
 obstructions on the track It was merely an ordinary accident on a Florida 
 railroad which was in bad condition at that time. Mis. Doc. No. 42, 44 th 
 
THE INTENT OF THE ORDERS. 6 1 
 
 ing, of the returns ? But this would have cast suspicion 
 upon the integrity of the Returning Boards. Was this not 
 the object of the President s semi-military orders ? " A fair 
 count of the votes actually cast," was precisely what the 
 conspirators did not want. Fair and honest returns of the 
 " votes actually cast " would have made Samuel J. Tilden 
 the next President of the United States. Before the Presi 
 dent s remarkable dispatches were sent to General Sherman 
 the polls had been closed two whole days and the returns 
 " of the votes actually cast," save from remote counties 
 and parishes, in Florida and Louisiana, were in Tallahassee 
 and New Orleans. There was, therefore, no possibility of 
 "fraudulent counting" unless it was done by the Returning 
 Boards. 
 
 The direction to report and denounce at once "grounds 
 of suspicion of fraudulent counting on either side " did not 
 embarrass the visiting statesmen. They were determined 
 to interpret to suit themselves the President s instructions. 
 The further declaration that " no man worthy of the office 
 of President would be willing to hold the office if counted 
 in, placed there by fraud " was without other meaning to 
 average politicians than high sounding words intended to 
 deceive the public and cloak evil designs. 
 
 The intention was to use the machinery of the Return 
 ing Boards to return as elected the Republican electors of 
 Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina, regardless " of the 
 votes actually cast." No fear was entertained of this not 
 being done in Louisiana and South Carolina. The character 
 of the Republican officials in those states was known. 
 They could be depended upon, if properly "protected" and 
 adequately "encouraged." The "encouragement" was en 
 route and the action of the President and Secretary of 
 War left no doubt as to their cooperation by the use of the 
 
62 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 army. In Florida the conditions were less favorable. 
 There were doubts as to the powers of the Returning Board 
 as well as to the dependence to be placed in the members 
 thereof.* But the troops were on hand, and so was W. 
 E. Chandler. The sinews of war were coming. 
 
 The Secretary of War telegraphed personally to Gov 
 ernor Stearns informing him that "a sufficient number of 
 troops have been ordered to Tallahassee to give you the 
 aid desired. "f This language was, of course, deliberately 
 used. It is important, because it shows that the troops 
 were sent to "aid" and not because there was need of 
 "protection." At the same time, Zach. Chandler had tele 
 graphed to Stearns t that W. E. Chandler was "on the 
 way to aid." The reception of these telegrams of Nov. 8th 
 and gth to Stearns and those of the President to Gen. Sher 
 man of Nov. loth, were interpreted in Florida as they were 
 meant to be, and the managers at Tallahassee sent dis 
 patches to every quarter of the state on the roth, two days 
 after the election, like this J "The national ticket depends 
 on Florida. Save every vote to swell our majority." Three 
 days later, on the arrival of W. E. Chandler, telegrams were 
 
 l\rv* T^ E C f h * ndler telegraphed to Zach. Chandler from Tallahassee, 
 S *"-" 
 
 l\rv T f . , 
 
 Send S R S *"?*-:" * swarming with prominent democrats 
 
 e 
 
 h- H an i aW K yers , nd eminent men - Send J nes to E - A - 
 
 Phila. Have Arthur William warm men acting cold " Ac- 
 T ^a^r s account of his cipher to the Potter committee, (Atf, 
 
 Ro lif Pfcflft N 3 !/ i 5th Con * 3 d *") " Send Jones to E A. 
 
 draw for k - S^ f S? ^n- f Centennial Bank, Phila., so I can 
 havZ KfcS: in A T A J thur Wllllam warm men acting cold," meant, 
 * J?/ A ( S ] SC 1 d I e P ublicans - men acting with democrats. (H. 
 K. Mis. Doc. No. 42, 44th Cong. 2 d Sess. p. 430 
 
 inenfc g o a un^ V l he ^^^phed to the same. "Florida needs em- 
 weU as Tone, n ? P T ^ Louisiana. Can you send Robinson as 
 0S V here/ He wanted " Robinson " $3,000, and 
 $5 ooo. Doctors plenty," danger great here. 
 
 * 439> and l RMis - Doc - 
 
 Tones 
 ones 
 
 t Miss. Doc. No. 42 H. R. 44th Cong. 2 d Sess. p. 436. 
 t Ibid, p. 437. 
 
RUGER UNDER STEARNS. 63 
 
 sent to local Republican managers, telling them that the 
 * state was close, and you must make effort to render 
 every possible assistance," and that "funds from Washing 
 ton"* would be on hand to meet every requirement. The 
 replies t from subordinates in various localities in many 
 instances demanded the assistance of Federal troops, and 
 Stearns issued his orders on Gen. Ruger who was directed 
 by the Secretary of War to obey. 
 
 * Miss. Doc. No. 42, H. R. 44th Cong. 2d Sess. p. 436- 
 f Ibid, p. 437- 
 
64 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 W. E. Chandler reaches Florida and reports the situation to Hayes: 
 He calls for men who can speak authoratively for Hayes : Telegrams 
 to Zach. Chandler calling for men and money : The efforts of Chan 
 dler to show a majority for Hayes on the face of the county re 
 turns : The fraud by which this was accomplished : The two Baker 
 county returns: The disadvantage the democrats labored under: 
 What the cipher dispatches between the conspirators disclose: The 
 carpet-bag rogues afraid of treachery : What Chandler wanted 
 with Mathews : The work Noyes did. 
 
 ON Saturday, November nth, Mr. Chandler arrived in 
 Tallahassee. He found the situation, as he reported in 
 cipher to the private secretary of Hayes, favorable. Evi 
 dently by that time Hayes was informed of what was going 
 on and no longer "heartily deprecated" the dispatches 
 coming from the national committee. He had been com 
 municated with and his private secretary had Chandler s 
 cipher. Notwithstanding W. E. Chandler found the situa 
 tion favorable he felt the need of the presence of gentlemen 
 from Ohio personal friends of Mr. Hayes who could, if 
 necessary, speak for him. Accordingly, he telegraphed, in 
 cipher, to Hayes private secretary* to "send Stanley 
 
 "Tallahassee, Fla., Nov. 13, 1876. 
 * To A. E. LEE, Columbus, Ohio. 
 
 William S. Mathews and others of high character; rainy. 
 
 W. E. CHANDLER." 
 
 Chandler was also in communication with another of Hayes intimate 
 confidential friends in Cincinnati. The following dispatches from this 
 person to Chandler have survived, but Chandler s to him are missing: 
 
"THE MEN AND MEANS." 65 
 
 Mathews and others of high character." Stanley Mathews, 
 Edward F. Noyes, Ex-Governor, and John Little, Attor 
 ney-General of Ohio, were in New Orleans, or on their 
 way thither, in company with John Sherman, and James 
 A. Garfield. The request of Mr. Chandler was promptly 
 communicated to New Orleans and in response E. F. 
 Noyes accompanied by John A. Kasson, of Iowa, and Lew 
 Wallace, of Indiana, started forthwith for Tallahassee. 
 
 In the meantime Thomas J. Brady, Second Assistant 
 Postmaster General, carrying $2,000, sent by Zach. Chan 
 dler, and accompanied by H. Clay Hopkins, Wm. T. Hen 
 derson, Z. L. Tidball, B. H. Camp, and Alfred Morton, 
 Special Agents of the Post-office Department,* had arrived 
 at Tallahassee. The gentlemen from Ohio arrived Mon 
 day the 2oth. William H. Robertson, Francis C. Barlow, 
 and D. G. Rollins, of New York came about the same 
 time. E. W. Maxwell, and Peyton, detectives, of the De 
 partment of Justice, followed in the wake of Brady and the 
 contingent of the Post-office Department. 
 
 " Cincinnati, Ohio, Nov. i8th, 1876. 
 To W. E. CHANDLER, Tallahassee, Fla. 
 
 What is the situation ? Rumors are afloat that we are in danger and 
 that the attention should be turned to Florida instead of Louisiana. 
 
 " Cincinnati, Ohio, Nov. 19, 1876. 
 To W. E. CHANDLER, Tallahassee, Fla. 
 
 Dispatch received. Attorney-General Little of this state left here 
 Saturday morning to assist you. Others will go if you think them 
 needed/ L - C - WEIR " 
 
 Edward F. Noyes was also in cipher communication with Weir as the 
 following dispatch shows : 
 
 " Cincinnati, Ohio, Nov. 19, 1876. 
 HON. EDWARD F. NOYES, Tallahassee, Fla. 
 
 i Scared 2 bursting 3 try 4 me 5 &, 6 did 7 cipher 8 not 9 it 10 to 
 ii wit 12 for 13 are 14 use 15 out 16 same 18 you 19 dispatch 20 follow 21 
 took 22 sick 23 again 24 news 25 we 26 we 27 it 28 us 29 the 30 received. _ 
 
 L/. O. WEIR. 
 
 TRANSLATION. " The cipher dispatch to me received. Scared me. 
 Try it again. Did you follow same rule? We are bursting for news. 
 Are we not outwitted ?" 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 528. 
 
66 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 On Saturday, November i8th, W. E. Chandler reported 
 by telegraph to Zach. Chandler, as follows : * 
 
 "TALLAHASSEE, FLA., Nov. 18, 1876. 
 To Zach. Chandler, 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 After full conference with all our friends now here we find the 
 work to be done requires great and expeditious labor, in view of the 
 shortness of time, which if well performed will, we believe, assure 
 success. Noyes and Kasson will be here on Monday, and Robinson 
 must go immediately to Philadelphia and then come here. Can we 
 also have Jones again ? Rainy, for not more than one-tenth of Smith s 
 warm apples. You can imagine what the cold fellows are doin<r 
 Where is Cook ? fe 
 
 C. 
 
 Mr. Chandler, being asked to explain this telegram by 
 the Potter committee said "The first part is all plain as 
 it stands. Robinson must go immediately to Philadelphia 
 and then come here/ means that I wished some money 
 sent to Philadelphia to the Centennial Bank, where I could 
 draw for it : I do not now recall the amount with certainty, 
 but I think Robinson means $3,000. Can we also 
 have Jones again, means, I think, can you also let me 
 have $2,000 more (making $5,000.) Rainy, for not more 
 than one-tenth of Smith s warm apples means it looks 
 favorable for about twenty-five majority in the state. 
 You can imagine what the cold fellows are doing, means 
 you can imagine what the democrats are about. Where 
 is Cook ? is an inquiry for William A. Cook who I had re- 
 quested by telegraph should be sent down."* 
 
 * See H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45 th Cong. 3 d Sess. p. 471. 
 
CHANDLER S HOPE. 67 
 
 Previous to this dispatch of Nov. i8th, Chandler had 
 telegraphed for $2,000* and on the i3th had been no 
 tified t that it was on the way. He was, also, informed from 
 Washington that the news from Louisiana was favorable. 
 And at a later date he requested Zach. Chandler to send 
 him $3,000 f more which was promptly done. In all he 
 received from the National Committee, according to his 
 telegrams and the evidence of Thomas J. Brady, $15,000. 
 How much he carried with him, and received from other 
 sources does not appear. 
 
 The hope and expectation of Chandler at this time was 
 that the county returns would show on their face a small 
 majority for the Hayes electors. The first efforts were di 
 rected to the accomplishment of this much to be desired re 
 sult. It was for this purpose that the local Republican 
 managers were telegraphed to " save every vote." It would 
 have simplified the job of counting the state for Hayes if 
 the county returns had on their face shown a small majority. 
 They all knew that the state canvassing board had, under 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 42, 44th Cong. 2d Sess. p. 438. " Florida 
 swarming with prominent democrats. Send some Republican lawyers and 
 eminent men. Send Jones to E. A. Rollins, Philadelphia. Have Arthur 
 William warm men acting cold." 
 
 t H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 42, 44th Cong. 2d Sess. p. 438. Zach. Chan 
 dler to W. E. Chandler." Dispatch received. Jones gone to Phila. 
 Harny all along the line Sea safe cotton high stiffen oranges. Men 
 coming." The translation is as follows: $2,000 sent to Centennial Na 
 tional Bank, Phila. Serene all along the line Outlook favorable, Louisi 
 ana all right. Stiffen the Florida fellows, Arthur has sent the men you 
 asked for." 
 
 t H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 42, 44th Cong. 2d Sess. p. 439-40. W. E. 
 Chandler to Zach. Chandler. "William Robinson in small cherries 
 probably shall not need him. Apples about twenty but to be ready for any 
 emergency." Answer. "Gen. Robinson goes to-night; cotton very 
 high; very rainy." Translation. " Send $3,000 in large bills, probably 
 shall not need it. Majority about twenty. But be ready^ for any emer 
 gency i. e., want the money to use if necessary. The $3,000 goes to 
 night ; Louisiana certain, everything going well." The dates of these dis 
 patches were Nov. 27 and 28, and at that date Chandler knew what the 
 Returning Board in Louisiana was going to do, although it did not com 
 plete its work till eight days later Dec. 6th. 
 
68 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 the law, simply the authority to perform the ministerial 
 duty of canvassing and compiling the returns of the election 
 sent to them by the county officers. The Supreme Court 
 of the state, had, in the case of* Bloxham vs. the State 
 Canvassers, given a judicial construction of the law and de 
 fined their powers. The court held that " The object of 
 the law was to ascertain the number of votes cast, and de 
 termine therefrom, and certify the result of the election." 
 In doing this it was the " duty of the state canvassers to 
 determine whether the papers received from them purport 
 ing to be returns were, in fact, such, and were genuine, in 
 telligible, and substantially authenticated by law." The 
 county returns standing these tests they must be accepted 
 and the results determined therefrom. 
 
 If the returns from the county officers showed on their 
 face a majority for the Hayes electors no one knew better 
 than Mr. Chandler the advantage he would have. Failing 
 in this his objective point was to have the Board of Can 
 vassers reject enough returns, because of pretended irregu 
 larities by the county canvassers, and on account of frauds 
 claimed to have been practised at the polling places, to give 
 the Hayes electors a majority. In the preparation for both 
 schemes the state officers and local politicians rendered effi 
 cient service. They were shrewd, unscrupulous, active, ca 
 pable of any villainy, and the presence of government 
 detectives, and an overwhelming force of troops assured 
 them of present absolute protection. Their only concern 
 was to achieve success for their state ticket, as well as for 
 the Hayes electors. The successful counting in of the for 
 mer was a sina qua non with them. The latter was only 
 important to them, because it assured the protection of 
 the former. All their schemes of plunder depended 
 
 * 13 Fla. 733777- 
 
THE LOCAL RASCALS. 69 
 
 upon the continuance of the carpet-bag rule in the 
 state. Immunity for past, present, and future rascality 
 could only be secured by the success of their state ticket. 
 A great scheme of land and railroad speculation which had 
 been worked up by Frank Sherwin,* and C. D. Willard, in 
 conjunction with W. H. Gleason, Lieutenant-Governor, L. 
 G. Dennis and other state officers, and officials, could only 
 be made successful by the maintenance in power of the lat 
 ter. The active agents t in the manipulation of returns 
 from the counties were F. C. Humphreys, elector at large, 
 Dennis Eagan, chairman of the state committee, L. G. 
 Dennis, senator from Alachua county, J. VV. Howell, deputy 
 clerk of the circuit court of Baker county, Joseph Bowes, 
 of Leon county, James Bell, of Jefferson county, Moses J. 
 Taylor, clerk of Jefferson county, and Manuel Govin, of 
 Monroe county. Dennis had as his tools in Alachua 
 county two creatures, Thomas H. Vance and Richard H. 
 Black. The county judge, W. K. Cessna, was another 
 pliant scoundrel. Howell made use of E. W. Driggers, 
 county judge, and A. A. Allen, sheriff of Baker county, and 
 Bill Green, a justice of the peace, manufactured to order, 
 for the purpose of a fraudulent county canvass and return. 
 Samuel B. McLin, secretary of state, and F. A. Cowgill, 
 comptroller of public accounts, and ex-officio member of 
 the board of state canvassers, with George H. DeLeon, 
 the governor s secretary, were of course all important 
 factors. 
 
 When all the returns from the county canvassers had 
 been received by the governor and secretary of state, Mr. 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31 p. 4. 45th Cong. 3d Sess. pp. 380-1 . 
 
 t See H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, Parts i and 2, 45th Cong., 3d Sess., 
 pp. 447, 499, 155, 171, 492, 493, 494, 169, 129, 130, 151, 154, 94, 99, 129, 152, 
 153, 126, ii, 47, 12, 16, 33, 14, 17, 18, 25, 19, 105, 55, 56, 107, 127, 141. Also 
 Senate Report. No. 611, 44th Cong., 2nd Sess., pp. 356-364, 151, 154, 416, 
 
 425, 175, 178, 201, 202. 
 
7 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 Chandler and his coadjutors discovered to their surprise 
 that on their face they showed a majority of 91 votes for the 
 Tilden electors. The footings were, for the Tilden electors, 
 24,441, and for the Hayes electors, 24,350, votes.* 
 
 This was a result which the conspirators had not calcu 
 lated upon. They had made the most desperate exertions 
 to insure just the opposite result. With a majority on the 
 face of the returns for the Hayes electors, and their state 
 ticket, their task would have been a comparatively easy one. 
 They could have taken their stand thereon, and insisted 
 that, by the law of the state, and in accordance with the 
 decision of the Supreme Court, in the case of Bloxham vs. 
 the State Canvassers,! the county returns were final and 
 the canvassing board must merely perform the ministerial 
 duty of tabulating the votes and declare the result. The 
 democrats would have had to insist upon the canvassers 
 going behind the returns and here the advantage would of 
 course be with the republicans, because they had a majority 
 of the board, and, once judicial power was assumed, they 
 could exercise it to accomplish whatever was deemed neces 
 sary. 
 
 But this scheme was upset unless in some way the 
 result on the face of the county returns could be changed. 
 And Mr. Chandler knew that there must be plausible, and 
 apparently legal ground, prepared for this change. In look 
 ing over the returns it was discovered that the one from 
 Baker county, which had been received, was made by Coxe, 
 county clerk, Dorman, justice of the peace, and that Drig- 
 gers, the county judge, had not joined therein. The law J 
 required the canvass of the precinct returns to be made not 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, Part 2, 4 sth Cong. 3 d Sess. p. 54. 
 
 Fla. R. p. 54. 
 t H. R. Mis. Doc., No. 31, Part 2, 4 5th Cong., 3d Sess., pp. n, 47. 
 
THE BAKER COUNTY FRAUD. /I 
 
 later than six days after the election, by the county clerk, 
 the county judge, and a justice of the peace. In the ab 
 sence of, or refusal of, the county clerk, or county judge, to 
 act, the sheriff must be substituted. Here then was the 
 opportunity. J. W. Howell* who was deputy clerk of 
 Baker county, was communicated with by Governor Stearns, 
 and he promptly undertook to remedy the disaster. Driggers 
 was dispatched forthwith to Tallahassee to procure a com 
 mission of justice of the peace for Bill Green, Dorman, who 
 had acted with Coxe, county clerk, being the only justice of 
 the peace in the county. Driggers went to Tallahassee, saw 
 the governor, and secretary of state, and came back with 
 the commission for Bill Green in his pocket.t But, unfor 
 tunately, he had previously given notice to Coxe, county 
 clerk, and Dorman, justice of the peace, to meet with him 
 on the 1 3th for the purpose of canvassing the returns.t On 
 the appointed day they were present, at the clerk s office, 
 but Driggers was not there. They hunted him up and he 
 refused point blank to join with them in the canvass. Then 
 the sheriff, who under the law, could only act in the ab 
 sence, or upon the refusal of the clerk, or county judge, was 
 asked to join, but he, too, by the direction of Driggers, re 
 fused to take part.| After waiting till nearly evening, and 
 neither the county judge nor sheriff appearing, Coxe and 
 Dorman again canvassed the precinct returns, and set out 
 in their return to the secretary of state, and governor, all 
 the facts connected with the refusal of the county judge and 
 sheriff to join in the canvass. 
 
 That night* Howell let Driggers, Allen, and Green, into 
 the clerk s office where they perfunctorily looked over the 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, Part 2, 45th Cong, ad Sess. p. 33- 
 t Ibid. p. 16. 
 t Ibid. p. 12. 
 
72 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 precinct returns and then adjourned to the house of 
 one Canova, where they signed a return which had been 
 prepared for them, including the votes of but two precincts, 
 out of the four, in the county omitting those of Darby- 
 ville and Johnsville, which gave the Tilden electors 149. 
 and the Hayes electors only 1 1 votes. The two precincts 
 returned gave the Hayes electors 130 votes, and the Tilden 
 electors 89 votes, and by this process a Democratic majority 
 in the county of 95 was converted into a Republican 
 majority of 41 votes. At the same time by holding the return 
 made by Driggers, county judge, Allen, sheriff, and Green 
 justice of the peace, to be the only one complying with the 
 law, the state canvassers could convert the majority on the 
 face of the returns from 91 for the Tilden electors, into 35 
 majority for the Hayes electors. 
 
 There was not a scintilla of evidence * to show even the 
 suspicion of wrong of any kind at the polls in the precincts 
 of Darby ville and Johnsville. Driggers admitted this when 
 examined by the Potter committee. He claimed to know 
 that some illegal votes were counted at Darbyville. He did 
 not know exactly how many, but thought there were four 
 or five. As to Johnsville he knew nothing, but had been 
 informed that there had been some irregularities at that poll 
 ing place. Allen ,t the sheriff, testified that Driggers told 
 him that " they (the republicans) were beat in the state; that 
 something must be done," and that " he proposed to have 
 a canvass by himself." Allen asked him how he could get 
 any one to act with him and Driggers replied he " had got 
 it all right," that he " had a commission for Bill Green, as 
 a justice of the peace." Allen also testified that they had 
 "no evidence at all " in regard to the Johnsville precinct 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc., No. 31, Part 2, 451!! Cong., 3d Sess., pp. 18, 19, 
 
 t Ibid. p. 18. 
 
CHANDLER S ADVANTAGE. 73 
 
 they merely "believed that there was some intimidation 
 there -that there was one party prevented from voting. 
 In regard to this there was only his (loggers ) statement. 
 As to the Johnsville precinct he testified that there was 
 "not a particle of evidence" that " we believed that there 
 were some illegal votes cast there." The returns, so far as 
 he knew, from these two precincts " appeared to be regular. 
 During the time, intervening between the arrival of W. 
 E Chandler and his associates, and the beginning of 1 
 canvass by the state canvassers, preparations were made 
 for the contest. A number of democrats from _ th< .North 
 arrived, at different times, and in connection with the ^ local 
 managers, took whatever steps they could to defeat the 
 plans of their opponents. They were at a great d.sadvan- 
 age, because they did not know what the conspirators ,r 
 tended to do. They knew that on the face of the returns 
 from all the counties, the Tilden electors, and the Demo 
 cratic state ticket, had a small majority. They knew also, 
 that there had been a return from Baker county made by 
 Driggers, Allen, and Green, but they did not know that the 
 votes of two precincts -Darby ville and Johnsville - had 
 been omitted. Their only legal and safe ground was to 
 stand on the returns and combat the assumption, by the 
 canvassers, of judicial powers -to insist that they could 
 not go behind the county returns. It was impossible 1 
 them to know what returns the republicans intended to at- 
 ttck or what evidence they had manufactured in support of 
 their contemplated attacks. The only thing they could do 
 was to discover Republican frauds and irregularities and 
 gather the best evidence thereof they could. 
 
 The evidence * since brought to light, proves that 
 
 . H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3 d Sess. pp. 468 to 47. 477 to 
 495- 5 2 5 I00 to I4 93- 
 
74 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 E. Chandler was satisfied immediately on his arrival in Tal 
 lahassee that he could depend absolutely on the Republican 
 members of the canvassing board. His plan of operations 
 was somewhat altered, after he discovered that the face of 
 the returns gave the Tilden electors a majority, but he con 
 gratulated himself on the way this was offset by the Drig- 
 gers return from Baker county. He knew perfectly well, 
 however, that it would not do to stand on this return be 
 cause, it was irregular, in that the sheriff had no authority, 
 under the law, to join in the canvass except on account of 
 the absence, or refusal, of the county judge, or county 
 clerk, to act. It could not be safely claimed that the county 
 clerk was absent, or had refused to join with Driggers, in 
 his canvass. One thing Mr. Chandler always insists upon 
 knowing the weakness of his own case. He is too good 
 a lawyer to be caught napping in this respect. He knew 
 also, beyond question, of the performances of Dennis tools 
 in Alachua county, and of Bowes in Leon county, and 
 Bell s in Jefferson county. He accordingly looked for ir 
 regularities in other counties where the democrats had large 
 majorities and prepared to have rejected the entire votes of 
 certain counties, and of particular precincts in others. 
 
 Another advantage the Republican conspirators had was 
 their exact knowledge of what was going on in Louisiana 
 and South Carolina. Chandler had arranged ciphers with 
 Kellogg and Chamberlain, that present paragon of politi 
 cal morality and civil service reform, whereby they kept 
 each other informed from day to day of what was transpir 
 ing in their respective localities. But few of the Republican 
 cipher dispatches were preserved. By an arrangement with 
 the telegraph companies they were enabled to withdraw 
 the ones considered most damaging.* When the Western 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. 31, Part 4. 45 th Cong. 3d Sess. pp. 57, 60, 63. 
 
REPUBLICAN CIPHERS. 
 
 Union Telegraph Company produced the dispatches in 
 obedience to subpoenas of the Senate and House of Repre 
 sentatives in January, 1877, the president of the company 
 caused them to be delivered to the Senate Committee on 
 Privileges and Elections. Senator Morton was chairman of 
 this committee, and an employe of the Senate allowed 
 Postmaster-General Tyner to abstract his telegrams to Zach. 
 Chandler * The same employ^ abstracted all the Demo 
 cratic dispatches and those sent and received by the repub 
 licans were returned to the telegraph company and 
 immediately destroyed. A few of the Republican cipher 
 telegrams, however, were saved.t They show that W. E. 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. 31, Part 4. 4 5th Cong. 3 d Sess. p. 33L 
 
 " Tallahassee, Fla., Nov. 13, 1876. 
 
 <" ^^o^^ne^uf^w posmve^ou. Cotton. ^ ,. 
 
 " New Orleans, Nov. 13, 1876. 
 
 / \ VVK-PFTT CHASE care of Gov. Stearns, Tallahassee, Fla. 
 (2) rleSr. Think coon high- how there 
 
 " Tallahasse, Fla., Nov. 16, 1876. 
 fe W. E. 
 
 grams here say cotton low and fever spreaing.. . . 
 
 " New Orleans, Nov. 16, 1876. 
 
 (4) EVERETT CHASE, care Gov Stearns, Tallahassee, Fla - 
 l4 Doctors plenty. Cotton high sure you be easy. 
 
 " New Orleans, Nov. 15, 1876. 
 
 (5) To EVERETT CHASE, care Gov. Stearns Tallahassee, * ,. 
 (5) Confident cotton high : only keep it firm there. 
 
 " Tallahassee, Nov. 26, 1876. 
 
 here. Answer. 
 
 These dispatches are translated as follows : 
 
 i Has Kellogg my letter (with cipher). Must know positively about 
 
/O A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 Chandler while on his way to Florida wrote to Wm. Pitt 
 Kellogg and enclosed a cipher code to enable them to 
 communicate with each other. Inasmuch as it was abso 
 lutely necessary for the republicans to count in the Presi 
 dential electors of Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina, 
 the importance of this inter-communication will be readily 
 perceived. It was necessary to satisfy the members of the 
 Returning Boards in the respective states that the conspir 
 acy was going to be successful. If one of the three states 
 should happen to go for Tilden the jig would be up. He 
 required only one electoral vote. The Returning Board 
 rascals were willing to do anything that was required of 
 them, provided, they knew that there would be no slip 
 between the cup and the lip. If there was danger of a slip 
 they did not propose to take any chances. 
 
 Another important fact is disclosed by these dis 
 patches they show that from the moment Chandler ar 
 rived in Florida he knew that the board of state canvassers 
 would do whatever they were told to do provided men 
 known to be authorized to speak for Hayes gave the proper 
 assurances. Those from Kellogg beginning Nov. i3th, 
 prove that before the Louisiana Returning Board met, and 
 with the knowledge that the Democratic majority approx- 
 
 3. Very favorable outlook in Florida. Pay no attention to Democratic 
 reports. Telegrams here say Louisiana uncertain. 
 
 4. Returning Board all right. Louisiana absolutely sure. You may 
 rest easy. 
 
 5. Confident about Louisiana: only keep Florida all right. 
 
 6. Democratic reports here say Returning Board uncertain and that 
 Louisiana will be for them. All right here. 
 
 Zach. Chandler kept W. E. Chandler informed about the situation in 
 South Carolina. 
 
 " Washington, Dec. 5, 1876. 
 To W. E. CHANDLER, Tallahassee, Fla. 
 
 South Carolina cotton high absolutely. Z. CHANDLER." 
 
 TRANSLATION. South Carolina absolutely safe. 
 
THE FEAR OF THE ROGUES. 77 
 
 imated 8,000 votes, he had no doubt of the final result. 
 The Returning Board did not meet to begin the canvass of 
 the votes till Nov. iyth, and yet on the i6th Kellogg tele 
 graphed to Chandler that the Returning Board was all right 
 and Louisiana absolutely sure. Likewise Zach. Chandler 
 in Washington was daily advised and in turn sent the favor 
 able news from one to the other of the different sets of visit 
 ing statesmen. All the indicia of conspiracy are made 
 plain by these few cipher dispatches which have come 
 down to us by a lucky chance. 
 
 The members of the Returning Boards and all the sub 
 ordinate politicians of the three states whose nineteen elect 
 oral votes were needed to give Hayes one majority realized 
 that it was a stupendous undertaking that the margin was 
 narrow, and the danger of failure, and consequently the 
 risks very great. Moreover, they were naturally suspicious. 
 They had an intuitive fear of Hayes. They knew that the 
 local Democratic leaders were far more anxious to get pos 
 session of the State governments than they were for the 
 success of the national ticket. Undoubtedly they would 
 prefer the Federal government to be turned over to the na 
 tional democracy, but if they had a chance to trade for one 
 it would always be their State government they would in 
 sist upon. In such a contingency as this the "carpet-bag 
 and scallawag" politicians honestly believed they would 
 have to cut and run. They knew perfectly well that they 
 were liable to prosecutions for divers evil deeds, and that, 
 if justice was meted out to them, their future abiding places, 
 for years to come, would be within the walls of the pel 
 
 tentiaries. 
 
 On the other hand it was plain to them that the 1 
 tation to trade on the part of prominent Republican leaders 
 was great. The success of the national ticket meant every- 
 
78 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 thing to them the loss of the state governments in three 
 southern states and the sacrifice of a few carpet-baggers 
 and scallawags would not matter much. The sheet anchor 
 of hope to the local rascals was their knowledge, and the 
 certainty that they could make their peace any time, before 
 the work was finished, by disposing thereof to the demo 
 crats. They were at no pains to conceal their fears, their 
 suspicions, and to make known their determination to un 
 load, the instant they discovered a disposition to sell them 
 out. They kept close watch on the Republican as well as 
 upon the Democratic visitors. Their influence over the ne 
 groes was complete. They knew their value as eves- 
 droppers, spies, and detectives. Darkeys watched and lis 
 tened about the quarters of republicans and democrats, and 
 reported everything they saw, or heard, to their carpet-bag 
 and scallawag friends. 
 
 The Republican visiting statesmen knew of these fears 
 and suspicions and hence, they were constant and emphatic, 
 not only in their own professions of esteem and confidence, 
 but dwelt often and earnestly on the fact that Mr. Hayes was 
 the devoted friend of southern white and black republicans. 
 They made skilful use of Hayes declaration the day after 
 the election when believing he was defeated he said :* " I 
 don t care for myself. The party, yes, and the country, 
 too, can stand it ; but I care for the poor colored men of 
 the South." This was the acme of unselfishness! The 
 man that uttered these words, who thought not of himself 
 in the hour, as he supposed, of defeat, but of "the poor 
 colored men " would never desert, or suffer to be deserted a 
 southern white or black man, who had been faithful through 
 times that had tried the faith of the truest and tested the 
 
 * Interview with Mr. Hayes published Nov. o 1876 N Y Sun 
 Nov. 9, 1876. 
 
CHANDLER S PURPOSE. 79 
 
 courage of the bravest! There was no lack of fine talk on 
 the part of Mr. Hayes friends in Florida. It was for this 
 protesting and pledging that Chandler wanted Stanley 
 Mathews and others close to Hayes sent to Tallahassee. 
 He got Noyes who unquestionably was not a laggard in 
 the work assigned him. Chandler s purpose was doubt 
 less a double one first to have all doubting Thomases con 
 vinced, and, second, to have Hayes irrevocably pledged to 
 an ultra southern policy. 
 
80 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The canvass of the county returns : Chandler outwitted the Democratic 
 visitors: The Baker county return again: Hamilton, Jackson, 
 Manatee, and Monroe counties: The votes therefrom unjustly 
 excluded by the State canvassers : The Republican frauds in 
 Alachua county : The confession of Dennis : The disgraceful con 
 duct of ex-Governor Noyes : The frauds in Leon and Jefferson 
 counties: The confessions of Bowes and Bell: The plans of 
 Chandler nearly defeated by Barlow : The conduct of Barlow con 
 sidered : Cowgill s scruples overcome. 
 
 THE canvass of the county returns began at Tallahassee on 
 the 27th of November with the understanding that all the 
 returns should be first read alphabetically by counties and 
 then taken up for objections, protests, and contests. Baker 
 county was reached early. The democrats were completely 
 surprised by the reading of the Driggers return. They 
 knew that a canvass had been made by Driggers, Allen, and 
 Green. They should have promptly demanded the produc 
 tion of the Coxe and Dorman return, of which they had 
 a certified copy in their hands. They contented them 
 selves with announcing that this certified copy would 
 "show a change of votes of over one-half." They an 
 nounced their purpose of contesting the one read and asked 
 time "because, some of the proofs will have to be pre 
 pared." Mr. McLin suavely assured than they would "ex 
 tend all the liberality we can."* It was not till after recess, 
 
 * Senate Report, No. 611, p. 423. 
 
A PRETEXT WANTED. 8 1 
 
 late in the evening that the Democratic counsel demanded 
 the production and reading of the other and true return 
 from Baker county. Chandler was prompt and adroit in 
 interposing dilatory talk without offering any objection. 
 After a good deal of parleying and much discussion of 
 other matters the true Baker return was finally read, but in 
 the meantime Chandler had made his first point, by having 
 the associated press telegraph to every quarter that the 
 Hayes electors had a majority on the face of the returns. 
 The production and reading of the Driggers return from 
 Baker county, and the delay in bringing out the true one 
 from that county, made it appear on the face of the returns 
 that the republicans had a majority when in reality the 
 democrats had a majority of ninety-one votes. 
 
 It was not the purpose of Chandler to insist upon the 
 actual canvassing of the Driggers return from Baker county. 
 He wanted a pretext for the Returning Board assuming ju 
 dicial functions. He knew very well that one of the neces 
 sary powers of the state canvassers was to decide upon the 
 regularity and truthfulness of the returns before them 
 that such a power was the inevitable concomitant of the 
 power to canvass returns. He knew that the precinct re 
 turns would be before the board and that there was no evi 
 dence whatever to invalidate those of the Darbyville and 
 Johnsville polls. He knew that the power to discriminate, 
 in this particular, was altogether different from judicial 
 authority but he did not mean that the canvassers should 
 draw this distinction. He knew his case, and he knew the 
 canvassers, and was the master of both. 
 
 The counties* giving Democratic majorities which were 
 
 * Senate Report No. 611, 44th Cong, and Sess. pp. 1514. 35" 64, 
 41625, 2012. Also H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, Part 2, 45th Cong. 3d 
 Sess. pp. i to 171. 
 
 6 
 
82 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 selected for attack were Hamilton, Jackson, Manatee, and 
 Monroe. At poll No. 2 in Jasper precinct, Hamilton 
 county, there were 320 votes for the Tilden and 189 for the 
 Hayes electors. The ground of objection to receiving the 
 vote was the affidavits of two Republican inspectors, who 
 conducted the election, that they had absented themselves 
 at different times during the day from the polls. There was 
 no pretence of fraud or illegal voting. The state canvassers 
 threw out the vote of this poll. Campbellton precinct, 
 Jackson county gave 291 votes for the Tilden and 77 for 
 the Hayes electors. The inspectors went to dinner after 
 locking the ballot-box in a secure place and left the key 
 with "the Republican inspector who certified to the returns 
 and testified that there was no fraud or wrong about the 
 election." This precinct was rejected by the state canvassers. 
 Friendship precinct, Jackson county, gave 145 Democratic, 
 and 44 Republican votes, and, because, the colored inspec 
 tors left the church, where the election was held, to go to a 
 neighboring house for lights and paper, and there completed 
 their return, it was cast out. 
 
 The entire vote of Manatee county 262 for the Til 
 den, and 26 for the Hayes electors, was rejected on the 
 ground that there had been no registration, when the fact 
 was, that Governor Stearns would not appoint a county 
 clerk in order that there might not be a registration of 
 voters in this strong Democratic county. The proper offi 
 cers had held the election and administered an oath to 
 every voter as follows : " You do solemnly swear that 
 you are twenty-one years of age, and that you are a citizen 
 of the United States, and have resided in this state for one 
 year and in this county six months next preceding this 
 election and that you have not voted at this election and 
 are not disqualified to vote by the judgment of any court." 
 
ILLEGAL DECISIONS. 83 
 
 There was no allegation of fraud or pretence that the elec 
 tion was not fairly and honestly conducted. And yet on the 
 ground of no registration, for which the governor was him 
 self responsible, the entire vote was thrown out. 
 
 Precinct No. 3, Key West, Monroe county, is the white 
 quarter and therein reside the bulk of the white voters of 
 the place. The vote polled at this precinct were for the 
 Tilden electors 401, and for the Hayes electors 59. On the 
 ground that the election officers did not complete their re 
 turns on the day of the election, but without any charge of 
 wrong-doing or fraud this precinct was rejected by the state 
 canvassers. The proof submitted in support of the fairness 
 of the election at this poll, and the honesty of the return 
 made by the officers, was overwhelming. The ballots were 
 counted after the poll closed the night of the election and 
 the result announced. The certificate was partly made out 
 when a bottle of ink was spilt on it and, therefore, a new 
 one had to be made. Thereupon, this work was postponed 
 till the next morning. At that time the ballots were re 
 counted and, saving one more ballot found for the republi 
 cans, the result tallied exactly with the announcement the 
 
 night before. 
 
 The evidence submitted to the state canvassers in regard 
 to poll No. 2, Jasper precinct, Hamilton county, consisted 
 of affidavits made by the two Republican inspectors and S. 
 L. Taylor, deputy United States marshal. They proved 
 only that the Republican officers of the election were care 
 less but imputed no wrong-doing by anybody. There was 
 no accusation of intimidation and no allegation that the 
 votes returned were not actually cast. 
 
 The evidence about Cambellton precinct, Jackson 
 county, was collected by M. C. Cooper, deputy U. S. mar 
 shal, Z. L. Tidball, and Wm. T. Henderson, post-office in- 
 
84 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 specters who went to Jackson county, accompanied by a 
 detachment of thirty United States soldiers, commanded by 
 three commissioned officers. They pretended to have found 
 112 negroes who swore that they voted the Republican 
 ticket at Campbellton precinct. They could have easily 
 obtained twice as many to have sworn to the same effect. 
 The troops would march to a church or house and the 
 negroes were collected in squads and their names written 
 down by Tidball. The effect of the display of soldiers on 
 the ignorant blacks may readily be imagined. 
 
 The ballot-box, during the adjournment for dinner, was 
 proved by Republican witnesses to have been perfectly pro 
 tected in a room to one door of which the Republican in- 
 pector had the key and at the only other door a Republican 
 supervisor was stationed. The Republican inspector testi 
 fied that the election was fair and honest, and that the 
 ballots were counted and the return made in the presence 
 of United States supervisors and others, and that there was 
 no opportunity for fraud. It was conclusively shown that 
 many negroes voted, of their free will, the Democratic ticket. 
 
 The failure * to register the voters of Manatee county, 
 which was the pretext for rejecting the whole vote of that 
 county, was the result of the refusal of Governor Stearns 
 to appoint a registration officer. There can be no doubt 
 that this was deliberate, and for the purpose of laying the 
 foundation for rejecting the vote of this Democratic county, 
 if the necessity therefor arose after the election. There was 
 no irregularity alleged to have occurred on the day of the 
 election, and no pretence that any republican was prevented 
 from voting. The only evidence the state canvassers had 
 was the affidavit of James D. Green, deputy-collector of the 
 port of Manatee, which was supported by certificates, as to 
 
 * Senate Report No. 611 4^th Cong. 2nd Sess. p. 356. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRAUDS. 85 
 
 character, from L. G. Dennis, W. H. Gleason, F. N. 
 Wicker, Joseph Bowes, John Varnum, and others of like 
 repute. 
 
 The evidence * upon which the state canvassers acted 
 in rejecting poll No. 3, Key West, Monroe county, was 
 manufactured by F. N. Wicker, collector of customs, Key 
 West, and Manuel Govin, postmaster at Jacksonville. It 
 was completely rebutted by the evidence of unimpeached 
 and unimpeachable witnesses. It was shown that the Re 
 publican vote was the largest ever cast at this poll. 
 
 The Returning Board ignored entirely the gross frauds 
 perpetrated by Republican election officers in other coun 
 ties notwithstanding the proof thereof was conclusive. Note 
 the following instances : 
 
 L. G. Dennis was the Republican boss of Alachua 
 county. His influence with, and control over, the negroes 
 was practically unlimited. He appears to have had a repug 
 nance to committing perjury himself, but in every other re 
 spect he was unscrupulous. He would suborn perjury and 
 encourage and countenance every description of political 
 rascality. Two of his negro tools, Richard H. Black and 
 Thomas H. Vance were respectively, clerk and inspector, of 
 the election held at Archer precinct, box 2, Alachua county. 
 Dennis t related to the Potter committee what transpired 
 at his home on the night of the election. Black and Vance 
 " brought with them a blank for the returns of the election 
 already signed and sealed, but as to which the figures re 
 mained to be filled in." They had procured the Demo 
 cratic inspector, who could not read or write, to affix his 
 mark to the blank return, f " They were asked by Dennis 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 35, 44th Cong, ad Sess. pp. 92 94. 
 
 t H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 31! Sess. pp. 477, 483, 534. 
 
 | Ibid, p. ii. 
 
86 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 what was the vote at the precinct where they had attended, 
 and they informed him that it was 178 Republican and 141 
 Democratic ; and they had so announced it at the polls. At 
 that he expressed great indignation, and declared that the 
 business had not been properly managed or no such result 
 could have been reached. They expressed contrition and 
 their willingness to correct any error that had occurred in 
 the returns. He accordingly furnished them with an upper 
 room, and with a printed list of the voters of the county, 
 and from that printed list they proceeded to add 219 
 names to the poll list, and as many votes to the Republi 
 can candidates. This brought the vote up to a total of 397 
 Republican and 141 Democratic, and their return was filled 
 up to correspond with this result. This fraudulent return 
 was then forwarded to the county canvassers, and embraced 
 in their return to the state canvassers, notwithstanding one 
 of the inspectors at that poll made affidavit that the return 
 was false and forged. The visiting statesmen allotted to ex- 
 Governor Noyes the task of maintaining the truth and fair 
 ness of this return before the state canvassers." 
 
 The democrats attacked the return on account of the 
 219 votes added. Dennis had exerted himself to the ut 
 most to bolster the false return from Archer No. 2 with affi 
 davits. His coadjutors were W. K. Cessna, county judge, 
 Josiah T. Wells, ex-member of Congress and canditate for 
 state senator from the thirteenth district, J. A. Barnes, 
 register of U. S. Land office, Gainesville, Fla., David 
 Brown, U. S. deputy marshall, and Joseph Bowes, of Leon 
 county. Dennis procured Green R. Moore,* one of the 
 Democratic inspectors, to sign an affidavit corroborating the 
 statements of Black and Vance by paying him therefor 
 $100. Wells secured a like -affidavit from Floyd Dukes t 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 35. 44th Cong. 2d Sess. p. 103. 
 t Ibid, p. 197. 
 
DENNIS CONFESSION. 87 
 
 for $2< The state canvassers counted the return made by 
 Black and Vance with its 219 fraudulent votes added. 
 
 But when ex-Governor E. H. Noyes, of Ohio to whom 
 
 was ass,gned the defence of the Alachua fraud before the 
 
 L canvassers, wanted Dennis to give his testunony, he 
 
 was given to understand that Dennis did not propose to do 
 
 any swearing. The following is the testimony of 
 
 on this point.* 
 
 Q "Did Mr. Noyes ask you to become a witness 
 yourself in regard to that precinct?" A. " Yes sir." 
 
 O "Were you a witness or had you made an affidavit 
 with reference to box No. , of Archer precinct, which affi 
 davit was to be used before the Returning Board? A 
 "No, Sir; I never made any statement whatever f 
 
 State the conversation which took place between 
 vou and Mr. Noyes in regard to your appearing as a wit- 
 ness before the Returning Board in reference to box No. a 
 at Archer precinct?" A. He did express that desire several 
 times I do not know that he ever spoke of it but once as 
 though he intended to put me on the stand, and 
 vised him not to do it." 
 
 Q "What did you say to him and what did he say tc 
 vou?" A "I do not recollect the exact words, but I think 
 he said in a familiar sort of a way that he should put me on 
 the stand that day. I suggested to him that I should be a 
 detriment to his case if he did, and that I thought he had 
 
 better not do it." 
 
 Q "Can you repeat the exact words which you used 
 in reference to your being a detriment to his case?" A 
 cannot, but I made it strong. I may have said that unless 
 he was ready to abandon his case, he had better not put 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 35, 45<h Cong. 3 d Sess. p. 4?8. 
 
88 A POLITICAL CRIME, 
 
 me on the stand. I may have made it as strong as that. 
 I wanted to give him to understand that I did not want to 
 go on the stand to make any statement under oath. I 
 cannot repeat the exact words ; but it was said with suf 
 ficient force to have the desired effect." 
 
 Q. " Did Governor Noyes after you told him in some 
 form of words that it would be inconvenient to his case to 
 put you on the stand, ever refer to that refusal on your part 
 to go on the stand in any form of words ?" A. " I think he 
 jocosely said one day that I was not very forward about 
 swearing, or something of that kind." 
 
 Q. "Wasn t it something like this: you talk well 
 enough, Dennis, but you don t swear? " A. "Something to 
 that effect." 
 
 The ex-Governor and the confidential friend of Hayes 
 joking with the man who had gotten up the evidence to 
 support his case because he would not do any swearing 
 himself ! It was indeed a strange thing to jest about. It 
 gave the distinguished representative of Hayes who was in 
 Florida, in the language of the President "to see a fair 
 count of the ballots actually cast," no concern that the man 
 who knew the most about the returns from Archer precinct 
 was not only unwilling to be a witness, but who told him 
 plainly that he would have to abandon his case if he was 
 put on the witness stand! And that "visiting statesman," 
 after this, not only advocated the counting of the return 
 from Archer precinct, but joked with Dennis about his re 
 luctance to perjure himself! 
 
 Joseph Bowes* who was an inspector at precinct num 
 ber 13, Leon county, "procured a lot of small Republican 
 tickets to be printed in very fine type, and on thin paper. 
 
 153 MiS D C N 3I> Part 2 45th Cong> 3d Sess> pp 79 
 
"THE LITTLE JOKERS." 89 
 
 These tickets, spoken of in Florida as "little jokers," he had 
 printed at the official Republican printing office. Before the 
 election he showed them to McLin, and stated his purpose 
 of using them. The plan was to fold them up inside the 
 ballots that were voted, and have them surreptitiously cast, 
 or otherwise to smuggle them into the ballot boxes, which 
 their small size easily admitted of. McLin advised Bowes 
 not to use them. After the election Bowes stated that he 
 had managed to smuggle seventy-three of them into the 
 boxes in his precinct, and he told McLin, after the state 
 had been awarded to the democrats, and it was known 
 Drew was to be governor, that he was in a scrape on this 
 account, and that he had to clear out for stuffing the boxes. 
 It was claimed, because these ballots were found loose in 
 the box and not folded inside the other tickets that they 
 had been regularly cast; but it would have been very easy 
 to have produced that effect, either by some other manner 
 of stuffing the box than the one originally proposed, or by 
 shaking the box after they were deposited and thus scatter 
 ing them, and that circumstance is of no weight against 
 Bowes own admissions, and against the evidence of the 
 persons receiving the ballots, that not one of these small 
 ballots was voted.* 
 
 The evidence establishing this fraud of ballot box stuff 
 ing was before the Returning Board but the return for pre 
 cinct No. 13, Leon county, was accepted. 
 
 James Bell,t county judge of Jefferson county, and clerk 
 of the election board for Waukenah precinct No. 7, Jeffer 
 son county, stole a bundle of one hundred Democratic 
 tickets, which the inspectors had tied up as they were 
 counting the ballots, and substituted therefor 100 Republican 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong, ad Sess. p. n. 
 t Ibid, p. 99, 126, 130. 
 
90 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 tickets. Bell confessed this crime to McLin and fled the 
 state to avoid prosecution. The fact of the stuffing the 
 ballot box at Waukenah precinct No. 7, was proven before 
 the Returning Board and yet the return was accepted and 
 counted. 
 
 Moses J. Taylor* clerk of the circuit court, Jefferson 
 county, was inspector of poll No. i, Monticello precinct. 
 In counting the ballots they were separated first into lots 
 Democratic ballots, in one pile, and Republican, in an 
 other. When the return was made only five Democratic 
 votes were credited. Taylor undoubtedly stole all but five of 
 the Democratic ballots and substituted therefor Republican 
 ones. Ten Democratic voters, residents of this precinct, 
 whose votes were not counted, made affidavit that they had 
 voted. William Scott who was United States supervisor 
 for this precinct testified that Taylor admitted that more 
 than five democrats had voted. 
 
 It was further proved that the registration f of Jefferson 
 county was fraudulent and that it was made in the interest 
 of the republicans and to facilitate frauds by Moses J. Tay 
 lor, the county clerk. The state canvassers accepted and 
 counted the returns from Jefferson county. 
 
 The nicely laid and thoroughly executed plans of W. 
 E. Chandler came very near being undone by the scrupu 
 lousness of one of the Republican visiting statesmen. The 
 conduct of Francis C. Barlow, ex- Attorney-General of New 
 York, who went to Florida at the request of President 
 Grant "to witness a fair count of the ballots actually cast," 
 does not deserve undiscriminating commendation. He ap 
 pears to have considered that it was his duty to render 
 whatever service he could to the Republican side, but to re- 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. n. 
 
 t H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 35, 44th Cong, ad Sess. pp. 146-7-8. 
 
FRANCIS C. BARLOW. 91 
 
 frain from absolute conclusions in regard to the result which 
 ought to be reached by the canvassers until all the evi 
 dence was in. His participation in the work of preparation, 
 his undertaking to supervise, and assist in, the getting up 
 of evidence to sustain the returns from certain Republican 
 precincts, was not inconsistent with his intention to be fair 
 and impartial. He was not then acquainted, either with 
 the character of the men with whom he was dealing, or ad 
 vised that they had committed and aided in the commission 
 of gross frauds. He was an intense partisan and sincerely 
 desired the election of Hayes. His bias was in favor of 
 Florida republicans and his prejudice strong against their 
 Democratic opponents. That he should have hesitated to 
 come to a conclusion adverse to his own feelings was 
 natural, and that he did become convinced that a fair and 
 discriminating canvass of "the ballots actually cast" entitled 
 the Tilden electors to the certificate of election by the 
 board of canvassers, was deserving of the approval of hon 
 orable men. There can be no doubt as to the sincerity and 
 honesty of Mr. Barlow s purpose. His character, estab 
 lished by an honorable career both before and since that 
 period, is sufficient warrant for this conclusion. 
 
 It is, nevertheless, evident that Mr. Barlow lacked, in 
 some degree, moral courage. He had an exalted idea of the 
 position he occupied in Florida. He had been personally 
 invited to go there by the President of the United States, 
 who had published to the world his desire, " that representa 
 tives and fair men of both parties," should go " to see that 
 the board of canvassers make a fair count of the ballots ac 
 tually cast." He, also, believed that the President was sin 
 cere when he declared that " no man worthy of the office 
 of President would be willing to hold the office if counted 
 in, placed there by fraud." Hence, as Mr. Chandler testi- 
 
9 2 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 fied, before the Potter Committee,* Mr. Barlow said to "him 
 soon after his arrival at Tallahassee that he was there " by 
 the request of the President " and " to see that there was a 
 fair count, and that nothing wrong was done on either side:" 
 and that he also said, " that Governor Hayes would not 
 take the Presidency if there was any fraud in connection 
 with the count : that if he thought there was any danger of 
 his being counted in by fraudulent methods some elector 
 chosen as a Republican would vote for Tilden at Governor 
 Hayes request." Mr. Chandler characterized these declar 
 ations by Mr. Barlow, as " some such stuff as that in con 
 nection with this intimation to me that he was not there 
 merely as counsel." Mr. Chandler did not believe that the 
 President meant that his declarations should be accepted 
 literally by " visiting statesmen." But on the other hand 
 Mr. Barlow, doubtless, thought that the President was sin 
 cere in the expressions already quoted as well as in the one 
 with which he closed his famous dispatch of November 10, 
 1876, to General Sherman to wit : " Either party can afford 
 to be disappointed in the result, but the country cannot af 
 ford to have the result tainted by the suspicion of illegal or 
 false returns." 
 
 It is clear from all the evidence in existence that Mr. 
 Barlow did not intend to deceive his Republican associates 
 or to practise treachery in his relations to Florida republi 
 cans. Dennis f soon discovered that Barlow was not the 
 kind of a lawyer he wanted to assist him in the preparation 
 and advocacy of the Alachua case. He wanted a man 
 without conscientious scruples and, therefore, he demanded 
 that Barlow should be retired and Noyes assigned to the 
 duty of getting up evidence in support of, and defending the 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31. 45^1 Cong. 3 d Sess. p. 1398. 
 t Ibid, p. 478. 
 
BARLOW S " IDIOSYNCRASY." 93 
 
 returns from Archer precinct No. 2, Alachua county. Mr. 
 Chandler as he admits ceased to have entire confidence in 
 Barlow from the time he talked " stuff" as to Hayes not ac 
 cepting the Presidency if he was not entirely satisfied about 
 the methods by which he obtained it. Unquestionably 
 Chandler had a truer appreciation of Mr. Hayes character 
 than Barlow had, and understood better the intent of the 
 President s " glittering generalities," but he was exceedingly 
 careful not to break with the man who thought otherwise. 
 He knew that Barlow was a man of " many idiosyncrasies,"* 
 and feared that he might persist in his " lofty purposes " if 
 not adroitly and prudently managed. Chandler did not want 
 his adversaries to have the benefit of the moral effect of the 
 open desertion of one of "the representatives and fair men" 
 who had come to Florida at the request of the President "to 
 see that the board of canvassers made a fair count of the bal 
 lots actually cast." Therefore, he humored Mr. Barlow and 
 endeavored to commit him in every possible way during the 
 progress and at the conclusion of the public hearing of the 
 Returning Board. He preserved carefully the originals of 
 papers prepared by Barlow, and induced him to put in 
 writing a summary of facts claimed to have been established 
 to be read to the board. t And, even, when he discovered 
 that Barlow was privately advising one of the canvassers to 
 apply the same principles to contested Democratic returns 
 which he applied to disputed Republican votes, Mr. Chan 
 dler made no row did not suffer his anger to get the bet 
 ter of his discretion. 
 
 Mr. Barlow s idea of the legal powers of the Returning 
 Board was erroneous, as the prior and subsequent decisions, 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31. 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 1398. Testimony 
 of W. E. Chandler. 
 
 t Testimony of W. E. Chandler, Ibid p. 1398. 
 
94 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 of the supreme court of the state demonstrate. He acted 
 upon the assumption that the board could exercise judicial 
 powers and determine the legality of the votes returned out 
 side the certificates of the county canvassing boards. In this 
 view of the election law creating the board of state can 
 vassers, Mr. Barlow was undoubtedly mistaken. The ex 
 tent of the power of the board to inquire was as to the 
 character of the returns made by the county canvassers. 
 The language of the decision of the supreme court, unani 
 mously rendered in the case ex-rel. Drew vs. The State 
 Canvassers, is as follows : 
 
 "All of the acts which this board can do under the 
 statute must be based upon the returns; and while in some 
 cases the officers composing the board may, like all minis 
 terial officers of similar character, exclude what purports to 
 be a return for irregularity, still everything they are author 
 ized to do is limited to what is sanctioned by authentic 
 and true returns before them. Their first act and determin 
 ation must be such as appears from and is shown by the re 
 turns from the several counties to be correct. They have 
 no general power to issue subpoenas, to summon parties, to 
 compel the attendance of witnesses, to grant a trial by jury, 
 or to do any act, but determine and declare who has been 
 elected as shown by the returns. They are authorized to 
 enter no judgment, and their power is limited by the ex 
 press words of the statute, which gives them being, to the 
 signing of a certificate containing the whole number of 
 votes given for each person for each office, and therein de 
 claring the result as shown by the returns. This certificate 
 thus signed is not a judicial judgment, and the determin 
 ation and declaration which they make is not a judicial 
 declaration, that is, determination of a right after notice, 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, Part 2. 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 67. 
 
"THE TRUE VOTE." 95 
 
 according to the general law of the land as to the rights of 
 parties, but it is a declaration of a conclusion limited and 
 restricted by the letter of the statute. Such limited declar 
 ation and determination by a board of state canvassers has 
 been declared by a large majority of the courts to be a 
 ministerial function, power and duty, as distinct from a ju 
 dicial power and jurisdiction. Indeed, with the exception 
 of the courts in Louisiana, and perhaps another state, no 
 judicial sanction can be found for the view that these of 
 ficers are judicial in their character or that they have any 
 discretion, either executive, legislative, or judicial, which is 
 not bound and fixed by the returns before them." 
 
 As to the specific powers of the board under the statute 
 the supreme court held that: 
 
 "While the general powers of the board are thus limited 
 to and by the returns, still as to these returns the statute 
 provides that, if any returns shall be shown or shall appear 
 to be so irregular, false, or fraudulent that the board shall 
 be unable to determine the true vote for any officer or 
 member, they shall so certify and shall not include such re 
 turn in their determination and declaration, and the secre 
 tary of state shall preserve and file in his office all such re 
 turns, together with such other documents and papers as 
 may have been received by him or by said board of can 
 vassers. The words true vote here indicate the vote ac 
 tually cast, as distinct from the legal vote. This follows, 
 first, from the clear general duty of the canvassers, which is 
 to ascertain and certify the "votes given" for each person 
 for each office, and, second, because to determine whether a 
 vote cast is a legal vote is beyond the power of this board. 
 As to the words "irregular, false, and fraudulent" in this 
 connection, their definition is not required by the questions 
 raised by the pleadings in this case." 
 
96 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 Mr. Barlow, proceeding upon the hypothesis that the 
 Returning Board was vested with judicial powers, took an 
 active part in the preparation of the Republican side of the 
 case, but when it was completed the evidence all in, and 
 reviewed, he became satisfied that, by applying the same 
 tests to Republican testimony, and weighing with the same 
 care the objections to Republican votes, that the Repub 
 lican counsel insisted must be applied to Democratic evi 
 dence, and exercised in respect to contested Democratic re 
 turns, the result of the purging would be a majority for the 
 Tilden electors. He endeavored to impress this upon Dr. 
 Cowgill, one of the state canvassers whom he believed to 
 be an honest man. There was nothing improper in this, 
 but it was not bold and manly, or corresponding to the 
 exalted notion he had of his mission. The proper course 
 would have been to go before the board and to have 
 summed up the case as an impartial amicus curia. This 
 would have been the effective way of executing the trust 
 which he believed had been entrusted to him "to see a 
 fair count of the ballots actually cast." 
 
 And yet, with the light he had, it must be acknowl 
 edged, by fair-minded men, that he did not lack courage of 
 a certain kind. He wanted to do right and he sought to 
 convert to his way of thinking the one of the Republican 
 canvassers whom he regarded as honorable and upright. 
 There is no evidence to show that he surreptitiously went 
 about this. Dr. Cowgill came to his room unsolicited and 
 began talking upon the subject of the canvassing as he had 
 repeatedly done before. Whether Cowgill was honest in 
 seeking this interview with Barlow cannot be determined. 
 Neither can it be determined whether he was honest in the 
 doubts he expressed at that interview as to the course he 
 should pursue in dealing with the questions before the 
 
COWGILL AND BARLOW. 
 
 97 
 
 board. Barlow swears that Cowgill said to him, after they 
 had discussed all the points, " I agree with you : I cannot 
 conscientiously vote the other way: I cannot conscien 
 tiously vote to give the state to the Hayes electors." Dr. 
 Cowgill was at all times accessible to the Republican mem 
 bers of the Potter committee, and to the defenders of the 
 transactions of their friends in Florida, and he could have 
 been brought before the committee to contradict Mr. Bar 
 low. He was not asked to come. He never intimated in 
 any way that he had been misrepresented. 
 
 There is some evidence* which goes to show that 
 Stearns and other Florida republicans were suspicious of 
 Cowgill. They had him watched. Stearns was promptly 
 informed that Cowgill was in Barlow s room and he has 
 tened to Chandler s room with the intelligence. With his 
 usual decisiveness Chandler insisted that Stearns should go 
 direct to Barlow s room and ascertain what was going on. 
 He went and to his surprise was admitted and told by 
 Barlow the views he had been trying to impress on Cow- 
 gill. Stearns f expressed neither surprise nor anger, but he 
 went away with Cowgill, but whither is not known to the 
 public. After that Cowgill and Barlow did not meet. It 
 is fair to presume that if Cowgill had any scruples as to 
 counting in the Hayes electors, as he declared to Barlow 
 he had, means were found after he left with Stearns to over 
 come them. He came to Washington immediately after 
 the inauguration of Hayes and was for a time confident of 
 a proper recognition of his services. The office he was 
 tendered did not accord with his estimate of his deserts and 
 he returned to Florida and has ever since maintained dis 
 creet silence. 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31. 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 1397-8-9. 
 t Ibid, p. 1390. 
 
98 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The supreme court decided that the county returns must be accepted 
 by the state canvassers : The mandate of the court obeyed as to 
 the state ticket : The trick by which the returns for electors were 
 made to show a majority for Hayes : The Baker county return 
 twice rejected accepted by the canvassers: McLin and Dennis tell 
 on the visiting statesmen : Noyes, the particular friend of Hayes : 
 The promises he made : The rewards McLin and Dennis received : 
 Hayes personal endorsement of Dennis : How the subordinate 
 rogues were paid for their services : The price of visiting states 
 men. 
 
 THE supreme court of the state upon an application for a 
 mandamus to compel the state canvassers to recanvass the 
 votes for Governor issued the same, and in granting it, the 
 judges, a majority of whom were Republican, held that "the 
 duty and power of the board of state canvassers was 
 confined exclusively to the compiling of such returns of any 
 election as should come to their hands from the county 
 canvassing boards, and upon computation of the aggregate 
 vote, as shown by such returns, to ascertain who had re 
 ceived the highest number of votes for any office, and to 
 certify the result and declare therefrom who was elected to 
 any office." * 
 
 The mandate of the court to the board of state canvas 
 sers commanding them to reassemble, on or before the 
 27th day of December, 1876, and canvass the returns for 
 the votes cast for candidates for Governor was issued on the 
 
 * Fla. Report, 59. 
 
SELF-STULTIFICATION. 99 
 
 23d of December, 1876. The board met and in accord 
 ance with the decision and mandate of the supreme court 
 recanvassed and awarded a certificate of election to Geo. 
 F. Drew the Democratic candidate. Here it was their duty 
 to stop. They were not directed to recanvass the votes 
 for Presidential electors, nevertheless the two Republican 
 canvassers, being a majority, did so, and by accepting the 
 Driggers return from Baker county which they had not 
 done in recanvassing the votes for governor, and which 
 they had rejected in their first canvass,* they made it ap 
 pear that by the face of the returns the Hayes electors had 
 a majority of all the votes. The counting of the electoral 
 votes by the two Houses of Congress was yet to occur, and 
 hence they resorted to this trick, and a second time vio 
 lated their oaths of office, in order that it might not appear 
 by the recanvass of the votes for governor that the Tilden 
 electors a fortiori had a majority on the face of the returns 
 and therefore in accordance with the decision of the su 
 preme court ought to have been declared elected. 
 
 The state canvassers unquestionably had the power to 
 determine which of the returns from Baker county was the 
 true return. They twice decided unanimously that the 
 Driggers return was false and accepted the one which em 
 braced the four precinct returns. They did this in the or 
 iginal canvass and they adhered to that ruling in the 
 recanvass of the votes for governor. But the two Republican 
 members against the protest of their Democratic colleague 
 insisted upon recanvassing the votes for electors and then 
 they reversed themselves and adopted the Driggers return 
 from Baker county. 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, Part 2, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. pp. 107, 127, 
 141. 
 
100 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 It has been clearly proved * that the action of the Re 
 publican members of the board of state canvassers was in 
 fluenced by the pledges, promises, and assurances made and 
 given by the Republican visiting statesmen : that McLin 
 and Cowgill expected, claimed, and in the case of the 
 former received partial, rewards for their services. The 
 subordinate agents in the frauds, perjuries, forgeries, ballot- 
 box stuffing, and subornation of perjury whereby a plausible 
 case was made for McLin and Cowgill to act upon, were 
 also exerting themselves upon assurances of protection and 
 reward. 
 
 L. G. Dennis ** testified before the Potter committee 
 that the impression prevailed that the visiting statesmen 
 " cared only to take care of Hayes." " Somebody had in 
 timated that Mr. Hayes was in his politics favorable to the 
 Greeley movement ; that he had some such idea as that." 
 This impression was strengthened by the conduct of Francis 
 C. Barlow who had originally been assigned the duty of de 
 fending the Alachua returns. From some remarks of Bar 
 low and his intimacy with some of the New York Demo 
 cratic lawyers, which had been reported by the negro spies, 
 Dennis and his carpet-bag friends concluded that treachery 
 to the state ticket was meant. Thereupon he held, as he ex 
 pressed it,t "a carpet-baggers indignation meeting" and he 
 led a committee to Governor Noyes room to serve notice of 
 their determination. J" We had determined," said Dennis, 
 " that the state belonged to Tilden and Drew or to Hayes 
 and Stearns ; that it did not belong to a Republican presi 
 dent and a Democratic governor; that it could not be fixed 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, Part 2. 45th Cong. 3d Sess. pp.478, 100, 
 98, 499, 482, 854. 
 
 ** H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31. 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 478. 
 t Ibid, 478. 
 t Ibid, 4789. 
 
NOYES ASSURANCES. IOI 
 
 that way." Their going to Noyes was both natural and 
 significant. 
 
 They knew he was the personal representative of Hayes. 
 They wanted to serve notice that the job which had been 
 undertaken could not be accomplished if there was any 
 doubt about Hayes standing by them. They would not 
 have gone to Noyes on this occasion, however, if they had 
 not known that he was there as the especial representative 
 of Hayes. He had before this visit been making promises 
 and giving assurances hence the significance of their call 
 ing on him at that time for something definite, emphatic, 
 and unequivocal. They got what they demanded. Dennis 
 says Mr. Barlow did not present the case to the board 
 as was first intended." Dennis was a shrewd judge of char 
 acter and knew instinctively that Barlow was not the man 
 to have charge of the Alachua case ; that he would get at 
 the truth and that would be the end of that case as well as 
 of the whole Republican case. 
 
 In regard to Noyes assurances Dennis testified * that 
 " he often spoke of Mr. Hayes, and referred to him as his 
 intimate friend, and gave us assurances of Mr. Hayes fidel 
 ity to the Republican cause, and of his especial desire to 
 take care of Southern republicans." When asked if Noyes 
 was generally regarded by the people there as the personal 
 representative of Hayes, Dennis answered *" We regarded 
 him as such. I cannot state now by what means we arrived 
 at that conclusion, but he was regarded by the people there 
 as the special representative of Mr. Hayes. It was gener 
 ally understood that he was there at the request of 
 Hayes." 
 
 Samuel B. McLin,t secretary of state, and ex-officio mem- 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 36. Sess. p. 478- 
 
 t H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31 Part 2. 45th Cong. 3d Sess. pp. 98. 99. 
 
102 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 ber of the Returning Board, testified that " looking back 
 now to that time (of the canvass), I feel that there was a com 
 bination of influences that must have operated most power 
 fully in blinding my judgment and swaying my action." 
 What the " combination of influences " were he in part dis 
 closed. " I was shown numerous telegrams addressed to 
 Governor Stearns and others from the trusted leaders of the 
 Republican party in the North, insisting that the salvation 
 of the country depended upon the vote of Florida being 
 cast for Hayes. These telegrams also gave assurances of the 
 forthcoming of money and troops if necessary in securing 
 the victory for Mr. Hayes. Following these telegrams 
 trusted Northern republicans, party leaders, and personal 
 friends of Mr. Hayes arrived in Florida as rapidly as the 
 railroads could bring them. I was surrounded by these men, 
 who were ardent republicans, and especially by friends of 
 Governor Hayes. One gentleman particularly, Governor 
 Noyes, of Ohio, was understood to represent him and 
 speak with the authority of a warm personal friend, com 
 missioned with power to act in his behalf. These men re 
 ferred to the general destruction of the country should Mr. 
 Tilden be elected ; the intense anxiety of the Republican 
 party of the North and their full sympathy with us. I can 
 not say how far my action may have been influenced by the 
 intense excitement that prevailed around me, or how far my 
 partisan zeal may have led me into error neither can I say 
 how far my course was influenced by the promises made by 
 Governor Noyes, that if Mr. Hayes became President I 
 should be rewarded. Certainly their influences must have 
 had a strong control over my judgement and actions." 
 
 Q. " Now, Sir, state to the committee, if you please, what 
 promises these visiting statesmen from the North made to 
 the Republican leaders and the Returning Board, if the 
 
HAYES PROMISED TO PAY. IO3 
 
 state should go for Mr. Hayes?" A. "Well, General Wai- 
 lace told me on several occasions that if Mr. Hayes shou d 
 be elected that the members of the Returning Board should 
 be taken care of, and no doubt about that: that Governor 
 Noves represented Mr. Hayes and spoke for him and was 
 in favor of it.* Then on one occasion, William E. Chan- 
 dler came to me and stated that he didn t like to say it to 
 me, but he would say it to me, and he spoke for ( 
 Wallace also, that if the state went and was canvassed for 
 Mr Hayes that the members of the Returning Board-a 
 least he referred to a majority of the board-Dr. Cowgill 
 and myself would be well taken care of, and there would 
 be no doubt of it ; he said he was authorized to say that. 
 
 McLin further testified that Dr. Cowgill told him that 
 in March, 1877 he was in Washington and saw Hayes lr 
 quently-t "that he was received very kindly by the Presi 
 dent, and given free admission to the White House at all 
 times, and that he had expressed himself as being under 
 great obligations to him and me in the canvass and that h 
 felt not only under political obligations but personal obliga 
 tions that he would certainly pay at an early day." 
 
 McLin was appointed Justice of the Supreme Court of 
 New Mexico ad interim and failed of confirmation because 
 Senator Conover, of Florida opposed it. He was promised 
 another office but, after waiting several months and not 
 ceivine it he published to the world his account of the 
 Florida count which concluded as follows- "whatever 
 may be the opinion of men as to my motives, I give 
 facts and leave my motives to a higher tribunal." 
 
 Dr Cowgill was promised by Hayes an auditorship of 
 the Treasury department, but was given the po< 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, Part 2, 45th Cong. 3 d Sess. pp. 100, 101. 
 t Ibid, p. 118. 
 
I0 4 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 special agent in the internal revenue service, which he de 
 clined. 
 
 L. G. Dennis came to Washington immediately after 
 the inauguration of Hayes and was introduced to him by 
 Gen. Lew Wallace. He was graciously received and in 
 formed that he had been mentioned by Mr. Noyes and Mr. 
 Chandler, and that he "was one of the few men whom this 
 administration could afford to take care of."* He saw 
 Hayes frequently afterwards and received from him at dif 
 ferent times the two following cards: 
 
 : *"SEC Y SHERMAN: I particularly desire that Mr. L. 
 G. Dennis, of Fla. shall be appointed to a good place, and 
 I think he is well fitted for it. 
 
 R. B. HAYES." 
 
 * " EXECUTIVE MANSION, 
 
 Washington, April 6, 1877. 
 
 DEAR SIR: I am reliably assured that L. G. Dennis, of 
 Fla. would make a capital special agent of the Treasury. 
 
 I especially desire that his claims may have your favor 
 able attention. 
 
 R. B. HAYES. 
 Hon. JOHN SHERMAN, Etc., etc." 
 
 Governor Noyes also wrote the following letter to John 
 Sherman : J 
 
 " Cincinnati, Ohio, April 10, 1877. 
 
 DEAR SIR: I am informed that Hon. L..G. Dennis, of 
 Florida, and at present a state senator, is an applicant for a 
 position as auditor in the Treasury department. 
 
 5S4 
 
 t Ibid, p. e 
 t Ibid, p. 4 
 
DENNIS SINECURE. 105 
 
 I can only say of Mr. Dennis that I formed his ac 
 quaintance while the Florida contest was going on, and 
 found him a very active, intelligent, and influential repub 
 lican. 
 
 He has been ostracised with other republicans of that 
 state, and is deserving of consideration. I respectfully 
 commend him to your favor. 
 
 I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 EDWARD F. NOYES. 
 HON. JOHN SHERMAN, 
 
 Secretary of the Treasury 1 
 
 The result was the appointment of Dennis to a sinecure 
 in the supervising architects office at $7 per day. He re 
 mained about Washington for a month without being as 
 signed to any duty and then was given a leave of absence 
 and went to Massachusetts where he remained three 
 months. He came back and drew three months pay 
 $630. Then he was given a position to rove about North 
 Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida ostensibly to ex 
 amine the records of United States courts and find forfeited 
 recognizances. The real object was to send him to 
 Florida under protection and with pay to prepare for trial 
 several cases pending against him in the criminal courts of 
 that state. He remained there until the resolution ap 
 pointing the Potter committee passed the House of Repre 
 sentatives when he was ordered to North Carolina on the 
 edge of the Dismal Swamp.* He didn t care to go into 
 hiding and came by way of Norfolk, Va. to Washington. 
 His pay was $7 a day and expenses. He thought he had 
 not been rewarded according to his deserts and a statement 
 he had previously prepared was about this time published 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No, 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 557. 
 
IO6 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 and he was dropped, having in the meantime been trans 
 ferred to the internal revenue service. 
 
 * F. C. Humphreys who was first elector at large on 
 the Florida Republican ticket was appointed collector of 
 customs at Pensacola, April 2, 1877, an d ne ^ tne office 
 till July 7, 1882 a period of five years, three months and 
 five days at an annual salary of $1,000 and fees and com 
 missions. 
 
 Dennis Eagan, chairman of the Repulican state com 
 mittee, Florida, was appointed collector of internal revenue, 
 at Jacksonville, March 7, 1877, and held office till October 
 i, 1884 a period of seven years, seven months and 
 twenty-four days, at an annual salary of $2,875. 
 
 M. L. Stearns who was Governor of Florida at the time 
 of the election, candidate for re-election, and who was 
 counted in at the first canvass of the votes by the state 
 canvassers, but ousted by the decision of the supreme court, 
 was appointed commissioner of the Hot Springs, Arkansas 
 commission at a salary of $10 per day, March 30, 1877, 
 and continued till Dec. 16, 1878 drawing $6,260 ex 
 penses. 
 
 J. M. Howell, who was deputy clerk, of Baker county, 
 and directed and assisted the county judge, E. W. Driggers 
 in getting up the fraudulent return from that county, 
 whereby by omitting the votes of two precincts it was made 
 to appear that the Hayes Electors had on the face of the 
 county returns a majority of 35, was appointed collector 
 of customs, at Fernandina, April 12, 1878, and held the 
 office till June 9, 1882 a period of four years, one month 
 and twenty-eight days, at an annual salary of $500 and fees 
 and commissions. 
 
 * Records of Appointment Division of rreasury Dept. Authority for 
 what follows in regard to appointments of Florida conspirators. 
 
THREE ROGUES PAID. 
 
 Richard H. Black, colored, who was clerk of Archer pre 
 cinct No. 2, Alachua county, and at the direction of L. G. 
 Dennis assisted Thomas H. Vance, inspector, m adding 
 210 fraudulent Republican votes to the return from that 
 precinct and swore to every affidavit the visiting statesmen 
 dictated through Dennis and other agents, was appointed 
 night inspector in the Philadelphia custom house May 2 
 !8 7 7 and has held the place ever since and was stil 
 ing it July i, 1885, at a salary of $3 per day or $1,095 a 
 year during a period of 8 years and 2 months=$8,9O 3 . 
 
 Thomas H. Vance, who was inspector of Archer pre 
 cinct No. 2, Alachua county, and assisted Rich. H. Black in 
 the preparation of the false return and the fraudulent ad 
 dition of 219 votes for the Republican national and state 
 ticket and did all the swearing that was required of him, 
 was appointed a clerk in the office of the auditor of the 
 Treasury for the Post-office department, July i, 1877, and 
 was continued there until he was discharged June 30, 
 l885 _a period of eight years at a salary of $1,200 pe, 
 
 Bowes, who had printed "little jokers," tickets 
 one inch and a half long, and one inch wide, Containing the 
 Republican national and state tickets, and stuffed the ballot- 
 box at precinct No. 13, Leon county, he being one of the 
 election officers, to the number of 74 of these "jokers, and 
 who was about generally over the state helping to manu 
 facture affidavits for use before the Returning Board, d .ing 
 a great deal of swearing himself, was appointed a clerk 
 class 3 in the division of public moneys, secretary s office, 
 Treasury department, June i, 1877, salary $1,600 per an 
 num Having to flee the State of Florida to escape 
 punishment for his crimes he found an asylum in t 
 Treasury department at Washington on the recommendation 
 
108 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 of Edward F. Noyes, W. E. Chandler, M. L. Stearns, and 
 Aaron A. Sargeant, which sheltered him till he resigned 
 March 3, 1885 a period of seven years and nine months, 
 during which time he drew pay to the amount of $12,400. 
 W. K. Cessna, who was county judge of Alachua 
 county and with full knowledge of the false return from 
 Archer precinct No. 2 included it m the canvass of the 
 county returns, and assisted L. G. Dennis to procure Green 
 R. Moore to make for $100 an affidavit false in substance 
 and inferences in regard to the vote at said precinct, was 
 appointed a postmaster at Gainesville, Fla., by President 
 Hayes at a salary of $1,100 per annum, and held the same 
 from December 10, 1878, to May 22, 1882 a period of 4 
 years drawing $4,400. 
 
 Lewis A. Barnes, who assisted L. G. Dennis in the 
 manufacture of evidence to sustain before the Returning 
 Board the frauds of Alachua county was register of the U. 
 S. land office, Gainesville, Florida, July i, 1879, Salary 
 $500, fees and commission of i% on all moneys received. 
 James Bell, county judge of Jefferson county and in 
 spector of election at Waukeenah precinct No. 7, who stole, 
 while the ballots were being counted, 100 Democratic 
 tickets and substituted therefor 100 Republican tickets and 
 made several false affidavits, was appointed a clerk in the 
 general land office, Washington, D. C., March 27, 1877, 
 salary $1,200 per annum. On May 31, 1883, was appointed 
 special agent: has received to July i, 1885, $9,900. 
 
 Moses J. Taylor, clerk of Jefferson county, and inspec 
 tor of poll No. i, Monticello precinct, and who stole all but 
 5 of the Democratic tickets and substituted therefor Re 
 publican ones, was made a clerk in the general land office, 
 Washington, D. C., April 7, 1877, salary $1,200 per an 
 num. Still in office has received $9,900 to July 7, 1885. 
 
SOME OF THE LITTLE RASCALS. 109 
 
 Frank N. Wicker, who with the assistance of Manuel 
 Govin, postmaster at Jacksonville, manufactured the evi 
 dence about alleged irregularity in making the return from 
 precinct No. 3, Key West, Monroe county, and which the 
 state canvassers rejected thereby depriving the democrats of 
 401 votes, was at the time of the election Collector of the 
 port of Key West, salary $500 per annum and fees. He 
 was retained until May 15, 1885. 
 
 John Varnum, adjutant-general state militia, assisted in 
 the manufacture of affidavits, appointed March i, 1877, 
 receiver of U. S. land office, Gainesville, Fla., salary $500, 
 fees, and commission of i% on all moneys received. Held 
 office till July i, 1879 held office i year and 3 months. 
 
 Manuel Govin, postmaster at Jacksonville, Fla., the as 
 sistant of Wicker in affidavit-making at Key West, was 
 made consul to Leghorn, Italy, November 30, 1877 ; salary 
 $1,500 per annum and fees. 
 
 William M. Artrell, an affidavit-maker for Wicker, Key 
 West, Monroe county, was an inspector in the custom 
 house at a salary of $3 per day. He has been continued 
 in this employment. 
 
 M. Martin, acting-chairman Republican state committee 
 of Florida, and one of the most active of the conspirators, 
 was made surveyor-general of Florida, February 25, 1881, 
 just before Hayes went out of office, salary $2,000 per 
 annum. 
 
 Geo. H. DeLeon, who was secretary to Governor 
 Stearns, and, by reason of this confidential position, familiar 
 with all that transpired before the election, during the can 
 vass by the state canvassers, who received and opened the 
 governor s mail and telegrams, was appointed a clerk in the 
 second auditor s office at Washington, May 25, 1877, at a sal 
 ary of $1,200 per annum, and promoted to $1,600 in 1882. 
 
110 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 He resigned March 30, 1885, to take effect on the 2oth of 
 April. 
 
 Geo. D. Mills, telegrapher at Tallahassee and one of the 
 clerks of the state canvassers, with knowledge of all that 
 was done as well as of a great deal of the telegraphing 
 done by visiting statesmen, was appointed a clerk in the 
 pension office at a salary of $1,200 per annum, March i, 
 1877, and is still in office: has received to July i, 1885, 
 $9,900. 
 
 Thomas J. Brady, who followed on the heels of William 
 E. Chandler to Florida, in charge of the post-office inspec 
 tors, ordered thither by James N. Tyner, postmaster-general, 
 and carrying money to Chandler, was second assistant post 
 master-general and in charge of all mail service. He was 
 continued in office and protected by Hayes notwithstand 
 ing the most serious charges were repeatedly made against 
 him in connection with the star route mail contracts. It 
 was during the Hayes administration that the gigantic star 
 route frauds were perpetrated which resulted in a loss to the 
 government, according to the statement of Attorney-Gen 
 eral Benj. H. Brewster to the Bar Association meeting at 
 Saratoga in 1882, of more than $4,000,000. The facts and 
 evidence in support thereof which secured the removal of 
 Brady in 1 88 1, by Attorney-General MacVeagh and Post 
 master-General James, and enabled an investigation to be 
 made that resulted in the complete exposure of the star 
 route villainy, was made known to the Hayes administra 
 tion in 1880. Sufficient evidence to have put honest men 
 on inquiry was made public at a much earlier date, but 
 Brady was protected. 
 
 H. Clay Hopkins, agent of the postal stamp division 
 stationed at New York City, was one of those who accom 
 panied Brady to Florida and was absent from his offi- 
 
MORE OF THE RASCALS. HI 
 
 cial duties one month. His salary was $z, 5 oo per an 
 
 num. 
 
 Win T Henderson, post-office inspector, salary $1,600 
 per annum and $5 per diem for travelling expenses while 
 on the business of the department, together with ree 
 transportation, accompanied Brady to Florida, travelled 
 on post-office inspector s pass, and charged up $5 a day for 
 travelling expenses. With United States troops to impress 
 negroes went to Jackson county, accompanied by Z. L. Ill- 
 bafl, post-office inspector, and M. C. Cooper, deputy United 
 States marshal to collect negro affidavits. Henderson is still 
 in the service as post-office inspector. 
 
 Z L Tilball, post-office inspector, salary $1,600 pei 
 annum, $ S per diem travelling expenses while absent from 
 Washington on business of the department, and free trans 
 portation, accompanied Brady to Florida, travelled on post- 
 office inspector s pass and drew his per d.em as if on 
 official business, was with Henderson m Jackson county 
 collecting affidavits from negroes. - Remained ,n post- 
 office department as inspector till July .8, x 88,, when he 
 W as appointed United States marshal for the Territory 
 of Arizona. His successor was appointed July 8, 1885. 
 B H Camp, post-office inspector, salary $1,600 per ai 
 
 $, per diem travelling expenses while absent from 
 post on business of the department, and free transportation, 
 accompanied Brady to Florida : travelled on post-office , 
 spector s pass and drew per diem as if on department bua- 
 rL His real business in Florida was to assist the subor 
 dinates of Stearns in working up evidence to sustain 
 Republican frauds. 
 
 Alfred Morton, post-office inspector, salary $1,600, per 
 annum, $5 per diem travelling expenses, and free transpor 
 tation Accompanied Brady to Florida, and assrcted James 
 
112 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 Bell in the manufacture of evidence to sustain the frauds in 
 Jefferson county ballot-box stuffing. 
 
 E. W. Maxwell, detective attached to the department of 
 justice, salary $5 per diem, and actual travelling expenses; 
 went to Florida but according to W. E. Chandler rendered 
 no service was a "drone" i. e. a dead beat, nevertheless 
 drew pay and expenses. 
 
 Edward H. Noyes, of Ohio, the particular personal 
 friend of R. B. Hayes, the man who nominated him at Cin 
 cinnati, and his especial representative in Florida, was ap 
 pointed envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to 
 France and commissioned July i, 1877 holding till 
 March 21, 1881, a period of three years, eight months and 
 twenty days, salary $17,500 per annum, = $65,138.86. 
 
 John A. Kasson, of Iowa, accompanied Noyes to 
 Florida and rendered himself useful as voucher and sponsor 
 for Hayes, was commissioned envoy extraordinary and min 
 ister plenipotentiary to Austria, June u, 1877 and remained 
 till April 26, 1882 a period of four years, ten months 
 and fifteen days, salary $12,000 per annum, = $58,500. 
 
 Lew Wallace, soldier, author, statesman, accompanied 
 Noyes to Florida, and according to the testimony of Dennis 
 and McLin pledged Hayes generally and giving Noyes as 
 reference, was appointed Governor of New Mexico, salary 
 only $2,600 perannnm. Reward not being adequate was 
 made minister resident to Turkey, July 13, 1882, where he 
 remained and drew pay till June i, 1885. 
 
 William E. Chandler, who came to the rescue on the 
 morning of Wednesday, Nov. 8, 1876 and re-encouraged 
 the demoralized National committee, conceived the plan of 
 counting Hayes in, organized the conspirators, and left the 
 same day for Florida to execute a part of the hazardous 
 undertaking, and did his work thoroughly well, became 
 
BARLOW S REWARD. 113 
 
 disgusted with the fraudulent administration when it aban 
 doned Packard in Louisiana, and Chamberlain in South 
 Carolina, and not being promptly rewarded for his services 
 attacked Hayes and proved that by deserting the Louisiana 
 and South Carolina carpet-baggers he thereby acknowl 
 edged to the world that he had not been elected President. 
 Francis C. Barlow, the one "visiting statesman" who 
 was troubled with a conscience and endeavored to fulfil the 
 duties to which he had been invited by the President of the 
 United States in accordance with sentiments expressed by 
 the chief executive of the nation, was not rewarded with 
 any office but was bitterly assailed for his alleged betrayal of 
 his party. 
 
114 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Preparation for frauds : The state census of 1875 the basis of frau 
 dulent registration : Republican managers determined to prevent a 
 fair election : The bad characters who were selected for supervisors 
 of registration: The registration frauds in New Orleans and in 
 the parishes demonstrated by official statistics : Depriving demo 
 crats of the right to vote: Registration of negroes facilitated: 
 The election was fair, free, and peaceable : The proof of this con 
 clusive : The election law analyzed : What was required in report 
 ing intimidation or violence: Laws conferring such great power 
 on returning officers must be strictly construed. 
 
 PRIOR to the election of 1876 in Louisiana very elaborate 
 preparations were made for stupendous frauds by the de 
 facto governor, William Pitt Kellogg and his characterless 
 subordinates. The entire election machinery was absolutely 
 controlled by the governor. How Kellogg was made de 
 facto governor will be told in succeeding chapters where 
 in the remarkable story of Louisiana politics from 1868 
 to 1876 will be related. To maintain themselves in 
 power the carpet-bag and scalaway rogues who were en 
 abled, by the reconstruction act, to seize the state, enacted 
 in 1870 registration and election laws. These enactments 
 were designed to place the machinery of election in the 
 hands of a few men. Among other things provided for was 
 a quadrennial census which was intended to be the founda 
 tion for a dishonest registration of the voters. 
 
 In 1875 a state census was taken which was the basis 
 for the registration of 1876. This census made the negro 
 
A PARTISAN MACHINE. 115 
 
 population appear to be 45,695 more than the white popula 
 tion, and the negro voters to be 104,192, while the white 
 voters were only 84,167.* The census of the United 
 States for 1880 shows that the excess of negro population 
 in Louisiana over white was 26,364, and that the white 
 males of twenty-one years of age and over, exceeded the 
 negro males, of the voting age and upwards, by 1,513. 
 The census of 1870 showed an excess of white males of 
 voting age of 153 over male negroes of like age. There 
 fore, it was an impossibility to honestly show in 1875 a 
 majority of 20.025 colored voters in Louisiana. The state 
 registrar of voters was Michael Hahn and his chief clerk 
 was James P. McArdle. D. J. M. A. Jewett was secretary 
 of the Republican committee on canvassing and registra 
 tion, and he and McArdle ran the state registrar s office. 
 They converted it into a partisan political machine. The 
 supervisors of registration, appointed by Kellogg, were all 
 unscrupulous men and most of them Federal office holders. 
 It was the deliberate purpose of the Republican leaders 
 to prevent legal elections from being held in certain parishes 
 where they could not control the negro vote. Jewett stated! 
 that it was their intention to invalidate the election in the 
 parishes of De Soto, Ouachita, Grant, Morehouse, East and 
 West Feliciana, and East Baton Rouge. All the circum 
 stances show that it was the scheme of the Republican leaders 
 in New Orleans to prevent, if possible, the holding of a legal 
 election in those parishes. There was some difference among 
 them as to the best method of accomplishing this result, 
 t Jewett, B. P. Blanchard, and the more reckless leaders, 
 advocated the bold plan of refusing to appoint supervisors 
 of registration on the ground that it was impossible to 
 
 * Senate Report No. 701 vol. 3, 44th Cong. 2nd Sess. pp. 2634-5. 
 t H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 1441. 
 
Il6 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 have a fair, free, and full registration, and that any election 
 which might be held would be a farce. But Kellogg pre 
 ferred a more devious course. The evidence is ample and 
 conclusive that he selected men for supervisors of registra 
 tion, or accepted those recommended to him, who he 
 thought would accomplish the same result in another way. 
 They were to go to the parishes and if they could not man 
 age to have the bulk of the Republican negro votes cast 
 at a few polls they were to leave the parishes before com 
 pleting the registration, alleging danger to their lives and 
 general intimidation, violence, and turbulence. 
 
 * D. A. Ward, a resident of New Orleans, was made 
 supervisor of registration for Grant parish. He returned 
 to New Orleans before he had completed his work, alleging 
 as an excuse for leaving that he was going after ballot- 
 boxes, the furnishing of which was the business of the 
 sheriff of the parish. In New Orleans he told E. A. Burke 
 that it was not the intention of his party leaders to have an 
 election held in Grant and several other parishes. Subse 
 quently, upon Burke remonstrating with Kellogg, he issued 
 an order to Ward to return to the parish. Several days 
 later Burke met Ward who showed him the governor s 
 order but said it was a sham that Jewett and Blanchard 
 told him to stay ; that he had no money to pay expenses 
 and the committee would not give him any. He did 
 not go back. The democrats and republicans in Grant 
 parish mutually agreed that the election should be held 
 under the direction of an United States supervisor of elec 
 tions. But the absence of the supervisor of registration 
 was subsequently held by the Returning Board to have in 
 validated the election. 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 34 Part 2, 44th Cong, and Sess. p. 443. 
 
FIT TOOLS. 
 
 117 
 
 * James E. Anderson, a clerk in the New Orleans 
 Customs House, was made supervisor of the parish of East 
 Feliciana. He was especially interested in Charles E. 
 Nash, a colored man, who was a candidate for Congress in 
 the Sixth District which included the Felicianas. He went 
 to the parish and began the registration but found a disa 
 greement between the negro and white Republican leaders. 
 The latter did not want an election held, and the former 
 wanted an election but insisted that the white republicans 
 should not run the party. The white republicans told 
 Anderson to leave the parish and, finding that he still re 
 mained, they, as he subsequently testified, attempted to 
 assassinate him. He returned to New Orleans. His 
 presence there was the subject of complaint by the demo 
 crats to Kellogg. Anderson swore, subsequently, that 
 Kellogg told him to return and have the negroes massed 
 and voted at certain polls in wards where they could be 
 controlled, and to have riots and disturbances at the polls 
 where the bulk of Democratic votes were cast, so they 
 could be rejected by the Returning Board. He returned to 
 East Feliciana but made no effort to carry out the plan 
 suggested, 
 
 t George L. Smith, a native of New Hampshire, settled 
 in Shreveport, Louisiana, after the war, and became an ac 
 tive " carpet-bag " politician. He was a member of the legis- 
 lafure in 1870 and 1872, and was proprietor of The South 
 western Telegram, a journal supported by the state printing 
 bestowed upon it by the governor, under the printing law. 
 He was a member of the Forty-third Congress from the 
 Fourth Congressional District, and in 1876 was a candi 
 date for re-election. He conducted the canvass in the re- 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. pp. 5, 6, 7, 8. 
 t Ibid p. 1450 and H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 34 part 6, 44th Cong. 2nd 
 Ses. p. 208. 
 
118 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 gion about Shreveport and received from Kellogg commis 
 sions, signed in blank, for the supervisors of registration 
 for the parishes composing his district. He made three of 
 his partisans, C. L. Ferguson, T. H. Hutton, and John T. 
 Morrow, supervisors of the parishes of De Soto, Bossier, 
 and Webster. Ward, supervisor of Grant parish, although 
 a resident of New Orleans, was under Smith s direction, his 
 clerk, W. P. Guynes being an appointee of Smith. Fer 
 guson and Morrow were not residents of De Soto and 
 Webster parishes but lived in Shreveport or near that 
 place. 
 
 * F. A. Clover, supervisor of the parish of East Baton 
 Rouge, was not a qualified elector of Louisiana, having re 
 cently removed there from Mississippi. His first occupa 
 tion in New Orleans was that of " roper-in " for a snake 
 show. He had been a member of the Mississippi legisla 
 ture and upon the overthrow of the " carpet-bag " govern 
 ment in that state sought refuge in Louisiana. He proved 
 a fit instrument for the work assigned him in East Baton 
 Rouge. 
 
 * The supervisors for the parishes of Morehouse and 
 Richland, F. M. Grant and J. F. Kelley, resided there. M. 
 J. Grady, supervisor of Ouachita parish, was a deputy col 
 lector of internal revenue. James E. Scott, supervisor of 
 Claiborne parish, was a clerk in the New Orleans Post- 
 office, and R. B. Edgeworth, supervisor of the parish *of 
 Plaquimine was an inspector in the Custom House, New 
 Orleans. B. F. Woodruff, supervisor of Rapides parish, 
 was also a clerk in the New Orleans Post-office. A. W. 
 Cornog, supervisor of Red River parish, was borne on the 
 rolls of the New Orleans Custom House. Phillip Joseph, 
 supervisor of Madison parish, was a fugitive from Alabama, 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 34 Part 2, 44th Cong, and Sess. p. 1049. 
 
A NICE LOT. 119 
 
 and had been indicted in New Orleans for burglary and 
 house-breaking. The supervisor of St. Tammany parish, 
 Victor Guadias, was a resident of New Orleans. A. W. 
 Kenchen and J. A. Veasey, supervisors of Livingston and 
 La Fayette parishes, were under indictment for murder. 
 H. F. Brennan, corporal of police, was assistant supervisor 
 of the first ward, New Orleans. A. J. Brim, Custom 
 House officer, was assistant supervisor of the second ward, 
 and Pat. Creagh, Inspector in the Custom House, was as 
 sistant supervisor of the third ward. R. C. Howard, J. G. 
 Pulchler, W. J. Moore, Thomas Levie, H. C. Bartlett, T. 
 H. Rowan, P. J. Malloney, assistant supervisors of the 
 fourth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, and fourteenth 
 wards, were all borne on the pay roll of the Custom 
 House. L. C. Backers, assistant supervisor of the eleventh 
 ward, was a police officer, and W. F. Loan, chief of police, 
 was the assistant supervisor of the fifteenth ward. 
 
 * A determined effort was made to increase the regis 
 tration of negro voters in the city of New Orleans and to 
 prevent a full registration of the whites. Every facility 
 was given to negroes to register, while well-known white 
 citizens were annoyed in every possible way. The regis 
 tration offices were not kept open the full number of hours 
 required by law. The democrats were required to form in 
 line and await their turns to register. The assistant super 
 visors would consume at least fifteen minutes in registering 
 well-known white men,t while negroes could slip into the 
 offices and get their certificates in a few moments. Negroes 
 were sent to the places of registry the night before to form 
 a long line and keep white men away. 
 
 The census of 1870 showed that the white population 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 34 Part 2, 44th Cong. 2nd Sess. p. 1020. 
 t Ibid. p. 478. Testimony of Prof. Chaille. 
 
120 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 of New Orleans parish was 140,923 and the negro 50,456. 
 In 1880 the white population was 158,367, and the negro 
 57,617. The state census,* made for political purposes in 
 1875, placed the negro population of New Orleans at 
 57,647, and the white at 145,721. When the "registration 
 was completed in New Orleans 57,647 negro population 
 yielded 23,495 voters, and 145,721 whites yielded only 
 34,913 voters. This vast difference cannot be accounted 
 for on any other theory than fraudulent registration of 
 colored voters. The total foreign born population of New 
 Orleans, according to the state census of 1875, was 43,712. 
 The number of naturalized foreigners was given as 14,984, 
 and the number of foreigners, over 21 years of age, not 
 naturalized, as 5,266. These statistics will not stand any 
 test applied to them. Deducting the foreign population, 
 43,712 allowing it to be white from the total white 
 population, 145,721, leaves 102,009 native whites. Adding 
 to the 14,928 naturalized foreigners the 5,266 unnaturalized, 
 over 21 years of age, and there would be 20,250, over 21 
 years old, from a total of 43,712 foreigners. This is absurd. 
 The mining population of California in 1849-50 scarcely 
 yielded so great a proportion of males over twenty-one 
 years of age. Again, accepting the 14,984 naturalized 
 foreign voters, as correct, from a total of 43,712 foreign 
 population, and add 23,495 negro voters registered and we 
 have 38,479 negro and foreign white voters. But the state 
 census of 1875 gives the total number of persons entitled to 
 vote in New Orleans as 44,392 leaving the native white 
 population of 102,009 to supply 5,913 voters ! It is, there 
 fore, evident that the statistics of foreign males, twenty-one 
 years old and over, and of the naturalized foreign voters, 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 34, Part 2, 44th Cong. 2 d Sess. pp. 494-5. 
 
REGISTRATION FRAUDS. 121 
 
 are thrown in, as figures and words in cryptography, to 
 deceive. 
 
 But the state census of 1875 states that of the 57,647 
 negroes in New Orleans there is an excess of 7,210 females 
 over males. Deducting this excess of females and there 
 remains only 21,614 males! And yet in 1876 23,495 
 negro voters were registered ! It certainly is unnecessary 
 to bring forward another fact to demonstrate the fraudulent 
 character of the negro registration in New Orleans. 
 
 But not satisfied with a registration of 23,495 negro 
 voters from a total male population of 21,614 in 1875, and 
 only 34,9 1 3 white voters from a total population of 145,72 1 in 
 1875, the Republican managers proceeded secretly to 
 strike off the registration lists the names of 7,738 white 
 voters.* They, with the cooperation of United States 
 Marshal Pitkin, and the employes of the Post-office, sent 
 out about 30,000 circulars with instructions to the letter- 
 carriers to return all not personally delivered to those to 
 whom addressed. Some eleven thousand were so returned, 
 and, thereupon, warrants were sworn out, a few days before 
 the election, against these 11,000 citizens. In the mean 
 time the registration books were secretly taken to the 
 Custom House and the assistant supervisors marshalled 
 there and directed to strike off the registry lists the names 
 of those against whom warrants had been issued. One 
 United States commissioner, who had issued a large num 
 ber of warrants, published the names and a great number 
 of gentlemen, finding theirs among the rest, hastened to the 
 commissioner s office, and being well-known citizens, were 
 promptly discharged. By this means, and by the strenuous 
 efforts of Major E. A. Burke, chairman of the Democratic 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc., No. 34, Part 2, 44th Cong., 2d Sess., pp. 1031- 
 32-33- 
 
!22 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 campaign committee, quite a large number got their names 
 restored to the registry lists, but a total of 7,738 white men 
 were deprived of the right to vote. On the other hand the 
 democrats only succeeded in having 3,368 names of 
 fraudulently-registered colored men stricken from the 
 registration lists. Professor Chaille,* an eminent authority 
 on vital statistics, and a careful student of those of New 
 Orleans, and Louisiana, gives as his judgment, after a 
 careful examination of all the available data, that an 
 honest and complete registration of the voters of New 
 Orleans in 1876 would have given about 40,584 white and 
 13,500 negro voters. Allowing for reasonable contingen 
 cies, absence and sickness, there ought not to have been 
 more than 12,000 colored citizens registered. 
 
 The registration of the entire state, according to the 
 statistics of the State registrars office in 1876, was 207,622, 
 divided into colored, 115,268, and white, 92,354.* The 
 state census of 1875 gave the total number of persons 
 entitled to vote as 188,059, divided into colored, 104,192, 
 and white 84,167. The registration, therefore, showed an 
 increase during one year of the negro voters of 11,076 and 
 of 8,187 wm te voters very nearly an equal percentage 
 of increase. This is conclusive as to the effect of alleged 
 intimidation on the registration of colored voters. Their own 
 figures demonstrate that the negroes were at least suffered 
 by the terrible (?) bulldozers " to register in peace. There 
 fore, it must be concluded that whatever statements were 
 made by supervisors of registration about " intimidation ; 
 preventing a full, fair, and free registration of colored 
 voters, were absolutely untrue. But it is equally certain 
 that, instead of negroes not being allowed to register, there 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc., No. 34, Part 2, 44th Cong., 2 nd Sess. p. 478. 
 t Ibid, p. 494-5. 
 
THE CENSUS STATISTICS. 123 
 
 must have been a very large fraudulent negro registration 
 in the parishes outside of New Orleans. This fact is 
 proved by the official data furnished by the census of 1870 
 and that of 1880. In 1870 the colored males, of twenty- 
 one years of age and over, were 86,913, and white males 
 of like age 87,066. The " colored " class included negroes, 
 Chinese, and Indians. In 1880 the white males of twenty- 
 one and over, were 108,810, and the colored males of like 
 age, 107,979. These proportions could not have varied in 
 1876. The increase was very nearly the same in ten 
 years. But how about the foreign-born males ? The 
 foreign population of Louisiana has steadily decreased 
 since 1860. There was a loss up to 1880 of 26,829. In 
 1880 the native and foreign males, twenty-one years of 
 age and over, were divided as follows natives 81,777 
 foreign 27,033=108,810. These proportions could not have 
 varied much in 1876, because, we find that year 22,134 
 naturalized citizens registered. If from colored males, 
 Chinese, Indians and foreign-born negroes are deducted, 
 it will be found that the colored voters could not have 
 exceeded the white electors in 1876. It is the opinion of 
 Professor Chaille, an eminent authority, that there was a 
 small majority of white voters in the state.* 
 
 These statistics prove two things incontrovertibly first, 
 that the stories about the great number of negroes being 
 killed in Louisiana from 1870 to 1880 were altogether 
 false; and, second, that the registration of 1876, which 
 showed a majority of 22,314, colored voters in the state, 
 was fraudulent. It has been demonstrated that there were 
 at least 11,500 fraudulent negro voters registered in New 
 Orleans. There must have been several thousand more 
 false registrations outside the city. The supervisors were 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 34, Part 2, 44th Cong, ad Sess. pp. 476 to 480. 
 
124 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 with few exceptions men of bad character. The facility 
 with which negroes can be falsely registered and used as 
 " repeaters " at the polls is well known. 
 
 The election was a peaceable one throughout the state. 
 There is not only abundant affirmative proof of this, but 
 all attempts to prove the contrary have signally failed. 
 There is not in all the thousands of pages * of testimony, 
 which have been taken in regard to the election of 1876 
 in Louisiana, a scintilla of evidence to prove that on the 
 day of the election there was at a single polling place in 
 the State any riot, tumult, disturbance, or intimidation. 
 The election officers were all republicans. The supervisors 
 of registration were selected with a view to their reckless 
 unscrupulousness and their entire dependence on the Re 
 publican leaders. They were not only carefully instructed 
 in regard to the advantages which the law gave them, and 
 how to avail themselves thereof, but they were plainly told 
 that their political future depended entirely upon their 
 work.f The committee on canvassing and registration 
 issued its orders to the supervisors of every parish, and set 
 the mark they were to obtain, and notified them that unless 
 this result was achieved they would " not be held to have 
 done " their " full duty in the premises." At the same time 
 
 TT J ?T- nate Re P rts No - 7oi, 44th Cong., and Sess., 3 vols., 3,100 pages. 
 H. R. Mis. Doc., 44111 Cong., and Sess., 6 parts, 3,000 pages. H. R. Mis. 
 Doc., No. 42, 44 th Cong., 2nd Sess., 440 pages. H. R. Mis. Doc., No 
 31, 5 parts, 2,n6pages. 
 
 t HEADQUARTERS REPUBLICAN PARTY OF LOUISIANA, 
 
 Rooms Joint Committee on Canvassing and Registration, 
 
 MECHANICS INSTITUTE, Sept 25, 1876. 
 Supervisor of Registration, Parish of Assumption, La.: 
 
 DEAR SIR: It is well known to this committee that, from examina 
 tion of the census of 1875, the Republican vote in your parish is 2 200 and 
 the Republican majority is 900. 
 
 You are expected to register and vote the full strength of the Repub 
 lican party in your parish. 
 
 Your recognition by the next state administration will depend upon 
 your doing your full duty in the premises, and you will not be held to have 
 
AN HONEST ELECTION. 125 
 
 they were promised ample and generous recognition " if 
 they deserved it. The census of 1875, prepared as the basis 
 for the election frauds of 1876, was also made the standard 
 by which the services of the election officers were to be 
 judged. The deliberation and cool impudence with which 
 these unconscionable rogues set about their infamous work 
 cannot be paralleled in the history of political scoundrelism ! 
 There were fifty-six parishes, exclusive of New Orleans, 
 and nearly a thousand polling places in the state. There 
 were seventy-four supervisors and assistant supervisors of 
 registration, their clerks and three commissioners of election 
 for each poll, selected by the Republican managers. And 
 yet when the election closed and the returns came to the 
 supervisors, and were consolidated, and made ready to be 
 transmitted to the Returning Board, only two supervisors 
 made, then and there, as the law required, any protests af 
 fecting the fairness and freeness of the registration, or the 
 peaceable and honest character of the election had or held 
 under their supervision. 
 
 In but one solitary instance throughout the entire 
 State, and that was in the city of New Orleans, did the com 
 missioners of election allege intimidation. This exception 
 was at poll 2, eleventh ward, New Orleans, where A. W. 
 Kempton* and A. M. C. Hearsey, two Custom House 
 pensioners, after the returns were completed, refused to 
 
 done vour full dutv unless the Republican registration in your parish 
 
 tained, your recognition will be ample and generc 
 
 Very respectfully your obedient servant, 
 
 D. J. M. A. JEWETT, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No, 34 Part 2, 44th Cong. 2nd Sess. p. 18. 
 
126 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 sign them at the last moment, alleging that they had been 
 intimidated. This was a mere pretext. The poll was sur 
 rounded all day by deputy marshals and metropolitan 
 police, and the United States supervisor of election was 
 present in the room. It was simply a case of " pure cus- 
 sedness " on the part of Kempton and Hearsey, who were 
 determined to furnish a pretext for the disfranchisment 
 of 412 respectable citizens living in the best portion of 
 the residence quarter of the city. There was no legal 
 process by which these two miscreants could be compelled 
 to do their duty. Had the men, who were to be dis 
 franchised, been black, an appeal could have been made 
 to the United States court, but inasmuch as they were 
 white gentlemen they had no remedy save to " the political 
 court " presided over by one of Kellogg s creatures. No 
 attempt was ever made to justify the conduct of Kempton 
 and Hearsey. 
 
 The assistant supervisor for the ward, one of Kellogg s 
 police officers, refused to compile the vote of this poll, al 
 though it was his duty under the law to do so and state 
 the facts in regard to the action of the commissioners; 
 and the Returning Board, of course, did not count it. The 
 two instances where supervisors accompanied their consoli 
 dated statements of the votes of their parishes by objec 
 tions, made in conformity to the law, were N. McKenny, 
 of Caddo, and C. A. Bossier, of St. Charles. In the one 
 case the objections affected only the votes for justices of 
 the peace and constables, and in the other the supervisor 
 declined to incorporate the votes of two polls, because, 
 where he had established one, the commissioners made 
 two, which by law they had no right to do. 
 
 The election law * which conferred such vast authority 
 * For Louisiana election law and instructions to Supervisors of 
 
THE LAW S REQUIREMENTS. I2/ 
 
 upon election officers, upon the supervisors of registration, 
 and upon the Returning Board prescribed exactly what 
 they should do, and how they should do it. If there had 
 been any occurrence to prevent, or tending to prevent, " a 
 full, fair, and free registration," when they came to make up 
 their consolidated statements of the votes from the returns 
 to them by commissioners of election, they must note on 
 the blank furnished them on which to compile the returns, 
 under the head of " remarks," their statements about inter 
 ference with registration and must swear to the truth there 
 of and have three respectable citizens, qualified voters of 
 the parish, corroborate the same under oath. 
 
 As to all occurrences on the day of the election at the 
 polls, it was the duty of the commissioners of election to 
 certify, under oath, and have the same corroborated under 
 oath, by three respectable citizens, qualified voters of the 
 voting place. When they made out their returns, which 
 must be on the day of the election, if there had been any 
 thing happen which in their judgment affected "the purity 
 and freedom" of the election, they must make a statement 
 thereof under oath and have three citizens vouch for the 
 truth of the same, and forward it along with their returns, the 
 tally sheets, registration lists, all made out in duplicate, one 
 set to the supervisor, and one to the clerk of the parish 
 court. 
 
 The supervisor must note under the head of " remarks " 
 on his consolidated statement, the facts in regard to any 
 polls reported by the commissioners, and must attach 
 thereto, " by paste, wax, or other adhesive substance," the 
 statement of the commissioners. This consolidated state- 
 
 Registration issued by State Registrar of voters see H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 34, 
 Part 2, 44th Cong, and Sess. pp. 539 to 589. For elaborate analysis of same 
 see Electoral Count Arguments of ex-Senators Carpenter and Trumbull, 
 pp. 263 to 299 and 301 to 341. 
 
128 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 ment, the remarks thereon, with statements attached, must 
 be certified as correct by the clerk of the court, and a dupli 
 cate deposited in his office. The supervisors had no au 
 thority to reject the returns from any polls, or to refuse to 
 compile the same on their consolidated statements. It was 
 their duty to compile and to note under "remarks" the facts, 
 and send, attached to their statements, the evidence required 
 by law. They were omnipotent in all matters relating to 
 registration, but, that completed, their functions became 
 wholly ministerial and they could only report facts and evi 
 dence, in the manner prescribed, to the Returning Board 
 who were to pass judgment thereon. 
 
 It was further provided, by section 43 of the election 
 law, that the supervisors should, " after the receipt of all the 
 returns for the different polling places," consolidate the 
 same in duplicate and, after certification by the clerk of the 
 district court that the same were correct, according to the 
 duplicate returns in his possession, deposit one copy of the 
 consolidated statement with the said clerk, and " FORWARD 
 BY MAIL, inclosed in an envelope of strong paper ; or cloth, 
 securely sealed" to the Returning Board the other, with 
 all the returns made by the commissioners to the super 
 visors, tally sheets, registered lists of voters for each poll 
 ing place, and the statements, if any, in regard to occur 
 rences affecting " the purity and freedom " of the voting, 
 attached thereto. 
 
 The provisions to prevent tampering with the returns 
 were ample. Duplicates of everything went to the clerks of 
 the courts at the parish towns, and there the supervisors 
 made up, on blanks furnished for that purpose, duplicate 
 consolidated statements of the returns from the commis 
 sioners of election, making under the head of " remarks " 
 whatever statements they had to make concerning registra- 
 
THUS AND NOT OTHERWISE. 129 
 
 tion, and having the same verified as the law required, and 
 also such statements as the reports of the commissioners 
 justified concerning the character of the election at the re 
 spective polls, and attach thereto the said reports, and have 
 the clerk certify to the correctness of all; this done, one 
 copy of the consolidated statements must be deposited with 
 the said clerks, who were the custodians of duplicates of the 
 commissioners returns, tally sheets, lists of registered voters, 
 and the boxes containing the ballots, and the other, with 
 duplicates of returns, tally sheets, and lists of registered vo 
 ters, and statements, if any, by commissioners, properly 
 verified, affecting " the purity and freedom " of election, 
 must be forwarded by mail to the Returning Board. 
 
 When the law had been thus obeyed, and all formalities 
 strictly complied with, the Returning Board, coming into 
 possession of the original returns from every poll or voting 
 place in the State, and for their convenience tabulated by 
 parishes, said tabulations, or consolidated statements, hav 
 ing attached thereto whatever evidence there was affecting 
 " the purity and freedom " of the voting at any polls, and 
 whatever evidence there was concerning interference with 
 registration, then the process of canvassing and compiling 
 began. 
 
 In canvassing and compiling the law regulated the 
 process in the strictest manner. It said, " they shall com 
 pile first the statements from all polls or voting places at 
 which there shall have been a fair, free, and peaceable regis 
 tration and election." How were they to know that at any 
 poll there had not been " a fair, free, and peaceable regis 
 tration and election ?" The law tells how. " Whenever, 
 from any poll, or voting place, there shall be received the 
 statement of any supervisor of registration or commissioner 
 of election, in form as required by section twenty-six of 
 
I3O A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 this act, on affidavit of three or more citizens, of any riot, 
 tumult, acts of violence, intimidation, armed disturbance, 
 bribery, or currupt influences, which prevented, or tended 
 to prevent, a fair, free, and peaceable vote of all qualified 
 electors, entitled to vote at such poll or voting place, such 
 returning officers shall not canvass, count, or compile the 
 statements of votes from such poll or voting place until the 
 statements from all other polls or voting places shall have 
 been canvassed and compiled." 
 
 That is to say all statements from polls or voting 
 places which were not affected by " the statement of any su 
 pervisor of registration or commissioner of election in form 
 as required by section twenty-six," must be canvassed and 
 compiled. Of course, these words, " canvass " and " com 
 pile," have an exact, definite, legal meaning. That meaning 
 has been determined time out of mind. " Canvass" means, 
 in the connection here used, as the courts have invariably 
 decided," to examine thoroughly " for errors of computa 
 tion, or mistatement in figures of results, and to "compile " 
 means to " put together." Therefore, the returning officers 
 were first "to examine thoroughly" and "put together" the 
 votes from all polls or voting places concerning which there 
 had not come to them " the statement of any supervisor of 
 registration or commissioner of election, in form as required 
 by section twenty-six of this act." 
 
 They could take no other " statement." It must come 
 from a supervisor of registration or commissioner of election, 
 in form as required by section twenty-six. And section 
 twenty-six "required" these statements to be exact and 
 definite; in a certain "form" made at a certain time and 
 place, verified by certain persons, and certified as correct by 
 certain officers independent of the supervisors or commis 
 sioners. The supervisors could only make " statements " as 
 
"THE FORMS OF LAW." 131 
 
 to the registration and they must make these under oath, and 
 have them corroborated by three reputable citizens, qualified 
 voters, who must swear to their knowledge ; then these 
 statements must be made on the blank for consolidated 
 returns, or attached thereto, with reference to the same on 
 the blank. The clerk of the court must certify thereto and 
 an exact duplicate must be filed with him. 
 
 The commissioners of election must make their state 
 ments affecting the voting at the polls, they must have them 
 corroborated by three respectable witnesses, qualified voters, 
 they must be sworn to, and in duplicate, and must be for 
 warded along with their returns, one with their duplicate re 
 turns, tally lists, lists of registered voters, and the ballot- 
 boxes, to the clerk of the court, and one to the supervisor of 
 registration for their parish, with duplicate of returns, tally 
 lists, and lists of registered voters. The supervisor must for 
 ward these attached to his consolidated statement in an en 
 velope of strong paper, or cloth, securely sealed, by mail to 
 the returning officers, and deposit a duplicate of his state 
 ment with the clerk of the court, both having first been cer 
 tified to by the clerk. 
 
 Having "examined thoroughly" and "put together" 
 the votes from all polls or voting places unaffected by " the 
 statement of any supervisor of registration or commissioner 
 of election in form as required by section twenty-six," the 
 returning officers had fulfilled their functions so far as these 
 polls or voting places were concerned. And, moreover, the 
 law required them to proceed by polls, and not by parishes. 
 " They shall compile first the statements from all polls or 
 voting places at which there shall have been a fair, free, and 
 peaceable registration and election." There was no discre 
 tion the law was mandatory. They were vested with 
 extraordinary powers and the law-makers prescribed in 
 
132 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 positive terms not only their duties but the manner in which 
 they should exercise them. 
 
 The votes from all polls or voting places at which there 
 was a fair, free, peaceable registration and election, having 
 been, passed upon and put together, the law says, " the 
 returning officers shall then proceed to investigate the state 
 ments of riot, tumult, acts of violence, intimidation, armed 
 disturbance, bribery, or corrupt influences at any such poll or 
 voting place : and if from the evidence of such statement. . ." 
 that is, the statement of any supervisor of registration or 
 commissioner of election, in form as required by section 
 twenty-six " they shall be convinced that such riot, 
 tumult, acts of violence, intimidation, armed disturbance, 
 bribery, or corrupt influences did not materially interfere 
 with the purity and freedom of the election at such poll or 
 voting place, or did not prevent a sufficient number of 
 qualified voters thereat from registering or voting to 
 materially change the result of the election, then and not 
 otherwise, said returning officers shall canvass and compile 
 the vote of such poll or voting place with those previously 
 canvassed and compiled : but if said returning officers shall 
 not be fully satisfied thereof, it shall be their duty to exam 
 ine further testimony in regard thereto, and to this end they 
 shall have power to send for persons and papers. If, after 
 such examination, the said returning* officers shall be con 
 vinced that said riot, tumult, acts of violence, intimidation, 
 armed disturbance, bribery, or corrupt influences did ma 
 terially interfere with the purity and freedom of the election 
 at such poll or voting place, or did prevent a sufficient 
 number of the qualified electors thereat from registering and 
 voting to materially change the result of the election, then 
 the said returning officers shall not canvass or compile the 
 statement of the votes of such poll or voting place, but 
 
IMPORTANT LANGUAGE. 133 
 
 shall exclude it from their returns : Provided, that any 
 person interested in said election by reason of being a 
 candidate for office shall be allowed a hearing before said 
 returning officers upon making application within the time 
 allowed for the forwarding of the returns of said election." 
 
 It will be observed that throughout, section 3 of the 
 election law, conferring judicial power upon the returning 
 officers, is strikingly exact and specific in the language 
 used. In the proviso, even, giving candidates a chance for 
 a hearing it requires that they shall make application 
 " within the time allowed for the forwarding of the returns 
 of said election." This language is important, because, it 
 proves that all the proceedings by the commissioners of 
 election and the supervisors were to be open and public. 
 For this reason, among others, duplicates of everything 
 had to be filed with the clerk of the court at the parish 
 town, so that all men might be informed of what had been 
 done. How else could they know certainly what had 
 transpired and make " application within the time allowed 
 for the forwarding of the returns?" 
 
 The election of all local officers depended upon the action 
 taken by the returning officers. The candidates learning from 
 the clerk of the court, from duplicates on file with him, that 
 returns from certain polls or voting places were impeached 
 for certain causes, coulfr have a hearing before the returning 
 officers, provided, they made their application in due 
 season. It must be made " within the time allowed for the 
 forwarding of the returns." How long was this time? 
 Section 43 of the election law says, " within twenty-four 
 hours after the receipt of all the returns from the different 
 polling places," the supervisors of registration were " to con 
 solidate such returns " and forward them by mail. There 
 fore, within the "twenty-four hours after the receipt of all 
 
134 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 the returns from the different polling places " the applica 
 tion to the returning officers must be made for a hearing. 
 Bearing these provisions of the election law in mind let us 
 see what happened. 
 
REPUBLICAN HOPES. 135 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 A gain of 2500 votes in New Orleans by means of registration frauds 
 made the republicans hopeful of the state : Provision made before 
 hand for the Returning Board villainy : The Republican visiting 
 statesmen : How they prated about the forms of law and encour 
 aged their violation : The monument they left behind : The manu 
 facture of affidavits in the custom house : The modus operandi : 
 The supervisors of registration did not make their returns accord 
 ing to law : They brought them to New Orleans to be doctored : 
 Evidence of intimidation had to be supplied by means of perjury 
 and forgery : The part played by visiting statesmen : The Sherman 
 letter : The evidence concerning it : The use made of the New 
 Orleans Post-office : The mails tampered with : What was done in 
 the postmaster s private office : A statement by one of the princi 
 pal actors : Falsification of records. 
 
 THE Republican managers, as they have testified them 
 selves,* were confident for one week after the election on 
 7th of November 1876, that their plans had worked suc 
 cessfully, and that they would have on the face of the re 
 turns a majority of all the votes cast. They had made a 
 gain of 2,500 votes in New Orleans over the vote of 1874, 
 and they did not doubt that they had made corresponding 
 gains in other localities. As the returns came in their 
 views seemed to be corroborated and they were corres 
 pondingly jubilant. They assured their northern friends 
 that they had carried the state. 
 
 * See Jewett s testimony, H, R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d 
 Sess. p. 1441. 
 
136 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 D. J. M. A. Jewett, testified before the Potter com 
 mittee, that it was not until the I2th or 131!! of November 
 that they were satisfied the returns would be against 
 them. This is not improbable. Their success in in 
 creasing the negro registration in New Orleans, and in 
 voting a large number of those fraudulently registered, 
 gave them ground of hope for the success of like tac 
 tics outside the city. They knew that they had regis 
 tered fully 20,000 more negro voters than there were quali 
 fied negro electors in the state, and they did not doubt that 
 this fraudulent registration would enable them to secure 
 large majorities increases in proportion to the gain in 
 New Orleans in certain negro wards in different parishes. 
 Hence their confidence. 
 
 But they nevertheless had provided against contin 
 gencies by instructing* their supervisors of registration 
 to disobey the law, and, instead of forwarding their 
 returns by mail to the returning officers, to bring them 
 in person to New Orleans. As they came in the super 
 visors did not deposit the returns with the returning 
 officers but carried them to the Custom House. Some of 
 them had obeyed the law and forwarded their returns by 
 mail but the registered packages containing the same were 
 stopped in the New Orleans Post-office and either retained 
 there, or turned over to the Republican managers. Only 
 seventeen supervisors of registration obeyed the law and 
 forwarded their returns by mail. 
 
 On November 12 and 13 the "visiting statesmen," who 
 had been invited by the President of the United States to 
 be present " in Louisiana, to see that the board of can 
 vassers make a fair count of the votes actually cast," began 
 
 - H - R Mis - Doc - No. 31, 45th Cong. 3 d 
 
CAPTIOUS SHERMAN. 137 
 
 to arrive in New Orleans.* The Democratic visitors ar 
 rived about the same time and they addressed a communi 
 cation to Stanley Mathews, James A. Garfield, John A. 
 Logan, William D. Kelley, John A. Kasson, William M. 
 Evarts, E. W. Stoughton, John A. Dix, and others, stating 
 that it was understood that they were there at the request 
 of the President " to see that the board of canvassers make 
 a fair count of the votes actually cast," and inviting a 
 conference " in order that such influence as we pos 
 sess may be exerted in behalf of such a canvass of the 
 votes actually cast as by its fairness and impartiality shall 
 command the respect and acquiescence of the American 
 people of all parties." 
 
 This invitation was replied to by Republican visitors, t 
 on the 1 6th, John Sherman signing first, captiously de 
 clining to cooperate, "to influence" the judicial action 
 of the Returning Board. They declared that they could 
 not " concur in your proposition for a conference " 
 on the basis of reducing " to the mere clerical duty 
 of counting the votes actually cast in distinction 
 from votes legally cast and returned, irrespective of the 
 question whether they are fraudulently and violently cast, 
 or otherwise vitiated." They further stated that " it is, in 
 our judgment, vital to the preservation of constitutional 
 liberty that the habit of obedience to the forms of law 
 should be sedulously inculcated and cultivated, and that 
 the result to extra-constitutional modes of redress, for even 
 actual grievances, should be avoided and condemned as 
 revolutionary, disorganizing, and tending to disorder and 
 anarchy." 
 
 * Sherman Report, Senate, Ex. Doc. No. 2, 44th Cong. 2d Sess. 
 P- 3i- 
 
 t Ibid, p. 32. 
 
138 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 The " forms of law " for the guidance of election officers 
 and supervisors of registration in making their returns, and 
 for the returning officers in canvassing and compiling the 
 same have been pointed out. Let us see how the Repub 
 lican visiting statesmen " sedulously inculcated and culti 
 vated " obedience thereto. In only one single instance 
 had the commissioners of election alleged intimidation and 
 that was not an allegation that the voters had been intimi 
 dated. There was not from a single polling place in the 
 state a statement " in form as required by section twenty- 
 six." Not one of the supervisors of registration had " in 
 form as required by section twenty-six " made objections to 
 the registration of voters for a single voting place. Two of 
 them had, at the time and place designated by law, noted 
 on their consolidated statements informalities and irregu 
 larities affecting returns from two polls, but not alleging in 
 timidation, or acts of violence. Four supervisors had as 
 sumed "judicial powers," which the law conferred alone 
 upon the returning officers, and had rejected refused to 
 compile the commissioners returns from twelve polling 
 places; and three assistant supervisors for wards of New 
 Orleans had likewise illegally declined to consolidate re 
 turns from three polls. Did one of these gentlemen who 
 thought it so " vital to the preservation of constitutional 
 liberty that the habit of obedience to the forms of law 
 should be sedulously inculcated and cultivated " insist that 
 the returning officers rebuke the unlawful action of these 
 four supervisors and three assistant supervisors ? Did they * 
 
 * James A. Garfield testified as follows : " We very soon organized by 
 electing Senator Sherman as chairman. * * * One of the first consultations 
 we had was to determine on a course of procedure and the first thing 
 was that a committee should be appointed of our number to examine the 
 laws of Louisiana touching the whole questions of elections, and of the 
 Returning Board. * * There was a careful examination of the laws to 
 find precisely what they were both in their letter and in their scope, so far 
 as we could discover."//. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 4 sth Cong. 3 d Sess p 790 
 
MONUMENTAL INFAMY. 139 
 
 advise the returning officers that " the forms of law pre- 
 scribing the method of canvassing and compiling < ; first ^the 
 statements from all polls or polling places at which there 
 shall have been a fair, free, and peaceable registration 
 and election" should be observed? Did they insist .that 
 the only legal method the returning officers had of dete 
 mining that "a fair, free, and peaceable registration and 
 election" had not been had at any poll or voting place, 
 was to ascertain whether " the statement of any supervisor 
 of registration or commissioner of election, in form as re 
 quired by section twenty-six " had been received ? Did they 
 maintain that the forms of law " required these statements 
 of supervisors of registration and of commissioners of elec 
 tion to be filed in duplicate with the clerks of courts nn thei, 
 respective parishes and other duplicates certified by these 
 clerks to be "forwarded by mail" to the returning officers ? 
 What monument " more enduring than brass" did these 
 gentleman leave behind them to attest their belief that 
 was so "vital to the preservation of constitutional liberty 
 that the habit of obedience to the forms of law should be 
 sedulously inculcated and cultivated, and that the resort to 
 extra-constitutional modes of redress, for even actual 
 grievances, should be avoided as revolutionary d-orgamz- 
 mg, and tending to disorder and anarchy? They 1 
 behind them a monument which it is devoutly to be hoped 
 will prove "a beacon light and warning" "succeeding 
 generations. The labor was vast and they subdivided it 
 John Sherman headed a committee of five that attended 
 he open sessions of the Returning Board to give counten 
 ance tt, those eminent and impartial jurists (?)J. Madison 
 Wells, Thomas C. Anderson, Louis M. Kenner and G. 
 Cassannave who were to preserve " the purity ^freedom 
 of elections in Louisiana ! James A. Garfield, Courtlandt 
 
140 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 Parker, and other distinguished sticklers for the " habit 
 of obedience to the forms of law," were established in the 
 Custom House * to supervise the manufacture there of affi 
 davits which were to supply the place of the " statement of 
 any supervisor of registration or commissioner of election, 
 in form as required by section twenty-six " of the election 
 law. Still other eminent gentlemen, aided on extraordinary 
 occasions by John Sherman and Stanley Mathews, cooper 
 ated with Kellogg, Packard, and other cogging, cozening 
 
 * " 1 occupied a room in the Custom House, in the corner of the build 
 ing. I do not know now whose room it was. It was a room that was not 
 very much used. I think it was one of the private offices, perhaps of the 
 collector himself." 
 
 Q. " What did you do ?" A. " I took all those papers, commencing 
 with the protest, and read them very carefully, and made a careful brief of 
 their contents, giving the summary of each witness in my own way as I 
 would if I were a lawyer in the case ; and, when I had completed that, I 
 felt a good deal of anxiety to see the men who had testified, if I could. I 
 confess that I felt a good deal of surprise and astonishment at the revela 
 tions contained in those documents, and that I went there not a little ap 
 prehensive that there must be a good deal of lying on both sides, in the 
 papers connected with the election. I made inquiry and found that a con 
 siderable number of those witnesses were in the city. I made out a list of 
 perhaps one-half or three-fourths of the names of the witnesses whose tes 
 timony I had examined, and I inquired for them and procured interviews 
 with them. I sat down with them and asked them to tell me in their own 
 way the story of their relations to the election. I cannot name all the wit 
 nesses whom I so conversed with, but some of them I remember very dis 
 tinctly. One, a Mrs. Amy Mitchell, a young woman whose husband had 
 been killed during the progress of registration or election ... I draughted 
 some inquiries to draw out more fully from some of the witnesses the testi 
 mony which they had given rather in brief and some of the interrogatories 
 which subsequently were appended to the testimony of those witnesses, 
 were of my draughting." Jas. A. Garfteld, Ibid, p. 791. 
 
 Amy Mitchell, examined July 20, 1878. 
 
 Q. " You made an affidavit which purports to have been sworn to on 
 the 30th of Nov., 1876. Do you remember taking an oath?" A. " I re 
 member of making an affidavit here that people made me make." 
 
 Q. "Who made you make it?" A. " They just pushed me up to 
 make it. I don t know his name. Men that were here when I was making 
 it pushed me up to make it. I don t know who they were who pushed me 
 up." 
 
 ******* 
 
 Q. "Where was it made?" A. "It was made in the Custom 
 House." 
 
 ******* 
 
 Q. " Do you know who wrote it?" A. " No, sir; I don t know who 
 wrote. Somebody I never saw one of them clerks down there." 
 
MAKING AFFIDAVITS. 14! 
 
 carpet-bag knaves, to pledge " recognition " to the covetous, 
 the doubtful, the suspicious, and to promise " protection " 
 to others who hesitated to become " swift witnesses " through 
 a wholesome fear of the law.* 
 
 The counsel selected by Kellogg and Packard to direct 
 the preparation of " evidence " (?) to supply the place of 
 that which the supervisors of registration and commissioners 
 of election had failed to furnish were Dibble, Gorham, 
 
 Q. " Did you know him at the time?" A. "No, sir; I didn t ever 
 see him before." 
 
 ******* 
 
 Q. " You have heard me read this affidavit. Was it taken down here 
 as you gave it to the man who questioned you about these things?" A. 
 " No, sir; I didn t say but a little bit of it, and that little bit I didn t know, 
 and I was told to say that little bit I did say." 
 
 Q. " State whether or not you said anything to them beyond the fact 
 that your husband had been killed?" A. "That I said: I didn t know 
 it." 
 
 Q. "Did you state to them you did not know who killed him?" 
 A. " Yes, sir ; I told them I didn t know who had killed him." 
 
 The killing of Mitchell was charged in the affidavit upon some of the 
 most prominent democrats in the parish of West Feliciana and Amy Mit 
 chell was made to identify them and to swear that she saw the killing, and 
 give exactly the talk that occured at the time of the killing. Ibid, Part 
 2, pp. 471,473. 
 
 Hon. Wm. D. Kelley, " visiting statesman." Q. "You have spoken 
 of some affidavits being redraughted, who did that work?" A. " My im 
 pression is that Gen. Harry White redraughted one or two. and I have a 
 vague impression that Mr. Courtlandt Parker, finding that some of the affi 
 davits -were insensible, sought to see whether the parties had meant to ex 
 press anything and finding that they had redraughted the affidavits." Ibid- 
 P, 724- 
 
 * Q. " You know Dr. Darrall, who used to be a Member of Congress 
 from Louisiana ?" A. "Yes." 
 
 Q. "Do you recollect putting your arm across his shoulder and say 
 ing to him now, Darrall, see that these fellows stand firm?" A. " I do 
 not remember it, but I should probably have done that if I thought that 
 they needed any strengthening." Jas. A. Garfield s testimony, Ibid, p. 
 797- 
 
 I am not positive which of the parties present asked me to bring 
 Anderson and D. A. Weber to the collector s rooms where the statesmen 
 and state leaders were convened, but I do know that Mr. Sherman was al 
 leged and believed to be the special representative of Mr. Hayes and was 
 spokesman of the visiting statesmen in their dealings with the Democratic 
 visitors, and that his words and assurances were considered authoritative, 
 and more influential than any other leader; and my recollection is he re 
 quested me to go for my brother and Anderson." Testimony of E. L. 
 Weber, I bid, p. 591. 
 
142 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 Hardy, Harris, Morey, Campbell, Blanchard, and Jewett. 
 A small army of clerks was gathered in the Custom House 
 and the " affidavit mill " began to grind out, " the proof of 
 violence, intimidation, and armed disturbance." The man 
 ner in which this manufacture of " proof" was conducted 
 has been fully described by witnesses who signed the affi 
 davits and by persons who were employed as clerks.* 
 Negroes by the scores were marshalled to the Custom 
 House under the guard of deputy marshals. Campbell and 
 Morey, Harris and Hardy, Jewett and Blanchard, had 
 direction of the preperation of affidavits for the stories of 
 " outrages " which they were chiefly responsible for, while 
 George L. Smith and O. H. Brewster looked after the 
 details of similar occurrences in the regions of Shreveport 
 
 * Thos. H. Nolan, a clerk employed in the Custom House to get up 
 intimidation affidavits testified as follows "we would say that he knew 
 of so and so instead of saying he (the witness) heard " ..." I found very 
 few who did know of their own personal knowledge those things ; but in 
 taking affidavits it would not be of any use to take an affidavit of that kind, 
 that is, say, a hearsay affidavit. I did not suppose it would amount to any 
 thing." Some witnesses testified that Garfield, Hale, Sherman, and 
 Stoughton were in the Custom House frequently and manifested great in 
 terest in the operations of the "affidavit mill." Garfield made up a synopsis 
 of evidence for Sherman s report from notes he took from the affidavits in 
 Custom House see H. R. Mis. Doc., No. 31, part-$, 45th Cong., 3d Sess., 
 p. 582. Also Ibid, p. 471 where Amy Mitchell describes how she was 
 made to lie about the killing of her husband. Also p. 306, testimony of 
 Andrew Duncan, colored, as to how negroes were made to swear to false 
 hoods. Also the following by R. B. Edgeworth supervisor of registration 
 for parish of Plaquemine. 
 
 Q. " Were you where they were making affidavits for use before the 
 Returning Board ?" A. "Yes, I was there quite often." 
 
 Q. "Tell us what you saw in regard to their preparation?" A. " Well 
 I saw them making the affidavits." 
 
 Q. " Were the persons who made the affidavits mostly colored ?" A. 
 "All colored." 
 
 Q. " Who collected the information that went into the affidavits, the 
 person who drew the paper?" A. " The person who drew up the paper 
 asked them some questions and made the affidavit in a general way to suit 
 his own fancy more than anything else I should judge." 
 
 Q. " When he got done with it did he go over it with them?" A. "No, 
 sir; it was passed over to Hugh J. Campbell, a judge there, and signed 
 and taken away." 
 
 Q. " And that the affidavits never were read over to them ?" A. " I 
 never heard them read over while I was there." Ibid, p. 1077. 
 
COACHING WITNESSES. 143 
 
 and Monroe. There were stereotyped forms of questions 
 to be put to the negroes. "Do you remember the killing 
 of Logwood, or Dinkgrave, or the whipping of Jim. Stewart, 
 or the shooting of Ben. James ?" as the case might be. If 
 the affiant did not answer " yes, sah," some one standing 
 by would insist that he did remember and " coach " him. 
 The clerks wrote away with little regard to who was talking. 
 The forms filled up, the affiants were mustered before a 
 commissioner, or a judge, and sworn by the dozen. 
 
 The supervisors were more important witnesses. As they 
 came to New Orleans they sought the state registrar s office 
 to have their accounts approved. There they fell into the 
 hands of Jewett, or McArdle, or Blanchard. The first 
 questions put to them were, "where are your returns?" 
 " Did any of your commissioners of election protest ?" 
 " Have you made a protest ?"* All but seventeen of the 
 fifty-seven supervisors had obeyed the instructions of Jewett s 
 committee on canvassing and registration to bring their 
 returns to New Orleans, and very few of the sixty obedient 
 ones had been thoughtless enough to deposit their papers 
 with the returning officers. Not one of the commissioners 
 of election had reported anything wrong at their polls, and 
 most of them had certified under oath that " fair, free, and 
 peaceable elections" had been held under their auspices. 
 There was no way of remedying these unfortunate over 
 sights on the part of the commissioners. But the super 
 visors could, if they were willing to commit perjury, make 
 affidavits as to intimidation, acts of violence, disturbances 
 and killings, whippings and shootings. 
 
 By law their statements had to be made at the parish 
 town, sworn to before the clerk of the court, noted on their 
 consolidated statements of returns and attached thereto, and 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc., No. 31, 45th Cong., 36. Sess., p. 1453, 
 
144 
 
 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 duplicates deposited with said clerk. These "forms of law" 
 could not be complied with. Fifty-seven of the sixty, it 
 must be said to their credit, did not commit the crime of 
 falsifying their records. Only three " interpolated " on their 
 consolidated statements, above the jurats, under the head 
 of "remarks," statements affecting certain polls in their 
 parishes.* They were Ferguson, for De Soto, Hutton, for 
 Bossier, and Clover, for East Baton Rouge. It is known 
 that three, Kelley, for Richland, Grady, for Ouachita, and 
 Grant, for Morehouse, were reluctant to comply with the 
 demands of their masters, and that it required much " per 
 suasion " on the part of Kellogg to induce them to do the 
 requisite swearing. Two, Anderson, for East Feliciana, and 
 Weber, for West Feliciana, refused positively to make pro 
 tests until they had exacted stipulated terms therefor. 
 
 t Jewett states that he was informed and believed that 
 Grant and Grady had interviews with the " visiting states 
 men " before they signed and swore to the statements re 
 specting their parishes. J Anderson testified that he in 
 connection with Weber had received in writing from John 
 Sherman the assurance that they should be " provided for 
 as soon after the fourth of March as may be practicable, 
 and in such a manner as will enable you both to leave 
 Louisiana should you deem it necessary." A copy of a 
 letter, alleged by Anderson to have been written by Sher 
 man, was submitted to the Potter committee. Before ad- 
 
 * As to interpolations on consolidated statements by Ferguson, Hut- 
 ton, and Clover, see testimony of Jewett, H. R. Mis. Doc., No. 31, 45th 
 Cong., 3d Sess., pp. 14, m. Also H, R. Mis. Doc., No. 34, part i, 44th 
 Cong., 2d Sess., p. 65. As to Kelley see H. R. Mis. Doc., No. 31, parts, 
 45th Cong., 3d Sess., pp. 172, 173, 174. As to Grady and Grant see same 
 Mis. Doc., No. 31, p. 1453 and Jewett s statement in Appendix. 
 
 t See Jewett s Statement in Appendix. 
 
 t H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 44th Cong. 3$. Sess. pp. 9, 10. Also testi 
 mony of J. Hale Sypher, p. 753. 
 
THE SHERMAN LETTER. 145 
 
 mitting it in evidence, Mr. Sherman was called, * and on 
 being shown the copy, testified that he had " no recollection 
 of ever writing such a letter:" that he did not believe he 
 had written such a letter ; but he further swore : " at the 
 same time there are things in this letter that I would have 
 written to these or any other men who were engaged in 
 the performance of what I believed to be their duty, if I 
 had been asked." 
 
 The letter was brief. It acknowledged the receipt of a 
 note from Weber and Anderson, and stated that "neither Mr. 
 Hayes, myself, the gentlemen who accompany me, nor the 
 country at large can ever forget the obligation under which 
 you will have placed us should you stand firm in the posi 
 tion you have taken." Mr. Sherman did not specify what 
 the " things " were in this letter which he would have written 
 had he been asked. The admission of an " obligation " im- 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. pp. 16, 17. See also 
 p. 753, testimony of J. Hale Sypher, ex-member of Congress from La. 
 and a prominent carper-bag politician of that State. Ibid, p. 753. 
 
 Q. "Did you know D. A. Weber, supervisor of registration in the 
 Parish of West Feliciana?" A. "I did." 
 
 Q. " Did you know him pretty well?" A. "Very well." 
 
 Q. "Did he have any convers ation with you in respect to his action as 
 supervisor of registration ?" A. " On one occasion." 
 
 Q. "Where was that conversation?" A. "At the entrance to the Custom 
 House, on Canal street, where he met me. He inquired of me in about 
 this language: Can I take the promises of gentlemen who are here to 
 provide for me in case I am driven out of my parish ? Said I : Whom 
 do you mean? He mentioned Mr. Ma thews and Mr. Sherman, especi 
 ally. I remarked to him, These gentlemen stand very close to the Presi 
 dent-elect. They are his intimate personal and political friends, and I 
 think you can trust any promises they make to you. That was the sub 
 stance of the conversation." 
 
 Q. " Did you have any further talk with D. A. Weber on that subject 
 during that visit of vours to New Orleans ?" A. " Yes, sir. On the next day, 
 or the second day after our meeting he met me again on the street and ex 
 hibited a letter to me, which I read and returned to him." 
 
 Q. "By whom did the letter purport to be signed ?" A. "It seemed to 
 have been signed by John Sherman." 
 
 Q. " Had you ever had occasion to see any of Mr. Sherman s writing 
 before that?" A. " Yes, sir ; I had seen some little of it." 
 
 Q. " So far as you could judge from what you did know, did you or not 
 assume it to be his ?" A. "I presumed it was his at the time I read the 
 letter. " 
 
 10 
 
146 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 plies the moral responsibility to discharge it. If Mr. Sher 
 man " would have written " the second sentence of the 
 letter admitting an " obligation " which neither Mr. Hayes, 
 nor himself, nor the gentlemen who accompanied him, nor 
 the country at large could "ever forget," then it would 
 seem reasonable to assume that he " would have written " 
 also the concluding sentence of that letter, which was as 
 follows : " From a long and intimate acquaintance with 
 Gov. Hayes, I am justified in assuming responsibility for 
 promises made, and will guarantee that you shall be pro 
 vided for as soon after the 4th of March as may be practic 
 able, and in such manner as will enable you both to leave 
 Louisiana should you deem it necessary."* 
 
 Anderson s reputation for truth and veracity was 
 bad. There was some other evidence to show that there 
 was a letter like the purport of the copy of the one 
 produced by Anderson. Ex- Representative Sypher testi 
 fied that D. A. Weber showed him one which purported to 
 be signed by John Sherman in November, 1876, and it 
 agreed, according to his recollection with the copy Ander 
 son claimed to have made. E. L. Weber testified that his 
 brother, D. A. Weber, showed him a letter signed by John 
 Sherman which agreed with the copy Anderson had. 
 Several other witnesses testified that at the time the visiting 
 
 * The following is the text of the alleged letter to Weber and Ander 
 son : 
 
 "NEW ORLEANS, November 20, 1876. 
 
 " Gentlemen : Your note of even date has just been received. Neither 
 Mr. Hayes, myself, the gentlemen who accompany me, nor the country at 
 large can ever forget the obligation under which you will have placed us 
 should you stand firm in the position you have taken. From a long and 
 intimate acquaintance with Gov. Hayes, I am justified in assuming re 
 sponsibility for promises made, and will guarantee that you shall be pro 
 vided for as soon after the 4th of March as may be practicable, and in such 
 manner as will enable you both to leave Louisiana should you deem it 
 necessary. " Very truly yours, 
 
 "JOHN SHERMAN. 
 " MESSRS. D. A. WEBER AND JAMES E. ANDERSON." 
 
ANDERSON FEARED. 147 
 
 statesmen were in New Orleans he claimed to have a docu 
 ment in his pocket which would "fix" him "all right" at 
 the proper time. Dr. C. B. Darrall, ex-member of Con 
 gress from Louisiana, testified that until it was discovered 
 that Anderson had permitted his documents to be seen by 
 Democratic leaders, he had considerable influence with the 
 administration, and that if he, Darrall, could have con 
 trolled Anderson, he could have secured the collectorship of 
 New Orleans.* 
 
 However, waving all questions about the authenticity 
 of the alleged letter from Sherman, it would be interesting 
 to know from Mr. Sherman, what were the "things" 
 in this letter that he would have written to Anderson 
 and Weber if they had " asked " them. Unfortunately, 
 Mr. Sherman did not volunteer to state them, and the 
 committee failed to ask him to do so.f 
 
 Weber was killed in March, 1877. Mr. Hayes and 
 Stanley Mathews recognized that " the country at large " 
 was under " obligations " to Anderson, and the latter ex 
 erted himself to secure in some measure the discharge 
 thereof, and the President did appoint him consul to 
 Funchal which Anderson refused to accept as an 
 equivalent for services rendered. The correspondence 
 
 * Q. " You expected to get into office on the fears of the Administra 
 tion, or of some of its members or attaches, of the publication of these 
 documents?" A. " That was one of the means." 
 
 Q. "Do you not believe that you failed because copies of these 
 papers had got out, and because it was not quite certain that your ap 
 pointment would heal the sore ? In your own mind, and between God and 
 your own conscience, was that not the case ?" A. " In my own opinion, 
 either myself or some other party Mr. Packard or some one suggested by 
 Mr. Anderson would have been appointed, but for the fact that it was 
 known that copies of those documents were in the possession of other par 
 ties and that they were virtually public property. Darrall s Testimony. 
 
 f Two months later Mr. Sherman, July 24, 1878, at Atlantic City re 
 affirmed his testimony given in Washington and was still more positive 
 about the writing of the letter, but he did not say then that he would not 
 have written some of the " things " in it if he " ha d been asked." 
 
I4 8 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 between Anderson and Mathews* on the subject of the 
 former s appointment to a suitable place is very curious 
 and not at all creditable to the latter. Anderson 
 had obtained from C. E. Nash, a colored member of 
 Congress, and a candidate for reelection from the district 
 including the parish of East Feliciana, an agreement to the 
 effect that Nash was to secure for him the position of naval 
 officer at New Orleans on condition that Anderson was to 
 " suppress evidence showing that the said parish of East 
 Feliciana was fairly carried by the Democratic party at 
 the election held Nov. 7, 1876, thereby electing the entire 
 Democratic state ticket and congressmen." Mr. Mathews 
 had accepted from Anderson the custody of this agree 
 ment, and was undoubtedly quite anxious to have him 
 
 * Mr. Mathews was placed in a very embarrassing dilemma by the 
 Potter investigation. The correspondence betwen himself and Jas. E. 
 Anderson, the testimony of Anderson and that of Dr. C. B. Darrall, and 
 Darrall s letters, left him in a very bad light. Instead of coming before 
 the Potter Committee and making some explanation he refused to obey 
 the summons of the committee, falling back on his senatorial privilege, 
 and asking to be investigated by a Senate committee. He was evidently 
 afraid of being cross-examined by Gen. Butler who was exceedingly anx 
 ious to bring out all the facts in relation to the bargain by which Packard 
 was abandoned in return for counting in Hayes. Hon. Henry Waterson, 
 a nephew of Mr. Mathews, and in the enjoyment of close personal rela 
 tion s made this explanation of his conduct, in an interview published m 
 the New York Sun, June 21, x8y8 : " The head and front of Mathews of 
 fending was his effort to save his party friends from a scandalous exposure, 
 knowledge of which had reached him. No one pretends that he partici 
 pated in the Louisiana frauds. He was in New Orleans but a few days. 
 His subsequent operations against Packard were open and above board. 
 I happen to know that his vote to seat Kellogg in the Senate was given at 
 the urgency of the President himself, and, as I believe, against Mathews 
 own better judgment as well as against his inclination. He thought An 
 derson, in the first place, a meritorious poor devil, and tried to help him. 
 After he had committed himself he discovered his mistake, and then tried 
 to get him and the dangerous knowledge in his possession out of the country. 
 Meanwhile Anderson was trading on his information, and when he had 
 exhausted the patience of the administration, and such patronage as he 
 could obtain by a double process of blackmailing, he dropped on 
 Mathews." 
 
 "You think, then, that Mathews is innocent? 
 
 " I am sure of it. With him, all is lost save honor, and his only way 
 to save that is to keep his mouth shut, refusing alike to perjure himself or 
 peach upon his friends." 
 
DARING CONSPIRATORS. 149 
 
 given some good place in order to keep him quiet and 
 prevent the exposure of damaging facts in connection with 
 the Louisiana election. Anderson was undoubtedly a 
 " terror " to the fraudulent administration and had he been 
 a more reasonable man. and less impetuous, he would 
 have, in due time, been " taken care of" in a handsome 
 way.* 
 
 George L. Smith, candidate for Congress in the fourth 
 district, managed the preparation of affidavits for super 
 visors of registration of some of the parishes in nis district. 
 He had conferences with them at Shreveport, La. immedi 
 ately after the election and accompanied them to New Or 
 leans. It required some little time after arriving in New 
 Orleans to ascertain exactly what was necessary to be done 
 in the parishes of De Soto, Webster, and Bossier, to accom 
 plish the result desired. It was not till November 24, that 
 the conspirators met in the private office of the postmaster 
 of New Orleans to decide upon and do the things necessary 
 to be done to get rid of certain Democratic polls in those 
 parishes. 
 
 The gathering was at night, t Those present were 
 Geo. L. Smith, D. D. Smith, cashier of the Post-office, 
 C. L. Ferguson, supervisor of De Soto, T. H. Hut- 
 ton, supervisor of Bossier, John T. Morrow, supervisor of 
 Webster, Fred. E. Heath, candidate for House of Repre 
 sentatives from Webster, Sam l Gardner, citizen of Web 
 ster, D. J. M. A. Jewett, and one or two others whose 
 names have not been recalled. D. D. Smith unlocked the 
 Post-office vault and took therefrom the returns of De 
 Soto, Bossier, Caddo, and Webster. Those from Caddo, 
 
 * See note to page 147. 
 
 t H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 1442. Also Jewett s 
 statement in Appendix. 
 
150 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 Webster, and Bossier had been brought either by Geo. L. 
 Smith or the supervisors of those parishes and given to the 
 postmaster for safe keeping until such time as they had 
 been " fixed " for the Returning Board. The return from 
 De Soto had come by registered mail, but it was neverthe 
 less in the vault of the Post-office at New Orleans subject 
 to the control of Smith and Ferguson. Jewett testified 
 that the De Soto returns were opened and examined by 
 Smith and himself and that it was found* " not possible to 
 create a Republican majority except by throwing out polls 
 i, 3, 5, 7 and 8. These were selected for protest and Fer 
 guson was asked for facts. I draughted a process based on 
 such facts as he had knowledge of either personally or from 
 information received or as were suggested by Geo. L. Smith, 
 or by the well-known conditions of the parish. This, Fer 
 guson copied and was directed to take the same before F. 
 A. Woolfly for administration of the oath. It was sug 
 gested by me, that of course, it was not possible to attach 
 this protest and various affidavits in hand affecting the 
 same parish (taken before Commissioner Levisee) to the 
 consolidated statement of votes, this having come for 
 ward by mail and there being a disagreement of dates, but 
 they should be handed or sent in. Notwithstanding, the 
 unbounded stupidity of somebody rolled them up, put in 
 the original package, which restored apparently to its orig 
 inal condition, went forward by carrier to the board Nov. 
 
 2 5- 
 
 " The returns of Bossier were handed by Capt. Hutton, 
 the supervisor, to Geo. L. Smith for safe-keeping upon his 
 (Hutton s) arrival in the city and were by Smith placed in 
 the vault of the Post-office. T. H. Hutton had on Nov. 13 
 
 (the day that he started from Bellevue for New Orleans) 
 
 i 
 
 * See Jewett s statement in Appendix. 
 
FORGERY AND PERJURY. 151 
 
 sworn to his consolidated statement of votes (popularly 
 known as the returns) before Geo. B. Abercrombie, clerk 
 of court, and had deposited a copy as required by law at 
 the date named, and when the returns were examined by 
 me in the Post-office this document bore, in the space for 
 remarks, a protest of the Atkin s Landing box (No. i) and 
 no other. In my presence in the private office of the 
 Post-office the supervisor interpolated in the same space 
 under the protest noted above and above the jurat, a 
 second protest affecting the Red Land box (No. 3). 
 There is no question in my mind but that the protest and 
 exclusion of this box was an afterthought which first took 
 shape at this time, Nov. 24. 
 
 " John W. Morrow, supervisor of registration, (for 
 Webster parish) forwarded his returns by mail to New Or 
 leans as 1 now believe. If I am mistaken herein he had 
 deposited them with Geo. L. Smith for safe-keeping. On 
 the night of Nov. 24, I saw them taken out of the Post- 
 office vault. At this time they were unrolled and exam 
 ined. Those present took the view that it would be highly 
 convenient to get rid of about 250 votes in this parish. 
 An affidavit made in Meriden, La., Nov. 20, by W. L. 
 Franks was at hand affecting poll No. i. Sam l Gardner, 
 then present, made another affecting poll 5, (Meriden). I 
 draughted a protest for Morrow on this occasion based on 
 facts stated in the affidavits and by Fred. E. Heath and 
 John W. Morrow. This protest Morrow copied, or it was 
 copied for him by F. E. Heath, and he signed in the 
 clerk s office U. S. Court the following day. This protest 
 and these two affidavits were forwarded to the board with 
 his returns." 
 
 F. A. Clover, * supervisor of East Baton Rouge, arrived 
 
 * For the facts about Clover and his conduct as supervisor oi regis- 
 
152 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 in New Orleans on the i2th of November. He had previ 
 ously made out his consolidated statement of returns from 
 commissioners of election, excluding therefrom the votes of 
 polls i, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 13 (i, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, n, Sherman 
 report) and swore to the same before the clerk of the dis- 
 trict court at Baton Rouge on Nov. n. He had received 
 no statements from the commissioners of election for polls 
 i, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 13 impeaching in any way the charac 
 ter of the elections held thereat. He assumed, contrary to 
 law, the power to exclude the votes cast at these polls, on 
 the ground that the returns made to him by the commis 
 sioners were irregular. These votes were for the Hayes 
 electors 150 and for the Tilden electors 1,136. The ma 
 jority for the Tilden electors in the parish, including those 
 rejected by Clover, was 612 ; by omitting the votes cast at 
 the polls, the returns whereof he rejected, the majority for 
 the Hayes electors was made to be 374. 
 
 Clover doubtless thought he had done his work thor 
 oughly and that there was no necessity for making any state 
 ment in regard to the registration of the parish, or of ob 
 taining statements from the commissioners of election about 
 intimidation, acts of violence or disturbances affecting the 
 vote at any of the polls. But when he reached New 
 Orleans on the i2th it was deemed advisable to fortify his 
 proceedings with some affidavits and to supply his omission 
 to make a statement about the rejected polls on his con 
 solidated statement of votes. To do this required time 
 and, therefore, he retained possession of the returns until 
 November 23d. In the meantime he interpolated on his 
 consolidated statement above the jurat made at Baton 
 
 tration for East Baton Rouge, see H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 34, part i, 44th 
 Cong, ad Ses. pp.^65, 67, 68. Also testimony of Jewett H. R. Mis. Doc. 
 No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 1446 and Jewett s statement in Appendix. 
 
FALSIFYING RETURNS. 153 
 
 Rouge, Nov. nth, the reasons for refusing to compile the 
 returns from the seven polling places. This was a falsifica 
 tion of a public record. 
 
 All the affidavits deemed necessary to enable the Re 
 turning Board to reject the votes cast at the seven polls 
 on the ground of intimidation, which was not the reason 
 assigned by the supervisor for his action, were not ob 
 tained until the 22nd. Clover handed in his returns with 
 affidavits Nov. 23d and when they were opened on the 
 24th the original consolidated statement was not exhibited 
 but in its place one certified to be a correct copy by 
 Charles S. Abell, secretary of the Returning Board.* This 
 fact and the incident, related hereafter, connected with the 
 opening of the package from De Soto parish settles beyond 
 controversy the fact that the Returning Board and their 
 subordinates were privy to the tampering with the returns. 
 
 * See Sherman Report, Senate Ex. Doc. No. 2, 44th Cong. 26. Sess. 
 p. 258. 
 
154 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Returning Board not in a hurry to begin canvassing: Why the 
 vacancy in the Board was not filled : The characters of Wells, An 
 derson, and the two mulatoes : Time consumed to allow the affi 
 davit mill to begin grinding : The farce of inviting northern dem 
 ocrats to witness the opening of returns : The tampering with 
 returns : Stoughton s clerical error : Returns held back to be falsi 
 fied : The Eliza Pinkston case examined: A set up job : Her story 
 gotten up for the occasion : It was rehearsed in the Custom House: 
 The character of Pinkston : She offered to retract and expose those 
 who had used her: She was unworthy of belief: Three efforts to 
 count out the Tilden electors before the work was done: How 
 Kellogg improved affidavits : Testimony of Kelly, Supervisor of 
 Richland Parish : The counting out finally accomplished : 
 
 THE law required the returning officers to meet in New 
 Orleans " within ten days after the closing of the election 
 to canvass and compile the statements of the votes made 
 by the commissioners of election," and to continue in ses 
 sion until "such returns have been compiled." The returning 
 officers required by law were " five persons, to be elected 
 by the Senate from all political parties." The Senate in 
 pretended compliance with this provision of the law had 
 originally elected four republicans and one democrat. 
 
 The one democrat having resigned, the important question 
 to be settled was whether the remaining four members were 
 compelled to fill the vacancy thus created. The law said 
 " in case of any vacancy, by death, resignation, or other 
 wise, by either of the board, then the vacancy shall be filled 
 
AN HISTORIC CHARACTER. 155 
 
 by the residue of the returning officers." If the vacancy 
 was filled by a democrat his presence in executive sessions 
 of the board would be dangerous. Therefore, it was deter 
 mined not to fill the vacancy. Wells gave the reason 
 therefor as follows : " We had a republican on the board 
 and he resigned, and then a Democratic legislature filled 
 the vacancy with a democrat, and that democrat resigned. 
 Speaking individually, I don t think you have any claim, 
 therefore, to representation ; that you forfeited it by resig 
 nation."* The fact that a democrat had resigned relieved 
 the remaining Republican members from the mandatory 
 requirements of the law, was a novel idea. 
 
 The four republicans who constituted the board were 
 J. Madison Wells, Thomas C. Anderson, Louis M. Kenner, 
 and G. Cassannave, colored. Wells t was an historic char 
 acter. In his early life he was a ruffian and bully. Few 
 more desperate men ever lived and none more treacherous. 
 His conduct while governor of the state under the consti 
 tution of 1864 was infamous politically and thoroughly dis 
 honest officially. His misdeeds were so flagrant that Gen. 
 Phil. Sheridan was compelled in 1867 to remove him under 
 the power vested in him as commander of the district by 
 the reconstruction acts. He was, and is yet, notoriously a 
 defaulter to the state in a large amount. Tom. Anderson s f 
 "character for honesty was equally bad; he had earned 
 
 * Sherman s Report, p. 75-76. 
 
 t For character of Wells see H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 34, Part 2 44th 
 Cong 2d Sess. pp. 506, 508, 509. Also testimony of Jack Wharton, H. R. 
 [is. D( 
 
 S? 6 to 3 8 7- Also testimony of Wm. Ward, colored, H. R. Mis. Doc. 
 No. 34, Part 2, 44th Cong. 2d Sess. pp. 4 
 
 353- 3 60 3 6 3- 57 8 3> 8l0 9 82 9 87> 99 7 
 
 Mis. Doc. No. 42, 44th Cong. 2d Sess. pp. 40 to 49, 191 to 245 
 
 Ioo8> IOI 5- 
 to 49, 191 t 
 
 H. R. Mis. Doc., No. 34, part 2, 44th Cong., 2d Sess., pp. 589 to 
 
 594- 
 
156 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 it in part by aiding, while he was a senator, to put up a 
 fraudulent job on the State, and taking the iniquitous pro 
 ceeds to himself. Of the two mulatoes, one was indicted 
 for larceny, and, after admitting his guilt, was allowed to 
 escape punishment, and promptly taken into the board. 
 The other was too ignorant to know his duty, but his testi 
 mony showed such indifference to the obligations of an 
 oath that he was deemed as safe for the carpet baggers as 
 either of his colleagues." 
 
 These four worthies, who were eulogized as possessors 
 of every virtue * by John Sherman and his colleagues in 
 their report to the President, should have begun their labors 
 on November lyth, but beyond a secret conference to agree 
 upon the plans best calculated to enable them to accom 
 plish their purpose of counting out the Democratic candi 
 dates, nothing was done on that day. Time was needed 
 for their confederates to get up affidavits and manipulate 
 returns. The next day, being Saturday, they met again 
 and adopted a resolution reciting that t " distinguished 
 gentlemen of national reputation from other states, some at 
 the request of the President of the United States, and 
 some at the request of the National executive committee 
 of the Democratic party, are present in this city with a 
 view to witness the proceedings of this board in canvassing 
 and compiling the returns of the recent election in this 
 state for Presidential electors," and inviting five from each 
 of the two bodies named to be present at the meetings of 
 the board. 
 
 Sunday intervened, and the first meeting of the Re 
 turning Board for open business was Monday, Novem 
 ber 2oth. " There were present from " the distinguished 
 
 * Senate Ex. Doc., No. 2, 44111 Cong., 26. Sess., p. 6. 
 t Ibid, p. 35. 
 
RULES FOR A PURPOSE. 157 
 
 gentlemen of national reputation,* John Sherman, E. W. 
 Stoughton, James A. Garfield, Courtlandt Parker, J. M. 
 Tuttle, John M. Palmer, Lyman Trumbull, William Big- 
 ler, Geo. W. Smith, and Peter H. Watson. The rules 
 which were to govern the board were announced. They 
 provided among other things, that the board would first 
 take up, canvass and compile returns from the parishes 
 where no objection is made to the canvassing and compiling 
 of the votes cast at any polling place in such parish or 
 parishes." This was a violation of the law which required 
 the returning officers to proceed by polls and not by parishes 
 in canvassing returns. It was also provided that "the dis 
 tinguished gentlemen of National reputation " to the num 
 ber of ten might be present and see the returns opened but 
 not to see them canvassed and compiled. Attorneys repre 
 senting candidates, or candidates themselves, could only be 
 present when the board desired to hear evidence, and then 
 could only submit motions in writing, and all interrogatories 
 to witnesses must be in writing and submitted to opponents 
 twenty-four hours for cross interrogatories. 
 
 These rules were for a purpose other than that which ap 
 peared on their face. The returning officers had no objec 
 tion to five democrats, from a distance, entirely unfamiliar 
 with the election law and the minutia of election proceed 
 ings in Louisiana, being present to witness the opening of 
 returns. But they shut out the local lawyers and politicians 
 on the Democratic side because their presence might be in 
 convenient. However, it happened that on November 25, 
 the returns from De Soto parish were brought in before the 
 visitors when Mr. Burke and Mr. McGloin, two of the 
 Democratic counsel, happened to be present looking after 
 some papers in the cases of parishes laid aside for contests. 
 * Senate Ex. Doc., No. 2, 44th Cong., Z& Sess., p. 39. 
 
A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 The announcement was made with some emphasis that the 
 returns from De Soto had come by mail. It had been re 
 marked by the Democratic visitors that very few had been 
 forwarded by mail, and it was a subject of complaint that 
 so many returns from the parishes had not been received. 
 
 Anderson, who opened the returns and did the reading, 
 was, therefore, quite emphatic in stating that this particular 
 package was by mail. He opened it and read " consolidated 
 statement of votes of the parish of De Soto" _ pause _ 
 and then "with any quantity of affidavits attached." 
 Mr. Burke wanted to know when the package was mailed, 
 and Anderson replied that it was mailed at Mansfield, Lou 
 isiana, and was received on the i8th. " What is the date 
 of the first affidavit ?" asked Burke. Anderson with some 
 hesitation replied, November 25. "How does it happen 
 that affidavits made on the 25th were in a package mailed 
 on the 1 8th ?" demanded Mr. McGloin. 
 
 There was confusion. The chief clerks, Abell and 
 Green, hastened to make explanations. But McGloin and 
 Burke were pressing hard and Abell had to do some "lying 
 from the shoulder." He declared that there were two 
 packages one received on November 18, and another 
 that morning : that the first contained the supervisors con 
 solidated statement and the other affidavits. E. W. Stough- 
 ton attempted to help out of the scrape by asking "what 
 return is this that was received to-day?" Mr. Abell "the 
 return before the board now. I also received a small pack 
 age on the 1 8th which I presumed was a consolidated 
 statement." Mr. Stoughton " was the evidence you re 
 ceived in the package to-day?" Mr. Abell "yes, sir." 
 Mr. Stoughton O! that settles it merely a clerical 
 error!" It "settled" conclusively the fact that the returns 
 which came by registered mail had been tampered with. 
 
RETURNS WITHHELD. 159 
 
 The package Anderson had opened, after announcing that 
 it came by mail, and was receipted for on the i8th, was 
 the one from which he took the consolidated statement 
 " with any quantity of affidavits attached." The transac 
 tions in the private office of the postmaster the night 
 previous was the " clerical error " Mr. Stoughton made so 
 light of.* 
 
 From beginning to end the proceedings of the board in 
 opening the returns before the visitors were farcical. 
 There was great pretence of fairness and frankness in 
 asking Democratic visitors to examine returns from par 
 ishes where there was no probability of subsequent " doc 
 toring " by the board, but the utmost care was taken to 
 conceal the fact that returns from parishes near New 
 Orleans were not in their possession. 
 
 For instance, Clover had sworn to his consolidated 
 statement of the votes of the parish of East Baton Rouge 
 on November n. He had wantonly rejected returns from 
 seven polls. The Democratic counsel were anxious to have 
 the East Baton Rouge returns opened early in order that 
 they might insist upon an order for the production of the 
 commissioners returns and the ballot-boxes deposited with 
 the clerk of the court at Baton Rouge. They insisted on 
 the third day of the board s meeting they should have 
 notice at least of the parishes in which there were contests. 
 The next day they asked that a day might be set for con 
 sidering East Baton Rouge and that they might be informed 
 of the nature of the evidence the supervisor had filed. 
 
 The reply was that the returns had not been examined. 
 
 The fact was that they did not have them. The day after 
 
 they were received, November 24, they were opened and 
 
 upon the request of the Democratic counsel the promise was 
 
 * Senate Ex. Doc., No. 2., 44th Cong., ad Sess., pp. 88. 89. 
 
160 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 made that the returns of the commissioners and the ballot- 
 boxes of the rejected polls should be sent for. Day after 
 day till the 2d of December the board was reminded of this 
 promise but failed to keep it.* The commissioners returns 
 and the ballot-boxes were not sent for. The board alone 
 had power to compel their production. 
 
 t The attention of the board was time and time again 
 called to the well-known fact that supervisors were in the 
 city whose returns had not been delivered to the returning 
 officers. Summary process on these persons was demanded 
 and the production of their returns compelled, but it was 
 mere waste of time and words. The board knew very well 
 the purpose for which these returns were withheld and 
 would not interfere to mar the plans of their fellow-con 
 spirators. Notwithstanding the great urgency for dispatch 
 of business which Wells continually insisted on, there were 
 all sorts of delays. 
 
 But the chef d &uvre of all that transpired at these open 
 sessions of the board, before the visitors, was the produc 
 tion and examination of Eliza Pinkston. For dramatic ef 
 fect this was a well-conceived and well-arranged episode, 
 but it was dishonest from beginning to end. Eliza Pinks- 
 ton was a low, disreputable negress a common wretch, 
 notorious in three states for her un chastity, and disolute- 
 ness, and lying. In 1878 she proifered through a gentle 
 man, on whose plantation in Mississippi she was then 
 living with a negro, to come before the Potter committee 
 and retract what she had testified to before the Returning 
 Board in 1876, and to make known by whom she was 
 " coached " to tell what she did. Of course, this proposi 
 tion was declined. 
 
 * Senate Ex. Doc., No. 2, 44th Cong., sd Sess., pp. 58, 74, 91, 133. 
 t Ibid, p. 69, 76, 124. 
 
ELIZA PINKSTON. l6l 
 
 On the eighth day of the board s sessions,* Nov. 28, 
 Eliza was borne into the presence of the board and " the 
 distinguished gentlemen of national reputation " by two 
 stalwart men, and attended by a negro woman who osten 
 tatiously carried restoratives. She was placed on a lounge 
 and, after apparently recovering from the effects of her 
 transportation from the custom house, she was sworn and 
 examined as to her evidence and exhibited in puris natur- 
 alis as to her wounds. It was a shocking sight. The 
 woman had been brutally dealt with, having wounds on 
 the head, frightful cuts on the breasts, and a gaping gash 
 in one of her thighs. These wounds were partially healed 
 but were unquestionably painful. It is, however, an in- 
 contestible fact that the extreme weakness exhibited before 
 the board was assumed, because when brought back to the 
 custom house she walked up one flight of stairs, exhibiting 
 her person, and shouting and laughing at the top of her voice* 
 
 The story she told was most improbable. It had been 
 unskilfully constructed. She doubtless embellished greatly 
 the one she had been coached to tell. In brief she swore 
 that her husband had been taken from his house in the night, 
 shot seven times, run through and through with knives, 
 his body mutilated ; that after this the murderers cut her 
 child s throat as she held it in her arms, and then, after 
 shooting her twice, had violated her person more times 
 than she could remember ; that they cut her twice with an 
 axe, and slashed her with knives. And this was done as she 
 averred by young white men of the neighborhood many of 
 whom she knew well and identified. They were not, she 
 swore, even disguised. One of them who was the most 
 cruel, and bloodthirsty, and lustful, she claimed was a well- 
 
 * Senate Ex. Doc. 44th Cong. 2d Sess. p. 113. 
 
 t H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. pp. 1079, 1080, 1801. 
 II 
 
162 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 known and highly respectable physician of the neighbor 
 hood in which she lived. 
 
 Is it probable that white men who could be so brutally 
 fiendish, so utterly depraved, would have suffered the 
 woman to live to tell the awful story of her wrongs ? And, 
 yet, she admitted that the next day the doctor, who she 
 asserted had been the chief monster, came, when sent for by 
 the owner of the plantation on which her husband lived, 
 and dressed her wounds and ministered to her wants. Is 
 it probable that, if he had been one of her assailants, the 
 murderer of her husband and the slayer of her child, he 
 would have come to her bedside and sought to save her 
 life ? Preposterous ! The exaggerations of the story ought 
 to have convinced the hearers it was a " set-up job." 
 
 And yet the sight of the wounds, the pretended fainting, 
 so shocked Governor Palmer of Illinois that he expressed 
 his horror in emphatic language which was telegraphed over 
 the land as an unqualified condemnation of the alleged 
 perpetrators of the outrage and an endorsement of the 
 credibility of the woman s story. It was an unwarranted 
 liberty taken with the governor s language. He had de 
 manded that the case should be thoroughly investigated, 
 and warned the board that half-way work in the inquiry 
 would not satisfy the country. The board would suffer but 
 two witnesses to be examined in rebuttal. A score of 
 reputable gentlemen were present who would have contra 
 dicted the essential portions of the story, but they were not 
 allowed to testify. 
 
 It was not the truth these people were after it 
 was immediate effect, and they secured it. Pinkston lived 
 in Ouachita parish. It gave a large Democratic majority. 
 The board wanted a pretext for throwing out that parish 
 and a startling, dramatic piece of evidence which would 
 
TWO DIFFERENT TALES. 163 
 
 be telegraphed everywhere and go far towards justifying in 
 the public mind all their contemplated villainy. 
 
 A Democratic committee of the House of Represent 
 atives subsequently visited the locality and carefully and 
 thoroughly investigated Eliza Pinkston s story. It was es 
 tablished beyond controversy that her statement that 
 Henry Pinkston was mutilated after beiug shot to death 
 was untrue. It was proved that the throat of the child had 
 not been cut and that there was no mark of violence 
 on its body save a slight contusion on the head. It was 
 proved that the men who she swore were the leaders and 
 chief criminals could not possibly have been in that neigh 
 borhood on the night in question. It was proved that she 
 had made an affidavit for use with the Returning Board 
 in Monroe, La., before J. H. Dinkgrave, in which she 
 charged the crime of murder and outrage on other per 
 sons : that this affidavit was sent to the Returning Board 
 on Nov. 23d by M. J. Grady, supervisor of Ouachita par 
 ish : that it was suppressed withdrawn and another 
 made in New Orleans on Dec. 2, substituted for it. Not 
 only this, but the board falsified its own record of the re 
 ceipt of the returns of the parish of Ouachita. The secre 
 tary announced that they had been received Nov. 24, and 
 yet when they were opened a letter from the supervisor 
 was found addressed to Mr. Abell saying " Inclosed 
 please find affidavit of Eliza Pinkston which I received too 
 late to file with my returns. Please see that it is brought in 
 with the other evidence filed with my returns." This letter 
 was dated Nov. 23. 
 
 The plan of bringing Eliza Pinkston to New Orleans 
 was an afterthought. Her exhibition before the board was 
 determined on after consultation with some other persons 
 than those originally cognizant of her affidavit. The 
 
1 64 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 Republican visiting statesmen saw her at the custom 
 house and heard her story rehearsed. Their surprise and 
 amazement, their expressions of horror, their shuddering, at 
 the sight of the woman s wounds, at hearing her story 
 before the Returning Board were not spontaneous. They 
 had seen the sight and heard the narrative, doubtless with 
 variations, before. Did they believe the story ? It seems 
 incredible. 
 
 But how heartless and cowardly of them to content 
 themselves with converting the story to political uses and 
 taking no steps to have the woman s wrongs righted by 
 having the fiends in human shape brought to justice ! 
 They were all powerful at Washington. They, a few 
 months later, became councillors of state. If Eliza Pink- 
 ston s story was true, and they professed to believe it, a 
 series of offences had been committed against the laws of 
 the United States. The woman averred that the crimes were 
 for political purposes to intimidate negro voters the 
 result of a conspiracy to deprive them of their rights. This 
 was what John Sherman and his colleagues declared the 
 murder of Henry Pinkston and scores of other killings 
 were crimes against humanity, against liberty, against 
 the laws of the United States in such cases made and pro 
 vided. Then why in God s name did they not try to have 
 the criminals brought to punishment ? 
 
 Can it be that they suspected that Eliza Pinkston s char 
 acter, her reputation for truth and veracity, would not stand 
 the test of judicial investigation ? A Democratic commit 
 tee reported a frightful array of facts which bore heavily 
 against the woman s character, * but that surely did not 
 
 * "The character of Eliza Pinkston, as developed before your sub 
 committee to the fullest extent, was such as to render her a fit instrument 
 in the hands of designing men. She had been charged with the murder 
 of the child of persons with whom she had but recently quarrelled. The 
 
A TROUBLESOME JOB. 165 
 
 give Sherman, Garfield, Stoughton, and Mathews pause. 
 It was the verdict of a partisan committee based upon the 
 testimony of white men living in Ouachita parish, Louisi 
 ana, bulldozers whose recreation they insisted was 
 whipping negroes, murdering fathers, cutting children s 
 throats, and ravishing the bereaved mothers. Perish the 
 thought that such a report as this could have changed the 
 belief of the " visiting statesmen " in Eliza Pinkston s 
 morality, veracity, and chastity ! 
 
 The Returning Board stretched the opening of returns 
 over ten days, and two more were given to so-called hear 
 ings and arguments. On December 3, they began in 
 secret sessions to figure out a majority which would bring 
 in the Republican presidential electors, State ticket, Con 
 gressmen, a majority of both houses of the legislature and 
 local officers in particular parishes. It was a difficult un- 
 
 child died of poison. Eliza Pinkston, then known as Lizzie Finch in 
 Morehouse parish, was arrested, and acquitted only because the main wit 
 ness to the crime was too young to understand the nature of an oath. The 
 general impression was that she was guilty. When residing in Union 
 parish, she had shamefully beaten an old woman living with her, death en 
 suing in a few days after. She had abandoned one of her young children, 
 leaving it to starve to death in a fence corner. Another she made way 
 with shortly after its birth. She was an habitual abortionist. She was in 
 perpetual quarrel. Her testimony had been so effectually impeached in the 
 courts of Morehouse parish that the Republican district attorney refused 
 to call her as a witness. Everybody who knew her considered her a des 
 perate character. Eye-witnesses proved that she lived with her husband 
 on very bad terms. She was about to kill him at one time when she 
 supposed him asleep. Upon another occasion she assaulted him with an 
 axe intending to kill him. He was in perpetual dread of harm as witnesses 
 testified. She was ugly, vulgar, indecent, and lewd beyond the worst. In 
 the midst of twenty men in the cotton-field she would pull up her clothes 
 beyond her waist and turn herself around completely. And she would lie 
 down in the field, or in the fence corner, or the open road, with any man 
 who had a quarter to spare for the hideous entertainment. So quarrel 
 some, so dangerous, and so disgusting was this creature, that upon two 
 several occasions she was driven off by express demand of the colored 
 men and women with whom she was engaged, they stating that if she re 
 mained they would leave in a body. And this wretched creature, this mis 
 erable prostitute, has become a saint in the political calendar of the Repub 
 lican party of Louisiana." 
 
 Report 156 Part I House of Rep. qtfh Cong, id Sess, Pages 45-6. 
 
1 66 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 dertaking. There had been a miscalculation in the begin 
 ning. * 
 
 The first hypothesis was that they could get rid of 
 enough Democratic votes in what they termed the five 
 bulldozed parishes, namely, East and West Feliciana, East 
 Baton Rouge, Ouachita, and Morehouse. But it was soon 
 discovered that several other parishes would have to be 
 " purged " of a considerable number of Democratic votes. 
 
 Five of the Republican electors, it was found, t ran far 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. Testimony of D. J. 
 M. A. Jewett: 
 
 Q. " Had it been ascertained by you gentlemen that it was necessary 
 to examine these returns from the different parishes and prepare protests 
 to them, in order to save the Republican ticket in the State ?" A. " We 
 had about this understanding : that discounting the bulldozed parishes and 
 some polls in other parishes in regard to which there was reasonable 
 ground of complaint, Mr. Packard would probably come through by a very 
 small majority ; but that two, or perhaps three of the electors might be left 
 owing to blunders made in Iberville and West Baton Rouge." 
 
 See Jewett s statement in Appendix " That thereafter in pursuance 
 of a conspiracy between J. M. Wells, Thos. C. Anderson, John Sherman, 
 and Jas. A. Garfield, and others, polls were excluded in the parishes of 
 Caldwell, Natchitoches, Richland, Catahoula, Iberia, Livingston, and 
 Tangipahoa, with the result and for the purpose of returning as elected 5 
 Hayes electors who were otherwise defeated. That the consideration of 
 this conspiracy was the absolute control of the Federal patronage within 
 the State of Louisiana by the said Wells and Anderson ; that the evidence 
 used to effect the object of the conspiracy was manufactured without regard 
 to actual facts and with the knowledge of the several conspirators, and that 
 the consideration to be given io said Wells and Anderson has been de 
 livered up to date." 
 
 t The date of this discovery was prior to November 23d, 1876 which 
 must have been about the time the Returning Board began to open the re 
 turns for on that day John Sherman wrote to R. B. Hayes from Kel- 
 logg s office on official State paper " We are now approaching the con 
 tested parishes. As to five of them, viz: Baton Rouge, East and West 
 Feliciana, Morehouse, and Ouachita, the evidence of intimidation is so well 
 made out on paper that no man can doubt as to the just exclusion of their 
 vote. In these parishes alone we ought to have a majority of 7,000, but, 
 under the law, the entire return must be excluded in all election districts 
 where the intimidation affected or changed the result. If this is done, the 
 result will give the Hayes electors majorities aggregating 24,111. and the 
 Tilden electors 22,633. But in almost every parish the official returns vary 
 somewhat from these stated majorities, and thus far slightly reduce the Re 
 publican majority. The vote of each disputed parish has thus far been 
 laid aside, and among them are two parishes where a most foolish blunder 
 (some think worse) was made in omitting from the Republican tickets the 
 names of all the electors but the two senatorial and one district elector. 
 
KELLOGG S PRICE. l6/ 
 
 behind the rest of the ticket, and all of the electors were 
 behind the State ticket. They knew that they must make 
 the electors carry them over the stream. The "visiting 
 statesmen " were present, with the Northern sentiment they 
 represented, and the power of the National Administration 
 behind them to sanction and approve the counting-in of 
 the Hayes electors. 
 
 The returning officers had no disposition to stop half 
 way in their nefarious work, but they were quick to see and 
 to take advantage of the fact that the falling behind of five 
 of the Republican electors gave them an opportunity to 
 count in some of their friends whom they might otherwise 
 have felt compelled to leave out. 
 
 Kellogg insisted upon a majority in the legislature. 
 A seat in the United States Senate was to be the price 
 of his villainy. But a majority in both houses of the legis 
 lature was almost a necessity. Packard could scarcely be 
 maintained as governor, even with Federal bayonets, if the 
 legislative body was hostile. The candidates for Congress 
 were also to be taken care of. George L. Smith, for in 
 stance, was not altogether unselfish. It was not pure love of 
 
 The democrats claim this will lose us over 2,000 votes, but our friends, 
 whose information we have generally found confirmed, say it will lose us 
 at most 1,193 v t es - The law seems conclusive that the defective ballots 
 cannot be counted for any electors but those named on the ticket, though 
 it is conclusively shown that the remaining electors were omitted by reason 
 of the mistaken idea that the district could only vote for one elector. The 
 whole trouble grew out of the fact that in these two parishes a candidate 
 for district judge was not named on the ticket printed by the State commit 
 tee, and he undertook to correct this by printing new tickets, which were 
 voted in those parishes. The result of this blunder will leave the poll so 
 close as to render it probable that one or more of the Tilden electors would 
 have a majority. There are other parishes where the organized intimida 
 tion was not so general as in the parishes named, though in single election 
 precincts it was effective. These parishes where formal protests have been 
 filed are Bienville, Bossier, Caldwell, Franklin, Grant, Iberia, Lincoln, 
 Richland, and Sabine. How far the proof in these parishes will sustain 
 the protests we cannot judge until the evidence is read before the Return 
 ing Board." 
 
168 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 the Republican party that induced him to be particeps 
 criminis in the forgeries and perjuries concocted and perpe 
 trated in the New Orleans Post-office on the night of the 
 24th of November. Then, again, there were local candi 
 dates for parish officers who wanted their share of the plun 
 der. In thieves parlance the "swag" must be fairly 
 divided. The fellows who pried the doors open, bore the 
 heat and burden of the day, did the false swearing, de 
 manded their rights. 
 
 A new estimate of the counting-out to be done was 
 hastily made, and the conclusion was arrived at that by 
 throwing out certain polls in the parishes of Richland, De 
 Soto, Webster, Livingston, Lafayette, and Natchitoches, 
 in addition to those determined on in the Felicianas, East 
 Baton Rouge, Ouachita and Morehouse, the requisite Re 
 publican majority could be obtained. It was, however, 
 necessary to get up affidavits, to have, if possible, state 
 ments from supervisors of registration for these parishes. 
 This required delay. This necessitated the holding back 
 of returns. Hence the dilatoriness of the board, and the 
 refusal to comply with the demands of the Democratic 
 counsel for the production of the returns held back by 
 supervisors. 
 
 In the case of Richland parish the supervisor, J. F. 
 Kelley, was, with great difficulty, induced to make a state 
 ment. D. J. M. A. Jewett says of the efforts made to 
 coerce Kelley the following: "J. F. Kelley, supervisor, 
 brought consolidated statement to New Orleans in person : 
 waited upon Governor Kellogg,* before delivering returns to 
 board, and reported to him certain facts respecting registra 
 tion and election. The governor then and there draughted a 
 protest for Kelley, who having disappeared meanwhile, 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc., No. 31, part 2, 45th Cong., 3d Sess., p. 172. 
 
DOCTORING AFFIDAVITS. 169 
 
 Kellogg handed the draught to me with the request that I 
 would see that Kelley signed something like that, and that 
 he filed the same with his returns. Upon meeting Kelley 
 the next day, he declined to sign a statement such as the 
 governor had draughted, assigning as a reason, that he did 
 not personally know the facts stated to be true. Mr. Kelley 
 returned to his parish without making any protest.* 
 
 " Kelley returned to New Orleans with witnesses about 
 November 25, when I handed Judge Campbell a substan 
 tial copy of Kellogg s draught and requested him to take 
 charge of the matter. I think the judge afterwards told me 
 Kelley still refused to sign. About November 30, Mr. 
 Kelley signed an inconsequential affidavit respecting the 
 election in Richland which was shown to me, whereupon I 
 drew up the protest which appears with his returns and 
 handed it to Mr. Hagin, I think for Mr. Kelley s signature. 
 This Mr. Kelley signed 16 or 17 days after his returns 
 were in the office of the board." 
 
 Kelley testified t that he had signed, but did not swear to, 
 an affidavit draughted by Jewett and that subsequently, after 
 his return from Richland parish, he made an affidavit 
 draughted by Kellogg. On being shown the original of the 
 affidavits he pointed out interlineations in one of them, the 
 one draughted by Kellogg, which he was positive were made 
 after he had sworn to it. The other one which he had 
 signed for Jewett had a j urat attached, and he was positive that 
 he never made the oath which it is there stated he took be 
 fore Commissioner Woolfley. He testified that he persistently 
 resisted the many efforts made by Kellogg, Jewett, and 
 Campbell to induce him to swear to things which he did 
 not know to be true : that he told them if they wanted 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc,, No. 31, part 2, 45th Cong., 3d Sess., p. 1447, 
 t Ibid, pp. 171 to 182. 
 
A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 people to do that kind of swearing he could send them 
 down from Richland. They then gave him subpoenas and 
 sent him after them; he remained at home ten days and 
 did not intend to return, but a deputy marshal came after 
 him. 
 
 He further testified that he believed the election in 
 Richland parish was fair, free, and peaceable, and knew 
 nothing to the contrary, and would not have believed on 
 oath the persons who reported to him otherwise : that he 
 told Kellogg, Jewett, and Campbell he would not swear to 
 a lie for them or the party : that Kellogg repeatedly coaxed 
 and urged him to make an affidavit stating he had personal 
 knowledge of acts of intimidation and told him the result of 
 the election depended on the vote of his parish. The two 
 affidavits purporting t be made by Kelley printed in the 
 Sherman report are of the date of November 30. In the 
 proceedings of the Returning Board printed in the same 
 report, it is stated in the account of the opening of the re 
 turns of Richland parish, November 25, that there were no 
 statements except those showing the peaceable and quiet 
 character of the election." 
 
 The supervisor of Livingston parish forwarded his re 
 turns by express,* addressed to Michael Hahn, state regis 
 trar of voters, C. O. D." Hahn refused to pay the charges 
 as did likewise the returning officers. The democrats after 
 furnishing the trifling amount could not induce the board 
 to send for the package. Finally Hahn consented to re 
 ceipt for the package and after opening it sent it to the 
 board. The vote for Presidential electors was Hayes 121, 
 Tilden 769. The supervisor had failed to sign his name to 
 the consolidated statement, but the jurat and certificate by 
 the clerk of the court were attached, and in every other re- 
 
 * Senate Ex. Doc. No. 2, 44th Cong. 2 d Sess. p. 124. 
 
SPECIMEN PROOF? I/I 
 
 spect the returns were regular including those from the 
 commissioners of election. The supervisor was in New 
 Orleans, but the board declined to issue a subpoena for 
 him. 
 
 The law required them to canvass and compile the 
 returns of the commissioners of election and the consoli 
 dated statement of the supervisor was merely made for 
 their convenience. They were bound to go to the original 
 returns from the polling places. There were no irregulari 
 ties alleged no objetions on the part of the commis 
 sioners and none by the supervisor. The affidavits filed 
 with the board after Nov. 28, were not only ex parte, but 
 wholly hearsay statements. They could not under the 
 law be received by the board because jurisdiction was only 
 conferred by the statements of commissioners of election 
 and of the supervisor " in form as required by section 
 twenty-six." But even admitting these affidavits they 
 proved nothing whatever affecting either the registration 
 or the election. 
 
 The returns of Natchitoches parish* gave three Hayes 
 electors 2,099, an( ^ nve I >55^? three Tilden electors, 1,761, 
 and five 1,558 votes. On Dec. i and 3 a dozen affidavits 
 were filed with the board alleging general intimidation. 
 There was no complaint from the commissioners of election 
 and no statement by the supervisor. The affidavits proved 
 not one single fact. The allegations were of the most gen 
 eral character the opinions of individuals that the Re 
 publican majority ought to have been from 800 to 1,000 
 votes. 
 
 The supervisor of Lafayette t parish withheld his re 
 turns till the 29th of November. His consolidated state- 
 
 * Senate Ex. Doc. No. 2, 44th Cong. 2d Sess., pp. 62, 63, 558 to 568. 
 t Ibid, p. 129, 524 to 533. 
 
A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 ment was sworn to on the i4th and contained no reference 
 to complaints against the peaceable character of the elec 
 tion held at any of the polls, and no allegations affecting 
 the registration. An affidavit made by the supervisor Nov. 
 28 with others made on that and subsequent days appear 
 in the Sherman report. They contain vague allegations in 
 regard to alleged intimidation affecting the registration for 
 polls i and 2, but only claim that three or four electors 
 were induced by threats to vote the Democratic ticket, and 
 but one of these could be induced to swear that he did vote 
 that ticket under compulsion. 
 
 When the board came to figure exactly on the returns 
 it was found that they would have to go further than they 
 expected after the second estimate had been made and to 
 throw out polls * in the parishes of Franklin, Caldwell, Ver- 
 non, Catahoula, St. Charles, St. Landry, Tangipahoa, 
 Claiborne, and Iberia. They finally rejected the whole 
 vote of East Feliciana and threw out Grant parish on the 
 ground that there was no legal election held, the super 
 visor, Ward, having, abandoned the parish before the 
 day of election. They threw out in addition sixty- 
 nine * polls from twenty-two other parishes, and refused 
 to include the polls which the supervisors of East Baton 
 Rouge, Lafayette, La Fourche, and the assistant super 
 visors of wards two, three, and six, New Orleans, had, 
 without warrant of law Refused to compile. In all, 13,213 
 Democratic electors were disfranchised and 2,415 repub 
 licans. The highest number of votes " actually cast " for 
 a Democratic elector was 83,817 and for a Republican 
 elector 77,332. Five of the Republican electors ran be 
 hind the vote of their colleagues 1,141. The average ma 
 jority for the Democratic electors was 7,116 ! * 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 34, Part 2, 44th Cong. 2d Sess. pp. 790-794. 
 
A CHAPTER OF CRIMES. 173 
 
 rS^I> 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 %FO|JJ> 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The counting-in finished and same day the Hayes electors met and 
 voted : They did not comply with the Constitution and the laws of 
 the United States : Tom. Anderson carried the defective return of 
 electoral votes to Washington: The President of the Senate 
 pointed out the failure to comply with the law : Anderson opened 
 the package and discovered defect in certificate : What passed be 
 tween Anderson and the President of the Senate : A conspiracy to 
 suppress the defective returns and manufacture new ones : How 
 this was done: The persons who conspired: The forgery of the 
 signatures of Levissee and Joffroin, two absent electors : Those who 
 knew of the forgery : Kellogg warned Senator Morton : Why he 
 gave the warning: The testimony of Anderson, Clark, Kellogg, 
 Sheldon and Kelley reviewed and analyzed : The way Kellogg 
 took care of Kelley: The Smith bogus return: Proceeding in joint 
 convention : The way Morton managed the Electoral commission : 
 A chapter of crimes. 
 
 THE Returning Board announced the result of its manipu 
 lations and certified the election Dec. 6th, the day the 
 electors are required by law to meet and vote for President 
 and Vice-President. The Republican electors knowing 
 what the board was going to do were on hand and ready 
 to perform their parts. They met, cast their votes for 
 President, Rutherford B. Hayes; for Vice-President, Wil 
 liam A. Wheeler. They used but a single ballot, writing 
 thereon the names of both candidates. The Constitution 
 of the United States requires electors to vote for candidates 
 for President and Vice-President by distinct ballots. Hav 
 ing voted as described they proceeded to sign in triplicate 
 
A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 a certificate of the votes cast and included in one list the 
 electoral votes for President as well as those given for Vice- 
 President. This was violation number two of the Consti 
 tution, which requires " distinct lists of all persons voted for 
 as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-Presi- 
 dent, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they 
 shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of 
 government of the United States directed to the President 
 of the Senate." 
 
 Kellogg as governor complied with the law which 
 required him to deliver to each elector three certificates 
 stating that they were duly chosen as electors, and an 
 nexed one of these to each of the triplicate certificates 
 the electors had signed. Thereupon, H. Conquest Clark, 
 the governor s private secretary, enveloped the triplicate 
 certificates, and endorsed on the outside of each envel 
 ope a statement that it contained a list of all the votes 
 for President and Vice- President, but the electors failed 
 to sign these statements as the law required. Thos. C. 
 Anderson, having been chosen to carry one of the pack 
 ages to Washington, received the same on Dec. 2ist. 
 One of the others was forwarded by mail to the President 
 of the Senate, and the other was deposited with the judge 
 of the United States District Court. 
 
 Anderson reached Washington the evening of Dec. 24, 
 and on Christmas morning called upon the President of the 
 Senate, Mr. Ferry, to deliver the package whereof he was 
 the bearer. Mr. Ferry, upon examining the superscrip 
 tions on the envelope called * Anderson s attention to the 
 fact that the statement of the contents of the envelope en 
 dorsed thereon was not signed by the electors as the law 
 required. 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc, No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 539. 
 
ANDERSON S SWEARING. 175 
 
 Anderson testified* that he suggested to Mr. Ferry 
 to open the package and see if the endorsement was 
 not inside. This could not have occurred, because, Mr. 
 Ferry had just pointed out to Anderson that the law re 
 quired that the sealed envelope must have endorsed thereon 
 the certificate of the electors that it contains the returns of 
 the electoral votes. After having had this explanation made 
 to him it is not possible that Anderson could have asked 
 the President of the Senate to open the package to find 
 whether the proper endorsement was on the inside of the 
 envelope. 
 
 Anderson persisted in swearing that this was all that 
 occurred between Mr. Ferry and himself; that they did 
 not discuss the question as to the correctness and reg 
 ularity of the contents of the package. But Kellogg t ad 
 mitted on cross-examination that Anderson told him, on 
 his return to New Orleans, that Ferry had advised him to 
 examine the law and see whether the certificate had been 
 made in accordance therewith. 
 
 Anderson after his interview with Ferry went to his 
 hotel, stopping on the way to buy a ticket for New Orleans. 
 He claimed that he opened the package in his room late 
 the afternoon of that day to see if the endorsement which 
 the law says shall be written on was not inside of the en 
 velope.* Of course, this statement is untrue. He opened 
 the envelope to find whether the certificate it contained was 
 in form as the Constitution and the laws required. He had 
 seen, he admitted, several friends before opening the pack 
 age, but could not remember what he had said to them. * 
 It was possible, he thought, that he might have said that 
 the certificate was not in form and he was going back to 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 540. 
 t Ibid, p. 674. 
 
1/6 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 New Orleans to have it fixed. His memory was a blank 
 as to everything else and the most searching examination 
 could not extract other particulars. 
 
 Certain facts are, however, established. Mr. Ferry did 
 not accept the package from Anderson. He pointed out 
 the law to Anderson which requires the sealed envelope, 
 containing the electoral certificates, to have an en 
 dorsement signed by the electors that it contains the 
 electoral vote. He advised Anderson to examine the law 
 and see what it required in regard to the certificates them 
 selves. After seeing " several friends," but just who he 
 failed to recollect, Anderson went to his room and opened 
 the package " to see if the endorsement was on the inside " 
 and not finding it, left that night for New Orleans carry 
 ing back the opened package. 
 
 Mr. Ferry ought to have received the package which 
 Mr. Anderson handed to him. Anderson s credentials 
 were in due form. Mr. Ferry had already received by mail 
 the duplicate in all respects, so far as the superscription in 
 dicated, of the package Anderson handed him. Unques 
 tionably Mr. Ferry knew that the electors who had met on 
 the sixth of December and voted for President and for Vice- 
 President and made out the return thereof were functus 
 officio ; that they could not subsequently weeks after they 
 had ceased to have legal existence correct errors, either 
 of omission, or of commission. The law gave him no dis 
 cretion in the premises. The returns came to him as 
 the President of the Senate and he was merely the custodian 
 of them until the two Houses of Congress met in joint con 
 vention on the day fixed by law when they were to be 
 opened and counted. 
 
 There was no legal method of remedying any defect, 
 error, or mistake made by the electors. In this case the so- 
 
WHAT WAS TO BE DONE? 177 
 
 called Republican electors had failed, first, to comply with 
 the positive requirements of the Constitution in voting for 
 candidates for President, and for candidates for Vice-Presi 
 dent. They had voted ballots on which were written the 
 names of Hayes and Wheeler, when they should have voted 
 separate " distinct " ballots, each containing the res 
 pective names of the candidates for President and Vice- 
 President ; and, second, they had failed to make their return 
 of the votes cast for each candidate in " distinct lists," or 
 separate certificates. These failures to obey the Constitution 
 undoubtedly vitiated their acts. The discovery of non- 
 compliance with these constitutional requirements by the 
 Republican Presidential electors of Louisiana, on Decem 
 ber 25, 1876, must have created consternation among the 
 Republican leaders in Washington. Without the vote of 
 Louisiana Hayes and Wheeler could not be counted in. 
 After all that had been done and risked, to lose the mighty 
 stake they had so desperately played for, was enough to 
 make them resort to still more desperate measures. They 
 could scarcely hope to have the two Houses of Congress 
 accept a certificate of the electoral vote of a state which 
 was not in accordance with the precise and specific re 
 quirements of the Constitution. A contest over the vote 
 of Louisiana was inevitable without this constitutional ob 
 jection. With that superadded the complication would 
 indeed be serious. 
 
 But what could be done ? Manifestly but one thing 
 the certificates made out in triplicate on December 6, 1876, 
 must be suppressed and false ones, complying with the 
 provisions of the Constitution, must be substituted therefor. 
 This unquestionably was the conspiracy concocted in 
 Washington on Christmas day, 1876. In this connection 
 the slightest circumstances and the most trivial details 
 
178 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 become of the greatest consequence. They are often 
 important links in the chain of circumstantial evidence by 
 which conspirators are convicted. Mr. Ferry advised 
 Anderson to examine the law to see what it required. He had 
 shown him the law in regard to the endorsement prescribed 
 for the outside of the envelope, therefore, he did not advise 
 him to examine the law in reference to that defect. 
 
 Anderson asked Ferry to open the package. What for ? 
 Anderson said the object was to see whether the proper 
 endorsement was on the inside. But this was false. The 
 omission Ferry had pointed out was the absence of the 
 signatures of the electors to the endorsement on the 
 envelope which the law required to be there. The en 
 dorsement was written on the envelope in due form, but 
 the electors had not signed it. Anderson undoubtedly 
 told the truth when he said he asked Ferry to open the 
 package but lied when he said the object was to find 
 whether the endorsement was on the inside. He asked 
 Ferry to open the package and ascertain whether the con 
 tents were all right whether any other mistakes had been 
 made. 
 
 But Mr. Ferry was not ready to commit a crime himself. 
 He, however, did not hesitate to suggest the commission of 
 one by others. He advised Anderson to examine the law and 
 see forhimself what was required. To what purpose unless 
 he examined the certificate also ? Anderson could not be 
 made to say whom he saw in Washington after he left Ferry. 
 He admitted that he took a carriage and drove to Senator 
 West s house but claimed that he did not find him at home. 
 The utmost that he could be got to say was that he saw 
 " several friends " and that he might have mentioned that he 
 was going back to New Orleans because the electoral cer 
 tificate was defective. He admits that it was after " seeing 
 
BLANK RECOLLECTIONS. 
 
 several friends " that he opened the package containing 
 the electoral certificate. 
 
 He reached New Orleans the morning of December 
 28th and went directly to see Kellogg whom he found in 
 the executive office.* He told him " something " as to what 
 Ferry said about the certificate not being right. This, he 
 professed, was all he could recollect of this important 
 interview with Kellogg. And singular enough Kellogg s 
 recollection was not any better except he finally remem 
 bered that Anderson told him that Ferry advised him to 
 examine the law and find out what was required in the cer 
 tificates of electoral votes. But Kellogg had a distinct 
 recollection that he sent for Clark, his private secretary, and 
 turned the matter over to him and Anderson.** In this 
 Anderson corroborated Kellogg so far as " the turning over v 
 to Clark was concerned, but beyond that he was not willing 
 to admit that he assumed any responsibility. He could not 
 recollect that he told Clark anything in particular except 
 that Ferry had pointed out the omission of the signatures of 
 the electors on the envelope.** He recollected that either 
 he or Clark took out of the envelope its contents, but he 
 had no recollection of pointing out any defects therein. 
 
 Kellogg s recollection was almost a blank ; he " really 
 paid no attention to the matter" he "had the whole state on 
 his shoulders. "f Clark, | however, had a distinct recollec 
 tion that Anderson " stated that friends in Washington 
 thought that instead of the names for President and Vice- 
 President being on one sheet they should be on two sheets." 
 Who these " friends in Washington " were, Clark had no 
 peisonal knowledge, or any other kind, except what he 
 obtained from the newspapers. He asked Anderson no 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 541. 
 ** Ibid, p. 674. t ibid, p. 710. f Ibid, p. 258. 
 
ISO A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 questions. He was equally discreet with Kellogg. All 
 that passed between them was this * " Governor Kellogg 
 said to me, I wish you would see General Anderson. He 
 says there is something wrong about these certificates/ 
 and at the governor s request I went into a room in the 
 state building where General Anderson was sitting, and 
 then the conversation took place." He professed not to 
 have consulted with any one concerning the defects of the 
 first certificates of the electoral votes, or how these defects 
 were to be remedied in the new ones. His professions in 
 this respect were doubtless true " friends in Washington " 
 had instructed Anderson and Anderson instructed Clark ! 
 
 Clark went about the preparation of the new certificates 
 without a moment s delay. They must be ready for signature 
 the next day and the messenger must leave at 5:20 P. M. with 
 one set, and another set must be mailed before that hour, 
 in order to reach Washington within the time fixed by law 
 for their reception. The time expired January 3, 1877, 
 and, therefore, the latest train the messenger could take in 
 New Orleans was the one leaving at 5:20 P. M. December 
 29th. But pressing as the time was Clark had certificates 
 printed* from the same type from which the impressions of 
 those used on the 6th of December were made. Having 
 obtained his fac simile printed blanks as to paper and 
 type Clark prepared a room on the third floor of the 
 State House and spread out the certificates to be signed on 
 a large table.* 
 
 There were triplicate certificates which required trip 
 licate certification by the governor. Clark ingeni 
 ously * accounted for the way in which he obtained 
 these certificates of the governor, without having him exe 
 cute an ante-dated document and the secretary of state to 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 4$th Cong. $d Sess. pp. 258 to 265. 
 
HOW IT WAS DONE. iSl 
 
 countersign and affix the great seal as of December 6th, as 
 follows: He claimed that on December 6th, he had made 
 out in triplicate, signed, countersigned, and sealed, certifi 
 cates but that Governor Kellogg objected to the illegibility 
 of the handwriting of the clerk who drew them up, and, 
 therefore, he had to have another set of governor s certifi 
 cates prepared and executed in triplicate ; that he had pre 
 served the first lot and when they were needed on 
 December 29^1 they were ready to hand. But strange to 
 say when Mr. Clark came to attach the governor s certifi 
 cates to the new and forged lists of electoral votes he de 
 tached from the certificate Anderson had brought back, 
 the governor s certificate and used only two of the ones, he 
 said, he had on hand. The reason assigned for these extra 
 governor s certificates being on hand was the illegibility 
 of the handwriting. But the two returns made on Decem 
 ber 29, 1876, which came to Washington, one by messen 
 ger, and one by mail, had attached governor s certificates 
 in as legible handwriting as that of the governor s certifi 
 cate attached to the returns made December 6, 1876, 
 which came by mail. 
 
 The late electors did not gather * in the room on the 
 third floor of the State House where Clark had arranged 
 the new certificates for signature. Those of them avail 
 able were taken up one by one, either by Clark or Thomas 
 S. Kelley, the colored messenger of the Executive office. 
 Clark says he took Kellogg up to the room to sign and 
 that he also saw Brewster,* the last one to sign, write 
 his name. He saw none of the remaining six sign. He 
 professed to have made no inquiry, * whatever, and to 
 have heard none made, as to the whereabouts of A. B. 
 Levissee and Oscar Joffroin He wrote a note to Morris 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc., No. 31, 45th Cong., sd Sess. pp. 270-271. 
 
1 82 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 Marks * at Donaldsonville asking him to come to the State 
 House, but he did this without a suggestion from any one. 
 
 Kellogg insisted that he paid very little attention to the 
 preparation or signing of the second set of certificates be 
 cause he "had the whole state on his shoulders," his time 
 and mind being engrossed with other things. He claimed 
 that he made no inquiries about Levissee and JofTroin or 
 either of them ; that he heard of none being made. 
 
 Sheldon f testified that on the day Anderson returned 
 from Washington he was at Kellogg s office and met there 
 Kellogg, Anderson, and Clark; that the fact of the absence 
 of Levissee and JorTroin was known to him, and he asked 
 Kellogg if they could be got there and Kellogg replied that 
 he had sent for them; that the next morning, when he 
 went to the State House to sign, he asked Kellogg if 
 Levissee and JorTroin had arrived and the reply was they 
 had. 
 
 But Mr. Sheldon undoubtedly prevaricated. He knew 
 that Levissee could not have come from Shreveport to New 
 Orleans if he had been asked to come on the morning of 
 the 28th. At that time there was no way of making the 
 journey between Shreveport and New Orleans in less than 
 seventy-two hours. JofTroin lived in the parish of Pointe 
 Coupe and it was a physical impossibility to have sent for 
 and to have brought him to New Orleans in twenty-four 
 hours. 
 
 And yet Mr. Sheldon swore that as soon as he 
 learned the facts from Anderson on December 28th he 
 asked Kellogg what had been done about Levissee and 
 JofTroin who were not in the city. Kellogg told him then they 
 had been sent for, and the next morning Kellogg told him 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 264. 
 t Ibid. p. 1274. 
 
SYSTEMATIC PERJURY. 183 
 
 they had arrived. All of the parties in New Orleans in 
 cluding Sheldon testified that they knew nothing of the 
 defects in the certificates of December 6th until Anderson 
 reached New Orleans on December 28th. Anderson tes 
 tified * that to the best of his recollection he did not tele 
 graph either from Washington or on his way home. 
 
 Is it possible that Sheldon was the only person who 
 made inquiry about the two absentees ? Is it possible that 
 he accepted as true Kellogg s statement when he knew that 
 it was a physical impossibility for Kellogg to have secured 
 their presence in the period of time that had elapsed? 
 Of course not ! Sheldon was simply trying to tell a plausi 
 ble story, and failed. He knew that if he testified that he 
 made no inquiries about these two men, whose absence 
 from New Orleans had been proved, he would not be be 
 lieved. 
 
 As to Kellogg, and Burch, and Joseph, and Marks, 
 and Brewster, and Clark, who swore they made no inquiries 
 about Levissee and Joffroin, but took it for granted that 
 they were there and signed, there can be but one conclu 
 sion they one and all committed perjury. 
 
 What was the object of this systematic perjury ? They 
 one and all knew that the names of Levissee and Joffroin 
 were forged to the certificates of electoral votes they signed 
 on the 29th of December. Upon no other hypothesis can 
 this uniform professed absence of curiosity about the two 
 missing men be accounted for. The sudden return of An 
 derson from Washington, the preparation of new certificates 
 of electoral votes, their being dated back twenty-three days, 
 the knowledge that upon the electoral vote of Louisiana 
 depended the result of the Presidential election, the secrecy 
 with which the manufacture of the ante-dated certificates 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 540. 
 
1 84 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 was conducted, the going up one by one to a room on the 
 third floor of the State House all these circumstances 
 must have excited their curiosity to the highest pitch. 
 
 The utmost secrecy was to be preserved as to the rest of 
 the world and, therefore, the greater the discussion among 
 themselves. They would naturally want to know wherein 
 their certificates of December 6th were defective ; who ad 
 vised Anderson to have the defects remedied ; what was to 
 become of the set that had been sent by mail, and of the 
 one deposited with the judge of the District Court of the 
 United States ; these and many other inquiries must inevita 
 bly have to be made. Is it within the limit of human 
 credulity to believe that no one remarked the absence of 
 Levissee and JofTroin ? 
 
 Anderson who had carried the first set of certificates 
 did not take the forged set to Washington. A man named 
 Hill,* who was a clerk in the State Auditor s office, bore 
 the forged electoral votes to the National Capital with a 
 sealed letter of advice from Kellogg to Zach. Chandler. 
 Arriving in Washington, Hill called upon Chandler at the 
 Interior Department and presented Kellogg s letter. Chan 
 dler read it and directed him to go direct to the Capitol 
 and deliver the package containing the forged electoral 
 votes to the President of the Senate. On reaching the 
 Capitol and finding Mr. Ferry the latter called into the 
 Vice-President s room John Sherman to witness the delivery 
 and receipt of the package. Sherman then took Hill to the 
 room of the committee of finance and there wrote a letter to 
 Kellogg which was delivered sealed to the messenger for 
 delivery in person. 
 
 The same train that carried Hill to Washington also 
 bore by mail a duplicate package of the forged certificates 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 4 5th Cong. 3d Sess. pp. 4910 60. 
 
THE PLAN MARRED. 1 8$ 
 
 and the same day that the messenger made his delivery the 
 one by post was received by Mr. Ferry.* So far the con 
 spiracy to substitute the forged certificates, regular in form 
 as required by the Constitution and the laws of the United 
 States, for the genuine but fatally defective ones made on 
 Dec. 6th, had been successfully and secretly executed. 
 
 It only remained to obtain from the United States district 
 judge in New Orleans the package which had been de 
 posited with him on the sixth of December and 
 substitute therefor the one containing the electoral cer 
 tificate forged on the twenty-ninth of December. Applica 
 tion was made to the judge, Hon. E. C. Billings,t for per 
 mission to make the substitution but he declined to grant 
 it on the ground that he was merely the custodian without 
 authority to deliver to any one unless upon requisition from 
 the Speaker of the House. J This unexpected refusal of 
 Judge Billings marred the plan which had been so sys 
 tematically, secretly, and criminally conceived and carried 
 out. 
 
 The forgery of the names of A. B. Levissee and Oscar 
 Joffroin to the ante-dated certificates must have been known, 
 as has already been demonstrated, to a number of persons. 
 It is probable, however, that the knowledge as to the forger 
 might have been confined to a few persons. It is 
 demonstrable that Kellogg and Clark must have known 
 who the guilty party was. Only one of all the persons 
 about the State House confessed to any knowledge of the 
 forgery and pretended to know who was the forger. 
 
 Thomas S. Kelley who was a colored messenger of the 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 1382. 
 
 t Ibid, p. 1105. 
 
 \ Curiously enough Judge Billings did not know that the Secretary of 
 State can alone send for the package deposited with the U. S. district 
 judge. 
 
1 86 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 executive office under Kelldgg, wrote* to Hon. Clarkson N. 
 Potter on June 9, 1878, from Lake Providence, Louisiana, 
 stating that he was " familiar with all the facts pertaining 
 to the forgery of the certificates of the Louisiana electors." 
 He also said that " Oscar Jofiroin, another elector s name, 
 was forged as well as Levissee s, and if I can see the cer 
 tificates of the electors, I will show the forged ones. I 
 have marks on them that will prove it beyond any doubt, 
 and I will show you the men that forged them." 
 
 In a postscript to this letter Kelley referred to a colored 
 man, named James D. Kennedy, employed in the sergeant-at- 
 arms office of the Senate, who, he said, could tell who he was. 
 Three days before this letter was written A. B. Levissee ** 
 had testified before the Potter committee that his name 
 had been forged to the second set of electoral certificates: 
 that it was a bungling piece of work : that on the 28th and 
 29th of December, 1876, he was at his home in Shreveport, 
 Louisiana, having left New Orleans on the 22d or 23d of 
 that month. 
 
 Mr. Potter immediately took steps to have Thomas S. 
 Kelley subpoenaed to appear before a sub-committee which 
 he was about to send to New Orleans to take testimony. 
 But the day the deputy sergeant-at-arms of the House of 
 Representatives, f reached Lake Providence, James D. 
 Kennedy arrived there also and brought Kelley to Wash 
 ington. Kennedy J subsequently testified that he had gone 
 to New Orleans at the request of Kellogg, who procured 
 him a leave of absence ; that he held his position, under the 
 sergeant-at-arms of the Senate, through Kellogg s influence; 
 that he had received a letter from Kelley, the contents of 
 which he communicated to Kellogg; that he stopped at 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 1446. 
 
 * Ibid, p. 129. f Ibid. p. 568. | Ibid, pp. 1115, 1116. 
 
KELLOGG S DARKEY. 1 87 
 
 Lake Providence to see Kelley and brought him direct to 
 Washington, paying his expenses; that they arrived on 
 July ist, 1878. 
 
 Kelley remained in Washington and was supported 
 until Dec. 16, 1879, by money furnished by Kellogg 
 through John A. Walsh, a former citizen of New Orleans, 
 who was then doing business as a banker at 916 F Street, 
 Washington, D. C. On Dec. 16, 1879 * Kellogg had 
 Thomas S. Kelley placed on the pay roll of the New Or 
 leans Custom House and he drew pay at the rate of$i,ooo 
 a year until March 4, 1880, without rendering any services, 
 and without leaving Washington. On the fourth of March, 
 1880, Kelley was by order of John Sherman, upon the re 
 commendation of Kellogg,* appointed a clerk in the second 
 auditor s office of the Treasury Department at a salary of 
 $1,000 per annum. He was, through the influence of Kel 
 logg, twice promoted and is now a second-class clerk re 
 ceiving a salary of $1,400 a year. 
 
 During the fall of 1878, Kelley requested permission to 
 appear before the Potter committee and testify. On the 
 nth of January, 1879, he was examined t and, after ad 
 mitting knowledge of the forgery, declined to tell what he 
 knew on the ground that he had been accused of the crime, 
 and, therefore, if he admitted that he was guilty people 
 would say he was a fool for telling, and, if he denied 
 having committed the forgery, no one would believe him. 
 He, however, refused to say that his answers would crim 
 inate himself and, the committee directed him to answer 
 the questions propounded. He requested two days delay 
 to consult counsel and was given three days. He was re- 
 Records Appt. Division, U. S. Treasury Dept. 
 
 t H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. pp. 1131 to 1140 and 
 1144 to 1159. 
 
A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 called January i4th and then denied that he had forged the 
 names of Levissee and Joffroin. He admitted that he 
 knew who had forged the name of Joffroin, but declined to 
 tell who was the forger. He pretended great fear of the 
 consequences to himself, although claiming that he had no 
 part in the crime save to witness its commission. 
 
 On being required to answer he told the following im 
 probable story. He said he assisted Kellogg s private sec 
 retary, Clark, in arranging the room on the third floor of 
 the State House where the certificates of electoral votes 
 which had been prepared Dec. 2 8th were spread on a table, 
 and that he attended several of the late electors to the 
 room ; that when Clark was not in this room he, Kelley, 
 was on duty; that the afternoon of Dec. 29th he came 
 into the room and noticed B. P. Blanchard, Kellogg s ex 
 ecutive clerk, sitting at the table and without noticing what 
 he was doing walked to the fire-place and took a seat; 
 that he sat there a few moments and saw and heard nothing 
 until Blanchard exclaimed " how is that for high ?" where 
 upon he got up and walked to the table and saw Blanchard 
 with a pen in his hand, and noticed that the name of Oscar 
 Joffroin was written on the certificates, and that the ink 
 was not dry ; that Blanchard said nothing and he asked no 
 questions. 
 
 The cross-examination was conducted by General 
 B. F. Butler and the result was very damaging to Kelley. 
 His pretended unwillingness to answer the first day, and 
 his hesitation and coquetting the second day were shown 
 to be mere masquerading. He had asked for delay to con 
 sult counsel, but claimed he had not talked with any one. 
 The theory of the cross-examination was that Kelley 
 was the forger. He persistently refused to write the 
 name of Oscar Joffroin. His penmanship was shown to be 
 
THE DARKEY HAD KELLOGG. 189 
 
 fair but not good. The imitation of Levissee s and Jof- 
 froin s signatures were poor, as Levissee had testified. 
 
 Blanchard was a skilful penman, and one of the 
 shrewdest of the many expert scamps in Kellogg s employ. 
 He died of yellow fever several months before Kelley testi 
 fied. Would he have taken a negro like Kelley into his 
 confidence ? Jewett, who was the intimate friend of 
 Blanchard, and well informed about all that transpired dur 
 ing that period, testified that he knew of the preparation of 
 the second set of certificates of electoral votes on Decem 
 ber 28th and 2gth ; that the absence of Levissee and Jof- 
 froin was known to himself and Blanchard ; that the forgery 
 of their signatures was frequently the subject of conversa 
 tion between Blanchard and himself; that it was their 
 belief, and the general conviction of those who knew of the 
 occurrence, that Kelley was the forger. 
 
 Whether Kelley was or was not the forger is immaterial. 
 He possessed knowledge which Kellogg was exceedingly 
 anxious to have concealed. A more parsimonious man than 
 Kellogg does not live. He never expended a dollar of his 
 own money except in cases of the direst necessity. He 
 maintained Kelley in Washington at very considerable 
 expense for eighteen months. The demands on Kellogg 
 during that period and for another year thereafter were 
 incessant. His contest with Spofford taxed to the utmost 
 his command of the patronage of the custom house in 
 New Orleans and of the departments in Washington. He 
 had to provide places for thirty-four* of the members of 
 the legislature who had supported him for the United States 
 Senate. That he had no real affection for Kelley is shown 
 by the fact that he neglected to provide for him during 
 more than a year, and only made provision for him when 
 * Senate Mis. Doc. No. 79, 46th. Cong. 2d. Sess. pp. 21 to .13. 
 
A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 he discoved that he was about to tell all he knew of the 
 forgery of the certificates of the electoral votes. 
 
 Clark was trusted by Kellogg implicitly. He is an 
 Irishman, a bright and capable man, an accomplished jour 
 nalist, a stenographer, and was always serviceable to his 
 employers. Kellogg committed to him the preparation of 
 the second set of certificates when Anderson returned from 
 Washington, and the dispatch, cleverness, and adroitness 
 with which he executed his task demonstrated his capacity 
 for such work. Kellogg provided him with a place in the 
 Internal Revenue bureau at Washington as soon as the 
 Packard government broke to pieces.* It is significant that 
 Clark and all the other witnesses, who professed to have 
 any knowledge of the preparation and signing of the forged 
 electoral certificates, had no recollection of seeing Kelley 
 about the State House on the 2 9 th of December. 
 
 It is marvellous how the secret of this crime was pre 
 served. It was known in a general way to ten or a dozen 
 persons in New Orleans, and to several in Washington, and 
 yet not a whisper concerning it escaped till some time after 
 the Electoral Commission had been organized. Then the 
 allusion to it was vague and mysterious and conveyed no 
 information that attracted the attention of persons not cog 
 nizant of all the facts. It was a brief paragraph in a letter 
 from New Orleans to a Cincinnati paper and was intended 
 only to warn Kellogg and his co-conspirators that some one 
 had knowledge of the crime. The letter was written by a 
 man named Richardson who derived his information from 
 D. J. M. A. Jewett. Clark saw the paragraph and sent it 
 with a letter to Kellogg. Both Clark and Kellogg un 
 doubtedly suspected the source from whence the hint 
 came. 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45 th Cong. 3 d Sess. p. 264. 
 
" SOMETHING WRONG." IQI 
 
 The paragraph attracted no attention in Democratic 
 circles. It was not intended for that purpose. They had 
 no suspicion that the Louisiana conspirators had neglected 
 to comply with the forms prescribed by the Constitution and 
 the statutes of the United States in making the return of 
 electoral votes. They took it for granted that the visiting 
 statesmen, who remained in New Orleans until after the 
 meeting of the Republican electors, had looked after every 
 detail of this kind. 
 
 The purpose originally was to suppress the first returns 
 made by the Republican electors of Louisiana. This has 
 been clearly shown elsewhere in this chapter. The failure 
 to obtain from Judge Billings the certificate deposited with 
 him shortly after the sixth of December and to substitute 
 therefor a duplicate of the one forged December 2Qth 
 probably would have compelled a change in the programme, 
 but the paragraph in the Cincinnati paper impelled Kellogg 
 to disclose to Senator Morton and other Republican leaders 
 in Washington the fact that there was something wrong 
 with the second set of returns.* 
 
 Kellogg was very guarded in giving his testimony on 
 this point to the Potter committee. The utmost that he 
 would admit he had said to Morton and other leading 
 republicans was that " the second set could not be depended 
 on." He talked very glibly about his confidence in the 
 original certificate being all right, in spite of the fact that it 
 did not comply with the Constitution or the statute law of 
 the United States, and he dwelt particularly on his recogni 
 tion of the fact that the dating back of the second set of 
 certificates would have invalidated them, but, of course, the 
 purpose of this talk was apparent. He would not admit 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc., No. 31, 45th Cong., 3d Sess., p. 711. 
 
1 92 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 that he knew of the forgery of the signatures of Levissee 
 and Joffroin. That would have been "giving himself away." 
 
 The admission that he mentioned to Morton and others 
 the existence of something " crooked " in the second set of 
 certificates convicts him of knowledge of the forgery, 
 because, it was known to Mr. Ferry, Mr. Sherman, both 
 the Chandlers, and other " leading friends in Washington " 
 that the second set had been manufactured after Christmas, 
 1876. Therefore, there was no necessity for Kellogg to tell 
 Morton and " other friends " about that irregularity. They 
 knew that fact as well as he did. He could have told them 
 but one thing namely that the second set of certificates 
 could not be " depended on " because they were forged, 
 and there was danger that the crime might be disclosed. 
 
 There was another incident connected with the electoral 
 returns from Louisiana which has an important bearing in 
 this connection. A burlesque certificate was prepared 
 by some person or persons in New Orleans and mailed to 
 the President of the Senate. It was endorsed in due form 
 to the effect that the envelope contained the certificate of 
 the electoral vote of Louisiana, but the signatures of the 
 electors were wanting. In this respect it corresponded 
 exactly with the package containing the first certificate of 
 the electoral votes mailed at New Orleans on or about De 
 cember 6, 1876. The package containing the burlesque 
 certificate was received by the President January 9, 1877, 
 just six days after the receipt of the second and forged set 
 of certificates. 
 
 When the two Houses of Congress in joint convention 
 reached Louisiana in the opening of the certificates of elec 
 toral votes, Mr. Ferry, as the presiding officer, first handed 
 to the tellers " the genuine Kellogg certificate, which had 
 come to him by mail ; next the McEnery certificate, which 
 
" SMITH" CERTIFICATE. 193 
 
 had come to him in duplicate, one copy by mail, and the 
 other by messenger; and next the forged Kellogg certifi 
 cate, of which two copies, one by mail and the other by 
 Hill as messenger, had reached him ; and finally a certifi 
 cate signed by John Smith, declaring that the vote of 
 Louisiana had been cast for Peter Cooper." This Smith 
 certificate was read as the others had been, but the conven 
 tion unanimously ordered that it should be suppressed and 
 no mention of it made in the record of the proceedings. 
 
 It was the first time in the history of the count of elec 
 toral votes that a burlesque certificate had been sent in. 
 The last place one would have come from without an ulte 
 rior object was New Orleans. The situation there from the 
 7th of November onward was of the most grave and 
 serious character. The democrats were fighting mad and 
 the other side balanced between hope and uncertainty. 
 Their future depended upon the success of the scheme to 
 count in Hayes. 
 
 Whoever got up the burlesque certificate had an object 
 in view other than creating a laugh in the joint convention. 
 Whoever the author of it was he had an object in conceal 
 ing his authorship, for to this day the secret has been jeal 
 ously guarded. The purpose of this burlesque was, and 
 could have been, no other than to create a diversion in the 
 joint convention which would draw away attention from the 
 three Republican electoral certificates. When it was found 
 that one of the forged set of certificates could not be sub 
 stituted for the one which had been deposited with Judge 
 Billings, it became a certainty that the first certificate sent 
 to the President of the Senate by mail could not be safely 
 suppressed. 
 
 A diversion was created in the joint convention by the 
 production and reading of the burlesque Smith certificate. 
 
 13 
 
194 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 Not one of the Democratic lawyers, managers, senators, or 
 representatives noticed that there was one certificate made 
 by the Republican electors of Louisiana which did not 
 comply with the constitutional requirements and that there 
 were duplicates of another certificate from the same electors 
 which were in proper form. 
 
 It is scarcely possible that such an apparent difference 
 would have escaped some one of the many keen observers 
 on the Democratic side, if there had not been an exciting 
 interruption of the deliberate proceedings of the convention 
 caused by the production of such an unseemly paper. As 
 soon as this paper had been read great confusion ensued in 
 the hall and it required several minutes to order its 
 suppression and to strike from the record of the proceed 
 ings all reference to it. No trace of the paper was ever 
 found after the joint convention took a recess that day. It 
 was carried off by some one who had a reason therefor. 
 
 There was no time for inspection or examination of the 
 certificates. All the papers went to the Electoral Commission 
 which met immediately upon the separation of the two 
 houses. As soon as the Commission met and the secretary 
 began to read the papers which had come from the joint 
 convention one of the Democratic commissioners moved 
 that the reading be dispensed with and that the papers be 
 printed. It was so ordered. The President of the Com 
 mission, Hon. Nathan Clifford, marked for identification the 
 papers, beginning with the certificates as follows : The first 
 certificate of the Kellogg electors the one which did not 
 comply with the constitutional requirements was marked 
 "No. i, N. C. ;" the Democratic certificate was marked 
 " No. 2, N. C. ;" and the forged Kellogg certificate " No. 
 3, N. C." With these marks on the different certificates in 
 the large bold handwriting of Judge Clifford they went to a 
 
MORE " CROOKEDNESS. * 195 
 
 private printer, and not as was the invariable rule before 
 and afterwards to the public printer. 
 
 The distinguishing marks were omitted in the printed 
 copies. This was a remarkable oversight by the printer. 
 He did another singular thing instead of sending the 
 originals with the printed copies back the next morning to 
 the secretary of the Commission, he sent the originals to the 
 secretary and caused two of his press-boys to distribute the 
 printed copies among the members of the Commission and 
 the counsel.* There is no means of proving that copies of 
 the genuine Kellogg certificate, "No. i, N. C," were not 
 distributed, but if they were, it seems unaccountable that 
 the Democratic commissioners, the Democratic lawyers, 
 and the two hundred Democratic members of the House 
 and Senate, should not have observed that they did not corre 
 spond with the copies of the " No. 3, N. C." the Kellogg 
 certificate correct in form but forged. 
 
 If printed copies of the "No. i, N. C." certificate had 
 been about its defective form would inevitably have been 
 detected. Comparison with the other Republican electoral 
 certificate "No. 3, N. C." would certainly have been 
 made, and the difference noted. Nothing of this kind hap 
 pened and the conclusion is irresistible that two copies of 
 the forged certificate were distributed instead of one copy 
 of the genuine and defective and one copy of the correct 
 in form but forged certificate. 
 
 But this was not all; when the Electoral Commission 
 had decided, eight to seven, to count the electoral vote of 
 Louisiana for Hayes and Wheeler, Senator Morton f was 
 careful, in his motion, to specify the electoral votes in certif 
 icate "No. i, N. C." the genuine but constitutionally defec- 
 
 * H. R. Miss. Doc. No. 26, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. pp. 118, 567, 568. 
 t Electoral Count p. 420. 
 
196 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 tive one. Therefore, the Electoral Commission, by a partisan 
 vote counted the electoral votes of Louisiana which were 
 not returned as the Constitution of the United States pre 
 scribes they shall be, and this was done so far as Mr. 
 Morton was concerned with the knowledge that the other 
 set of Republican electoral certificates from Louisiana 
 could " not be depended on." 
 
 * " And when, later, the record of the proceedings in 
 Congress and of the Electoral Commission came to be made 
 up, this formally correct but forged certificate was in fact 
 wholly suppressed, while a second copy of the genuine but 
 defective certificate was inserted in its place. That is, the 
 record declares that there was before the Congress, and by 
 it referred to the Commission, and there considered, the 
 Democratic certificate and the genuine but defective certifi 
 cate of the Republican electors, and no others, the latter in 
 duplicate, once by the name of No. i, and later by the 
 name of No. 3. Whereas, it is altogether certain that this 
 was not the fact, and altogether probable that the prints 
 which were before the Electoral Commission were a print of 
 the Democratic certificate and two prints of the forged Re 
 publican certificate, and of these alone, and that nothing 
 whatever was considered or acted upon by the Commis 
 sioners or Congress but these, and that instead of it being 
 a fact, as these records state, that Congress and the Com 
 mission had before them two prints of the genuine but de 
 fective, and no other Republican certificate, there was before 
 them, and really considered by them, only two copies of 
 the regular but forged and of no other Republican certifi 
 cate, and that neither Congress nor the Commission ever 
 had an opportunity to or did consider the defects of the 
 genuine certificate at all." 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 30! Sess. p. 70. 
 
" MURDER WILL OUT. 
 
 The boldness of the conception, the secrecy of the exe 
 cution of the crime was only equalled by the dextrous and 
 unscrupulous manipulation of the printed record of the 
 proceedings in Washington. The intention was undoubtedly 
 to conceal so far as the published record could the fact 
 that there had been a conspiracy to manufacture a forged 
 certificate of electoral votes by Kellogg and his coadjutors 
 in Washington and Louisiana. Happily the investigation 
 ordered by the House of Representatives in 1878 disclosed 
 sufficient facts to enable the historian to trace the devious 
 ways of the conspirators and to tell the story of one of the 
 crimes which the perpetrators thereof fondly hoped would 
 not be brought to light. 
 
198 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 How the Republican visiting statesmen disobeyed General Grant s 
 instructions : How they prostituted themselves : Preaching rigid ad 
 herence to "forms of law" they encouraged disregard of the same: 
 John Sherman made Secretary of the Treasury and Almoner of the 
 fraudulent administration : His pet bank in New York : Stanley 
 Mathews, his services and reward therefor : James A. Garfield, his 
 work and reward : William M. Evarts, what he did and how he was 
 paid : E. W. Stoughton, author of the infamous report to the Pres 
 ident made Minister to Russia : John M. Harlan made Justice of 
 the Supreme Court of the United States for helping to get rid of 
 Packard : Joseph R. Hawley sent on a pleasure trip to Paris : 
 John Coburn also paid : Eugene Hale and William D. Kelley re 
 warded with " patronage." 
 
 THE Republican visiting statesmen did not conduct them 
 selves in Louisiana as impartial judges commissioned " to 
 see that the board of canvassers make a fair count of the 
 votes actually cast." On the contrary they lent the great 
 weight of their " national reputation " to influence and en 
 courage the Returning Board officers to violate the spirit as 
 well as " the forms of law " and to disregard the will of the 
 people by refusing " to make a fair count of the votes 
 actually cast." 
 
 Among those who thus prostituted their high calling as 
 statesmen and lawyers were gentlemen well known to be 
 near to, and to speak with authority for, Rutherford B. 
 Hayes. After having obtained the Presidency by means of 
 the frauds, perjuries, and forgeries, which these personal 
 
THE RECOGNIZED CHIEF. 199 
 
 representatives encouraged and promoted, Mr. Hayes re 
 warded these men for their services with high offices, and 
 bestowed upon the members of the Returning Board, upon 
 state officers, and party managers, and on many of the sub 
 ordinate rogues, honorable and lucrative Federal offices. 
 
 John Sherman was the recognized chief of " the visiting 
 statesmen " in New Orleans. His name heads the signa 
 tures appended to the report, made to the President of the 
 United States, which attempts a defence of the illegal and 
 indefensible conduct of the Returning Board, and presents 
 in support thereof, a mass of ex-parte affidavits. The manu 
 facture of these affidavits has already been noticed. The elec 
 tion law of Louisiana which created the Returning Board, 
 and vested it with extraordinary powers, was unquestionably 
 unconstitutional, and had been so adjudged by Senator 
 Edmunds* and a majority of the Senate of the United 
 States, in the spring of 1875, on the question of seating 
 Pinchback, as Senator from Louisiana, whose credentials 
 were based on an election by a legislative body, a majority 
 of whose members had been " counted in " by the Return 
 ing Board. 
 
 But waiving the question of constitutionality, it will cer 
 tainly be admitted that the Returning Board could have no 
 legal powers save those conferred upon it by the election 
 law. If those powers could only be exercised in certain 
 contingencies, when certain forms, prescribed by the law 
 itself, had been strictly complied with, then, of course, the 
 Returning Board exceeded its authority if it exerted power 
 in the cases wherein it had no jurisdiction whatever. 
 
 It is an incontestible fact that John Sherman and his 
 associated " visiting statesmen " learned, immediately on 
 their arrival in New Orleans, that the Louisiana election 
 
 * See Cong. Rec. Part I, Vol. IV, p. 65. 
 
200 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 law * required the commissioners of election to certify to 
 the supervisors of registration for their parishes the facts 
 concerning any occurrences which in their judgment had 
 invalidated the elections at the polling places where they 
 were the officers ; that this certificate must be verified by 
 three respectable citizens, qualified voters, at that voting 
 place. 
 
 These certificates coming to the supervisors of registra 
 tion were to be forwarded to the Returning Board, and they 
 alone gave jurisdiction to that body. The supervisors of 
 registration could report only such facts as related to the 
 registration of voters, because they had no personal knowl 
 edge of anything else. 
 
 Before the Returning Board began its sessions, on the 
 iyth of November, it was known to the members thereof, 
 to the Republican managers, and to " the visiting states 
 men," that in not one single instance, throughout the en 
 tire state, had the election officers entered a complaint 
 against the fair, free, and peaceable character of the elec 
 tion ; that not one of the supervisors of registration had re 
 ported a single fact reflecting on the fairness, freeness, and 
 fullness of the registration in one of the parishes of the state. 
 This being so, the Returning Board was bound, legally, to 
 canvass and compile the votes as they had been returned by 
 the Commissioners of election. 
 
 And if the law even the Louisiana election law had 
 
 been obeyed the Tilclen electors, the Democratic state 
 ticket, and a large majority of the Democratic candidates 
 for the legislature, would have been found elected by ma 
 jorities ranging from 7,000 to 10,000 votes. It was, therefore 
 necessary for the Returning Board wrongfully, illegally, ar 
 bitrarily, to assume jurisdiction, and, without one jot or 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45 th Cong. 3 d Sess. p. 790. 
 
"AN AFFIDAVIT MILL." 2OI 
 
 tittle of legal evidence before it, to proceed to throw out 
 enough Democratic votes to bring in the Hayes electors, 
 the Republican state ticket, and enough candidates for the 
 legislature to give a majority in both Houses thereof. 
 
 To do this there must be some semblance of jurisdiction 
 as well as some pretended evidence. The supervisors, by 
 the express terms of the election law, were required to 
 make up their returns " within twenty-four hours AFTER all 
 returns had been received " from the commissioners of elec 
 tions, and " TO FORWARD THEM BY MAIL " to the Return 
 ing Board. This done they were functus ojficio they 
 were dead in law they could do nothing further in con 
 nection with the election. 
 
 In contemplation of the necessity for frauds, the super 
 visors of registration had been instructed* to disobey the 
 law, and, instead of forwarding their returns by mail, to 
 bring them in person to New Orleans. In the greater 
 number of cases the supervisors had obeyed their party 
 managers, instead of the law, and brought with them to 
 New Orleans their returns. They were, as necessity dic 
 tated from time to time, instructed to make in New Or 
 leans, and file with their returns, statements impeaching 
 the legality, fairness, freedom, and peaceableness of regis 
 tration and election in their parishes. For this purpose 
 there was established in the custom house " an affidavit 
 mill," where the supervisors swore to statements prepared 
 for them by Republican managers, and negroes, by the 
 scores, were brought from all quarters to make "their 
 marks," and go through the form of qualifying to affidavits 
 to sustain those sworn to by the supervisors. A committee 
 of " visiting statesmen " had supervision of the lawyers 
 who directed the manufacture of the so-called evidence. 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc., No. 31, 45th Cong., 3d Sess., p. 1460. 
 
202 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 From beginning to end the whole business was illegal,, 
 even according to the election law of Louisiana. It was 
 not what that law required. This fact every one of " the 
 visiting statesmen " knew, and they deliberately became 
 parties to the conspiracy which was formed to supply pre 
 texts for the Returning Board to assume jurisdiction, and 
 to furnish it with a lot of ex-parte affidavits as substitutes 
 for the evidence the law required. 
 
 With full knowledge of all these facts, " the visiting 
 statesmen " proclaimed in New Orleans, and subsequently 
 in their report to the President, that it was * " vital to the 
 preservation of constitutional liberty that the habit of 
 obedience to the forms of law should be sedulously incul 
 cated and cultivated, and that the resort to extra constitu 
 tional modes of redress, for even actual grievances, should 
 be avoided and condemned as revolutionary, disorganizing, 
 and tending to disorder and anarchy !" 
 
 Thus, while they preached the doctrine of rigid adher 
 ence " to the forms of law," they countenanced and en 
 couraged the widest departure therefrom. And one crime 
 led to another. Having approved departures from the 
 letter and spirit of the law, by the Returning Board, it be 
 came necessary to induce subordinates to make statements 
 which the facts did not warrant. No matter how violent 
 a partisan a man may be, he does not swear to lies for the 
 mere fun of committing perjury for his party s sake. They 
 had to be induced thereto. 
 
 John Sherman being shown a copy of a letter which 
 James E. Anderson, supervisor of the parish of East Fe- 
 liciana, had testified before the Potter committee, he had, 
 in connection with D. A. Weber, supervisor of the parish 
 of East Feliciana, received from John Sherman, that 
 
 * Senate Ex. Doc. No. 2, 441)1 Cong. 2d Sess. p. 32. 
 
THE SHERMAN LETTER. 203 
 
 worthy declared, on his oath, that while he believed he did 
 not write that particular letter, he would have written 
 " some of the things " contained in the alleged copy if he 
 had been asked so to do. 
 
 There were but three sentences in the letter. One ac 
 knowledged the receipt of a communication of even date 
 from the two supervisors the second, declared that Mr. 
 Hayes and the country at large had been placed under 
 great obligations by the actions of the supervisors, and the 
 third, pledged, in the name of Mr. Hayes, rewards for the 
 services performed. In effect, therefore, Mr. Sherman ad 
 mitted to the Potter committee that he would have ac 
 knowledged in writing to such men, that they had placed 
 Mr. Hayes under obligations and that they should be re 
 warded therefor. His language on the witness stand 
 was * There are things in this letter that I would have 
 written to them or any other men who were engaged in 
 the performance of what I believed to be their duty, if I 
 had been asked." The letter contained just two " things " - 
 an admission of obligations and a promise to discharge them. 
 What had these men done, whereby they had placed Mr. 
 Hayes under obligations which John Sherman would have 
 been willing to as Anderson claimed he did verbally and 
 in writing promise to see discharged? They had 
 made, not at the time and place and in the form re 
 quired by law, but in the custom house at New Or 
 leans, statements, prepared by others, which were, in 
 neither Anderson s nor Weber s case, filed with the com 
 missioner s returns, and their consolidation thereof, with 
 the Returning Board but sometime after the filing of 
 those records. 
 
 * Page 17, Vol. I, Rep. Potter Com. Mis. Doc. No. 31, H. R. 45th 
 Cong. 3d Sess. 
 
204 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 Mr. Sherman knew perfectly well that when the super 
 visors of registration filed their returns either by mailing 
 them, as the law required, from the parish town, within 
 twenty-four hours after all the commissioners returns had 
 been received, or by handing them personally to the Re 
 turning Board they ceased to have any official exis 
 tence that they were no longer supervisors of registra 
 tion or any other kind of officers of election. He knew 
 that they had performed all their official duties and that 
 any subsequent statements, made by them, impeaching the 
 conduct of voters, and the character of the elections, were 
 outside of the law merely the acts of private citizens and 
 ought not to have been received by the board. 
 
 But unless such statements were procured to be filed 
 with the board it could have no sort of pretext for throwing 
 out Democratic votes. The supervisors of registration 
 knew this and hence they exacted consideration, or the 
 promise thereof, for their work. Some of them added the 
 crime of forgery to that of perjury without apparently in 
 creasing their demands. 
 
 John Sherman was made Secretary of the Treasury in 
 " recognition " of the important services he had rendered 
 in Louisiana, and to satisfy the men who had assisted in 
 the perpetration of the frauds that they would be rewarded. 
 He was confirmed March 9, 1877. The place of Secretary 
 of the Treasury is the post of most intrinsic importance 
 in the Federal administration. 
 
 At that particular juncture its consequence was vastly 
 increased by the funding operations which had been pro 
 vided for by Congress in 1875. Hundreds of millions were 
 involved and the opportunities for friends, and favored 
 banks and bankers, to profit by the business were very great. 
 These great opportunities were not neglected. One bank in 
 
STANLEY MATHEWS. 2O5 
 
 the city of New York had the use of many millions of the 
 government money for month after month, which was worth 
 tens of thousands of dollars.* 
 
 Stanley Mathevvs was known to be, in a peculiar sense, 
 the friend of R. B. Hayes. Very soon after his arrival in 
 Florida W. E. Chandler telegraphed, in cipher, to the 
 private secretary of Mr. Hayes to "send Stanley Mathews."t 
 But Mr. Mathews was in New Orleans with John Sherman, 
 Edward F. Noyes, James A. Garfield and others from 
 Ohio and other Northern states. The request of Chandler 
 was forwarded to New Orleans, but the presence of 
 Mathews was deemed indispensable in Louisiana, and Ed 
 ward F, Noyes, John A. Kasson, and Lew Wallace were 
 sent to Florida. 
 
 * There were $740,000,000 of four per cent, bonds sold at par less a 
 half of one per cent, commission, netting 99^ cents. Within a very short 
 time the market value of these bonds advanced to 107 a profit to specula 
 tors of $115,500,000! The principal purchaser at 99^ was the First Na 
 tional Bank of New York whose magnificent structure on the corner of 
 Broadway and Wall streets is universally known as Fort Sherman. This 
 bank with a capital of only half million dollars on June 14, 1879, owed the 
 United States $128,109,071 for bonds. It was an institution of obscure and 
 uncertain credit at the time its present owners came into control, which 
 singularly enough, was of the same date as the incoming of the fraudulent 
 administration. At a time when the four per cents were selling rapidly and 
 the government could easily and safely have advanced the price Mr. Sher 
 man announced that he had received subscriptions for all he could sell. 
 The First National Bank was the subscriber for all that were for sale. 
 There were $100,000,000 of 10.40 bonds held by the national banks and de 
 posited as security with the government for circulation. They were called 
 by Sherman and the banks had to replace them with four per cents. They 
 could only get them of the First National Bank of New York. Within a 
 week "fours" went up to 106. 
 
 Some of the national banks would not be fleeced and held off buying. 
 This got the First National Bank of New York into temporary trouble and 
 Mr. Sherman had to come to its rescue. The Treasurer of the United 
 States Aug. i, 1879, drew on the bank for $6,000,000. Mr. Sherman was 
 in Maine making political speeches. The bank telegraphed him and he 
 telegraphed the Treasurer to hold up. Mr. Sherman hurried from Maine 
 to Washington and issued an order extending the time two months in 
 which the pet bank could pay for its bonds. It got out of its temporary 
 trouble, kept up the price of bonds, drew $800,000 interest on them while 
 they held them, in addition to the premium at which they were sold. 
 
 f H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31. 45th Cong, ad Sess. p. 407. 
 
206 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 Mr. Mathews took an active part in all that pertained to 
 the fraudulent count by the Returning Board, and mani 
 fested the deepest interest in satisfying the claims of the 
 carpet-baggers, after the fraud had been consummated, by 
 the inauguration of Hayes. He was one of the Republican 
 counsel before the Electoral Commission and was chiefly 
 instrumental in inducing Southern democrats to defeat the 
 movement in the House of Representatives, which had 
 been organized to prevent the completion of the count of 
 electoral votes. As the especial representative of Hayes 
 he pledged the abandonment of Chamberlain in South 
 Carolina, and Packard in Louisiana, in return for the seat 
 ing of Hayes. 
 
 In pursuance of this understanding Mathews, on Feb 
 ruary 27, wrote Packard advising him that the Federal 
 administration would have to withdraw the military sup 
 port which sustained him, and assuring him that personally 
 he and others should not go unrewarded. " It would be 
 the duty," he said, " of the administration to take care that 
 staunch republicans like yourself, against whom nothing 
 disreputable can be alleged, should not suffer, and should 
 receive consideration and position in some appropriate 
 way." 
 
 This letter was written three days before the count of 
 the electoral votes was completed, and was shown, before 
 being dispatched to Packard, to prominent Southern demo 
 crats, as an earnest of good faith on the part of Mr. Hayes 
 and his friends, that they would turn over the government 
 of Louisiana and South Carolina to the democrats, if the 
 Southern leaders would secure the defeat of the opposition 
 in the House of Representatives to the completion of the 
 count. 
 
 Mr. Mathews was also made the custodian of a shame- 
 
A HANDSOME REWARD. 2O/ 
 
 ful agreement * made in writing between Charles E. Nash, 
 colored candidate for Congress in Louisiana, and James E. 
 Anderson, supervisor of registration for the parish of East 
 Feliciana, whereby Anderson undertook to suppress evi 
 dence establishing the fact that the democrats had fairly 
 carried that parish and the state, and Nash in return was to 
 use his influence to secure for Anderson the position of 
 Naval Officer of the port of New Orleans. 
 
 Mr. Mathews obtained that agreement from Anderson 
 and other documents he held, promising to secure him such 
 "recognition" and "consideration" as would be satisfac 
 tory to him. 
 
 In return for these services Mr. Mathews was, by an 
 arrangement made beforehand, elected to the United States 
 Senate from Ohio, for the unexpired term of John Sherman, 
 the succeeding term to be given to James A. Garfield, Mr. 
 Mathews thereafter to be given the first vacancy on the 
 bench of the Supreme Court of the United States. 
 
 In pursuance of this arrangement, Mr. Mathews was 
 nominated for justice of the Supreme Court by Hayes in 
 1880, but the Senate declined to confirm the nomination. 
 Hayes t requested his successor, Garfield, to nominate 
 Mathews again which Garfield did in 1881, and by admin 
 istration influence and the powerful cooperation of Jay 
 Gould, and other railroad magnates, the confirmation of the 
 nomination was secured. Mr. Mathews is now in the 
 enjoyment of a seat on the bench of the Supreme Court 
 and a salary of $10,000 a year. 
 
 James A. Garfield, accompanied John Sherman and 
 Stanley Mathews to Louisiana in November, 1876. He was 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 18. 
 t See N. Y. World for full particulars of this shameful transaction, 
 March 10, 1884. 
 
208 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 one of the most active, plausible, industrious, unscrupulous 
 of those invited by President Grant to go to that state. He 
 installed himself in the custom house where the affidavits 
 for use before the Returning Board were manufactured. As 
 he testified at Atlantic City in July, 1878,* he consulted 
 with witnesses and when he thought the subordinate affi 
 davit draughtsmen had not done their work well he made 
 improvements therein. Is it possible that Mr. Garfield 
 was misled by the unprincipled men with whom he was 
 thus associated? It is certain that some of the witnesses 
 he examined subsequently retracted their affidavits and 
 alleged that they were " pushed up to make them."t 
 
 D. J. M. A. Jewett, one of the shrewdest and most 
 capable of the Louisiana carpet-bag politicians, avers that 
 Garfield suggested to the Returning Board the plan to save 
 the five Hayes electors who ran behind by rejecting enough 
 polls from the returns of the parishes of Caldwell, Natchi- 
 toches, Richland, Catahoula, Iberia, Livingston, and Tan- 
 gipahoa, to make up the votes lost in Bienville and Iberia 
 where only three electors had been voted for. 
 
 In accordance with the arrangement made with Mathews, 
 Garfield was elected for the long term in the United States 
 Senate. He went to Chicago in 1880 as the friend of John 
 Sherman at the head of the delegation from Ohio, and 
 when the forces of Grant, led by Roscoe Conkling, had 
 successfully maintained for a week an unbroken front of 
 306, the managers of Blaine by a coup d etat nominated 
 Garfield. His election was admittedly secured by the lavish 
 use of money in the October contest in Indiana, and the 
 November struggle in New York. 
 
 Chester A. Arthur, who managed the distribution of " the 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 789. 
 t Ibid, p. 471. 
 
WILLIAM M, EVARTS. 209 
 
 soap," as he euphoniously termed it, subsequently, gave the 
 credit of the success in Indiana to Stephen W. Dorsey of 
 " Star Route " infamy. 
 
 William M. Evarts who in 1875, on the occasion of the 
 interference of the military, under the orders of President 
 Grant, with the organization of the Louisiana House of 
 Representatives, unqualifiedly denounced that act as well 
 as all the proceedings and acts of the Louisiana carpet 
 baggers and Returning Board in the election of 1874, 
 whereby the will of the people of that State was defied, 
 went to New Orleans, at the invitation of the President, " to 
 see that the board of canvassers make a fair count of the 
 votes actually cast," and prostituted his reputation and 
 fame, as a great lawyer, by countenancing the illegal acts 
 of the same Returning Board whose conduct he had con 
 demned in 1875. 
 
 No man knew better than Mr. Evarts that the Return 
 ing Board, under the Louisiana election law, was obliged 
 " to canvass and compile " the returns of the commissioners 
 of election from all polls whereat there had been " a fair, 
 free, and peaceable registration and election," and that 
 unless these commissioners had certified that the election 
 was not fair, free, and peaceable, the Returning Board had 
 no power whatever to go back of the same. He knew, 
 moreover, that the supervisors of registration were, in all 
 things pertaining to the election, simply ministerial officers, 
 and that it was their bounden duty to forward the returns 
 of commissioners of election from every poll in their par 
 ishes to the Returning Board; and that they could not 
 legally refuse to include any poll in their statement of the 
 votes ; and that the only irregularity they could report to 
 the Returning Board was concerning the registration of the 
 voters. 
 
 14 
 
210 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 The fact was notorious that not one of the commission 
 ers of election in the entire state had reported that the 
 election held on November yth, was affected in any 
 way by intimidation, acts of violence, or any of the 
 other causes, which, the law said, might invalidate the 
 same. He knew also that not one supervisor of registration 
 had at the time and place, and in the manner required by 
 the election law, certified that there had been any " intimi 
 dation, tumult, acts of violence, disturbances, bribery or 
 corrupt influences" which had in any manner affected the 
 "fair, free, and peaceable" character of the registration 
 and election. 
 
 And, yet, Mr. Evarts united with John Sherman, James 
 A. Garfield, and others, in a declaration made over their 
 signatures, in New Orleans, and published to the world on 
 November 16, 1876, that "it is, in our judgment, so vital 
 to the preservation of constitutional liberty that the habit 
 of obedience to the forms of law should be seduously incul 
 cated and cultivated, and that resort to extra constitutional 
 modes of redress, for even actual grievances, should be 
 avoided and condemned as revolutionary, disorganizing, 
 and tending to disorder and anarchy." 
 
 This was mere hypocracy nay, it was worse than the 
 conduct of the Pharisees who took " tithe of the mint, the 
 anise, and cummin, and neglected the weightier matters of 
 the law." It was deliberate, dishonest asseveration that 
 they held in such sacred reverence even "the forms" of the 
 law, that they would frown upon any departure therefrom, 
 well knowing that the Returning Board would have to dis 
 regard " the forms," as well as the letter and spirit, of the 
 law in order to count in the Hayes electors. The assevera 
 tion was made to deceive the great public, and to cloak the 
 contemplated frauds of the Returning Board in declaring 
 
E. W. STOUGHTON. 211 
 
 chosen the Hayes electors who had been defeated at the 
 polls by more than 7,000 votes ! 
 
 Mr. Evarts united, also, with his co-defenders of frauds, 
 forgeries, and perjuries, in their report to the President 
 which was as infamous for suppressionis vert as for 
 suggestions falsi contained therein. He was the leading 
 counsel of Hayes before the Electoral Commission and 
 strove with all his great ingenuity and eloquence to justify 
 crimes which he had countenanced and encouraged in 
 Louisiana, if he had not been art and part therein. He 
 was rewarded by being made the premier of the fraudulent 
 administration. 
 
 E. W. Stoughton was no less conspicuous, though, 
 less useful, because of his inferior capacity, in New 
 Orleans, in the disreputable work of stimulating the Louisi 
 ana rogues to disregard law, justice, and right, and 
 without adhering to even " the forms " prescribed by an un 
 constitutional law, to declare chosen the Hayes electors. 
 He prepared the report to the President, commonly known 
 as the Sherman report, because his name is the first signed 
 thereto, justifying the monstrous conduct of the Returning 
 Board. It was accompanied by the synopsis of the ex-parte 
 affidavits prepared by Garfield and Courtlandt Parker. 
 There were 375 printed pages of the affidavits, and in 
 nearly every instance they were procured from ignorant 
 negroes who did not know what they were swearing to, or 
 did not care whether they were telling the truth or not. 
 Those made by white men were in large part for " consid 
 eration " and " recognition " in the future. 
 
 The report itself was filled with misrepresentations, and 
 falsehoods, and contained, among other shameless things, 
 fulsome eulogies of, and certificates of good character for, 
 the members of the Returning Board, two of whom were 
 
212 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 utterly characterless, while the other two were mulattoes, 
 one of whom was a self-confessed petty thief, and the other 
 an ignorant but willing knave. 
 
 For these services, as well as for the inconsequential 
 part he bore in advocating the approval of the manifold 
 frauds, forgeries, and perjuries by the Electoral Commission, 
 he was made minister plenopotentiary and envoy extrordi- 
 nary to Russia, which post he held from October 30, 1877, 
 to April 12, 1872 receiving in salary $77,626.25. 
 
 John M. Harlan, of Kentucky, was one of three per 
 sons, sent to Louisiana in the spring of 1877, by Hayes, to 
 be present, in New Orleans, when, in pursuance of the 
 agreement made by Stanley Mathews and others, on behalf 
 of the fraudulent administration, the Federal troops were 
 withdrawn from New Orleans, and the bogus Packard 
 government abandoned to its fate. Mr. Harlan and his as 
 sociates concluded, on their arrival in New Orleans, that it 
 would be well to aid the democrats in procuring enough of 
 the members of the Packard legislature who had been 
 elected, without the aid of the Returning Board, to desert 
 to, and join with, the Nichols legislature. 
 
 Packard had remained obdurate and would not respond 
 to the appeal of Stanley Mathews, and insisted that his title 
 to the governorship of Louisiana was neither better nor 
 worse than that of Mr. Hayes to be President of the United 
 States. It was, therefore, deemed advisable not to compel 
 Hayes to openly admit the illegality of the Returning 
 Board s acts, by abandoning Packard without some pretext. 
 
 The pretext was furnished by Harlan, and his co-com 
 missioners, managing the breaking up of the quorum of 
 Packard s legislature. This was accomplished by guaran 
 teeing the seduced Packard adherents their pay in full, 
 from January i, 1877, by the Nichols government, and a 
 
THEIR REWARDS. 213 
 
 bonus in cash. Mr. Harlan and his fellow-commissioners 
 appeals and arguments, unsupported by more weighty con 
 siderations, would doubtless have availed little with the 
 corrupt cattle who adhered to Packard s fortunes. 
 
 Mr. Harlan * was rewarded for his services in success 
 fully conducting this mission with a seat on the bench of 
 the Supreme Court of the United States, his commission 
 bearing date Nov. 24, 1877. The position is for life, with 
 a salary of $10,000 a year. 
 
 Joseph R. Hawley, of Connecticut was a " visiting 
 statesman " to Louisiana and played a subordinate, though 
 doubtless, not an unimportant, part in giving moral (?) 
 support to the " cogging, cozening, knaves " who counted 
 in the Hayes electors. He was made commissioner to the 
 Paris Exposition of 1878 with a salary of $10 per day and 
 expenses. 
 
 John Coburn, a rural politician from Indiana, was 
 serviceable in some capacity, in Louisiana, at the time of 
 the Returning Board s operations and, as his reward, re 
 ceived the place of commissioner to lay off into lots gov 
 ernment land at Hot Springs, Arkansas, salary $10 per 
 diem and expenses. 
 
 Eugene Hale, and William D. Kelley, members of 
 Congress from Maine, and Pennsylvania, were also " visit 
 ing statesmen " to Louisiana, to lend the weight of their 
 names, position, and character, to bolster the acts of men 
 like Wells, Anderson, Kellogg, and the other characterless 
 conspirators engaged in stealing the vote of that state. Hale 
 and Kelley received no promotion at the hands of the 
 fraudulent administration they aided to make, but, doubt 
 less they fared well in the general distribution of patronage. 
 
 * See testimony of H. V. Boytiton, p. 396. H. R. Mis. Doc., No. 31, 
 45th Cong., 3d Sess. about Harlan s expectations before going to N. O. 
 on this mission. 
 
214 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The character Gen. Sheridan gave Wells: "Apolitical trickster and 
 dishonest man": Well s anxiety to be bought : The messages he 
 sent to the republicans in Washington by a government agent: 
 His letter to Senator West ; "There s millions in it": The gov 
 ernment agent s interview with Don. Cameron: The electoral votes 
 of Louisiana offered to the democrats for $1,000,000: The proposal 
 indignantly spurned: The arrangement made with the visiting 
 statesmen: The money Kellogg raised for some purpose: How 
 the visiting statesmen stood by the members of the Returning 
 Board : The disgraceful telegram to Tom Anderson : The history 
 of the trade by which Hayes was finally counted in: New and 
 interesting facts concerning the filibustering in the House of Rep 
 resentatives : The Wormley Hotel conference: The trial and con 
 viction of Tom Anderson for forgery. 
 
 J. MADISON WELLS, president of the Returning Board, 
 was removed from the provisional governorship of Louisi 
 ana by General Phil. Sheridan in 1867, because he was " a 
 political trickster and a dishonest " man. One of the 
 serious charges Gen. Sheridan preferred against him was an 
 attempt to dishonestly finger " some of the money " ap 
 propriated to repair the ruined levees. The legislature had 
 passed two bills, one creating a board of commissioners to 
 supervise the repairing of levees, and another appropriating 
 $4,000,000 to defray the cost of the same. Having passed 
 these bills the legislature adjourned before the governor 
 had approved or disapproved the bills. Wells approved 
 the one appropriating the $4,000,000 but did not sign the 
 
A DISHONEST MAN. 215 
 
 one creating the board to expend the money. He made a 
 board of his own and issued some of the bonds provided 
 for in the bill appropriating the money. This Gen. Sher 
 idan properly characterized as dishonest. He also declared 
 in a letter written to Secretary Stanton, June 3, 1867, as 
 follows : " I say now, unequivocally, that Governor Wells 
 is a political trickster and a dishonest man. I have 
 watched him and his conduct has been as sinuous as the 
 mark left in the dust by the movements of a snake. I say 
 again he is dishonest." 
 
 With this record before them the Republican " visiting 
 statesmen " pronounce the following general commenda 
 tion on Wells administration of Louisiana which General 
 Sheridan so emphatically condemned : * " Under the 
 Banks reconstruction scheme he was chosen lieutenant- 
 governor on the ticket with the honorable Michael Hahn, 
 who was elected governor, and upon the election to the 
 Senate of the latter, a year after, Mr. Wells became gov 
 ernor of the State, to which office he was almost unani 
 mously reelected under the reconstruction plan of Presi 
 dent Johnson. His experience in public life has been 
 great and varied, and his capacity to discharge the duties 
 assumed cannot be questioned." Not a word about his re 
 moval by General Sheridan because of his general dis 
 honesty and his unlawful attempt to finger " some of the 
 money " appropriated for the repair of levees ! 
 
 Notwithstanding the certificate of good character which 
 " the visiting statesmen " gave Wells after he, in connection 
 with Tom Anderson and the two mulattoes, had performed 
 the rascally work of counting-in the Hayes electors neither 
 the administration at Washington, the carpet-baggers in 
 Louisiana, nor John Sherman and his associates felt sure of 
 
 * Senate Ex. Doc, No. 2, 44th Cong., 2d Sess., p. 6. 
 
216 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 the Returning Board at the outset. The greed of Wells 
 was notorious and his venality a matter of record. He 
 was the holder of a large amount of state warrants * which 
 were worth in the market about 30 per cent of their face 
 value. Wells insisted that these must be cashed at their 
 face and the money had to be raised for that purpose. 
 
 At the same time the Treasury Department at Washing 
 ton sent a special agent post haste to New Orleans osten 
 sibly to procure evidence against certain cotton claims but 
 really to watch the Returning Board, f This agent of the 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31,45^1 Cong. 3 d Sess. p. 1426. 
 
 t The following official correspondence shows the purpose for which 
 the government agent was sent to New Orleans, and also that he was im 
 plicitly trusted by high officials. 
 All Official Letters to this Office must be addressed to the " Commissioner 
 
 of Internal Revenue," and in replying to Letters from this Office the 
 
 marginal initials should be referred to. 
 
 TREASURY DEPARTMENT, 
 
 Office of Internal Revenue, 
 WASHINGTON, Nov. n, 1876. 
 
 You are hereby assigned to the Revenue Agents District com 
 prising the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, with your station 
 address at New Orleans. 
 
 You will at once proceed to New Orleans, and enter upon duty in the 
 District to which you are assigned. 
 
 Respectfully, 
 
 H. C. ROGERS, 
 
 T TT ., Acting Corn-mis sioncr. 
 
 Jos. H. Maddox, Esq., 
 
 Revenue Agent, 
 HEW Washington, D. C. 
 
 OFFICE OF COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS 
 
 J. H. MADDOX. ESQ.. WASH.NOTON, D. C.. Nov. I4 , l87 6. 
 
 Special Agent Int. Rev., 
 
 New Orleans, La. 
 Dear Sir. 
 
 ****** 
 
 I understand Gen. Logan did not go to N. O. as requested 
 by the President. I saw Secretary Chandler yesterday with reference to 
 what had been said to Collector Casey of N. O. about your going to La. to 
 get the information about the purposes of the shot-gun democracv towards 
 the returning board of that State and he said he had no special instruc- 
 
 It is apparent that the dem s. expect to prove (?) that the parishes show- 
 
WELLS IN THE MARKET. 2 IJ 
 
 government was an old friend of Wells, a man of experi 
 ence, courage, and ability. It did not take him long 
 to ascertain what Wells was up to. The man " the visiting 
 statesmen " eulogized in their report to President Grant 
 was in the market. He wanted to serve his party friends 
 if they would pay therefor, but if they did not come down 
 according to his notion of the importance and value of his 
 services he was willing to sell justice to his enemies and 
 " make a fair count of the votes actually cast." 
 
 Inasmuch as Washington was the headquarters he 
 thought it would be best for the government agent to pro 
 ceed there forthwith and make known the situation. For 
 that purpose Wells gave him first two letters, written Nov. 
 
 ing majorities for them have held fair elections and those opposed to them 
 have been dishonestly conducted. I would suggest that their plan will be 
 to hire " witnesses." 
 
 If you can get into their confidence and obtain proof of the perjury, 
 and get witnesses from their own ranks you will do an invaluable service 
 and entitle yourself to the gratitude of the country. It may be possible that 
 the controversy will be brought up in the Senate, and in that case your 
 proofs will tell. Another point was just suggested to me, as soon as they 
 get their testimony manufactured, the mob of high-toned democrats who 
 are therefrom the North, at the suggestion of Congressman Hewitt, will be 
 gin to flood the North with telegrams, giving the manufactured evidence 
 the weight of their respectability, for the purpose of arousing the passions 
 of the mob, against submission to the final result. You can easily ascer 
 tain this fact and suggest to Packard the advantages of anticipating their 
 purpose by telegraphing North, an exposure of this purpose. 
 
 You need make no reports except to me, and when in your judgment 
 you have finished the duties assigned you return here : this instruction is 
 given, of course, on the assumption that you have no other, except what 
 were based on my note of the nth inst. to Gen. Sewall. 
 
 Write often. 
 
 Very respectfully, W. B. MOORE. 
 
 OFFICE COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS, 
 
 WASHINGTON, D. C., Nov. 27, 1876. 
 J. H. MADDOX, ESQ., 
 
 No. 137 Bienville St., N, O. 
 My Dear Maddox : 
 
 I enclose copy of my communication to Hon. Secre 
 tary of the Treasury dated 24th inst. in which I ask to have you reimbursed 
 tor what you expect to pay for information. You can prepare your vouchers 
 in accordance with the reasons set forth therein. 
 
 I called upon the President this A. M. but he said he was engaged on 
 
218 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 20, and one written Nov. 21, * to exhibit to those most con 
 cerned. The two first differed slightly. One was a gen 
 eral letter of credit from Wells and was brief and to the 
 point. It ran as follows : " You fully understand the situ 
 ation. Can you not advise with me relative thereto ?" 
 The other, intended for exhibition to Republican leaders, 
 was more obscure, but there could be no mistake as to its 
 
 his message and would rather I would come next week. My object was to 
 talk of the S. S. Div.; of Judge Griswold s case, and other matters gener 
 ally. And I did not want to talk under circumstances that would embar 
 rass me, so, I suggested the delay myself. 
 
 You have heavy responsibilities on your shoulders and must encourage 
 the board to perform their duties manfully: the President s assurances to us 
 on Friday last, guaranteeing their safety, has received practical confirma 
 tion of his purpose to act in his order of this morning to stand by Cham 
 berlain in South Carolina. Let me hear from you promptly. 
 
 Yours etc., W. B. MOORE. 
 
 OFFICE COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS, 
 
 WASHINGTON, D. C., Nov. 17, 1876. 
 JAS. H. MADDOX, ESQ., 
 
 Custom House, N. O., La. 
 My Dear Maddox : 
 
 I have seen ex-Att y-General Williams and he ap 
 proves the suggestion that you be pressed for the office of Chief of the 
 Secret Service Division of the Treasury. I have not yet attempted to see 
 President Grant; the developments in the Dept. not yet having culminated 
 to a degree that would justify my approaching the President with reference 
 to the S. S. force. 
 
 There are grave reasons developing why a man unquestionably loyal 
 to the President should be at the head of that bureau ; one who has the pene 
 tration to see the purpose of the traitors who are attempting to count Til- 
 den in by intimidation and brow-beating the Returning Board at New 
 Orleans, and the courage to suppress them should they attempt to bring 
 their ku-klux tactics to Washington, should the controversy be transferred 
 to Congress. 
 
 ******* 
 
 If Louisiana is not counted for Hayes it is the purpose of every patriot 
 to urge on the Senate to throw out every state in the South where there is 
 proof of intimidation. This will effect Miss., Georgia, Alabama, and pos 
 sibly Texas. 
 
 I have no fears of a conflict. My only fear is that there will be none. 
 The bold impudence of treason that now seeks to censure the Republican 
 party for wanting to keep them out of control needs another flogging and 
 they ought to be accommodated. 
 
 Direct to me care of the Commissioners of Customs. 
 Very truly, 
 
 W. B. MOORE. 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 42, 44th Cong. 2d Sess. p. 144. 131. 178, 180. 
 
" MILLIONS IN IT." 2IQ 
 
 real meaning. Wells said : " Understanding the political 
 condition of matters here from association with both po 
 litical parties, and a friend of the President and a govern 
 ment officer, would it not be considered a part of your duty 
 to go at once to Washington with as little delay as pos 
 sible, and place before the President the condition and im 
 pending dangers of the situation ? Should you conclude 
 by prompt action in the premises, allow me to commend 
 you to Senator West, who is my friend, and with whom I 
 trust you will freely communicate." 
 
 The letter of November 21 was addressed to Senator 
 West, and was to be handed to him by the agent of the gov 
 ernment. It was a most remarkable letter clumsily 
 cloaking the real designs of the writer in awkward and faulty 
 language protesting his own virtues, but to one like West, 
 who understood the man, it in effect said " there s mil 
 lions in it ; somebody may offer me my price ; the faithful 
 ought to be rewarded ; how much can we make out of it ? 
 A hint to the wise. You know how it is yourself." 
 
 Wells knew West they knew each other. The career 
 of both will long be remembered in Louisiana. West began 
 his career as a supercargo on one of the vessels of Zacharie 
 & Co., of New Orleans, and was dismissed for dishonesty. 
 He left New Orleans between two days, and brought up in 
 California where he barely escaped doing that state some 
 service in the convict s garb. He entered the Union army 
 and became a colonel of cavalry. At the close of the war 
 he returned to New Orleans and was made supervisor of 
 internal revenue, but his operations in California becoming 
 known, Secretary McCulloch dismissed him. However, he 
 became administrator of public improvements under Gov 
 ernor Warmoth, an office with almost unlimited opportuni 
 ties for plunder. From this position West stepped into the 
 
220 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 United States Senate. Senatorial honors in those days went 
 cheap for cash in Louisiana.* Wells knew to whom he 
 was writing when he penned the following letter : ** 
 
 "NEW ORLEANS, La., Nov. 21, 1876. 
 
 My Dear Senator : I regret not seeing you when here : I wanted to 
 say much to you which would be at least imprudent to put on paper. I 
 trust, however, to meet you in Washington as soon as the canvass is 
 over which is now on us. Our duties as returning officers have aug 
 mented to the magnitude of the destinies of the two great parties ; 
 may I not say the nation ? 
 
 I fully comprehend the situation as well as my duty to the greatest 
 living General U. S. Grant : and not with my consent shall this op 
 pressed people be governed by his paroled prisoners, aided by their 
 white-livered cowards of the North. Let me, my esteemed sir, warn 
 you of the danger. 
 
 Millions have been sent here and will be used in the interest of 
 Tilden, and unless some counter move, it will be impossible for me or 
 any other individual to wrest its productive results. The gentleman 
 presenting this is fully aware of the moves, and if you will allow, will 
 communicate freely. See our ( friends and act promptly or results will 
 be disastrous. A hint to the wise. Strictly confidential. 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 J. MADISON WELLS." 
 
 Armed with these letters the agent of the government 
 came to Washington and called upon the President and ex 
 plained the situation in Louisiana. t The President was 
 impressed with its gravity and sent the agent to see Zach. 
 Chandler, giving him a card on which was written : 
 
 t " I wish the Sec. of the Int. would see Mr. Maddox Spl. agt, of 
 the Treas. who has just returned from New Orleans, and has valuable 
 information. 
 
 U. S GRANT. 
 
 Nov. 24th, 76." 
 
 * Tilden and Hendricks Campaign Text Book, 1876, p. 108. 
 ** H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 42 Part 2, 44th Cong. 2nd Sess. p. 180. 
 t Ibid, p. 148, 155. 
 t See fac-simile of this card in Appendix. 
 
WANTED TO BE BOUGHT. 221 
 
 What the interview with Chandler was we do not 
 know, but the agent subsequently called upon Don. Cam 
 eron, Secretary of War, and explained to him that Wells 
 was in the market and his price to the democrats was one 
 million dollars.* 
 
 It may reasonably be presumed that Mr. Cameron, 
 with his long experience at Harrisburg, concluded that the 
 democrats would not pay that sum, and that Wells could 
 be satisfied by the republicans for a much less amount. 
 At any rate he gave the agent no encouragement. 
 
 Meeting an old friend, Col. John T. Picket, a distin 
 guished ex-confederate, then living in Washington, the 
 agent told him that he was authorized by Wells, in the 
 event of the republicans failing to appreciate the value of 
 his services, to dispose of the electoral votes of Louisiana 
 to the democrats for $1,000,000. 
 
 Col. Picket, who knew the character of the Louisiana 
 rogues, believed that justice might be bought, but could be 
 had in no other way. He felt it to be his duty to lay the 
 proposition before the National Democratic committee. 
 He accordingly went to New York for that purpose, and 
 the agent of the government communicated with Wells by 
 telegraphic cipher that the negotiation was in progress and 
 to " hold " things. 
 
 t Col. Picket submitted the proposition to Hon. Abram 
 S. Hewitt, the Chairman of the National Democratic com 
 mittee who unhesitatingly and indignantly rejected it. 
 
 Aside from this positive proof of the corruptibility of 
 Wells, there is a great deal of indirect, as well as circum 
 stantial evidence, to prove that Wells was anxious to be 
 bought. 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 42, 44th Cong. 2d Sess. p. 148. 
 t Ibid, p, 133. 
 
222 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 He was quite willing, as the testimony of Duncan F. 
 Kenner,* of New Orleans, shows to sell the returns of the 
 Democratic state ticket for $200,000 but would not agree 
 to " count the votes actually cast " for the Tilden electors 
 for that sum. He had, at his own request two or three in 
 terviews with Mr. Kenner, on the subject of the return of 
 the Democratic state ticket for that sum of money. As 
 will appear hereafter, in the account of the services of Jack 
 Wharton ** and his reward therefor, the " dickerings " of 
 Wells were fully known to Packard and other carpet-bag 
 gers and caused great uneasiness. 
 
 There is evidence tending to show that Kellogg f raised 
 a considerable sum of money in New Orleans during the 
 progress of the count by the Returning Board. He re 
 lated to a group of senators in one of the cloak rooms of 
 the Senate chamber, in the presence of W. E. Curtis, J cor 
 respondent of the Chicago Inter-Ocean, the circumstances 
 connected with this transaction and claimed unequivocally 
 that the money was used to secure favorable action by the 
 Returning Board. Subsequently Kellogg claimed that the 
 money was for his brother-in-law, but this explanation was 
 a very lame one and was entirely at variance with the story 
 told to his senatorial friends. 
 
 The subsequent command which Wells and Anderson 
 exercised over the Federal patronage of Louisiana, and the 
 subserviency of the fraudulent administration to them, can 
 not be explained on any other theory than that the former 
 dictated their terms and compelled adherence thereto. 
 
 The purchasing power of patronage is very great. 
 There is a certain dignity connected with the dispensing of 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 42, 44th Cong, ad Sess. pp. 376-387. 
 ** Page, 275 post. 
 
 t H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong, ad Sess. p. 666-7. 
 t Statement of Mr. Curtis to the author. 
 
THEY WERE REWARDED. 223 
 
 the favors of a great government which is very gratifying 
 to men like Wells and Anderson. It gave them an impor 
 tance and a political standing which money would not 
 have given them. Their utter depravity and insensibility 
 to shame made them, to a large extent, regardless of public 
 sentiment and they would have sold their past grievances 
 and along therewith the return of the Democratic electors 
 and the state ticket for a much less sum than their asking 
 price. 
 
 One hundred thousand dollars a piece, with " a sop " 
 for " the two niggers " * as Wells termed his colored asso 
 ciates of the Returning Board, would have been thankfully 
 accepted by Wells and Anderson. All they wanted was 
 assurances from responsible parties that the money would 
 be forthcoming and they would have come to an under 
 standing without delay. 
 
 Failing to get assurances which Wells deemed satisfac 
 tory from Kenner, and the overtures to the National Dem 
 ocratic committee being spurned, there can be no sort of 
 doubt that Wells and Anderson made the best terms they 
 could with " the visiting statesmen " and the local carpet 
 bag and scallawag capitalists. 
 
 There is no evidence that they had an understanding 
 with " the visiting statesmen " other than that which subse 
 quent developments furnished. Wells and Anderson and 
 their relatives were rewarded with lucrative and command 
 ing Federal offices. When the members of the Returning 
 Board were indicted by the grand jury of New Orleans for 
 the forging and falsification of the Vernon parish returns, 
 John Sherman, James A. Garfield, Stanley Mathews, 
 Eugene Hale, and Harry White, all " visiting statesmen," 
 sent, Feb. 4th, 1878, to Tom Anderson, who was then 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 42, 44th Cong. 2d Sess. p. 145. 
 
224 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 being tried for, and who was three days later convicted by 
 an honest jury on which were two colored men, of the 
 crime of forgery, the following dispatch : * 
 
 " The undersigned feel it due to you, under present circum 
 stances, to assure you of our unhesitating belief that in the matter 
 wherein you stand charged, you are altogether guiltless of any offense 
 against law; that you are falsely accused and maliciously prosecuted; 
 that the proceedings against you, though in the form of law, are without 
 the substance of justice; that we, hereby, tender our earnest sym 
 pathies, and express our hope that the sense of justice and love of 
 peace of the people of Louisiana, will protect you, and not permit the 
 best interests of the whole country to be disturbed by a revival of sec 
 tional animosities. In any event we are confident that the American 
 people will redress any injustice of which you may be the victim." 
 
 It may be confidently asserted that five distinguished 
 men who had been honored by their fellow-citizens never 
 before, in the history of the English speaking people, set 
 their " signs manual " to so infamous a paper ! 
 
 Let us briefly review a piece of antecedent history in 
 connection with this message to Anderson. The dem 
 ocrats of the House of Representatives who felt deeply 
 outraged by the partisan decisions of the Electoral Com 
 mission in the Florida and Louisiana cases organized a fil 
 ibustering movement to defeat the count of the electoral 
 votes. It was deemed a revolutionary movement by the 
 more moderate Democratic representatives, who felt that 
 their agreement to the Electoral Commission bill bound 
 them to accept in good faith the result, notwithstanding the 
 iniquitous rulings of the partisan commissioners. How 
 ever, their sympathies were so strongly with their more im 
 petuous brethren that it only required a manifest and il- 
 
 * N. Y. Sun, Feb. 12, 1878. 
 
FILIBUSTERING. 22$ 
 
 legal ruling of the President of the Senate during the open 
 ing of the returns from Vermont to carry the entire Dem 
 ocratic majority of the House of Representatives over to 
 the side of the filibusters. 
 
 The House of Representatives received the official no 
 tice of the Electoral Commission s decision in the Louisi 
 ana case on Feb. 17, 1877. This was Saturday. The Re 
 publican plan was to proceed with the count that day and 
 night till the next state, Oregon, from which there were 
 duplicate returns, was reached. The filibustering move 
 ment began by the democrats voting that the House take 
 a recess till Monday, Feb. iQth. 
 
 On Monday the joint meeting was resumed, when the 
 protests to the decision of the Commission were presented 
 and read and the Senate withdrew, and thereupon the 
 House took a recess till Tuesday, Feb. 20. The debate 
 on the Louisiana decision occurred that day. It was now 
 apparent that the Democratic majority in the House could 
 defeat the count by persisting in its filibustering. But 
 eleven days remained in which it could be completed. 
 There were objections to particular electoral votes from 
 the states of Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Rhode 
 Island, and Wisconsin, and duplicate returns from Oregon, 
 South Carolina, and, it was claimed by the democrats, 
 from Vermont also. 
 
 The programme of the filibusters was to secure one day 
 by taking a recess and by debate on each of the states of 
 Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Wis 
 consin. This would consume five of the eleven remaining 
 days. It would be quite easy to dispose of the six days 
 left with Oregon, South Carolina, and Vermont before the 
 Commission. This programme was faithfully carried out 
 until Vermont was reached, Wednesday evening, Feb. 28th. 
 
 15 
 
226 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 The President of the Senate claimed that he had not re 
 ceived two returns from Vermont. 
 
 The democrats insisted that two had been sent. Mr. 
 Hewitt, Chairman of the National Democratic committee, 
 had received a duplicate of the Democratic return by mail, 
 with a letter which stated that another had been sent to the 
 President of the Senate. On Feb. 27, Mr. Hewitt called 
 upon the President of the Senate and asked him if he had 
 received two returns from Vermont. Mr. Ferry replied 
 that he had not. Mr. Hewitt asked if there was not one 
 addressed to him in the Post-office, and Mr. Ferry said 
 that he did not know ; all he knew was that he had not re 
 ceived one either by mail or messenger. Thereupon Mr. 
 Hewitt drew from his pocket the return from Vermont and 
 tendered it to President Ferry who refused to receive it, 
 saying that Mr. Hewitt was not such a messenger as was 
 contemplated by the law, and that the tender was made 
 too late. 
 
 In the joint meeting on Feb. 28, when the State of Ver 
 mont was reached, Mr. Hewitt made a statement and pre 
 sented the package purporting to be a return from that 
 state. The presiding officer, the President of the Senate, 
 refused to receive it, and then came the crucial test. 
 
 If the Democratic majority stood firm the two returns 
 would have to go to the Commission, or the count would 
 be at an end. If they went there, under the rules of that 
 body, the democrats could easily consume the remaining 
 three days. After a short struggle, formal objections were 
 presented against receiving the one return which the Presi 
 dent of the Senate had submitted, and the two Houses 
 separated. The House by previous unanimous consent 
 took a recess till 10 o clock Thursday morning, March 
 first. On that day the memorable contest over the 
 
CRISIS OF THE COUNT. 22; 
 
 vote of Vermont began. It was the crisis of the long 
 struggle. 
 
 Immediately upon the reassembling of the House the 
 point was made that there was not a quorum present, and 
 two roll calls were gained by the filibusters, which, with 
 points of order consumed two hours, and at 12 M. a new 
 legislative day began. It was opened with prayer, and the 
 Speaker directed the journal of the previous day to be read. 
 A motion to suspend the rules and dispense with the read 
 ing was made which required a roll call. Then followed a 
 wrangle over questions of privilege, all of which consumed 
 time. Finally a resolution was offered requiring the Presi 
 dent of the Senate to receive the package purporting to 
 contain a return from the State of Vermont, and that it be, 
 together with the one already opened, submitted to the 
 Electoral Commission, and declaring that until this was 
 done the House would not meet the Senate to proceed 
 with the count. 
 
 Before this resolution was voted on, inquiry was made 
 for the package which Mr. Hewitt had tendered to the 
 President of the Senate in the joint meeting the previous 
 day. This led to a startling statement, to the effect that 
 the package had been carried off by the Secretary of the 
 Senate, who refused to deliver it up on the ground that it 
 was the private property of Mr. Ferry, President of the 
 Senate. In the then temper of the House this was like 
 touching a lighted match to a train of powder. 
 
 The scene that ensued was indescribable. The floor 
 was crowded by senators and other privileged persons. It 
 seemed impossible for the Speaker to make himself heard. 
 The filibusters had up to this point been losing ground 
 steadily during the preceding twenty-four hours, but now 
 the tide turned in their favor, and it seemed impossible that 
 
228 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 any human power short of actual violence could check 
 it. 
 
 Just then a Senate page appeared on the floor of the 
 House and offered the package to Mr. Hewitt who refused 
 to accept it. The page would not tell where he had received 
 it, or who had sent him on his errand. The debate on the 
 resolution above referred to proceeded and despite the 
 efforts of the republicans to save themselves from the mis 
 take made by the Secretary of the Senate in carrying off the 
 package, the filibusters nearly carried the day. The reso 
 lution was lost by thirty-two votes. How this majority of 
 thirty-two was obtained is not only interesting but bears 
 directly upon the telegram above quoted from Sherman and 
 others to Anderson. 
 
 The representatives of the Nichols government in 
 Louisiana had, as far back as February the i6th, the date 
 of the decision of the Electoral Commission in the Louisi 
 ana case, been endeavoring to secure some pledges from 
 the friends of Hayes that if he was counted in the republi 
 cans of Louisiana and South Carolina would be aban 
 doned. Stanley Mathews, ex-Governor Dennison, Charles 
 Foster, and Lieutenant-Governor Young of Ohio were 
 quite willing to give any pledges or promises to that effect, 
 and Stanley Mathews a few days later wrote a letter to 
 Packard foreshadowing the course of Hayes if he became 
 President, a copy of which was shown to prominent South 
 ern democrats. 
 
 But these assurances coming from the personal repre 
 sentatives of Hayes were not considered sufficient unless 
 John Sherman and James A. Garfield joined in them. In 
 asmuch as they appeared reluctant to join in the ar 
 rangement, the Southern democrats, rallied by the represen 
 tatives of Nichols and Hampton, entered heartily and solidly 
 
BURKE S TESTIMONY. 229 
 
 into the filibustering movement. Major E. A. Burke testified 
 before the Potter committee in 1878 that notice was served 
 on the friends of Hayes that unless the leading and promi 
 nent Republican leaders like Sherman and Garfield were 
 brought to join in the pledges the electoral count would be 
 defeated.* 
 
 The action of the House on Saturday February 17, in 
 taking a recess till Monday, the iQth, and in taking a further 
 recess that day till Tuesday, the 2oth, brought Sherman and 
 Garfield to a condition of mind in which they were willing 
 to discuss terms with Major Burke, and Representatives 
 Ellis and Gibson of Louisiana, and Senator Gordon of 
 Georgia who represented Wade Hampton of South 
 Carolina. 
 
 On the 2oth Senator Lamar of Mississippi was told that 
 Mathews and Foster would both agree on behalf of Hayes 
 that Packard should be abandoned if he was counted in. 
 This Lamar communicated to Ellis in writing t and that 
 same day Mathews and Dennison came to Burke, Ellis, and 
 Gibson and proposed an interview with Sherman in the 
 Senate finance committee room. Previous to this Mathews 
 and Burke had agreed upon a memorandum of points which 
 the Nichols government would guarantee if it was recog 
 nized by the Hayes administration provided it was allowed 
 to come in. 
 
 Among other things was the following: f " Desirous of 
 healing the dissensions that have disturbed the State for 
 years past, and anxious that the citizens of all political 
 parties may be free from the feverish anxieties of political 
 strife to join hands in honestly restoring the prosperity of 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 971. 
 t Ibid. p. 973. 
 + Ibid, p. 1037. 
 
230 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 Louisiana, the Nichols government will not engage in the 
 persecution of individuals for past political conduct, but do 
 not assume to grant immunity for crime." At the meeting 
 with Sherman this memorandum was submitted to him and 
 explained. He evidently did not like the last clause " but 
 do not assume to grant immunity for crime." 
 
 However, a conference was arranged to be held at Mr. 
 Mathews rooms at Wormley s Hotel* which took place on 
 the night of the 26th of February. There were present 
 Sherman, Garfield, Foster, Dennison, and Mathews on the 
 part of the republicans, and Burke, Ellis, Levy, and Watter- 
 son on the part of Southern democrats. The latter guar 
 anteed that the memorandum submitted to Mathews should 
 guide the conduct of the Nichols government and the 
 former pledged Hayes to recognize the Nichols govern 
 ment. 
 
 The agreement was reached on the night of the 26th,* 
 but after that the filibustering in the House continued and 
 the Southern democrats did not desert their Northern 
 brethren till March the first when the test vote came on the 
 resolution to compel the President of the Senate to receive 
 and lay before the joint meeting of the two Houses the 
 alleged return from Vermont. 
 
 What transpired between the night of the twenty-sixth 
 of February and March first, we do not certainly know. 
 But the impression very generally prevailed then, and has 
 not been abandoned since by well-informed persons, that 
 there was a formal ratification of the agreement reached at 
 the Wormley Hotel Conference by Mr. Hayes in writing 
 and that a more definite pledge was made on the part of the 
 representatives of Nichols that the members of the Louisi 
 ana Returning Board should not be prosecuted. 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. $d Sess. p. 980. 
 
HAYES PLEDGES. 231 
 
 Of course, if such an understanding was reached and 
 put in writing all the parties to it would have the most 
 powerful motives for concealing the fact. It would, if it 
 could have been proved, have been sufficient to secure the 
 impeachment of Hayes. It would on the other hand have 
 damned politically the democrats who entered into it. No one 
 of the parties thereto could have survived the disclosure of 
 such a deliberate bargain and purchase and sale of the 
 Presidency. 
 
 There was just about time two days for a messenger 
 to have gone from Washington to Columbus and returned. 
 At any rate during the roll call on the resolution aforesaid 
 Burke, Ellis, and Levy were active on the floor of the 
 House in securing votes against it. Burke came to Mr. 
 Springer of Illinois who was active in the filibustering 
 movement and urged him to desist, assuring him that they, 
 the representatives of Nichols and Hampton, had " in black 
 and white " assurances from Hayes that he would abandon 
 Chamberlain and Packard. 
 
 Mr. Levy of Louisiana came to Mr. Hewitt and urged 
 him to exert himself to stop the filibustering. Mr. Foster 
 of Ohio was rushing about the floor of the House like a 
 wild man importuning democrats to vote against the resolu 
 tion. He urged Mr. Hewitt to see Speaker Randall and 
 appeal to him to exert himself in the same direction. The 
 combined efforts were sufficient to defeat the resolution, 
 but the filibusters were still formidable, and it was not till 
 4 o clock Friday morning, March 2, that the count was 
 finally completed and Hayes and Wheeler declared to be 
 President and Vice-President of the United States. 
 
 Returning to the telegram of February 4, 1878, to An 
 derson and comparing it with the memorandum agreed 
 upon at the Wormley Hotel conference we will see that the 
 
232 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 senders of the former had the latter in their mind. The 
 "hope " that they expressed therein, " that the sense of jus 
 tice and love of peace of the people of Louisiana, will pro 
 tect you, and not permit the best interest of the whole 
 country to be disturbed by a revival of sectional animosi 
 ties," was not only a reference to the agreement aforesaid 
 but was intended to remind the Nichols government of its 
 pledges. 
 
 The dispatch was sent just before the case against An 
 derson was submitted to the jury and was undoubtedly 
 intended to have an effect on the jurors. There was a 
 covert threat in it to wit that Anderson s conviction 
 would cause " a revival of sectional animosities." But not 
 content with sending this telegram they caused Hayes to 
 instruct the Attorney-general to make application to Justice 
 Bradley for the interference of the United States Court, 
 Bradley being the justice assigned to that circuit. This was 
 abandoned, however, for reasons which have never been 
 made known. 
 
 The Supreme Court of the state, as will appear more 
 fully hereafter, found a way to let Anderson out of jail. 
 Wells, just as soon as he learned that criminal proceedings 
 were to be commenced fled from New Orleans, and 
 remained in hiding until the Supreme Court set Anderson 
 at liberty. 
 
 As " recognition " of his services, Wells was allowed to 
 hold the office of surveyor of the port of New Orleans 
 from 1879 to 1882 and to receive in salary during that time 
 $21,000, while his sons drew almost an equal amount from 
 the Federal treasury. 
 
 Thomas C. Anderson, member of the Returning Board, 
 was likewise a man of bad repute. He had engineered 
 through the legislature, while he was a State Senator, during 
 
TOM. ANDERSON. 233 
 
 the reign of corruption under Warmoth, a bill to pay the 
 claim of one Weil, for supplies, alleged to have been fur 
 nished the State of Louisiana, in Confederate times. It was 
 barred by the amendment of the Constitution of the United 
 States as well as by the provisions of the constitution of 
 Louisiana, but these provisions were of small moment to a 
 carpet-bag and scallawag legislature when the job was suf 
 ficiently large to afford a liberal commission. 
 
 After the bill passed, and the claim was paid, Anderson 
 was found to be the owner of it, and to have received the 
 proceeds tess the " divies " necessary to secure the votes to 
 pass the bill. Anderson was made deputy-collector of the 
 port of New Orleans in " recognition " of his services, 
 August 27, 1877, and held the same until he was succeeded, 
 July 2, 1885, by Hon. B. F. Jonas, who was appointed 
 collector of the port of New Orleans, July i, 1885. During 
 the seven years, ten months, and six days Anderson held 
 office for his services in 1876, in counting in the Hayes 
 electors, he drew from the Federal treasury salary amount 
 ing to $22,500. 
 
 During the June term of the Superior Criminal Court 
 for the parish of Orleans, State of Louisiana, in 1877, the 
 grand jury, after a full and careful examination, directed the 
 district attorney of the first judicial district to file an in 
 formation against, J. Madison Wells, Thomas C. Anderson, 
 Louis M. Kenner, and Gadane Cassannave for falsely and 
 feloniously uttering and publishing as true a certain altered, 
 false, forged, and counterfeited public record to wit, the 
 consolidated statement of votes, parish of Vernon, made by 
 the supervisor of registration for said parish, whereby 
 falsely and feloniously 178 votes were added to the num 
 ber of votes actually cast for the Republican electors, 
 and 395 votes were deducted from the number of votes 
 
234 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 actually cast for the Democratic electors by the voters of 
 said parish.* 
 
 In pursuance of the order by the grand jury the district 
 attorney, by direction of the court, filed the information. 
 Thereupon J. Madison Wells fled from the city of New 
 Orleans and hid in the swamps northeast of the city. And 
 when the sheriff of New Orleans attempted to serve the 
 writ of arrest on Thomas C. Anderson in the custom 
 house on the 25th and 26th of January, 1878, he was first 
 obstructed and then arrested by the United States marshal 
 on a charge of attempting to injure property belonging to 
 the United States. 
 
 A force of marines from a United States revenue cutter 
 were stationed in the custom house, and all the doors 
 leading to the rooms in which Anderson had taken refuge 
 were barred, and United States deputy marshals were 
 posted in front thereof. Upon the sheriff attempting to 
 force his way into one of the ante-rooms a deputy marshal 
 arrested him and carried him before Judge Billings of the 
 United States District Court who declined to take cogni 
 zance of the case, whereupon the sheriff was taken before 
 a United States commissioner who, upon an affidavit made 
 by the chief clerk of the custom house, held him in recog 
 nizance for his appearance thereafter. 
 
 Two days later the United States District Attorney in 
 formed the sheriff that orders had been received from 
 Washington to allow the warrant of arrest to be served on 
 Anderson. The fraudulent administration upon reflection 
 thought it would not be prudent to obstruct the course of 
 justice in Louisiana. Public sentiment was not favorable 
 to the exercise of such unconstitutional authority. Ander- 
 
 * "Report of trial of Thos. C. Anderson," New Orleans, 1878, au 
 thority for all statements concerning that occurrence. 
 
FORGERY ADMITTED. 235 
 
 son, Kenner, and Cassannave were arrested in the office of 
 the collector of customs on the 28th of January, 1878, and 
 brought into court, and upon motion of the Attorney-gen 
 eral of the state a severance was had and the trial of Ander 
 son proceeded. Kenner and Cassannave were held in bail 
 in the sum of $5,000 each. Wells still remained in hiding. 
 
 The trial of Anderson lasted until February 7th when 
 the jury brought in a verdict of guilty with a recommenda 
 tion to mercy. A motion for a new trial was made and 
 hearing had thereon, but it was overruled and Anderson 
 was sentenced to two years at hard labor in the State peni 
 tentiary and to pay the costs of prosecution. 
 
 The trial was a perfectly fair one. The accused was 
 defended by the first criminal lawyer of the state, Hon. H. 
 C. Castellanos, a democrat, assisted by E. North Cullom 
 and John Ray. The defense did not claim that there had 
 not been an alteration, forgery, and falsification of the con 
 solidated statement of votes for the parish of Vernon, but 
 claimed that it was not a public record within the meaning 
 of the law; that the only public and true record of the 
 election held in Vernon parish on the 7th of November 
 1876 were the returns of the commissioners of the election 
 at the divers polls in the said parish. It was also claimed 
 that, while the consolidated statement of votes had been 
 altered and forged and falsified, there was no proof of An 
 derson s connection therewith. 
 
 It was, however, clearly proved that Anderson was 
 present at the session of the Returning Board, November 
 24, 1876, when the returns from Vernon parish were 
 opened; that the consolidated statement showed that two 
 of the Republican electors received no votes and the rest 
 only two votes each, while the Democratic electors received 
 647 votes each ; that there were no allegations before the 
 
236 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 board of fraud or intimidation affecting the vote of this 
 parish. The original consolidated statement then before the 
 board giving the vote, as above, was marked by one of the 
 Democratic lawyers and it was produced by the proper 
 custodian on the trial, identified by these marks, and it 
 showed that the alterations had been made by adding 178 
 votes to the votes for Republican electors and by deducting 
 395 from the votes of the Democratic electors. The 
 official vote as promulgated by the Returning Board on 
 December 6, 1876, showed that these additions and sub 
 tractions had been made in the vote of Vernon parish. 
 The burden of proof was, therefore, upon Anderson to show 
 that he was not a party to this alteration, forgery, and falsi 
 fication, of the record which had been made by the mem 
 bers of the Returning Board. This the defense utterly 
 failed to do. 
 
 It was, moreover, proved, and not contradicted, that 
 other records had been tampered with, altered, and falsi 
 fied, by the Returning Board during the progress of the 
 count, notably in the cases of the returns from De Soto and 
 Ouachita parishes. The judge who presided at the trial 
 was eminently fair and impartial in his rulings, and no ex 
 ceptions were taken to his charge to the jury. There were 
 two colored men on the jury. 
 
 The case being carried up to the Supreme Court it was 
 held that the point made by the defense, viz.: that the con 
 solidated statement made by the supervisor of registration 
 was not the election return contemplated by the constitu 
 tion and, therefore, the alteration of the same was not the 
 forgery and falsification of a legal record. 
 
 This decision was applauded by the Republican press 
 of the entire North. It was a consistent and just decision, 
 and in harmony with the judgment of the United States 
 
HAYES PAYS CASH. 
 
 Senate which held in 1875 with Senator Edmunds that the 
 election law of Louisiana was unconstitutional because it 
 was not in accordance with section 48 of the constitution 
 of the state. Article 48 makes the commissioners of elec 
 tions the returning officers. Therefore the Returning Board 
 was an unconstitutional body. 
 
 Anderson was made deputy collector of the port of 
 New Orleans in "recognition" of his services, August 27, 
 1877, and held the same till July i, 1885 receiving dur 
 ing his seven years, ten months, and six days term $22,500 ! 
 
 Louis M. Kenner, mulatto member of the Returning 
 Board, was made deputy naval officer of the port of New 
 Orleans July 24, 1877, and held the place till January 9, 
 1882, when Kellogg secured it for one of his creatures who 
 had rendered him more recent service in the Spofford- 
 Kellogg contest. However, Kenner had been in the 
 receipt of $2,500 per annum for four years and nearly six 
 months a total of $10,937 ! 
 
 Gadane Cassannave, the other mulatto member of the 
 Returning Board, nearly three years after the great fraud 
 had been consummated, thought he had cause of serious 
 complaint against the administration he had helped to make. 
 It happened in this way the lawyers, who defended the 
 members of the board in the criminal proceedings instituted 
 by the state for the forgery of the Vernon parish return, 
 obtained a judgment against them for their fees, and upon 
 execution issuing, Cassannave was the only one found with 
 property, neither Wells, nor Anderson, nor Kenner having 
 anything in the parish of Orleans upon which the sheriff 
 could levy. 
 
 Cassannave was an undertaker and his outfit was seized, 
 and was about to be sold, whereupon he came to Washing 
 ton and demanded relief. After some delay the money was 
 
238 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 furnished through Shellabarger & Wilson, the private coun 
 sel of Hayes and Sherman. 
 
 At that time Cassannave stated that he had not desired 
 office for himself, and that his brother St. Felix Cassannave 
 who held a position in the custom house obtained the 
 same without his interference. On the other hand he asserted 
 that Wells, Anderson, and Kenner had a great many 
 of their relatives in the custom house. The following was 
 the list he gave * : C. B. Anderson, son of T. C. Anderson, 
 clerk, salary $1,400; Ben. Bloomfield, Anderson s son s 
 father-in-law, auditor, salary $2,500; Geo. L. Bloomfield, 
 brother-in-law of C. B. Anderson, clerk $1,200; Alex. 
 Wells, son of J. Madison Wells, deputy surveyor, salary 
 $2,500; S. S. Wells, another son, salary $1,800; R. B. 
 Rodenson, son-in-law, salary $1,600; Alex. Kenner, 
 brother of Louis M. Kenner, clerk, salary $1,600; Richard 
 Kenner, another brother, laborer, salary $600. 
 
 Cassannave came to Washington in no amiable mood and 
 served notice on Mr. Shellabarger, the legal representa 
 tive of Hayes, that unless something was done forthwith he 
 " would expose the whole matter of the Returning Board 
 proceedings and go home and pocket the loss." He was 
 advised by that gentleman not to be too hasty, and to set 
 out his case in full in a letter to the President, which was 
 done for Cassannave by his attorney, J. Hale Sypher, 
 late carpet-bag statesman from Louisiana, now residing in 
 Washington, D. C.* On the ;th of August the letter 
 was delivered to Hayes and Sherman, and on the i5th the 
 money was telegraphed to New Orleans to stop the sale of 
 Casannave s effects by the sheriff. 
 
 The letter of Cassannave to Mr. Hayes, which brought 
 a prompt response in the shape of the required amount of 
 
 * N. Y. World. Aug. 19, 1879. 
 
DARED NOT REFUSE. 239 
 
 money, pointed out the propriety of making Wells, Ander 
 son, and Kenner bear the costs of the prosecution. They 
 had reaped the benefits of the work of the Returning 
 Board were in the enjoyment of lucrative offices be 
 stowed upon them by the chief beneficiary of the Louisi 
 ana frauds. But the fraudulent administration did not dare 
 to make Wells, Anderson, and Kenner meet their obliga 
 tions. On the contrary it recognized the claim of Anderson 
 that the fees of the lawyers who had defended the members 
 of the Returning Board ought to be paid out of " funds to 
 be sent from Washington." John Sherman it seems from 
 Cassannave s letter was willing to recognize the justice of 
 Anderson s claim to the extent of $100 which Cassannave 
 thought, and very properly, was an exhibition of meanness 
 unbecoming " the great Finance Minister of our govern 
 ment." Whether all the money required by Cassannave was 
 made up by " assessments " on the members of the cabinet, 
 or came out of Mr. Hayes salary is not known.* 
 
 * " WASHINGTON, D. C. Aug. 7, 1879. 
 Mr. President: 
 
 I have the honor to invite your attention to the following 
 facts, upon which I respectfully solicit such relief as you may be able to 
 offer me. In 1872 I was elected by the senate of Louisiana a member of 
 the Returning Board of that state. I did not desire nor solicit the office, and 
 I accepted it with great reluctance. In 1876 the grave and responsible duty 
 of determining the result of the election for President of the United States 
 devolved upon that board. Its deliberations were watched with profound 
 solicitude by the whole country, while the leaders of the two great political 
 parties hovered around it awaiting the result of its deliberations with that 
 intense anxiety only known to expectants of the spoils of public office. The 
 board found for the republicans, and the democrats, disappointed and 
 chagrined, at once commenced criminal proceedings against its members. 
 Counsel were employed to defend for a stipulated fee of $5,000, which Mr. 
 T. C. Anderson assured me would be paid out of funds to be sent from 
 Washington. 
 
 At the conclusion of the prosecution counsel demanded their fee, which 
 not being paid they instituted suit, and after a hearing in court, obtained 
 judgment against all the members of the board. A writ fieri facias, copy 
 herewith inclosed, issued, directing the sheriff to seize and sell sufficient 
 property of defendants to satisfy the judgment of $5,000 less $1,875, The 
 sheriff finding no property belonging to Anderson, Wells, and Kenner, 
 seized my property and now holds the same subject to sale under his writ. 
 If my property is sacrificed under that execution it will render me bank- 
 
240 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 A. C. Wells, son of J. Madison Wells, was appointed 
 deputy surveyor of the port of New Orleans, Sept. 28, 
 1876, salary $2,500 a year. He held the office five years, 
 three months and six days, receiving during that time, 
 $13,125. 
 
 Samuel S. Wells, son of J. Madison Wells, held a place 
 
 rupt. I am a poor man and am unable to sustain such a loss. I have al 
 ways assumed a full share of the responsibility attaching to the official acts 
 of the Returning Board, although I have never enjoyed any of the fruits 
 resulting from its findings, and in this connection I respectfully remind you 
 that I hold no office under your administration and have derived no pecu 
 niary benefits whatsoever therefrom. But, on the contrary, I have sustained 
 considerable loss in my business on account of my identity with the board. 
 Messrs. Anderson, Wells, and Kenner, the other three members and their 
 numerous family connections are enjoying lucrative positions in the employ 
 of the government. 
 
 I protest against being mulcted for the cost of the criminal proceed 
 ings against the Returning Board while others enjoy the honor and emolu 
 ments resulting from its decision. It is neither just nor honorable to im 
 pose this heavy burden upon me. It would be more becoming the bene 
 ficiaries of our acts to discharged this debt. Upon my arrival in Washington 
 two weeks ago, I was assured upon the promise of Assistant Secretary 
 Hawley that the amount required to satisfy the judgment would be raised 
 as soon as the Secretary returned. I called upon Mr. Sherman yesterday 
 and he proffered me $100 as the only relief he could offer me, which I was 
 compelled to decline out of respect for the great Finance Minister of our 
 government. I expect to take my departure for Louisiana in a few days, 
 and if any arrangement can be made of this matter to offer me relief, to 
 which, under these circumstances, I believe I am justly and honorably en 
 titled, I will be under obligations to those through whose influence it may 
 be accomplished. 
 
 I am very respectfully, 
 
 G. CASSANNAVE. 
 Hon. John Sherman, Secretary of the Treasury : 
 
 DEAR SIR : I herewith inclose you a copy of an unofficial letter ad 
 dressed to the President, 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 G. CASSANNAVE. 
 Washington, D. C., Aug. 7, 1879. 
 
 WASHINGTON, D. C., Aug. 13, 1879. 
 E. North Cullom, Exchange Alley, Custom House Street, New Orleans: 
 
 Should we send $1,000 more on Returning Board judgment will you 
 give reasonable time for balance. 
 
 SHELLABARGER & WILSON. 
 
 NEW ORLEANS, La., Aug. 13, 1879. 
 Messrs. Shellabarger <5r> Wilson, Washington, D. C. : 
 
 If you will send me $250 more making a total of $i,75oand Cassannave 
 will give security not to dispose of his property I will wait till January i. 
 
 E. NORTH CULLOM. 
 
A SPECIMEN BRICK. 241 
 
 in the New Orleans custom house, from May, 1877 till 
 1882 at a salary of $1,400 a year, and received during 
 that time $7,000. 
 
 Charles B. Anderson, son of Thos. C. Anderson, has 
 held a place in the New Orleans custom house since 
 1877, recieving a salary of $1,400 a year, making a total 
 of $11,200. 
 
 York A. Woodward, a clerk of the Returning Board 
 who, with G. B. Davis, assisted James F. Littlefield, to 
 execute the orders of J. Madison Wells in altering, forging, 
 and falsifying the returns from Vernon parish, was ap 
 pointed a clerk in the New Orleans custom house, Oct. 
 8, 1877, salary $1,400 a year. Feb. n, 1878, he was 
 promoted to be assistant deputy surveyor under J. Madison 
 Wells, salary $1,600 a year. In 1882 he was transferred 
 to the U. S. Mint, New Orleans, salary $1,250 a year. 
 
 Charles S. Abell, secretary of the Returning Board, has 
 an interesting history. He is a native of Ohio and came 
 to Louisiana in 1869 from North Carolina as an agent of 
 the Freedman s Bureau. He resigned and was made an 
 assistant assessor of internal revenue at Shreveport, La., 
 and while in this office was elected to the legislature from 
 Bossier parish in which he had not been, even as a 
 visitor, ten consecutive days. After serving one term in 
 the legislature he was appointed division superintendent of 
 public education for the fourth district which included the 
 Red River parishes. 
 
 The school law enacted by the carpet-bag legislature, 
 placed the entire control of the school fund and the man 
 agement of the educational system in the hands of the gov 
 ernor. He appointed a general superintendent and di 
 vision superintendents, and they constituted the local 
 school boards for every parish in the state. The people 
 
 16 
 
242 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 had no more voice in the school management than they 
 had in the affairs of Turkey. The school fund was sys 
 tematically plundered and there was scarcely a pretense in 
 many parishes of keeping the schools open. 
 
 From the school board, Abell went into the Returning 
 Board at a salary of $7 a day, and also held at the same time 
 a position as flour inspector. When the Packard govern 
 ment broke up Abell was appointed a clerk in the New 
 Orleans custom house at a salary of $1,200, and July 9, 
 1878, was promoted to $1,600 a year. On July i, 1885, 
 he was a $1,200 clerk in the custom house, having been 
 there continuously from 1877. His total pay in that time 
 was $8,266.59. 
 
 As secretary of the Returning Board Abell had charge 
 of the reception of returns filed by the supervisors of regis 
 tration, or as they came by mail. He was, in connection 
 with other clerks, caught falsifying the records in the cases 
 of returns from the parishes of De Soto and Ouachita, He 
 knew of the forgery and falsification of the returns from 
 Vernon parish. His previous history proves that he was 
 an unscrupulous and unprincipled man who could be safely 
 trusted by the members of the Returning Board to do any 
 disreputable and unlawful work assigned him. 
 
 Judge G. B. Davis, a clerk of the Returning Board has 
 also an interesting history. He, too, came to Louisiana as 
 an officer of the Freedmens Bureau. A native of Massa 
 chusetts, he was from 1865 in the service of the Freed 
 mens Bureau till it was wound up, and then became a 
 deputy collector of internal revenue, and served in this ca 
 pacity till 1876, when he was employed as a clerk by the 
 Returning Board. During part of the time he was in the 
 internal revenue service from 1870 to the summer of 1876, 
 he was also parish judge of East Baton Rouge. 
 
DAVIS AND GREEN. 243 
 
 This was an important judicial office and yet Davis 
 had never been admitted to the bar and knew nothing 
 whatever of the civil law which prevails in Louisiana. 
 During the time he was parish judge he lived in open, 
 flagrant adultery with a colored woman whom he had ar 
 bitrarily divorced from her husband. Davis and Abell, 
 fair specimens of the carpet-bag office-holders, were made 
 judges and legislators by appointment or through the man 
 ipulation of the Returning Board. 
 
 After his service as a clerk of the Returning Board ter 
 minated, Davis was employed as a clerk in the office of F. 
 A. Woolfley, the United States commissioner, who had been 
 the chief administrator of oaths for the " outrage mill " in 
 the custom house during Nov. 1876. Subsequently he 
 was employed in the custom house. 
 
 He assisted York A. Woodward and Jas F. Littlefield 
 to execute the orders of J. Madison Wells in falsifying and 
 altering the Vernon parish returns. Having charge of the 
 clerks compiling the returns he directed them to bring up 
 the vote for any Republican electors running behind to 
 that of those having the greatest number. In compiling, 
 the consolidated statements of the supervisors of registra 
 tion were used, and when, as was frequently the case, sev 
 eral of the Republican electors in different parishes did not 
 receive as many votes as some of their colleagues did, 
 Davis ordered the clerks to make the vote for electors even 
 by erasing and putting in the highest figures. These alter 
 ations on the consolidated statements were fortified by 
 making corresponding changes on the tally sheets and on 
 the commissioners returns. 
 
 W. H. Green, colored, was the minute clerk of the Re 
 turning Board. His duty was to keep a journal of the pro 
 ceedings of the board during the open sessions when the 
 
244 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 visitors were present the object being to make a show 
 of regularity and deliberateness in the conduct of the can 
 vass. But this was all sham. 
 
 The real work of the Returning Board was done in 
 secret sessions and there no minutes were kept. The com 
 piling clerks under Davis made the votes of all Republican 
 electors equal and Abell looked after the details of the 
 throwing out of polls. Green, however, on account of his 
 former connection with the board was implicitly trusted, 
 and assisted in the clerical work of compiling. He was 
 appointed a clerk in the custom house, Sept. 20, 1877, and 
 two years later was made an inspector at $3 per day. 
 
 Charles Hill, a clerk in the state auditor s office was 
 detailed for clerical work to the Returning Board. He 
 was also the bearer, in place of Thomas C. Anderson, of 
 the forged certificates of electoral votes to the President of 
 the Senate, leaving New Orleans Dec. 29th, 1876, and ar 
 riving in Washington January 3d, 1877. Anderson had 
 carried the first and defective certificate to Washington and 
 on discovering its defects, after advising with "leading 
 friends" there, brought it back to have it "fixed." Not 
 being able to return with the forged certificate Hill acted 
 in his place. 
 
 Hill testified to the Potter committee that Kellogg 
 gave him a letter to Zach. Chandler and that Anderson 
 gave him one to Mr. Ferry, President of the Senate. The 
 record kept by the President of the Senate of the receipt of 
 electoral certificates credits Anderson with being the 
 bearer of the one received January 3d, 1877. The object 
 of this was to make his record tally with the well-known 
 fact that Anderson had been appointed by the electors, 
 Dec. 6, 1876, messenger to carry their certificate of elec 
 toral votes to the President of the Senate. Hill was ap- 
 
RAY AND LUEDLING. 245 
 
 pointed store-keeper in the New Orleans custom house, 
 Dec. 15, 1877, at a salary of $1,460 a year, and held the 
 place one year and nine months. 
 
 John Ray was the counsel of the Returning Board. The 
 law made no provision for a legal adviser to the returning 
 officers. The legal presumption, of course, was that where 
 such extraordinary powers were bestowed upon a body of 
 men the Senate would select them with a view thereto. 
 But in addition to their notorious bad character and violent 
 partisanship, the men chosen were utterly ignorant of the 
 law and without the remotest conception of judicial func 
 tions. The selection by them of John Ray as their legal 
 adviser was not for the purpose of having a man learned in 
 the law to guide them in the exercise of their great powers 
 for justice s sake, but to aid them in their contemplated 
 defeat of justice. 
 
 John Ray was one of the natives who early joined the 
 alien-spoilers of the state to profit by the plunder of the 
 people. He was a lawyer of some ability but without char 
 acter in his profession, or in the ordinary affairs of life. 
 His connection with various gigantic schemes of plunder 
 was open and notorious. His part in the attempted 
 stealing of the Vicksburg, Shreveport, and Texas Railroad, 
 and the participation therein of John Luedling, the chief 
 justice of the state, illustrates the general demoralization of 
 public and private morals which carpet-bag and scallawag 
 rule had brought about. 
 
 That corporation had been subsidized by the state and 
 had been plundered by the men to whom its management was 
 confided. Not content with this they determined to cheat the 
 bondholders and steal outright the whole concern. For 
 this purpose, Ray and Luedling formed a combination 
 with other scoundrels and, availing themselves of legal 
 
246 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 forms, carried through their nefarious enterprise. They 
 thought they were secure and laughed at the remonstrances 
 of those they had despoiled. The riot of official and pri 
 vate debauchery had continued so long unchecked that 
 they imagined the day of judgment would never come. 
 
 But their victims in this case appealed to the United 
 States courts and after many delays finally got the decision 
 of the Supreme Court of the United States thereon. The 
 opinion of the court was unanimous, and, to all who desire 
 to read a record of villainy unparalleled in the judicial his 
 tory of any country, reference is made to Jackson v. Lued- 
 ling, 2ist Wallace, United States Supreme Court reports. 
 After giving the history of the transaction the court says : 
 
 " Were there nothing more in this case than is narrated 
 by the brief history thus given, which is uncontradicted, it 
 would be difficult to characterize the transaction as any 
 thing less than a great wrong perpetrated by the agency of 
 legal forms. The great body of the bondholders could 
 have known nothing of the proceedings to sell the mort 
 gaged property and discharge their lien. Their residence 
 was remote and the sale was hurried as fast as the forms of 
 law permitted. Not a day was lost. They were not 
 afforded an opportunity to bid at the sale, or to pay off 
 Gordon s small claim of $720. Neither they nor their 
 trustee were consulted. The sale was made in a village far 
 in the interior. It was advertised in only one local news 
 paper, and not a day longer than the law required. The 
 appraisement was made at the last moment, and it was ob 
 viously intended to facilitate a hasty sale for a nominal 
 price. 
 
 " Onerous and illegal conditions of sale were exacted 
 from other bidders, but not from these purchasers, who 
 paid nothing except to themselves. A property upon 
 
A JUST DECISION. 247 
 
 which had been expended nearly $2,000,000, together with 
 a large stock subscription, a large grant of lands, and con 
 siderable movable property was bought for $50,000 by the 
 very persons who defeated a sale for a much larger price 
 ($500,000) and the purchase money was retained by them 
 selves. * * It is impossible to sustain such a 
 transaction. Throughout it was grossly inequitable. That 
 the property was sacrificed by means of an unlawful and 
 widespread combination is abundantly proved, and that 
 the directors who were parties to it, and who became the 
 purchasers, were guilty of an inexcusable violation of confi 
 dence reposed in them admits of no doubt.* " 
 
 * U. S. Rep. 21 Wallace pp. 621-2, 631. 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
248 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 William Pitt Kellogg s interest in the result of the Returning Board s 
 work: His character delineated: He assisted in the alteration of 
 the affidavit of Supervisor Kelley : His part in the forgery of an 
 ante-dated set of electoral certificates : His knowledge of the forg 
 ing of the names of Levissee and Joffroin, two absent electors, to 
 the electoral certificates : Kellogg took into his confidence William 
 M. Evarts, E. W. Stoughton, Zach. Chandler, and Senator Mor 
 ton : The knowledge of the forgery must have been known to the 
 other so-called Republican electors: Kellogg s negro messenger 
 threatened to "peach " and was taken care of by Kellogg : Kellogg 
 had to buy his seat of the Returning Board Legislature : He filled 
 the New Orleans custom house with the rascals in order to get 
 them to retract affidavits : How Kellogg was saved from indictment 
 and conviction for bribery while a senator by George Bliss : How 
 the Hayes electors were rewarded: Packard got "consideration 
 and position." 
 
 WILLIAM PITT KELLOGG, Governor of Louisiana, by virtue 
 of the illegal order of United States District Judge Durell, 
 and the unlawful enforcement thereof by Federal troops, 
 acting under orders from President Grant, was the head 
 and front of the local conspiracy to deprive the people of 
 that state of their choice of Presidential electors and imme 
 diate rulers. 
 
 Kellogg s direct personal interest to be subserved was to 
 secure a legislature that would elect him to the United 
 States Senate. The entire machinery of election was sub 
 ject to his control. He made the supervisors and assistant 
 supervisors of registration for every parish and ward. He 
 
KELLOGG S CHARACTER. 249 
 
 dictated the appointment, by the supervisors and assistant 
 supervisors, of all the commissioners of election. The state 
 registrar of voters and his clerks were named by him. 
 
 Few shrewder and more adroit men have ever wielded 
 such vast political power. He was utterly unscrupulous, 
 thoroughly corrupt, and full of wiles. He was plausible, 
 affable, and resourceful. Personally mean and grasping, he 
 was liberal with the people s money and content with a fair 
 share of the common plunder. In dealing with a man like 
 Wells who was passionate, revengeful, and violently par 
 tisan, but greedy for money and power, Kellogg was with 
 out an equal. He knew the right chord to touch and the 
 right suggestion to make. He could flatter, fawn upon, 
 appeal to, and cajole a subordinate who owed everything to 
 him. He rarely resorted to dictation. He preferred to 
 wheedle, to promise, and to tempt. He had one failing 
 which would have brought to grief in a short time, a less 
 plausible fellow. He was a notorious liar, and always 
 cheated when he had the opportunity. Those who knew 
 him best would not trust him without guarantees of some 
 kind. Wells and Anderson knew him through and through 
 and admired his skill and cunning, but while they would 
 be captivated by his address, his cleverness in sugges 
 tions, they never failed to demand sponsors or an equivalent 
 in hand. 
 
 There were few if any disinterested followers in Louisi 
 ana politics. Even the negroes, who by nature were 
 grateful, soon ceased to display gratitude after they had 
 trained a little while under scallawag and carpet-bag poli 
 ticians. With rare exceptions they were cheap in price. 
 Pinchback, in whom white blood predominated, a natural- 
 born gambler, was high-priced. Dunn, a full-blooded Afri 
 can, alone had worthy ambition, but he was not incorruptible. 
 
250 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 A few of the supervisors of registration, like Grady of 
 Ouachita, Grant of Morehouse, Anderson of East Felici- 
 ana, and Scott of Claiborne, could not be controlled by 
 Kellogg s assurances and promises unguaranteed. Hence, 
 it is doubtless true that these men had to be impressed 
 and awed by interviews with visiting statesmen. There is 
 no positive evidence of this except the unsupported state 
 ments of James E. Anderson, and the hearsay declarations 
 of D. J. M. A. Jewett. 
 
 Kelley, supervisor of Richland parish, could not be 
 induced by Judge Campbell, Jewett, or Blanchard, Kel- 
 logg s executive clerk, to swear to a false statement about 
 the registration and election in his parish. Kellogg labored 
 long and faithfully with him, but exerted all his arts in vain. 
 They were compelled to accept the inadequate statements 
 he was willing to make and bring them up to the required 
 standard by forgery interlining, after the innocent things 
 had been sworn to, the falsehoods he would not swear to.* 
 
 Forgery and falsification of records were slight obstacles 
 to the Louisiana politicians of the Kellogg kidney. When 
 Wells wanted to return as elected candidates for local 
 offices in Vernon parish and had neglected to have so- 
 called evidence of intimidation provided, he promptly 
 altered, falsified, the returns by changing the Democratic 
 votes to the Republican candidates. When Tom Anderson 
 brought the certificates of electoral votes to Washington 
 and was told by the President of the Senate t that the 
 sealed envelope in which they were contained did not have 
 endorsed thereon what the law required, he went to his 
 hotel, broke the seal, which he had no right whatever to do, 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, Part 2, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. pp. 171 to 
 1778. 
 
 t H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 539. 
 
A SERIOUS MISTAKE. 251 
 
 and finding, upon consultation with " leading friends,"* that 
 the certificates were not made out in accordance with the 
 Constitution of the United States, he took the first train for 
 New Orleans. 
 
 Immediately upon his arrival Anderson hastened to 
 Kellogg and explained the dilemma they were in. What 
 was it ? The Constitution requires that the electors shall 
 make " distinct" that is separate " lists" or certificates of 
 votes cast for President and for Vice-President. They had 
 embodied the votes for President and for Vice-President in 
 one " list " or certificate. The laws of the United States 
 requires that there shall be three of those " lists " or certifi 
 cates made out and signed by each of the electors, and 
 that each of these certificates shall have appended the cer 
 tificate of the governor of the state, signed by him, coun 
 tersigned by the secretary of state, and attested by the 
 great seal of the state, certifying that the electors had been 
 " duly chosen." 
 
 The law also prescribes that the electors " duly chosen " 
 shall meet on the first Wednesday in December and pro 
 ceed to vote by " distinct " ballots for candidates for Presi 
 dent and for candidates for Vice-President, and thereupon 
 make, then and there, the " distinct " separate " lists " 
 or certificates of all the persons voted for for President, and 
 of all the persons voted for for /Vice- President. This done 
 the electors zzzfunctus officio. They are dead in law, just 
 as effectually and conclusively as if they were dead physi 
 cally. If they have failed to comply with the provisions of 
 the law, or of the Constitution, and the same is not discov 
 ered that day and corrected before they have finished, there 
 is no legal way of correcting the error, mistake, informality, 
 or non-compliance with the Constitution or the laws. 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong, sd Sess. p. 258. 
 
252 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 Anderson knew this. He was undoubtedly advised 
 thereof by " leading friends " in Washington. Kellogg 
 knew it. But they were not going to lose the Presidency 
 after all they had done, all the chances they had taken, 
 when they could quietly manufacture certificates in due 
 form. It was true they had less than two days in which to 
 do this, because, they must be in Washington on or before 
 January 3, 1877. To reach there the messenger must leave 
 New Orleans at 5:20 P. M. December 29th. 
 
 Two of the late electors, A. B. Levissee, and Oscar 
 Joffroin, were not in New Orleans, and could not be got 
 there before 5:20 P. M. December 29th. But that was not 
 an insuperable obstacle. Kellogg had clever penmen 
 at his command the genuine signatures of Levissee and 
 Joffroin could be imitated. This would be forgery, but the 
 making out of new certificates of the electoral vote would 
 be forgery ! If they had to steal a sheep why hesitate at 
 stealing a lamb ? 
 
 They might be discovered ? They could trust one an 
 other, and " leading friends " in Washington. The Presi 
 dent of the Senate, Mr. Ferry, would know that something 
 had been done, but he was too discreet to ask questions. 
 Who would suspect such a crime ? The very magnitude 
 of it its seeming impossibility would prevent even sus 
 picion. 
 
 The business of preparing new certificates for the sig 
 natures of the electors, and of the governor s certificate of 
 their election, all in triplicate, was intrusted to H. Conquest 
 Clark, Kellogg s private secretary. He performed the 
 work with dispatch, secrecy, and exactness even to fac 
 simile reproductions * printed from the same type and in 
 cluding counter signature of secretary of state and impres- 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. $d Sess. p. 258. 
 
DISCREET SILENCE. 253 
 
 sions of great seal. He arranged an " upper room " in the 
 State House, and the late electors who were accessible were 
 notified to be on hand and sign their names the requisite 
 number of times. 
 
 They came Dec. 29th, one by one, slipping in quietly, 
 and secretly going to the upper room.* They signed in 
 order as they originally appended their signatures, Dec. 
 6th. There was the necessary interval of coming, between 
 the one who had signed before Levissee, and Joffroin, and 
 the one signing after, so that those signatures could be 
 forged. The crime was systematically, deliberately, or 
 derly, committed. Levissee s and Joffroin s signatures 
 were each forged six times. 
 
 The work was done and the messenger took his depar 
 ture for Washington on the 5:20 P. M. train, Dec. 29, 
 1876, and reached there in due season and turned over to 
 the President of the Senate, Mr. Ferry, the package con 
 taining the forged electoral votes, t One of the forged cer 
 tificates of electoral votes was also sent by mail to the Presi 
 dent of the Senate, and an attempt was made to substitute 
 one of the forged sets for that one deposited Dec. 6 with 
 the judge of the United States District Court, New Or 
 leans. 
 
 " The friends in Washington " who knew of this crime 
 observed discreet silence. The fact that a set of certificates 
 of electoral votes had been prepared and dated back 
 twenty-three days was known to the President of the Sen 
 ate, Mr. Ferry, to John Sherman, to Hale and Frye of 
 Maine, on January 3, 1877, and also to Zachariah Chan 
 dler. Kellogg gave Morton to understand that it would 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 263-264. 
 t Ibid, part 2, pp. 50, 53, 54. 
 
254 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 not do to depend upon the set of certificates of electoral 
 votes last received by the President of the Senate.* 
 
 Anderson admitted that, before he opened the enve 
 lope, on Christmas day in Washington, containing the cer 
 tificate made Dec. 6, he had talked with some friends.** 
 f Clark testified that Anderson told him " leading friends in 
 Washington" thought the lists ought to be on two sheets in 
 stead of one. Of course, " leading friends " knew that a 
 new set was to be manufactured and dated back. Again, 
 it is perfectly certain that several persons knew there was 
 "something" wrong, about the certificates which were in 
 form correct. 
 
 The original intention of the conspirators was undoubt 
 edly to suppress the one of Dec. 6th, which came to the 
 President of the Senate by mail. But this had to be aban 
 doned because the United States district judge { at New 
 Orleans would not allow the package purporting to contain 
 electoral votes first deposited with him to be withdrawn 
 and another substituted in its place. 
 
 When the two Houses of Congress met in joint conven 
 tion Feb. 12, 1877, and the State of Louisiana was reached 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, Part 2. 45th Cong. 3d Sess., p. 711. 
 
 Q. " You say that when you came to Wahington, after the election of 
 1876 you had a conversation with certain friends in regard to the election 
 certificates. With whom was the conversation to which you have referred 
 to held ? A. " After I came to Washington and after the Electoral Com 
 mission had reached in its deliberations the State of Louisiana, I stated to 
 two or three (I do not recollect the number) of our friends that the certifi 
 cates, three or more in number, were not executed at the times they were 
 apparently executed. I had not thought to interfere in any manner with 
 the matter before, but when I arrived here the law had passed both Houses 
 creating the Electoral Commission ; and when the matter came before that 
 Commission (or about that time) I thought it proper to state that fact, and 
 1 did so, to Mr. Evarts, to Mr. Stoughton, perhaps to Mr. Chandler and 
 certainly to Senator Morton." 
 
 ** Ibid. p. 540. 
 t Ibid, p. 258. 
 t Ibid. p. 1106. 
 
MORTON S MOTION. 255 
 
 the President of the Senate* produced first the genuine 
 Kellogg certificate of electoral votes, second, the McEnery 
 certificates, third, two Kellogg (forged) certificates, 
 and fourth, a burlesque certificate signed by John Smith, 
 stating the vote of Louisiana belonged to Peter Cooper. 
 
 This last was ordered to be suppressed and no refer 
 ence thereto to be made in the record of the proceedings. 
 It was the first time in the history of the counting of elec 
 toral votes that a burlesque of this kind had been at 
 tempted, and coming as it did from New Orleans, it would 
 seem that it was sent for a purpose. An incident of this 
 kind would naturally tend to divert attention from the ap 
 pearance of three, instead of two, Kellogg certificates of 
 the Hayes electoral votes. 
 
 The democrats suspecting nothing wrong in the form of 
 the certificates themselves appear not to have examined 
 them at all. They had prepared beforehand their objec 
 tions to counting the vote of Louisiana, as the act creating 
 the Electoral Commission required, and all the electoral 
 certificates, together with the objections, went to the Com 
 mission. There none of the originals were read but all or 
 dered to be printed. The President of the Commission, N. 
 Clifford, numbered the certificates as follows The gen 
 uine Kellogg certificate, "No. i, N. C;" the McEnery 
 certificates, No. 2, N. C;" the two Kellogg (forged) cer 
 tificates, " No. 3, N. C." 
 
 Senator Morton, member of the Commission, who 
 "knew from Kellogg that No. 3, " would not do to depend 
 on," moved that certificate No. i the genuine one 
 which was not in form as required by the Constitution of the 
 United States should be counted. His motion, thus tech 
 nically made, was put and carried 8 to 7. 
 
 * Electoral count, pp. 205 to an. 
 
256 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 Nobody none of the Democratic lawyers, members 
 of the Commission, managers on the part of the House, 
 observed that one of the Kellogg certificates was fatally 
 defective because it did not comply with the specific re 
 quirements of the Constitution. Mr. Morton and his Re 
 publican colleagues knew of this defect, but they thought 
 it better to count their man in on a constitutionally defec 
 tive certificate than on a forged one. 
 
 And singularly enough it so happened, or was so de 
 signed,* that in printing the record of the proceedings of 
 Congress and of the Electoral Commission the forged cer 
 tificates did not appear at all.t Two copies of the one con 
 stitutionally defective certificate appear in the record. So 
 far as the published proceedings of Congress and of the 
 Electoral Commission show we would not know that two 
 other sets of certificates from the Kellogg electors were be 
 fore Congress and the Commission. It is scarcely possible 
 that this could have been accidental. Is not the conclu 
 sion irresistible that the omission was by design ? 
 
 That the forging of the names of A. B. Levissee and 
 Oscar Jorfroin was possible without the knowledge, the ap 
 proval, the instigation of Kellogg, an honest and intelligent 
 person cannot admit. Neither can it be conceived possible 
 that all the other Hayes electors who signed on Dec. 29 were 
 without knowledge of the absence of Levissee and the where 
 abouts of JorTroin. f They would naturally be put on in 
 quiry as to Levissee and Joffroin when they came to sign. 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc., No. 31, 45th Cong., 3d Sess., p. 116. 
 
 t Ibid, p. 420. 
 
 t Sheldon admitted that he knew they were not in the city on Dec. 28 
 and asked Kellogg who said he had sent for them : that Kellogg told him 
 the 2gth they had arrived which Sheldon must have known was not true, 
 because he knew that it was physically impossible to get them there in 
 that time. 
 
KELLOGG KNEW IT. 257 
 
 They knew why these second certificates had to be gotten 
 up. * 
 
 If their inquiries were evaded the evasive answers 
 would only tend to excite suspicions. It must be con 
 cluded, therefore, that Burch, Joseph, Sheldon, Marks, and 
 Brewster, knew of the absence of two of their colleagues. 
 Knowing their absence, of course, they knew that some 
 body would have to forge their signatures. But who was 
 to do the forging, or who did do it, they may not have 
 sought to know. 
 
 It is absolutely certain that it could not have been done 
 without Kellogg s knowledge, and it is almost equally cer 
 tain that it was not done without his approval or instigation. 
 Would any one of his subordinates have voluntarily 
 forged the signatures ? Men do not commit a crime of this 
 kind without an object. What object would one of Kel 
 logg s clerks have to do this forging ? To render his party 
 a great service? Men do not render their party such 
 criminal service without the hope or expectation of reward. 
 In this case the reward could only come through Kellogg. 
 Before one of his clerks, except Clark, could know that the 
 forgery was necessary he would have to be informed 
 thereof. This information could alone come through Kel 
 logg or Clark. Is it probable that a clerk would volunteer 
 the commisssion of the crime to the governor s private 
 secretary? Scarcely. He would want Kellogg to know 
 that he had rendered the all-important service. 
 
 The negro messenger, t Thomas S. Kelley testified 
 that B. P. Blanchard, Kellogg s executive clerk, forged 
 Joffroin s name, but this testimony was given under circum 
 stances, and the story was so improbable, that the con- 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc., No. 31, Part i, 45th Cong., sd Sess., p. 1274. 
 t Ibid. pp. 1148-9. 
 
 17 
 
258 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 viction is irresistible that Kellogg prompted it. Kelley 
 undoubtedly knew a great deal about the forgery. He wrote 
 to Hon. Clarkson N. Potter, June 9, 1878* that he knew, 
 and, if protected, would tell all about the crime and point 
 out the men who did it. Kellogg learned of this letter, and 
 sent a colored man, named James D. Kennedy,** an em 
 ploye of the sergeant-at-arms of the Senate, after Kelley. 
 Kelley arrived in Washington July i, 1878. The fact of his 
 being there was concealed until the committee of which 
 Potter was chairman had left Washington for the summer. 
 
 Kellogg maintained Kelley in Washington until Decem 
 ber 16, 1879 f when he had his name placed on the pay 
 roll of the New Orleans custom house. This continued 
 until March 4, 1880, when Kellogg had Kelley ap 
 pointed a clerk in the second auditor s office, where he 
 secured him two promotions. These things Kellogg did 
 for some purpose. He suffered Kelley to be more than a 
 year without government employment and manifested no 
 interest whatever in his welfare until he learned that Kelley 
 was about to " peach." Blanchard J was*dead at the time 
 Kelley testified that he forged Joffroin s name. The crime 
 or one of the crimes Kelley only swearing to the forging of 
 Joffroin s signature being laid at a dead man s door, what 
 further object had Kellogg in taking care of Kelley ? The 
 character of Kellogg is too well-known for any one to 
 credit him with gratitude ! 
 
 To obtain his reward the seat in the United States 
 Senate cost Kellogg a deal of trouble. After the Re 
 turning Board had counted in a majority of Republican 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, Part i, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 1132. 
 ** Ibid. pp. 1115-16. 
 
 t Records Appt. Divis. Treas. Dept. Washington, D. C. 
 J H. R. Mis. Doc, No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 1440. 
 
KELLOGG S TROUBLES. 259 
 
 candidates for the legislature, and Packard, was in 
 stalled as governor, the great body of the people of 
 Louisiana declined to recognize the bogus concern. They 
 quietly inaugurated Governor Nichols and the legislature 
 elected by them, and the authority of this government was 
 recognized throughout the state, while the other exerted no 
 power whatever outside the State House. 
 
 There was absolutely no money in the treasury of the 
 bogus government. Its script was worth nothing. To keep 
 the legislature together Kellogg had to cash the members 
 certificates for pay.* He had also to buy outright the 
 votes of the ungrateful ones, who seem to have been a 
 large majority. He was given promptly, on the fourth of 
 March, on the motion of James G. Elaine, Senator from 
 Maine, the prima facie right to the seat in the Senate. 
 
 But Hayes commission to New Orleans broke up 
 Packard s and Kellogg s legislature and certified to the legal 
 organization of the Nichols legislature. That legislature 
 elected Henry M. Spofford, senator from Louisiana for the 
 term beginning March 4, 1877. He contested Kellogg s 
 right to the seat, and among other things which he proved 
 invalidating the so-called election of the sitting senator, 
 was the bribery of a number of the members of the bogus 
 legislature electing him. This proof of bribery was in form 
 of affidavits made by many of those who had been bribed. 
 To get these witnesses to retract Kellogg had to have them 
 appointed to places in the New Orleans custom house, 
 and to prevent others from " peaching " he had to secure 
 them positions in this common refuge for scoundrels, for 
 gers, and perjurers. 
 
 The Republican majority in the Senate of the United 
 States, to preserve the symmetry of its record to avoid 
 
 * Senate Mis. Doc. No. 79, 46th Cong., 2d Sess., pp. 21 to 35. 
 
260 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 stultifying its action in voting to ratify the decision of the 
 Electoral Commission in the Louisiana case refused to 
 oust Kellogg and seat Spofford. And still Kellogg s 
 troubles were not at an end. 
 
 Before his term in the Senate had expired to be exact, 
 four years after he was seated on motion of Senator Elaine 
 the evidence was discovered proving beyond the possibility 
 of doubt that Colonel J. B. Price, a mail contractor in the 
 Star Route service, had paid Senator Kellogg $20,000 in 
 drafts on the future pay of two star routes, San Antonio to 
 Corpus Christi, and Indianola to Corpus Christi, Texas, in 
 consideration for Kellogg procuring from Thomas J. Brady, 
 Second assistant Postmaster-general and one of " the visit 
 ing statesmen " to Florida, an increase of pay for carrying 
 the mail over said star routes.* 
 
 The records of the Post-office department showed that 
 the order making the increase of pay was made the day 
 after the drafts aforesaid were given to Kellogg by Price. 
 The records of the sixth auditor s office showed that the 
 drafts had been paid as they fell due. Price confessed that 
 he had given the drafts to Kellogg for his influence with 
 Brady, and the banker, with whom the drafts were deposited 
 by Kellogg for collection, testified that he had collected the 
 money on the drafts and had paid one-half to Kellogg and 
 one-half to Brady. 
 
 The discovery of this evidence was made not only be 
 fore Kellogg s term in the Senate had expired, but within 
 the three years succeeding the payment to Kellogg by 
 Price of the drafts.! Not only his expulsion from the 
 
 * Record U. S. vs. William Pitt Kellogg, charged with receiving a 
 bribe while a U. S. Senator. Washington, Govt. Printing Office, 1884, pp. 
 67 to 74, 75 to 101, 102 to 113. 
 
 t H. R. Mis. Doc., No. 38, Part 2, 48th Cong., ist Sess., pp. 75, 76, 
 77,353.354. 355, 43i to 468. 
 
GEORGE BLISS WORK. 261 
 
 Senate, but his conviction for misdemeanor under the 
 statutes of the United States, and punishment by fine and 
 imprisonment, would have been an absolute certainty, if the 
 government had proceeded forthwith to have him indicted 
 therefor. 
 
 George Bliss* who was the special counsel for the gov 
 ernment in the Star Route cases, in full and complete 
 charge of the same, having the entire confidence of the 
 President, Chester A. Arthur, and the Attorney-general, 
 Benjamin Harris Brewster, deliberately suppressed the 
 evidence against Kellogg. And, to make good his work 
 of suppression, he intrigued, lied, and maligned, until 
 he drove out of the Star Route cases the counsel for the 
 United States, who had originally discovered and worked 
 up all the evidence in those cases including that against 
 Kellogg. 
 
 However, at a later period the late Hon. R. T. Merick,f 
 of Washington, was employed to conduct in court some 
 of the Star Route cases, and his attention being called to 
 the fact that Bliss had deliberately suppressed the evidence 
 against Kellogg, he insisted that the case against him 
 should be investigated by the grand jury of the District of 
 Columbia. But he foolishly consented that Bliss should 
 represent the government before this grand jury. 
 
 The result was, of course, that no indictment was found. 
 Bliss introduced the case to the grand jury, as was after 
 wards proved, before a congressional committee, by a mem 
 ber of the grand jury, and a witness present at the time, 
 that " it was a grave and serious thing to indict a Senator 
 of the United States."J 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 38, Part 2, 48th Cong, ist Sess. pp. 431 to 468. 
 
 t Ibid. pp. 431 to 468, also pp. 75, 76, 77. 
 
 t Elias S. Hutchinson, Foreman of the Grand Jury as to Bliss dec- 
 
262 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 Finally, after the lapse of nearly a year, and the expira 
 tion of his term in the Senate, all the ingenuity of Bliss, and 
 the indirect, but potent, influence of the administration, 
 failed to save Kellogg from indictment. * However, a 
 stupid draughtsman of the indictment, a very poor speci 
 men of the Philadelphia bar, imported to Washington by 
 Attorney-general Brewster, was the means of saving Kel 
 logg from the penetentiary.t 
 
 In drafting the indictment, instead of pleading that 
 Kellogg had received upon such and such dates the pro 
 ceeds of such and such drafts payable in future at such 
 and such dates in lawful money of the United States, 
 he set forth that he received lawful money on such and 
 such dates and his proof showed that at a period ante 
 rior to the three years limitation in criminal cases Kellogg 
 had received certain drafts payable at certain specified 
 dates in the future. The court, thereupon, sustained Kel- 
 logg s plea of the statute of limitation as a bar to the prose 
 cution, and he escaped merited punishment in the convict s 
 garb, but his self-confession of infamy was coincident with 
 his permanent retirement from public life. 
 
 J. Henri Burch was one of the Republican electors-at- 
 
 laration that it was a serious matter to indict a U. S. Senator p. 429 of 
 Mis. Doc. No. 38, part 2, 48th Cong., ist Sess. 
 
 Q. " Did you in that Grand Jury Room hear Mr. Bliss say that it was 
 a very serious matter to indict a Senator of the U. S. ?" A. " Well, I don t 
 think he said it was a very serious matter. He certainly said it was a seri 
 ous matter." 
 
 8. " Did he say that before the Grand Jury ?" A. " Yes." 
 . " Can you give all that he said in that connection?" A. " I could 
 not, but I remember that language. I would not attempt to repeat the 
 conversation going with it." 
 
 Q. "It was made before your deliberations as to whether you would, 
 or would not find an indictment ?" A. " Yes, sir ; before our deliberations." 
 
 See Testimony of John H. Mitchell, pp. 416-417. same Doc. 
 
 * Ibid. pp. 353 to 355, 431 to 468. 
 
 t Record U. S. vs. VVm. Pitt Kellogg, Washington, Govt. Printing 
 Office, 1884. , 
 
BURCH, JOSEPH, MARKS. 263 
 
 large. The character of the men whose names ornamented 
 the Hayes electoral ticket in Louisiana, their standing in 
 the community, is illustrated by the sort of a " recognition " 
 this elector-at-large obtained for his services in the great 
 fraud. He was made a clerk in the New Orleans custom 
 house with a salary of $1,400 a year. He held the same 
 from March 24, 1879, till his death, April 17, 1883. 
 
 Peter Joseph, one of the Hayes electors in Louisiana, 
 was also provided for in the custom house, at a still lower 
 rank than Burch was rewarded with. Joseph was made 
 first an inspector at $3 per diem, and a year later was made 
 captain of the night watch at the same rate of pay. He 
 continued to hold the place July ist, 1885. 
 
 Morris Marks, an Israelite, associated with Burch and 
 Joseph on the Hayes electoral ticket in Louisiana, fared 
 better than they did. He, probably, owed his good fortune 
 to the fact that with his native, characteristic shrewdness he 
 not only knew more than they did, but knew what his 
 knowledge was worth. 
 
 It would have been difficult to conceal from a fellow 
 like Marks the facts concerning the forging of Levissee s 
 and Joffroin s names to the certificates of electoral votes 
 December 29, 1876. He came to Washington at an op 
 portune time just when McLin and Dennis of Florida 
 were unbosoming themselves and the Potter committee was 
 being created by the House of Representatives. He went 
 back to New Orleans commissioned collector of internal 
 revenue for the State of Louisiana. He held that lucrative 
 office until the i3th of September, 1883 receiving in all as 
 salary $19,557. But that was not all the " recognition " he 
 received he was made register of the United States land 
 office and has continued to draw $500 a year and a com 
 mission of i% on all moneys received. 
 
264 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 A. B. Levissee, of Shreveport, La., was a Hayes elec 
 tor, and originally a decent man. He, as well as Oscar 
 Joffroin, were not in New Orleans on Dec. 28, and 29, 
 1876, when the bogus electoral certificates were made out 
 and signed in an " upper room " of the State House. 
 
 Levissee was in Shreveport and it would have been a 
 physical impossibility for him to have reached New Or 
 leans at that season of the year even if he had been re 
 quested to come. As elsewhere related, his name was 
 forged six times by some one of eight or nine men who 
 were aware of his and JorTroin s absence. 
 
 Levissee was not immediately provided for by the 
 fraudulent administration, probably, on the theory that he 
 ought not to have put his friends to the trouble of forging 
 his name. However, Levissee came to Washington in the 
 summer of 1878 and soon made it so very interesting that 
 an agent of the department of justice hunted him up one 
 day and wanted to know what would stop his mouth. 
 Levissee replied " an office with good pay and not much 
 work." He got it. He was made a special agent of the 
 Treasury, salary $7 per day and head-quarters at San Fran 
 cisco, California. He held this till July 15, 1881. 
 
 Lionel A. Sheldon, formerly of Ohio and who carpet-bag 
 ged thence to Louisiana, was one of the Hayes electors. 
 He rendered service during the count by the Returning Board 
 as a confidential intermediary between the visiting statesmen 
 and his " carpet-bag and scallawag " associates. He re 
 ceived no regular " recognition " till his friend Garfield be 
 came President, when he was made Governor of the Terri 
 tory of New Mexico. He held the office four years and 
 five months and drew from the Federal Treasury, $11,487.- 
 
 5- 
 
 O. H. Brewster was one of the Hayes electors in 
 
THE PINKSTON FRAUD. 265 
 
 Louisiana. He lived in Monroe, La. He learned there 
 that a depraved, disreputable negro woman, named Eliza 
 Pinkston, had made an affidavit before John A. Dinkgrave 
 in which she charged certain persons with having mur 
 dered her husband and her child and alleged that they 
 shot, cut, and beat herself. Brevvster hunted up Pinkston 
 and took her to New Orleans, where she was exhibited and 
 examined before the Returning Board in the presence of 
 " the visiting statesmen." 
 
 But between the time Pinkston made her affidavit 
 before Dinkgrave in Monroe, and her appearance before 
 the Returning Board in New Orleans her story was entirely 
 changed. It was greatly enlarged and amplified with har 
 rowing and horrifying details, and the various crimes of 
 murder, outrage, and attempts at murder, were charged 
 upon an entirely different set of people. Those last ac 
 cused of the crimes were the leading young men and active 
 democrats of Ouachita parish. The original affidavit was 
 filed with the Returning Board on Nov. 23d, but when 
 Pinkston came in person with a new and more startling 
 story, the original affidavit was destroyed and another of 
 the date of Dec. 2d substituted therefor. 
 
 It would have been embarrassing even to Louisiana 
 politicians to have had found on the files of the Returning 
 Board two affidavits by the same person, each contradicting 
 the other. It is unnecessary, perhaps, to say that the 
 Pinkston incident has been proved by overwhelming and 
 unimpeachable evidence to have been not only false, but to 
 have been gotten up deliberately for effect on the public mind. 
 
 Brewster was rewarded for his services by being imme 
 diately reappointed to the Federal office which he had to 
 resign in order to apparently qualify as a Presidential Elec 
 tor the position of Surveyor-general of Louisiana. 
 
266 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 S. B. Packard was the Republican candidate for Gover 
 nor of Louisiana. He was a native of Maine and was 
 made United States Marshal of Louisiana by President 
 Grant. He had executed the orders of the President, 
 through Attorney-general Williams, to enforce the " decrees 
 and mandates of the United States courts," so opportunely 
 given just before issuance of Judge Durell s infamous mid 
 night order in Dec. 1872, whereby Kellogg was made gov 
 ernor without regard to the fact that he had been defeated 
 by the people, and John McEnery, who was elected, had 
 been granted the certificate of election by the legally con 
 stituted authority. As United States marshal, Packard 
 had been the efficient ally of Kellogg and his creatures in 
 oppressing and robbing the unfortunate people of Louisi 
 ana. 
 
 It required the disfranchisement of a less number * of 
 the citizens of Louisiana by the Returning Board to count 
 in Packard as governor than it did to make a majority for 
 several of the Hayes electors. When Hayes reaped the 
 fruit of the frauds, forgeries, and perjuries committed in 
 Louisiana by assuming the Presidency, and Kellogg ob 
 tained his seat in the United States Senate on the certificate 
 by Packard that he had been duly chosen by the legisla 
 ture the same legislature that was made by the Return 
 ing Board at the very time the Presidential electors were 
 ground out, it is not surprising that Packard should 
 have felt confident that the fraudulent President and the 
 Senate of the United States would be compelled to sustain 
 his pretentions to be governor. 
 
 Packard declined to step down and out at the request 
 of Stanley Mathews, who had, on behalf of Hayes, agreed 
 that Packard should be abandoned in order to secure the 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45 th Cong. 3 d Sess. p. 1441, 1454, 1455. 
 
PACKARD ABANDONED. 267 
 
 assistance of certain Southern democrats in the House of 
 Representatives to complete the count of the electoral 
 votes, in spite of a minority of determined democrats who 
 were exerting every parliamentary expedient to prevent the 
 ratification of the wicked decision of the Electoral Com 
 mission. 
 
 It, therefore, was necessary, since Packard would not 
 abandon his share of the fruits of the Louisiana conspiracy, 
 to get rid of him in another way. This was accomplished 
 by Hayes* sending a commission to New Orleans, of 
 course, without any authority of law, to manage the fraud 
 ulent administration s abandonment of its twin relic of 
 fraud the so-called Packard government of Louisiana. 
 This commission consisted of John M. Harlan, of Ken 
 tucky, Wayne MacVeagh, of Pennsylvania, and John C. 
 Brown, of Tennessee. 
 
 On its arrival in New Orleans this commission found 
 that the friends of the Nichols government could se 
 duce a number of the negro members of the Pac 
 kard legislature and that in this way the quorum of 
 the former could be broken. The Packard legislature 
 never had a legal quorum. Some of the members thereof 
 were honestly elected but not enough to make a quorum. 
 To supply the requisite number to make a quorum the Re 
 turning Board counted in candidates who had been de 
 feated at the polls. The quorum of Packard s legislature 
 having been broken by inducing legally elected members 
 to desert to Nichols, the Federal troops were ordered to 
 their barracks outside the city and Packard and his few re 
 maining followers deserted the State House as rats leave a 
 sinking ship. 
 
 Notwithstanding all his vaporings Packard gracefully 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 832. 
 
268 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 kissed the hand that smote him and accepted, what 
 Mathews had termed, " consideration and position " in the 
 shape of the Liverpool consulate which was worth quite 
 $15,000 a year. He held the place seven years and pock 
 eted not less than $105,000. 
 
HAHN AND McARDLE. 269 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The rewarding of the registration officers : Hahn and McArdle were 
 taken care of: George L. Smith s services and pay therefor: 
 Lewis, Badger, and McMillan get their " sops ": The character 
 of Jack Wharton : His evidence as to the corruptibility of J. Mad 
 ison Wells : His mouth sealed by the U. S. marshalship : Hugh 
 J. Campbell s services and reward : H. Conquest Clark, Kellogg s 
 private secretary : His share in the forging of electoral certificates : 
 Still a pensioner of the government : Thomas S. Kelley, Kellogg s 
 negro messenger, still a clerk in the second auditor s office of the 
 Treasury department : Hardy and Smith paid for their rascality : 
 C. L. Ferguson, his services and reward. 
 
 MICHAEL HAHN was state registrar of voters, the chief 
 executive officer under the registration act. But in reality 
 this officer was little more than a figure-head. The gover 
 nor had the appointment of all the subordinate registration 
 officers. The state registrar s power was merely supervisory, 
 and practically the duties of the office were discharged by 
 his chief clerk, James P. McArdle, assisted by D. J. M. A. 
 Jewett, who was an expert in the manipulation of election 
 and registration statistics as well as of election returns.! 
 The census of 1875 was taken under the direction of 
 McArdle and Jewett, and the results manipulated by them 
 to show the largest possible number of negro voters in the 
 state. 
 
 Hahn had been the first provisional governor of the 
 state under the Constitution of 1864 and was not an inher 
 ently bad man. He was weak, irresolute, and without 
 
2/0 
 
 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 moral courage. So far as he dared in the campaign of 1876 
 he yielded to the requests of the Democratic leaders for 
 fair rulings, but the registration officers, being independent 
 of him, obeyed Jewett who was secretary and manager of 
 the Republican committee on canvassing and registration. 
 
 Sometime in May, 1878, Hahn came to Washington 
 and demanded recognition. The Potter committee was 
 soon after appointed in pursuance of a resolution passed 
 by the House of Representatives and the fraudulent 
 administration was terror-stricken thereby. Hahn, Levissee, 
 and some others of the Louisiana crowd were immediately 
 assured that they would receive their long deferred recog 
 nition. Hahn was appointed superintendent of the United 
 States mint at New Orleans June 25, 1878. He was not 
 confirmed by the Senate and December 18, 1878, yielded 
 his place to his successor having received only $1,750. 
 
 James P. McArdle was chief clerk and real head of the 
 state registrar s office. In connection with D. J. M. A. 
 Jewett he manipulated the census returns of 1875 and 
 managed the registration of voters in 1876. He was invalu 
 able after the election, when the supervisors of registration 
 came to New Orleans, in stimulating and encouraging them 
 to obey the behests of the party leaders who insisted that false 
 affidavits should be made to order for the Returning Board. 
 McArdle, Jewett, and Blanchard were the first to see the 
 supervisors on their arrival in New Orleans, because they 
 naturally came direct to the office of the state registrar to 
 render their accounts and draw their pay. 
 
 McArdle was appointed October 6, 1877, a laborer in 
 the custom house at a salary of $600 a year, and August 
 12, 1880, was appointed to a clerkship at $1,200 per 
 annum. On the record in the appointment division of the 
 Treasury department at Washington, under McArdle s name, 
 
GEORGE L. SMITH. 27! 
 
 is the following memorandum in lead pencil "not to be 
 
 removed D. J. M. A. Jewett interested; letter on file 
 
 April 10, 1880." Diligent search of the correspondence 
 files of the Treasury department failed to reveal Mr. Jewett s 
 letter. It had been removed, doubtless by some one inter 
 ested in its suppression. 
 
 George L. Smith was a carpet-bagger who established 
 himself in Shreveport, Louisiana, as the editor and proprie 
 tor of a newspaper which he started in order to be made 
 state printer for that locality. The printing law authorized 
 the governor to appoint a state printer for each parish in 
 the state and all the general laws enacted by the legislature, 
 as well as all local transactions by the parish authorities, 
 and the proceedings of all corporations and municipal 
 bodies, had to be published at rates fixed by the printing 
 board in these local journals. 
 
 Smith made money at the expense of the general public 
 and was elected to the Forty-third Congress from the fourth 
 congressional district of Louisiana. He was a candidate for 
 reelection in 1876. Kellogg gave him commissions signed 
 in blank for such supervisors of registration as he might 
 select for the different parishes in his district. 
 
 After the election Smith gathered his supervisors at 
 Shreveport and accompanied them to New Orleans. One 
 of the supervisors, C. L. Ferguson, of De Soto parish, 
 had forwarded his returns, as the election law directed, by 
 mail to the Returning Board. The others carried their 
 returns with them to New Orleans. Arriving there Smith 
 had them deposit the same with the cashier of the Post- 
 office, D. D. Smith, who locked them up in the Post-office 
 vault.* 
 
 The returns from De Soto parish which had come for- 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc., No. 31, 45th Cong., 3d Sess., p. 1442. 
 
2/2 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 ward by mail were stopped in the New Orleans Post-office. 
 On the night of November 24th, 1876, according to the 
 testimony of D. J. M. A. Jewett, Smith, Ferguson, of De 
 Soto, T. H. Hutton, supervisor of Bossier, and John T. 
 Morrow, supervisor of Webster, D. D. Smith, cashier of the 
 Post-office, Saml. Gardner, citizen of Webster parish and 
 Fred E. Heath, and himself, met in the postmaster s pri 
 vate office. D. D. Smith unlocked the vault and produced 
 the returns from De Soto, Bossier, Cadclo, and Webster 
 parishes. 
 
 It was found on examination that the votes cast at cer 
 tain polls in these parishes would have to be thrown out to 
 create Republican majorities. George L. Smith then and 
 there had the supervisors make affidavits, which were 
 draughted by Jewett, against the returns from the selected 
 polls. These affidavits were done up with the parish re 
 turns and sent forward to the Returning Board the next 
 day. In the case of Bossier parish, T. H. Hutton, the 
 supervisor, falsified the record by interpolating on his con 
 solidated statement, which had been sworn to before the 
 clerk of the district court of the parish, a statement im 
 peaching the freedom, fairness, and peaceable character of 
 the election at polls i, 3, 5, 7, and 8. The interpolation 
 was made above the jurat so as to appear to have been 
 made at the parish town before the oath was taken. 
 
 For this and like services George L. Smith was, May 
 4, 1878, appointed collector of the port of New Orleans, 
 and held the office till February 20, 1879, when he was 
 succeeded by A. S. Badger. The amount of Smith s 
 " recognition " in cash was $5,541.73. 
 
 James Lewis was one of Kellogg s police commissioners. 
 The metropolitan police of New Orleans was, by an act of 
 the legislature, passed during Kellogg s term, as governor, 
 
LEWIS AND BADGER. 2/3 
 
 made a part of the state militia. It was the only body of 
 efficiently organized and drilled men in the state which 
 could be relied on by the carpet-bag authorities. It was 
 composed mostly of foreigners, discharged soldiers of the 
 Union army. They were paid by taxes imposed upon the 
 citizens of New Orleans, and so long as their pay was 
 liberal, and promptly received, they would, like any other 
 mercenaries, obey orders. They served as guards about 
 the State House during the count by the Returning Board, 
 but their most valuable service was rendered during the 
 registration of voters in New Orleans, and on election day, 
 by assisting the supervisors of registration in preventing 
 white voters from registering and aiding in the false registra 
 tion and voting of negroes. 
 
 Lewis was appointed naval officer of the port of New 
 Orleans, January 9, 1877, and held the office till Dec. 27, 
 1880. On January 4, 1882, he was appointed superin 
 tendent of custom-house warehouses which he held till May 
 4, 1883. He received "recognition" to the amount of 
 
 $9>999-93- 
 
 A. S. Badger was an officer in the Confederate army 
 
 and achieved some distinction in the service of the rebel 
 government. He was appointed by Kellogg commander- 
 in-chief of the Louisiana militia and organized and rendered 
 efficient the metropolitan police already described. He 
 was a brave man and one of the most respectable of the 
 Louisianians who joined, for selfish considerations, the car 
 pet-bag oppressors and plunderers. He was in command 
 of the state militia at the time of the count by the Return 
 ing Board. He was made Postmaster of New Orleans, by 
 Hayes, July 19, 1878, and was appointed collector of cus- 
 toms, Feb. 20, 1879, and continued in that office till July 
 i, 1885. His total salary was $43,800. 
 
 18 
 
2/4 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 W. L. McMillan was a native of Ohio. He migrated 
 to Louisiana and joined his political fortunes to those of 
 Henry C. Warmoth, the first carpet-bag governor of the 
 state. He was a liberal republican in 1872 and was elected 
 to the United States Senate in 1873 by the McEnery legis 
 lature, but the Senate did not recognize his election, nor 
 that of Pinchback, by the Kellogg legislature, as legal. In 
 1875 McMillan joined the Kellogg party because Hayes 
 was an Ohio man. He was active and unscrupulous and 
 assisted, to the extent of his ability, during the fraudulent 
 count by the Returning Board, and was appointed by 
 Hayes pension agent at New Orleans with a salary of 
 $3,400 per annum. 
 
 Jack Wharton, a native of Maryland who settled in 
 Louisiana before the civil war, and served with Gen. Pillow 
 in the Confederate army, was another of Warmoth s adher 
 ents who joined Kellogg s party in 1874. He was made 
 Adjutant-general of the state militia by Kellogg. 
 
 In 1868 and 69 Wharton lived in Northern Louisiana 
 and was accused of participation in a massacre of negroes in 
 Bossier parish in 1868.* He was a prime favorite of the 
 debauchees who formed the official social life of New Or 
 leans during the flush times of carpet-bag rule. He was of 
 the Joe Miller order of story-tellers and his vulgar jests and 
 broad stories gave him the reputation of a wit among the 
 depraved men and women who constituted the court circle 
 of New Orleans in that era of official and private immo 
 rality. 
 
 To provide a place for Wharton, J. R. G. Pitkin, an un 
 scrupulous partisan, but a gentleman in breeding, was re 
 moved from the United States marshal s office. Wharton 
 came to Washington soon after the inauguration of Hayes 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 1436. 
 
WHARTON ON WELLS. 2/5 
 
 and remained during the summer and fall of that year. 
 He was a constant visitor at the White House in company 
 with George A. Sheridan, another Louisiana buffoon and 
 vulgar story-teller. Mr. Hayes found Wharton s society 
 congenial, either on account of his wit, or his narratives of 
 the heroic service he had rendered as Adjutant-general of 
 the Louisiana militia during the critical period of the Re 
 turning Board s count. 
 
 Doubtless Wharton also narrated the part he played, 
 with a government agent, in having the demands of J. 
 Madison Wells for money satisfied. When Wharton was 
 examined by the Potter committee he reluctantly related 
 how he went with this agent to Packard and told him that 
 unless Wells* was satisfied he was afraid he would not go 
 straight. He admitted that it was the general understand 
 ing that Wells compelled the state authorities to cash at 
 par a lot of state warrants, which he held, when they were 
 worth, in the market, only 25 or 30% of their face value.* 
 He also admitted that he had written a letter in which he 
 sa id " I have seen Packard and talked to him fully. He 
 thinks that old Wells is trying to get all he can, be it little 
 or much ; that Wells would sell out to either side." * He 
 testified that that statement, as made in his letter, was 
 true ; that he correctly reported Packard s language. 
 
 Wharton, after a great deal of evasion and prevarica 
 tion, admitted that it was proposed to give Wells a local 
 office, which would be in Packard s* gift, if he became 
 governor, worth from $30,000 to $40,000 a year. He 
 " saw Packard every day " and " in the general talk Pack 
 ard expressed a good deal of mistrust as to Wells. Pack 
 ard fluctuated. Sometimes he believed more and some- 
 times less."* From all which it is quite evident that 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, 45ht Cong, 3d Sess. p. 1426-1431. 
 
2/6 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 Wharton could have told a great deal more than he did to the 
 committee. He had been made marshal and his mouth 
 was sealed. It was only by the most rigid cross-examina 
 tion, conducted by Gen. Butler, that a small part of the 
 truth was extracted from this reluctant witness. 
 
 Wharton was appointed marshal Dec. 3, 1877 and held 
 the office till his death in 1881, recieving in fees about 
 $30,000. 
 
 Hugh J. Campbell was a native of Iowa, from Scotch 
 Presbyterian stock settled in Pennsylvania. He went to 
 Louisiana after the war and became one of the most un 
 scrupulous and vindictive of the carpet-bag politicians. 
 He was elected to the state senate in 1868, and was the 
 author of the original election law of 1870, which was 
 changed in none of its essential features, save as to the 
 composition of the Returning Board, by the act of 1872. 
 His advocacy in the state senate of the legislation in favor 
 of the New Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern Railway 
 Company, was purchased by the agent of Henry S. 
 McComb.* He was appointed a judge of one of the civil 
 courts of New Orleans by Kellogg. His services after the 
 election of 1876, as one of the counsel employed in the cus 
 tom house to manufacture so-called evidence for the Re 
 turning Board, were highly appreciated by John Sherman 
 and other " visiting statesmen." He addressed an elabo 
 rately prepared letter to Sherman which accompanied the 
 report made to the President by the " visiting statesmen." 
 It narrates the history of the Louisiana election law and 
 boldly justifies its monstrous provisions and defends the 
 conduct of the Returning Board. 
 
 Campbell, according to the testimony of Kelley, super 
 visor of Richland parish, as well as by the evidence of 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. an, 420! Cong, zd Sess. pp. 475 to 482. 
 
CAMPBELL AND CLARK. 
 
 Jewett, was largely concerned in the crime by which a 
 harmless statement made by that officer was converted into 
 an intimidation affidavit.* Among the chief concocters of 
 outrage and intimidation stories Campbell was primus inter 
 pares. He was able, unprincipled, and terribly vindictive. 
 He was canny where self-interest was concerned. In the 
 spring of 1877 he came to Washington as the representative 
 of Packard, and, seeing that the abandonment of his client, 
 by the fraudulent administration, was inevitable, he did not 
 forget himself. He secured the office of United States 
 District-attorney for Dakota Territory, in May 1877, which 
 he held for two full terms. The fees of the office are large 
 and amounted to not less than $48,000 during his two 
 terms. 
 
 H. Conquest Clark went to New Orleans originally as 
 the correspondent of the New York Herald and became 
 the stenographer and private secretary of Kellogg. By 
 Kellogg s direction, on the return of Tom. Anderson from 
 Washington on the 28th of December, 1876, bringing back 
 the void electoral certificate of December 6th, 1876, Clark 
 undertook the preparation of a certificate of electoral votes 
 for President, and a certificate of electoral votes for Vice- 
 President. 
 
 Although the time for this work was short Clark had 
 these two certificates, in triplicate, printed from the same 
 type and on the same kind of paper f the originals were. 
 He got up the governor s certificate, which the law requires 
 shall be attached to the certificate of electoral votes, certi 
 fying that the electors had been duly chosen, and made 
 them appear as if made and executed on December 6th, 
 instead of December 29, although they had to have, in 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, Part 2, 4$th Cong. 3d Sess. pp. 1462-64-6$. 
 t Ibid, p. 258. 
 
2/8 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 addition to the governor s signature, the counter-signature 
 of the secretary of state and the impression of the state s 
 great seal. 
 
 Having gotten the electoral certificates ready for the 
 signatures of the late electors then in New Orieans Clark 
 arranged an " upper room " * in the State House, to which 
 the individuals could go, one by one, to affix their names. 
 Two of the late electors, A. B. Levissee and Oscar Joffroin, 
 were not in the city t and provision had to be made for the 
 forging of their signatures to the certificates. Clark ar 
 ranged the order of the " stealing up " to the upper room 
 by the men who were obtainable, so that their signatures 
 would appear on the forged certificates in the same 
 sequence as on the original of December 6th. 
 
 At the proper time, when the signatures of Levissee and 
 Joffroin were to be forged, the stealing up stairs was inter 
 rupted for a season. The work of forging having been 
 finished the fellows who were to sign last stole up to the 
 upper room and wrote their names. The object of this 
 was, in the event of discovery at any time in the future, the 
 last signers could swear that when they signed the names 
 of Levissee and Joffroin were written above theirs. 
 
 Clark remained with Packard until his bogus govern 
 ment tottered over and disappeared, and then came to 
 Washington where he was provided with a clerkship in the 
 internal revenue bureau through Kellogg at a salary of 
 $1,800 a year. He held this place till November 14, 1882, 
 when he was made secretary of the Alabama claims 
 commission. He still holds this position. 
 
 B. P. Blanchard was executive clerk to Kellogg while 
 he was governor. He was originally state registrar of 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, Part 2, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 260. 
 t Ibid. pp. 92, 1135. 
 
WHO WAS THE FORGER ? 279 
 
 voters before Hahn was appointed. As an expert statisti 
 cian he was reputed to have few equals. He trained 
 McArdle, who was Hahn s chief clerk in r8y5 and 1876. 
 During the campaign of 1876 he was the chief adviser of 
 McArdle and Jewett in the manipulation of the registration 
 of voters. 
 
 After the election Blanchard devoted his entire time to 
 the management of supervisors as they came to New 
 Orleans with their returns. Jewett testified * that when 
 they had failed to induce Kelley of Richland parish to 
 make an affidavit, Blanchard and himself took him to Kel- 
 logg s house for an interview with the governor. The 
 policeman, who was on night duty all through this period 
 at Kellogg s house, testified that Blanchard and Jewett 
 were almost nightly at Kellogg s in consultation with him 
 and frequently Blanchard was there till a late hour working 
 on papers which looked like election returns. 
 
 Thomas S. Kelley the mulatto messenger to the execu 
 tive office, while Kellogg was governor, swore t before the 
 Potter committee that, to his personal knowledge, Blanch 
 ard forged Joffroin s name to the certificates of electoral 
 votes made December 28th in the upper room of the State 
 House December 29, 1876. Jewett { swore before the 
 same committee that this was impossible because Blanchard 
 and himself were devoted friends and kept no secrets from 
 each other; that Blanchard being dead Kelley laid the 
 crime on him. 
 
 It does not matter who did the deed, inasmuch as it 
 could not have been done without the fore-knowledge, insti 
 gation, and approval of Kellogg. It is a matter of small 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, Part 2, 45th Cong. 30! Sess. p. 1447. 
 t Ibid, p 1147. 
 | Ibid, p. 1440. 
 
280 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 concern whether^ Blanchard or Kelley or Clark did the 
 forging they were all Kellogg s creatures and tools. 
 
 Blanchard was appointed a clerk in the New Orleans 
 custom house October 29, 1877, at a salary of $1,400. He 
 died of yellow fever October n, 1878. 
 
 W. R. Hardy was one of the lawyers who directed the 
 manufacture of affidavits in the custom house for use before 
 the Returning Board. He was appointed an inspector of 
 customs in the New Orleans custom house August 28, 
 1877, at a salary of $3 per day and held the office for five 
 years realizing $5,835. 
 
 D. D. Smith was the cashier of the New Orleans Post- 
 office, and was present* on the night of November 24, 1876, 
 in the postmaster s private office, when George L. Smith, 
 C. L. Ferguson, T. H. Hutton, John W. Morrow, Saml. 
 Gardner, D. J. M. A. Jewett, and Fred. E. Heath made 
 changes and alterations in election returns, got up affidavits, 
 and did divers other villainy. 
 
 The returns were in D. D. Smith s custody locked up 
 in the Post-office vault which he unlocked and produced 
 therefrom the package of papers. He had no right what 
 ever to have the custody of election returns they should 
 have been in the charge of the Returning Board. He was 
 retained as cashier of the Post-office until George L. Smith 
 was made collector of the port of New Orleans when he 
 was appointed a clerk in the custom house and held the 
 same till December 27, 1882 salary $2,500 a year. 
 
 C. L. Ferguson was made supervisor of registration of 
 De Soto parish by George L. Smith, who had blank com 
 missions for that purpose from Governor Kellogg. He 
 mailed his returns from Mansfield, La., but instead of the 
 Returning Board receiving them, they found their way into 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc., No. 31, Part 2, 4 sth Cong., 3 d Sess. p. 1442. 
 
DOCTORING RETURNS. 28 1 
 
 the custody of D. D. Smith, cashier of the New Orleans 
 Post-office, who kept them in the vault thereof until the 
 night of Nov. 24, 1876, when they were produced for in 
 spection by George L. Smith, and D. J. M. A. Jewett, 
 Ferguson being present. * 
 
 At the same time and place T. H. Hutton and John W. 
 Morrow, supervisors of Bossier and Webster parishes, were 
 present to "doctor" the returns from those parishes. 
 Jewett says that on inspection it was found that a Repub 
 lican majority could not be created without getting rid of 
 the votes cast at polls i, 3, 5, 7, 8, De Soto parish; that 
 he draughted an affidavit for Ferguson embodying the 
 necessary facts such as Ferguson and Smith furnished: 
 that Ferguson swore to the affidavit he had drawn, and 
 this was rolled up with the returns, the envelope re 
 stored to its original appearance, and the package went to 
 the Returning Board the next day by letter carrier.* 
 
 Jewett swore he was positive that the envelope bore 
 " registration marks " showing that it had come by regis 
 tered mail from Mansfield, and that it was addressed to the 
 Returning Board. The proceedings of the Returning 
 Board for Nov. 25, as published in the Sherman report 
 show that on that day the returns from De Soto parish 
 were opened and that Messrs. Burke and McGloin, Dem 
 ocratic counsel, detected the affidavit bearing date Nov. 
 24, along with the supervisors return, which purported to 
 have been mailed at Mansfield on Nov. i4th.f Thereupon, 
 there was confusion, and Chas. S. Abell, secretary of the 
 board, prompted by E. W. Stoughton, "visiting statesman," 
 began lying in the most vigorous manner. The fact, how 
 ever, is disclosed by the record that the affidavit made in 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31, Part 2, 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 1442-3. 
 t Senate Ex. D,oc. No. 2, 44th Cong. 2d Sess. pp. 88-9. 
 
282 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 the post-office on the previous night, as detailed by Jewett, 
 was in the package containing the De Soto returns. 
 
 These facts prove that the " registered package " com 
 ing forward from Mansfield to the Returning Board was 
 either stopped in the New Orleans post-office, or if received 
 and receipted for by the secretary of the Returning Board, 
 was delivered to George L. Smith, the supervisor, or to D. 
 D. Smith, who put it in the vault of the post-office and 
 retained it until it was " fixed " on the night of Nov. 24th. 
 
 Ferguson was appointed by George L. Smith to a place 
 in the New Orleans custom house at a salary of $800 a 
 year which he held as long as Smith remained collector. 
 
F. A. CLOVER. 283 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 The services and reward of " a roper-in " for a snake show : The diffi 
 culty Kellogg had in getting an affidavit from M. J. Grady : Grady s 
 services and reward : James E. Scott, supervisor of Claiborne, had 
 to be " induced " to make an affidavit : James E. Anderson and the 
 trouble he gave carpet-baggers and visiting statesmen : How he 
 was feared by Sherman, Evarts, Stanley Mathews, and Hayes : A 
 long list of minor rogues Moore, Kempton, Maloney, Leon, 
 Rowan, Underwood, Creagh, Brim Loan, Howard, and Swazey, 
 their services and the rewards they received : Thomas S. Kelley, 
 the hold he had upon Kellogg : How he has been cared for : The 
 two Dinkgraves, Norton, Dumont, Chapman, Sheradin, Twitchell, 
 Delacey, Souer, Dickerson, Brown, Milon, de Joie, Jones, and 
 Johnson what they did and what they got. 
 
 F. A. CLOVER came to New Orleans from Mississippi, 
 where he had been a carpet-bag member of the legislature, 
 as the manager of a snake show. His education in Mis 
 sissippi, and training as a "roper-in" for a snake show, 
 seems to have suggested to Kellogg his eminent fitness for 
 the supervisorship of the parish of East Baton Rouge. Ac 
 cordingly Kellogg made him supervisor of registration for 
 that parish. 
 
 When the election was held on the yth of November 
 Clover thought it would be a good thing to throw out the 
 returns from polls numbered i, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and n and get 
 rid of 1,136 Democratic votes. The election law makes 
 it obligatory upon the supervisor of registration to forward 
 
A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 to the Returning Board the returns from every poll made 
 by the commissioners of election and to embrace them all 
 in his consolidated statement of the votes of the parish. 
 He had no discretion whatever, but must perform the min 
 isterial duty confided to him. But Clover, without any 
 evidence whatever from the commissioners of the respective 
 polls aforesaid without any allegations from anyone that 
 the elections held thereat had not been fair, free and peace 
 able, refused to consolidate the votes and to forward the 
 commissioners returns to the Returning Board. 
 
 It was necessary that the Board should have some evi 
 dence or what purported to be evidence before them. 
 Clover had made out his consolidated statement at Baton 
 Rouge and swore to the same and deposited a duplicate 
 with the clerk of the district court. He did not make, on 
 the consolidated statement, any remarks concerning his re 
 fusal to compile the votes from polls i, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and u. 
 When he reached New Orleans he discovered that he 
 should have done something of this kind. He had his re 
 turns with him and interpolated above the jurat made in 
 Baton Rouge the statements concerning the rejected polls 
 which he thought would be plausible reasons for their rejec 
 tion. This was forgery falsification of a public record. 
 The Returning Board accepted the work of Clover as a 
 final adjudication of the case, refused to send for the re 
 turns and ballot-boxes for the polls rejected, and not only 
 refused to count the votes there cast, but threw out those 
 from polls 13 and 14. 
 
 Clover like Ferguson not only escaped punishment for 
 his crime, but he was rewarded by being made assistant 
 weigher in the New Orleans custom house at a salary of 
 $1,200 per annum and held the office for five years, ten 
 months and twenty-two days receiving in all $7,373. 
 
M. J. GRADY. 285 
 
 M. J. Grady was made supervisor of registration for 
 Ouachita parish by Kellogg. He brought his returns to 
 New Orleans and Jewett testifies was only induced after 
 repeated interviews with Kellogg, and, as Blanchard in 
 formed him, with " visiting statesmen," to make an affidavit 
 impeaching the fair, free, and peaceable character of the 
 election in Ouachita parish. 
 
 Jewett says that Grady was actuated by fear, but that 
 was not true. He was not a resident of Ouachita parish 
 and had formerly been employed in the New Orleans cus 
 tom house. It is evident that he wanted guarantees that 
 he would be rewarded for forswearing himself. He was 
 induced to make the required affidavit. He knew 
 nothing of the Eliza Pinkston affidavit made in Monroe, 
 La., before Dinkgrave, or of the occurrences Pinkston 
 narrated therein, at the time he filed his returns with the 
 Returning Board, for on Nov. 23d he wrote to Chas. S. 
 Abell, secretary, as follows "Please find enclosed the 
 affidavit of Eliza Pinkston which I received too late to file 
 with my returns. Please see that it is filed with my re 
 turns." 
 
 The record of the proceedings of the Returning Board, 
 as published in the Sherman report, shows that Grady did 
 not file his returns till two days after this letter was written. 
 It is evident, therefore, that after Pinkston was brought to 
 New Orleans, and it was determined to have her tell a story 
 entirely different from the one she swore to before Dink- 
 grave in Monroe, that Grady withdrew his returns from the 
 custody of the Returning Board, in order to suppress the 
 original affidavit of Pinkston, and overlooked his letter of 
 November 23d to Mr. Abell. 
 
 For his services Grady was first made register of the 
 United States land office at Monroe, La., March i, 1877, 
 
286 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 and July 10, 1878, was appointed deputy collector of in 
 ternal revenue for part of Northern Louisiana. 
 
 James E. Scott was a clerk in the New Orleans Post- 
 office when he was appointed supervisor of registration for 
 Claiborne parish. 
 
 Jewett testified that Scott was reluctant to make an affi 
 davit alleging " intimidation " in that parish and only con 
 sented, after much solicitation, to forswear himself. He 
 finally made an affidavit or swore to one which had been 
 prepared for him, impeaching, in a vague way, the charac 
 ter of the election at polls i, 2, 3, 5, u. 
 
 Jewett says " no fact was stated which under a fair con 
 struction of the law would have given the board jurisdic 
 tion." The board threw out the votes of poll 3. 
 
 Scott after he made his affidavit resumed his duties as a 
 $900 clerk in the New Orleans Post-office and was still 
 there July i, 1885. 
 
 James E. Anderson, who was appointed supervisor of 
 registration for the parish of East Feliciana, was a native 
 of Pennsylvania and was taken to Louisiana by J. Hale 
 Sypher, also a Pennsylvania!! who had carpet-bagged to 
 New Orleans. 
 
 Anderson held a position in the New Orleans custom 
 house at the time he was made supervisor of East Feliciana. 
 He was an unprincipled young fellow, but bright, smart, 
 and boasted " the cheek of an army mule." He was in 
 quisitive, prying, suspicious, and always on the alert to dis 
 cover what was going on among the politicians. His pre 
 sumption was great, and from the day he landed in New 
 Orleans he expected in due time to come to Congress. 
 
 Anderson was anxious to be made supervisor of East 
 Feliciana, because he thought he could make himself ser 
 viceable to the member of Congress from that locality, 
 
EAST FELICIANA. 28/ 
 
 Chas. E. Nash, a colored man. But when he reached the 
 parish he discovered that while Nash s negro friends wanted 
 an election held, the white republicans did not want one. 
 
 Both sides wanted Anderson to act with them, and 
 when he took sides with the colored leaders the white men* 
 tried to run him out of the parish. Anderson alleged that 
 they waylaid him one night and attempted to kill him. He 
 left and came to New Orleans where, as he averred, he 
 soon discovered that Kellogg, Jewett, and the rest of the 
 Republican managers, did not want an election held in 
 certain parishes, including East Feliciana. 
 
 The democrats insisted upon Anderson s return and 
 finally Kellogg gave him a written order to go back, but 
 Jewett, so Anderson swears, and Jewett more than half 
 admits, told him to stay in New Orleans. He finally went 
 back and completed the registration and appointed the 
 commissioners of election. He avers that Kellogg urged 
 him to manage to have all the negroes vote at a few polls 
 which could be so located as to enable the bulk of them to 
 attend on election day, and to have disturbances created at 
 the Democratic polls whereby the votes cast there could 
 be thrown out. This he did not attempt. 
 
 It would have been quite easy to have executed such a 
 plan if there had been perfect accord between the colored 
 and white leaders and all the negroes were determined to vote 
 the Republican ticket. Neither of these conditions existed. 
 
 The election was fair, free and peaceable, and the dem 
 ocrats carried the parish by a large majority. Anderson 
 made his returns in due form and mailed them to the Re 
 turning Board as the law directs. He came to New 
 Orleans, and all the testimony agrees that he proclaimed 
 that there was no just ground for contesting the election in 
 his parish. 
 
288 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 There is disagreement as to whether he made the pro 
 test, or affidavit, which appears in the Sherman report. 
 Anderson swears that he did not, and Pitkin and Camp 
 bell that he did. But Pitkin says that after he had made 
 it Anderson wanted to withdraw it, and raised a great row, 
 because he was not allowed to have it. Burke testified 
 that Anderson came to him and offered for a sum of money 
 to furnish the evidence which would establish beyond con 
 troversy that the election was fair, free, and peaceable, and 
 was honestly won by the democrats. There can be no 
 question that Anderson s conduct caused the republicans 
 serious uneasiness. 
 
 It would have been embarrassing to have a supervisor 
 go back on them after he had made an affidavit. There 
 can be no doubt that every effort was made to control him. 
 He was restored to his old place in the custom house at a 
 salary of $1,400 a year November 17, 1876. 
 
 C. E. Nash, the colored candidate for Congress, en 
 tered into a written agreement with him on November 21 
 wherein he stipulated to secure for Anderson the appoint 
 ment of naval officer of the port of New Orleans in consid 
 eration " that the said Anderson shall suppress evidence 
 showing that the said parish of East Feliciana was fairly 
 carried by the Democratic party at the election held 
 November 7, 1876, thereby electing the entire Democratic 
 state ticket and Congressmen." 
 
 Anderson asserted that the Nash agreement was of little 
 moment so far as he was concerned; that he was only in 
 duced to forego his purpose of exposing the conspiracy to 
 count in the Hayes electors and the Republican state ticket, 
 congressmen, and members of the legislature by the written 
 assurances he and a friend, Don. A. Weber, supervisor of 
 the parish of West Feliciana, received from John Sherman. 
 
"HANDLING PITCH." 289 
 
 It is not worth while to consider the probabilities of 
 Anderson s story about the Sherman letter as he detailed it 
 with great elaborateness and many evident contradictions 
 to the Potter committee. The only important question we are 
 concerned with is, would John Sherman have written such a 
 letter as Anderson claimed he did ? Upon this point Sher 
 man himself has foreclosed inquiry. When called as a witness 
 by the Potter committee, while giving it as his best recol 
 lection that he had not written the original of the copy 
 which was shown him, he volunteered the declaration 
 that he would have written " some of the things " in the 
 letter it if he had been asked to do it. No doubt he would. 
 Anderson was dangerous. He had to be quieted ! 
 
 All the subsequent dealings with Anderson by Stanley 
 Mathews, John M. Harlan, Sherman, Evarts, and Hayes 
 himself, prove that they considered him dangerous and 
 wanted to quiet him. They appointed him consul to 
 Funchal but he would not accept. He placed a high value 
 on himself and the more efforts they made to satisfy him 
 the higher he advanced his pretensions. They finally 
 decided that he would not keep faith that he was merely 
 leading them on step by step and meant to betray them in 
 the end and, therefore, dropped him. Then he unbosomed 
 himself, and, to break the force of his disclosures, it was 
 necessary to prove him a great scoundrel and an awful liar. 
 But in doing this his late friends only did what those who 
 handle pitch do defiled themselves! 
 
 W. J. Moore, was assistant supervisor of registration of 
 the seventh ward, New Orleans. The record of his con 
 nection with the custom house, as it exists in the appoint 
 ment division of the Treasury department, is interesting on 
 two accounts, first, because, it shows the kind of men Kel 
 logg appointed as registration officers, and second, because 
 
 19 
 
2 90 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 it proves that Moore drew two ^salaries at the same time. 
 From June 20, 1875, to April 12, 1876, he drew a salary of 
 $600 per year, and from June 17, 1875 he drev v $2 per 
 day as a night inspector. After the election he was made 
 a guager in the internal revenue office and held the place 
 till July 13, 1880. 
 
 A. W. Kempton was commissioner of election at poll 
 No. 2, eleventh ward, New Gleans. He arbitrarily refused 
 to sign the returns, and thereby gave the assistant super 
 visor an opportunity to refuse to include the return from 
 this poll, in his consolidated statement. He had no right 
 to so do, but any pretext was sufficient to excuse a viola 
 tion of law, provided, thereby Democratic electors were dis 
 franchised. 
 
 Kempton s reason for refusing to sign the return was 
 that he had been intimidated after the votes had been cast 
 and counted. It was a mere subterfuge the object was 
 to get rid of 413 Democratic votes. He was rewarded by 
 an appointment in the custom house at a salary of $720 a 
 year, which he held till September 6, 1878. For twenty-five 
 days he drew double salary, having been made August 12, 
 1878, an assistant weigher at $1,200 a year. On the record 
 of the appointment division of the Treasury, under Kemp- 
 ton s name, appears this memorandum hi lead pencil " not 
 
 to be removed D. J. M. A. Jewett interested letter on 
 file April 10, 1880." This letter, which was on file April 
 10, 1880, cannot now be found in the correspondence files 
 of the Treasury department. 
 
 P. J. Maloney, assistant supervisor of registration of the 
 fourteenth ward, New Orleans, was at the same time an 
 employe in the custom house. He was transferred to the 
 internal revenue service October 6, 1878, where he re 
 mained till January i, 1881. 
 
A BATCH OF ROGUES. 29 1 
 
 Thos. Leon, assistant supervisor of registration of the 
 eighth ward, New Orleans, was an employe of the custom 
 house a night inspector salary $3 per day. 
 
 T. H. Rowan, assistant supervisor of registration, tenth 
 ward, New Orleans, was at the same time a custom house 
 employe and held on till 1883, salary $3 per day. 
 
 Napoleon Underwood, assistant supervisor of registra 
 tion, twelfth ward, New Orleans, was appointed night in 
 spector, custom house, April 23, 1878, $3 per day salary. 
 
 Patrick Creagh, assistant supervisor of registration, 
 third ward, New Orleans, was at the same time clerk of a 
 police court. He was appointed June, 1879, storekeeper, 
 custom house, salary $1,460 a year and was still drawing 
 the salary July i, 1885. 
 
 A. J. Brim, assistant supervisor of registration, second 
 ward, New Orleans, was at the sam e time an employe of 
 the custom house. He arbitrarily and illegally refused to 
 consolidate with the returns from other polls the vote cast 
 at poll No. 6 whereby 248 Democratic electors were dis 
 franchised. He continued to hold his place in the custom 
 house till August 12, 1877. 
 
 W. F. Loan, assistant supervisor of registration, fifteenth 
 ward, New Orleans, was chief of Kellogg s metropolitan 
 police, a state as well as municipal, a state constabulary as 
 well as city, organization. It was especially intended to 
 serve partisan purposes, and was unscrupulously used to 
 assist the registration officers in 1876 in affecting a fraudu 
 lent negro registry in New Orleans. As a reward for his 
 services, Loan was appointed January 19, 1877, inspector 
 in the custom house at a salary of $3 per day, and May 7, 
 1878, was promoted to be assistant weigher with a salary of 
 $1,200 per annum. July i, 1885, he was still in the New 
 Orleans custom house. 
 
A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 R. C. Howard, assistant supervisor of registration, 
 fourth ward, New Orleans, was at the same time a clerk in 
 the post-office of that city with a salary of $720 per year, 
 and, unless recently discharged, still holds the place. 
 
 George A. J. Swazey, was a negro member of the legis 
 lature from West Feliciana parish for a number of years. 
 He was a notable example of the influence of evil sur 
 roundings and corrupting examples on the negroes. He is 
 about one-fourth white and was one of the most useful 
 tools Kellogg had in the legislature. He and Louis J. 
 Souer were the " bosses " of the negro members of the 
 legislature, and regulated the price of their votes. They 
 made contracts and delivered " the goods." Swazey was 
 efficient in 1876 in marshalling negroes to the custom house 
 for " the affidavit mill." He brought his men trained to 
 answer affirmatively all questions propounded to them. 
 Souer and Swazey " corralled " and held the negro legisla 
 tors for Kellogg when that worthy was elected to the 
 senate in January 1877. When Spofford contested Kel- 
 logg s seat Swazey was the latter s chief lieutenant in man 
 aging his negro witnesses. 
 
 Swazey was, July i, 1885, a night inspector in the cus 
 tom house at $2 per day having held office continuously, 
 with the exception of nine months, for five years. 
 
 Thomas S. Kelley was the negro messenger of the 
 executive office under Kellogg. He is a spruce and intel 
 ligent mulatto. 
 
 When the Packard government went to pieces in the 
 spring of 1877, Kelley was neglected. His extravagant 
 habits soon consumed all his substance and when the Pot 
 ter committee began its work of investigating the frauds of 
 1876, Kelley indicated his purpose of telling what he knew 
 about the forgery of electoral votes in December, 1876* 
 
A BAD NEGRO S REWARD. 293 
 
 He wrote to Hon. Clarkson N. Potter from Lake Provi 
 dence, Louisiana, where he was staying, on June 9, 1878, 
 stating that, if protected, he would tell who forged the 
 names of A. B. Levissee and Oscar JofTroin to the certifi 
 cates of electoral votes manufactured in the State House 
 December 28 and 29, 1876. 
 
 On June 22, Kelley was subpoenaed to appear in New 
 Orleans to testify before a sub-committee of the Potter 
 committee, but the very day the subpoena was served on 
 him James D. Kennedy, a negro employe of the sergeant- 
 at-arms of the Senate, arrived at Lake Providence, having 
 been sent by Kellogg, and induced Kelley to go to Wash 
 ington with him. Kennedy furnished the money for ex 
 penses. Arriving in Washington Kelley was maintained 
 at Kellogg s expense, the money being paid through John 
 A. Walsh, a banker at 916 F street who had recently come 
 from New Orleans where he had been the chief financial 
 supporter of the Packard government. 
 
 From July to Dec. 16, 1879, Kelley was supported by 
 Kellogg through the medium of Walsh. On Dec. 16, 
 1879, Kelley was placed on the pay-roll of the New Or 
 leans custom house, although he was then in Washington 
 and remained there for more than three months rendering 
 no service in New Orleans. 
 
 The record of the appointment division of the Treasury 
 department shows that Kelley was appointed a clerk in 
 the New Orleans custom house on Dec. 16, 1879 and that 
 he continued on the pay-roll there until March 4, 1880, 
 when he was appoinied on the recommendation of Kellogg 
 by direction of John Sherman a clerk in the second au 
 ditor s office, Washington, D. C., at a salary of $1,000 a 
 year. On Oct. 30, 1883, at the instance of Kellogg, he 
 was promoted to $1,200 a year, and he is now a second- 
 
294 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 class clerk in the same office receiving a salary of $1,400 
 per annum. 
 
 When Kelley was examined by the Potter committee 
 January ir, 1879, he said he knew positively that A. B. 
 Levissee and Oscar Joffroin were not in New Orleans Dec. 
 28 and 29, 1876; that being the messenger of Kellogg 
 he, with H. Conquest Clark, had charge of the forged cer 
 tificates of electoral votes on those days and that no signa 
 tures were attached to the same till Dec. 29; that they 
 were on that day kept in a room on the third floor of the 
 State House and that the late electors except Levissee and 
 Joffroin went up, one by one, either in his company, or 
 with H. Conquest Clark, and signed their names ; that he 
 did not see all who signed, but saw them in the State House 
 and two of them, Brewster and Joseph, he sent after; he 
 declined to say, whether or not, he forged the names of 
 Levissee and Joffroin, his reason therefor being that if he 
 admitted he did people would say he was a fool for admit 
 ting it, and if lie said he did not, nobody would believe 
 him. He would not say that his answers would criminate 
 him. He requested a few days delay in which to consult 
 counsel, which was granted him. He professed to be fa 
 miliar with the signatures of Levissee and Joffroin and said 
 he was positive those purporting to be theirs on the second 
 set of certificates of electoral votes were not genuine. 
 
 Levissee had testified June 6, 1878, that he signed but 
 one set of certificates, and on being shown what purported 
 to be his signatures on a second set, he said they were for 
 geries, and very poor and awkward imitations; that he left 
 New Orleans on the 22nd or 23d of December, 1876, and 
 on the 28th and 2gth lie was in Shreveport, Louisiana. 
 
 On January 14, 1879, Kelley again appeared and was 
 examined by the Potter committee. He then said that he 
 
WHO DID THE FORGING? 295 
 
 did not forge the signatures of A. B. Levissee and Oscar 
 Joffroin to the forged certificates of electoral votes on De 
 cember 29, 1876; after much fencing and prevaricating, he 
 said that B. P. Blanchard, Kellogg s executive clerk, 
 forged Joffroin s signature. 
 
 Kelley s story of how he knew this was altogether im 
 probable. He said he came into the " upper room " in the 
 State House where the certificates were and found Blanch 
 ard sitting at the table; that he, Kelley, went to the fire 
 place and took a seat. Presently Blanchard remarked : 
 " How is that for high ?" whereupon, he, Kelley, got up, 
 went to the table and saw the papers before Blanchard, 
 Joffroin s name was written, and the ink not dry; that not 
 another word was spoken; that when he came into the 
 room he did not observe that Blanchard was doing any 
 thing save sitting at the table did not notice any papers; 
 that he did not see Blanchard writing after he sat down at 
 the fire, and did not look up or look round, till he heard 
 " how is that for high," coming from Blanchard. 
 
 Being subjected to a most rigid, skilful cross-examina 
 tion by Gen. B. F. Butler, Kelley was made to appear in 
 a very bad light as a witness. Any one who reads this ex 
 amination will be convinced that the witness was lying 
 from beginning to end. 
 
 John H. Dinkgrave, a resident of Monroe, Louisiana, 
 was the commissioner before whom was executed the 
 original affidavit of Eliza Pinkston the one which M. J. 
 Grady, supervisor of Ouachita parish, forwarded to the Re 
 turning Board, November 23, 1876, and which was sup 
 pressed, and another, prepared in New Orleans, December 
 2, 1876, telling a different story, was substituted. Dink- 
 grave was appointed deputy collector of internal revenue at 
 Monroe, La. Salary $1,500 a year. 
 
296 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 W. H. Dinkgrave, who was also a party to the Pink- 
 ston fraud, was appointed a clerk in the New Orleans cus 
 tom house April 2, 1879, salary $1,600 a year, and held 
 the place till he resigned October n, 1882. 
 
 Geo. L. Norton, assistant adjutant-general of Kellogg s 
 militia, at the time of the count by the Returning Board, 
 was appointed supervising inspector of steamboats at a 
 salary of $3,000 a year. 
 
 A. J. Dumont, chairman of the Republican campaign 
 committee of Louisiana in 1876, was appointed an inspec 
 tor of the New Orleans custom house, May 7, 1878, and 
 March 24, 1879, was made a deputy collector of customs, 
 salary $3,000, which place he held till he committed suicide 
 in June, 1885. 
 
 Sam l. Chapman, sheriff of East Feliciana parish, and 
 in charge of negro affidavit-makers from that parish, in 
 1876, held a position in the New Orleans custom house 
 from Oct. 6, 1877, to April 22, 1878, salary $600 a year. 
 George A. Sheradin, a native of Ohio, a Louisiana car 
 pet-bagger, a personal friend of R. B. Hayes, who helped 
 to consummate the frauds in Louisiana by which the elec 
 toral vote of that state was secured, was appointed by 
 Hayes recorder of deeds for the District of Columbia, an 
 office worth $10,000 a year, May 25, 1878, and held the 
 same for four years, and also enjoyed large emoluments 
 from fraudulent contracts under Thos. J. Brady, Second as 
 sistant Postmaster-general. 
 
 W. H. Twitchell, a state senator from parish of Natchi- 
 toches, Louisiana, for several years, was appointed consul 
 to Kingston, Canada, in 1877, salary $1,500 a year and 
 extra fees. 
 
 It was shown during the investigation by the Potter 
 committee that Twitchell was one of the most corrupt of 
 
KELLOGG S CATTLE. 297 
 
 the carpet-bag members of the legislature ; and it was 
 proved in the Spofford- Kellogg contest that he admitted 
 the purchase of his vote for Kellogg. 
 
 W. J. Delacey, a member of the legislature who voted 
 for Kellogg in 1877, admitted in an affidavit that he was 
 paid therefor. Upon retracting this affidavit that is 
 after swearing that he swore falsely in the affidavit he 
 was appointed an inspector in the New Orleans custom 
 house, salary $90 a month. 
 
 Lewis J. Souer, a member of the legislature counted in 
 by the Returning Board, admitted in the Spofford- Kellogg 
 contest that in order to keep a quorum present till Kellogg 
 could be elected United States Senator, he cashed at par 
 members pay-certificates which could not be sold for any 
 thing on the market. He was appointed an appraiser in the 
 custom house, salary $3,000. 
 
 Vincent Dickerson, Chas. F. Brown, A. E. Milon, Ar- 
 istidie de Joie, Milton Jones, J. J. Johnson, who made affi 
 davits in which they confessed to having been bought to 
 vote as members of the legislature for Kellogg to be United 
 States Senator, were all appointed to places in the New Or 
 leans custom house upon retracting their affidavits. There 
 were in all 34 * members of the Packard legislature who 
 voted for Kellogg appointed in the New Orleans custom 
 house the refuge for almost every scoundrel in Louisiana, 
 who had anything to do with the great fraud of 1876. 
 
 * See Senate Mis. Doc. No. 79, 46th Cong, ad Sess. pp. 21 to 35, for 
 all that relates to the period previous to Kellogg s putting witnesses in 
 custom house. 
 
298 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 The Roll of American dishonor : The centennial era of the Republic 
 disgraced : The apology of the instigators and promoters of the 
 Great Fraud analyzed : The facts which have been proved against 
 " the visiting statesmen :" The Florida case : The Louisiana case: 
 A shameful story : The dishonesty of the defense put forward by 
 " the visiting statesmen :" Their names linked for all time to those 
 of the Louisiana and Florida rogues: Retributive justice: How all 
 the chief beneficiaries of the Great Fraud feared exposure : Mathev/s 
 and Jim. Anderson : General Grant knew the Louisiana rogues 
 and was prepared to believe them capable of any villainy. 
 
 THE roster of visiting statesmen, of the Returning Board 
 rascals and their relatives, of the state officers, and of 
 subordinate rogues ; the recounting of their many crimes, 
 their frauds, perjuries, and forgeries by which the electoral 
 votes of Florida and Louisiana were counted for Hayes 
 and Wheeler; the enumeration of the rewards bestowed 
 upon the instigators and promoters, the aiders and abettors, 
 and the perpetrators of those crimes, might appropriately 
 be termed the Roll of American dishonor. What a shame 
 ful record it is ! 
 
 There have been periods in the political history of 
 England when parliamentary elections were a mockery, 
 and the prostitution of patronage, and the bestowal of the 
 monarch s favors were a scandal and disgrace. But the 
 history of English politics will be searched in vain for ex 
 amples of political infamy, of official degradation compara- 
 
THE FRAUD PROVED. 299 
 
 ble to those which disgraced the centennial era of our Re 
 public. 
 
 The most disgusting feature of the story of the great 
 fraud of 1876 is the justification the instigators and promo 
 ters thereof have attempted. 
 
 Their apology has been and is that southern rebels de 
 prived the negroes of their suffrages; that to protect the 
 freedmen in their political rights election laws were enacted 
 by the carpet-bag legislatures of certain southern states 
 which enabled constitutional power to be exerted in purg 
 ing the ballot-boxes ; that they simply advised and encour 
 aged the execution of these laws. 
 
 But it has been conclusively shown that, in the case of 
 Florida, the board of state canvassers had not the power to 
 do aught but accept the returns of the county canvassers 
 and canvass and compile the vote from the same ; that the 
 county returns gave the Tilden electors a majority of all 
 the votes cast ; that the grossest frauds were committed by 
 the republicans in many counties, and that in every instance 
 these frauds were accepted as true returns by the state can 
 vassers; that the perpetrators of these crimes were re 
 warded for their services; and that the proof of these 
 frauds were furnished by the guilty parties who confessed 
 their guilt. It has been further proved, beyond controversy, 
 that the state canvassers were procured to violate their 
 oaths of office and to peril their souls by the promise and 
 pledge of rewards to be given them by Hayes. 
 
 In the case of Louisiana it has been demonstrated, first 
 that the election law was not in accordance with the con 
 stitution of the state; that the Congress of the United 
 States so decided, the Senate and the House of Representa 
 tives, each voting separately on different cases, so held ; 
 that it was so held by the highest court of Louisiana. 
 
300 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 Second, it has been established that the election law, 
 waiving its constitutionality, prescribed certain forms 
 and methods whereby the Returning Board might 
 be vested with jurisdiction in specified cases, and 
 that, in not one single instance in which the Returning 
 Board in 1876 assumed jurisdiction and exercised the 
 power of rejecting votes, did it acquire that jurisdiction and 
 exercise that power, in accordance with the forms or 
 the letter and spirit of the election law. 
 
 It has been shown that the election was fair, free and 
 peaceable ; that the so-called evidence to prove the con 
 trary was manufactured by wholesale. 
 
 It has been proved that the instigators and promoters 
 of the frauds in Louisiana knew that these "forms" had 
 not been observed and that the Returning Board had no 
 jurisdiction ; that it did not pretend to follow the mode of 
 procedure prescribed by the law ; that to give the Return 
 ing Board colorable jurisdiction the crimes of forgery and 
 perjury were committed; that these crimes must have been 
 with the knowledge, if not by the connivance of the men who 
 were invited to go to Louisiana by President Grant, " to 
 see that the Returning Board make a fair count of the 
 votes actually cast." 
 
 And what an array the enumeration of these crimes and 
 the perpetrators thereof makes ! What a shameful story the 
 history of the rogues is ! Beginning with Kellogg, the gov 
 ernor of Louisiana, and coming down to the insignificant 
 officials, there is an unbroken procession of graceless 
 scamps. Take for instance the men who were counted in 
 by the Returning Board as members of the legislature in 
 order to give Kellogg a colorable title to a seat in the 
 United States Senate. Was there ever such an exhibition 
 of turpitude and political immorality witnessed by English- 
 
WHAT A SPECTACLE! 301 
 
 speaking people ? A score of the wretches make affidavits 
 to the effect that they were bought like sheep in the sham 
 bles by Kellogg. Then Kellogg buys them to swear they 
 had forsworn themselves, and pays them with places in the 
 New Orleans custom house ! And the Federal patronage 
 thus disbursed was that of the department of the govern 
 ment over which John Sherman presided. Thirty-four of 
 the characterless rogues, who had for a brief period made a 
 quorum of a sham legislature, and by their votes had given 
 Kellogg a claim to a seat in the Senate of the United 
 States, were at one time on the pay-roll of the New Or 
 leans custom house ! 
 
 And, notwithstanding the proof of these things was in- 
 contestible, a partisan majority of the Senate would not 
 kick Kellogg out of the Senate. Not only this, but the 
 whole power and influence of a Republican administration 
 was wielded to prevent the indictment of this carpet-bag 
 rogue for accepting a bribe while a Senator ! 
 
 The hollow-heartedness, the dishonesty, of the defense 
 of the conduct of the Republican " visiting statesmen " 
 to Louisiana, was made manifest to the whole world by 
 their agreement to abandon Packard in order to secure 
 votes in the House of Representatives to defeat Demo 
 cratic filibusters and complete the counting-in of Hayes 
 and Wheeler. All of the prominent visiting statesmen from 
 John Sherman down were parties to this bargain. 
 
 Hayes, himself, in lamenting his defeat on the night of 
 November 8th, 1876, hypocritically proclaimed that his 
 only regret was for the poor negroes, and the following 
 February consented to and ratified the arrangement made 
 by Stanley Mathews, John Sherman, Charles Foster, and 
 James A. Garfield with the representatives of Nichols and 
 Hampton whereby in return for the completion of the elec- 
 
302 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 toral count and the seating of Hayes, Packard and Cham 
 berlain were to be abandoned. 
 
 Honorable men will justify the conduct of the represen 
 tatives of Louisiana and South Carolina in ridding their 
 people of the awful calamity of carpet-bag and scallawag 
 rule, but upon what ground can the justification of Hayes 
 and his party friends be placed ? 
 
 If intimidation prevented the Hayes electors from 
 securing a majority of the ballots in the boxes how was it 
 with Packard ? He received over a thousand more votes 
 than five of the Hayes electors ! 
 
 The truth was confessed perforce by the men who were 
 responsible for the Returning Board frauds. They did not 
 dare to assume the further responsibility of continuing by 
 military power the indefensible rule of carpet-baggers and 
 scallawags in Louisiana and South Carolina! 
 
 They knew, better than the rest of the world, the enor 
 mity of that rule. They were far better acquainted with 
 the real characters of the carpet-baggers and scallawags 
 than the rank and file of their party was, and they felt that 
 it would be no longer possible to defend the wholesale 
 plundering, the general corruption, the petty thieving and 
 rascality of their southern allies. The public was beginning 
 to know the truth. 
 
 But one thing these Republican politicians did not 
 reckon upon, the linking throughout all time of their names 
 with those of the Kelloggs, the Andersons, the Wellses, the 
 Jewetts, the Dennises, the McLins, et id omne genus. They 
 were compelled not only to eulogize and defend these 
 rogues ex nescessitate ra, but they had to reward them for 
 the base services they rendered. 
 
 Retributive justice, in the guise of the members of the 
 Louisiana Returning Board, and of the legion of other 
 
THE JURIST, THE STRIKER. 303 
 
 rogues, was daily and hourly reminding Hayes and his 
 cabinet of the crimes they had been art and part of. 
 
 How all these honorable (?) gentlemen dreaded the ex 
 posure, which was constantly impending, is strikingly illus 
 trated by the experience of Stanley Mathews with Jim. 
 Anderson. Without breeding, utterly devoid of the instincts 
 of a gentleman, a typical political bummer and striker, in 
 dicating by his habitual speech his low origin and lower 
 manner of life, Anderson quickly impressed the lawyer, 
 statesman, and jurist with the firm conviction that the repu 
 tation of the late " visiting statesmen," and the stability of 
 the whole fabric of the fraudulent administration were at 
 the mercy of the late supervisor of registration for the 
 parish of East Feliciana ! This is no exaggeration. The 
 facts warrant even a stronger statement. 
 
 Jim. Anderson did not make the acquaintance of Mr. 
 Mathews in New Orleans while the latter was there in the 
 capacity of a " visiting statesman." He first met Mathews 
 in Cincinnati in the latter part of March, 1877. It is 
 doubtless true that Anderson was a quite frequent visitor 
 at the headquarters of the " visiting statesmen " in New 
 Orleans. He was " cheeky " and realized that a fellow of 
 his calibre would, in all human probability, never have an 
 other such opportunity to make a political " stake." He 
 knew that the Presidential election turned upon the elec 
 toral votes of Louisiana. He knew, moreover, that those 
 votes could not be given to Hayes unless the members of 
 the Returning Board monstrously perverted the election 
 law. He was smart and unscrupulous, and quickly dis 
 covered that the supervisors of registration were the sole 
 dependence of the local and national Republican leaders. 
 
 The commissioners of election had honestly performed 
 their duties and had not reported intimidation, acts of vio- 
 
304 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 lence, and corrupt influences, simply because there were 
 none to report. For the same reason the supervisors of 
 registration had not reported cases of intimidation prior to 
 the election. How then was the Returning Board to ob 
 tain jurisdiction and secure pretended evidence upon 
 which to base their contemplated action ? The supervisors 
 of registration could by forswearing themselves lay a false 
 foundation. The whole structure of the intended fraud 
 must be bottomed on perjury and forgery ! 
 
 " Red-headed Jim," as Anderson was popularly known, 
 knew his fellow-supervisors, and while he was quite certain 
 that they would not hesitate at the commission of any 
 crime, he firmly believed that they would insist upon guar 
 antees of protection and pledges of adequate rewards. He 
 knew that the local leaders of his party would be liberal 
 with guarantees and profligate with promises, but niggardly 
 in performances. His first scheme was to get promises 
 and then to make assurance doubly sure by having them 
 guaranteed by the " visiting statesmen." 
 
 Anderson formed an alliance offensive and defensive 
 with Don. A. Weber, a scallawag supervisor of registration 
 for the parish of West Feliciana. The evidence of concert 
 between these two worthies is conclusive. Weber was quite 
 as mercenary and unscrupulous as Anderson. Their coopera- 
 ion was absolutely necessary to the success of the danger 
 ous undertaking which had been determined on by the 
 desperate party leaders. Anderson began by securing from 
 Charles E. Nash, candidate for Congress, an agreement in 
 writing which was as follows : 
 
 "NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 21, 1876. 
 
 By an arrangement entered into this day between James E. An 
 derson, supervisor of registration for the parish of East Feliciana, 
 Louisiana, and Charles E. Nash, member of Congress from the sixth 
 
A "SPECIAL" CASE. 305 
 
 Congressional district of Louisiana, it is agreed that the said Anderson 
 shall suppress evidence showing that the said parish of East Feliciana 
 was fairly carried by the Democratic party at the election held Novem 
 ber 7, 1876, thereby electing the entire Democratic state ticket and 
 Congressmen. In consideration of which the said Nash agrees to se 
 cure for said Anderson the position of naval officer at the port of New 
 
 Orleans, Louisiana. 
 
 (Signed) JAMES E. ANDERSON. 
 
 C. E. NASH. 
 The above agreement was signed in our presence this 2ist day of 
 
 November, 1876. 
 
 (Signed) J. M. TOMLINSON. 
 
 O. B. MORGAN." 
 
 The next move of Anderson was to obtain from one or 
 more of the " visiting statesmen " a guarantee that pledges 
 and promises would be kept if Hayes became President. 
 That he was verbally assured that they would be kept cannot 
 be doubted. It is unnecessary to discuss the probability of 
 Anderson s story about Weber and himself receiving such 
 assurances in writing from John Sherman. This question 
 has been considered elsewhere. 
 
 Anderson was in Washington to witness the inaugura 
 tion of Hayes and get his reward. He had abandoned the 
 idea of becoming naval officer at New Orleans and wanted 
 a consulship, Nash and Dr. Darrall, another Congressman 
 from Louisiana, urged Anderson s claims, and Hayes 
 directed that his case be made " special " for " a consulship 
 in a warm climate." 
 
 But Anderson was too impatient to tolerate the tardy 
 routine of the State department and posted off to New 
 Orleans. He stopped in Cincinnati and called on Mr. 
 Mathews. Anderson s account of the interview which fol 
 lowed is interesting : 
 
 " I called on Mr. Mathews. I went into a general history of the 
 20 
 
306 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 election in Louisiana. I told him what part I had taken, of the 
 manner in which the election in East Feliciana had been conducted 
 and in the state : told him they had thrown out my parish on a forged 
 protest : that they made me promises which they had not fulfilled and 
 had no intention of fulfilling : in fact, told him the whole story of the 
 whole thing right through : went into all the details, with the excep 
 tion that I omitted any mention of Mr. Sherman s name. I did not 
 mention his name at all."* 
 
 Mr. Mathews was impressed by Anderson s " whole 
 story " of the Louisiana election. He asked Anderson to 
 leave with him the Nash agreement. He gave Anderson a 
 note of introduction to John M. Harlan who was one of 
 the commissioners sent by Hayes to supervise the abandon 
 ment of Packard s sham government. A few weeks later 
 Mr. Mathews wrote to Anderson, who was still in New Or 
 leans, assuring him that he had " the best reasons for saying 
 that sooner or later, and as soon as practicable," he would 
 " be able to obtain " for him " a satisfactory appointment, 
 either at home or abroad." 
 
 Harlan was also impressed by Anderson s story, and 
 when lie came North he cooperated with Mathews in his 
 efforts to prevent the exposure they both believed the fel 
 low could make. Mathews wrote Anderson on the 27th of 
 April, 1877, from Cincinnati, saying that he had "conferred 
 with General Harlan, having travelled with him from Phil 
 adelphia here." He continued " we both concluded it 
 would be better to wait now until the extra session of Con 
 gress, which will be called to meet June 4th, when I will 
 be in Washington regularly, and situated so as to give the 
 attention to your application which I have promised, and 
 when I do, no doubt I will be able to secure your appoint 
 ment to some foreign position which will be agreeable to 
 you." 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 31. 45th Cong. 3d Sess. p. 23. 
 
MATHEWS IN EARNEST. 307 
 
 On the i4th of May Mr. Mathews gave Anderson a letter 
 to the Secretary of State in which he said, among other sig 
 nificant tilings, " that the circumstances in which Mr. Ander 
 son has been placed, and in which he has been compelled 
 to act a very difficult part, are such as to give him very 
 strong claims upon the administration in the public interests, 
 and I do most earnestly urge that some satisfactory public 
 employment may be found for him at once." 
 
 This letter brought an appointment to the consulship at 
 Funchal, salary $1,500 a year and fees. This was indig 
 nantly spurned by Anderson who sent an insulting tele 
 gram to Mr. Mathews and followed it with an impudent 
 letter. Notwithstanding this unmannerly and ungrateful 
 conduct on Anderson s part Mr. Mathews continued to 
 manifest a deep interest in the fellow s behalf, and continued 
 his efforts to secure him " a satisfactory appointment." But 
 in the meantime Anderson had been talking and threaten 
 ing, and Sherman and Hayes were afraid to do anything 
 for him, believing that he was being used by democrats to 
 entrap them. 
 
 The only reasonable explanation and defense of Mr. 
 Mathews part in this scandalous business was made by his 
 nephew, Hon. Henry Watterson, who claimed that his 
 uncle was striving " to save his party friends from a scan 
 dalous exposure, knowledge of which had reached him. 
 No one pretends that he participated in the Louisiana 
 frauds. He was in New Orleans but a few days." 
 
 But short as Mr. Mathews visit was to New Orleans in 
 November, 1876, he must have been cognizant of, and 
 privy to, transactions between his fellow " visiting states 
 men " and the Kellogg crowd, which prepared him to be 
 lieve Anderson s story. He had repeated interviews with 
 Hayes and Evarts and Sherman in Anderson s interest. If 
 
308 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 they were not afraid of Anderson s threatened revelations 
 why did they not quiet the apprehensions of Mr. Mathews. 
 His only object was to serve them and his party. It is not 
 possible that there could have been any bond of sympathy 
 between the cool, calculating lawyer and the political bum 
 mer and striker ! 
 
 It is not strange that from Hayes down the fraudulent 
 administration and its friends should have been in constant 
 dread of an exposure by some one of the many Louisiana 
 villains. They knew the character of the men they had to 
 deal with. They knew of the crimes these men had com 
 mitted to make Hayes President. If their knowledge was 
 not criminal it was so nearly so that the public would not 
 discriminate in their favor. 
 
 General Grant, who had learned by costly experience 
 the character of the Louisiana carpet-baggers and scalla- 
 wags, was not deceived by the defense which the " visiting 
 statesmen " made for themselves and their allies. He 
 thought that in the case of Florida his party was entitled 
 to the benefit of the doubt, but the Louisiana frauds were 
 so gross and indefensible that he was determined not to as 
 sume any responsibility therefor. 
 
 He had great confidence in General Sheridan and re 
 membered his unsparing condemnation of J. Madison 
 Wells when constrained in 1865 to remove him from the 
 provisional governorship of Louisiana. When Mr. Maddox, 
 the government agent who had been sent to New Orleans 
 to observe the conduct of the members of the Returning 
 Board, reported, November 24th, 1876, that Wells was for 
 sale and was " dickering " with both sides, President Grant 
 promptly sent the agent to Mr. Chandler. General Grant 
 had no doubt of the truth of Mr. Maddox s report. He 
 knew that Wells was capable of any villainy. 
 
A HAPPY RIDDANCE. 309 
 
 There can be no question that when General Grant 
 came to review in the calm repose of private life the politi 
 cal events of the eight years of his administration he was 
 ready to condemn unequivocally the many and desperately 
 wicked excesses of the rule of the carpet-baggers and scal- 
 lawags in the southern states. And who is not ? Who 
 does not fervently thank God that the Pattersons, the Kel- 
 loggs, the Dorseys, the Wests, the Warmoths, the Moseses, 
 and all that they represented have disappeared from national 
 as well as southern politics ? Where is the conscientious, 
 self-respecting citizen of the Republic who can recall 
 without feeling the blush of shame tingle on his cheeks the 
 riot of corruption, the debauching of public and private 
 morals, which were the result of the reign of the carpet-bag 
 ger and scallawag in the South ? 
 
 If any there be who are not satisfied that the elimina 
 tion of the carpet-bagger and scallawag was a God- 
 sent deliverance let them read the history of Louisiana poli 
 tics from 1865 to 1876 in the succeeding chapters. 
 
3 10 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Review of Louisiana carpet-bag politics : Lincoln s plan of reconstruc 
 tion : The first provisional government : The illegal attempt to 
 amend the constitution of 1864: The New Orleans riot and massa 
 cre the result of incendiary appeals to the negroes : Gen. Hancock s 
 benificent rule : The election of Warmoth and the enactment of reg 
 istration and election laws : The character and purpose of these 
 laws : Analysis of the laws : Senator Edmunds pronounces the elec 
 tion law in conflict with the State constitution : The character of 
 Warmoth : He delineates the characters of his opponents : Uni 
 versal corruption: The Custom House party: The attempt to im 
 peach Warmoth : The use of the troops : The Carter- Warmoth 
 war: 
 
 THE history of the election in Louisiana in 1876, and 
 the enormity of the illegal methods, the monstrous perver 
 sion of the principles, and the flagrant disregard of " the 
 forms " of law, the perjuries, forgeries, and divers other 
 crimes by which the will of the people of that State, peace 
 ably and honestly expressed at the polls, was nullified 
 and the perpetrators thereof were rewarded cannot be fully 
 understood and adequately appreciated without reviewing 
 the preceding political occurrences. 
 
 The plan of reconstructing the government of the 
 Southern States devised by President Lincoln and suggested 
 by him in a message to Congress in 1863, differed widely 
 from that subsequently adopted by the leaders of the Re 
 publican party. Mr. Lincoln affirmed in the last public 
 utterance he made that his plan was " distinctly approved 
 
MR. LINCOLN S PLAN. 311 
 
 by every member of his cabinet." Speaking of his policy 
 Mr. Lincoln described it as follows : 
 
 " Some twelve thousand voters in the heretofore slave 
 State of Louisiana have sworn allegiance to the Union ; as 
 sumed to be the rightful political power of the state; held 
 elections; organized a free government; adopted a free 
 state constitution, giving the benefit of public schools 
 to black and white, and empowering the legislature to con 
 fer the elective franchise upon the colored man. This 
 legislature has already voted to ratify the constitutional 
 amendment recently passed by Congress, abolishing slavery 
 throughout the nation. These twelve thousand persons are 
 thus fully committed to the Union, as to perpetual freedom 
 in the States committed to the very things the nation 
 wants and they ask the nation s recognition and its as 
 sistance to make good that committal. Now if we reject 
 and spurn them, we do our utmost to disorganize and dis 
 perse them. We in effect say to the white man : you are 
 worthless, or worse ; we will neither help you, nor be 
 helped by you. To the blacks we say: this cup of 
 liberty which these your old masters hold to your lips we 
 will dash from you, and leave you to the chances of gather 
 ing the spilled and scattered contents in some vague and 
 undefined when, where, and how. If this course discour 
 aging and paralyzing both to the white and black, has any 
 tendency to bring Louisiana into proper relations with the 
 Union, I have, so far, been unable to perceive it. If on 
 the contrary, we recognize and sustain the new government 
 of Louisiana, the converse of all this is made true. We 
 encourage the hearts and nerve the arms of the twelve 
 thousand to adhere to their work, and to argue for it, and 
 feed it, and grow it, and ripen it to a complete success." 
 
 The idea thus indicated by Mr. Lincoln was that when- 
 
3 12 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 ever any considerable body of the people of any Southern 
 State took the oath of allegiance to the United States and 
 gave evidence of their acceptance of " the very things the 
 nation wants " by organizing a free government, adopting a 
 free state constitution, giving the benefit of free schools 
 equally to black and white, and empowering the legislature 
 to confer the elective franchise upon the colored man, they 
 were entitled to the nation s recognition and assistance. It 
 is fair to presume that if Mr. Lincoln had been permitted 
 to live and supervise the rehabilitation of the Southern State 
 governments he would have adhered to his deliberately 
 formed policy. It will be noticed that the tone as well as 
 the tenor of his remarks, quoted above, indicate that the 
 subject had been carefully considered, had been much dis 
 cussed, and his views were the result of mature reflection. 
 It is no secret that his policy was not approved by many 
 prominent leaders of his party in Congress, and his lan 
 guage is indicative of some feeling on his part. His plan 
 of reconstruction had been criticised because it did not re 
 quire the enfranchisement of the negro as a condition 
 precedent. 
 
 Mr. Lincoln thought that suffrage should be gradu 
 ally bestowed instead of by a sweeping enactment. In 
 the same speech, from which the above extract is taken, 
 he clearly indicated that the colored man must show some 
 progress before he would be entitled to that boon. His 
 language also conveys the idea that the right of suffrage 
 must come from the States. He said, " the colored man, 
 too, seeing all united for him is inspired with vigilance and 
 energy, and daring to the same end. Grant that he desires 
 the elective franchise, will he not attain it sooner by saving 
 the already advanced steps toward it (the right of the legis 
 lature of Louisiana to confer it) than by running backward 
 
WOULD HE HAVE YIELDED? 313 
 
 over them ?" In reply to those who had said that twelve 
 thousand voters were but a mere handful, and a poor be 
 ginning at reconstructing the state, he replied by a charac 
 teristic and pointed illustration. 
 
 " Concede," he said, " that the new government of 
 Louisiana is only what it should be as the egg to the fowl, 
 we shall sooner have the fowl by hatching the egg than by 
 smashing it." 
 
 It is not to be presumed that the radical leaders in Con 
 gress would have yielded their views without a struggle, but 
 there can be no doubt as to what the issue would have been 
 if the contest had been between them and Mr. Lincoln. 
 He was the one great figure of the time and would have 
 continued to be, as he was the people s idol. He was essen 
 tially a man of the people. He had in a greater degree, 
 than any one of his time, the power of putting things 
 within the comprehension of the masses. His direct and 
 simple form of speech, his homely and forcible illustrations, 
 and his facility of condensation and classification, enabled 
 him to carry conviction to the people in a wonderful way. 
 But unfortunately for the whole country, and especially for 
 the South the assassin s bullet did its fatal work just as the 
 angel of peace was spreading her white wings over the 
 land. The Louisiana experiment, in which Mr. Lincoln 
 felt such a deep interest, proved a disastrous failure through 
 the machinations of unworthy men who obtained power and 
 were encouraged to resort to illegal and desperate methods 
 by radical congressmen. There was but a feeble minority 
 in both Houses of Congress. The radical element of the 
 Republican party dominated the Senate and House of 
 Representatives. Andrew Johnson was obstinate, imprac 
 ticable, without tact, and his judgment of men was often 
 utterly at fault. 
 
314 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 The provisional government of Louisiana which Mr. 
 Lincoln wanted Congress to recognize as the constitutional 
 government of that State was created by a convention called 
 in 1864 under a proclamation of Gen. N. P. Banks in com 
 mand at New Orleans. This was a novel way of setting up 
 a state government, it is true, but inter arma selent leges. 
 The convention met and formulated a constitution which 
 
 was submitted to the people and ratified by them by a 
 
 respectable body of those within the Federal jurisdiction. 
 After hostilities ceased and the authority of the national 
 government was everywhere recognized, this provisional 
 government exercised jurisdiction over the whole state. Its 
 authority was recognized obeyed by all the people. 
 But in 1866 a class of men obtained control who have since 
 proved to be characterless. In November, 1866, J. Madison 
 Wells was elected governor. He was a man of violent tem 
 per. Before the war he was one of the terrors of the Red 
 River country. He was a Union man and suffered persecu 
 tion, but as his hand was against every one who was un 
 friendly to him, his troubles were not altogether due to his 
 political sentiments. He was dishonest, unprincipled, and 
 vindictive. Michael Hahn was the first governor of the 
 provisional government although he had been an original 
 secessionist. His ability was limited. His conversion to 
 Union sentiments was due to motives, neither high nor 
 honorable. From 1864 to 1884 he was in one capacity or 
 another a pensioner either upon the State or the Federal gov 
 ernment. Rufus K. Howell, who was made associate jus 
 tice of the Supreme Court by Wells, J. King Cutter, Dr, 
 Dostie and several others had been secessionists but, on 
 the capture of New Orleans by General Butler, joined 
 Hahn and became violent agitators and advocates of 
 the punishment of rebels. Henry C. Warmoth was a 
 
THE TURBULENT CLASSES. 315 
 
 needy adventurer in New Orleans and loud in advocacy 
 of a military government. William Pitt Kellogg, made 
 Collector of the port of New Orleans by President Johnson, 
 was discreetly an advocate of the President s policy of ad 
 mitting the state to full participation of the benefits of the 
 Union. E. H. Durell, district judge of the United States, 
 was likewise temporarily an advocate of Johnson s policy 
 and opposed to reconstruction. 
 
 There was naturally a large turbulent element in New 
 Orleans. The population was a mixed one. Before, dur 
 ing, and since the war the good name of the city has suf 
 fered on account of the many bad characters who have 
 occasionally obtained a temporary ascendency there. Im 
 mediately after the war the number of these desperadoes 
 was largely increased. They have been, as their interests 
 inclined them, the partisans of first one and then another 
 political party. The disbanded Confederate armies threw 
 upon society many restless and reckless young men. Dis 
 charged Union soldiers, of bad character, swelled the ranks 
 of the dangerous classes. A race of mixed blood, the pro 
 duct of various Latin progenitors, live on the islands and 
 along the coast of the gulf who are termed Dagos. They 
 are fruiters and fishermen. For a few dollars many of 
 them can be hired to wield the assassin s knife. 
 
 * In 1866 the violent leaders determined to make anew 
 constitution and provide therein for the disfranchisement of 
 all late rebels and the enfranchisement of all the negroes. 
 They could not accomplish this by legal methods, because, 
 they could not control the legislature, which alone, under the 
 provisions of the constitution of 1864, might provide for 
 its amendment. Therefore, they determined to reconvene 
 the constitutional convention of 1864, despite the fact, that 
 
 * H. R. Report, No. 16, s8th Cong, ad Sess. pp. 37 to 61. 
 
316 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 it had been defunct two years. After consultation with 
 radical members of Congress, a call was issued by Judge 
 Howell, on the refusal of the former chairman, Judge 
 Durell, to act, convening the convention in New Orleans 
 on the 3oth day of July, 1866. There was no concealment 
 of the purposes of these violent men. They openly pro 
 claimed their intention to punish rebels and to do this the 
 negroes should be given the right of suffrage. The night 
 before this so-called convention was to assemble, Dostie, 
 Cutler, Howell, and others, addressed mass meetings of 
 negroes and gave expression to their sentiments in unre 
 strained language. Their speeches were inflammatory to 
 the last degree, and the most foolish and wicked advice was 
 given to the poor negroes. If these men were sane they 
 must have desired to provoke an outbreak and secure the 
 slaughter of the people they professed to love. They took 
 no steps whatever to secure the protection of the military. 
 They must have known what the consequences were likely 
 to be if they scattered firebrands broadcast among the in 
 flammable material, composing in large part, the population 
 of New Orleans. 
 
 The next day the convention met in Mechanics Insti 
 tute. The negroes rallied by their pretended friends gathered 
 in large numbers and paraded the streets. A riot started 
 no one could tell how or why the result : a large num 
 ber of negroes killed and many wounded. The police force 
 did most of the killing. It was a dastardly and bloody mas 
 sacre. An attempt, of course, was made to prove that it was 
 a premeditated conspiracy on the part of prominent late 
 rebels to kill all the Union men and teach the negroes a 
 terrible lesson. But this failed signally. There was no 
 evidence produced to justify even a suspicion of this. On 
 the other hand there were circumstances and facts proved 
 
GENERAL HANCOCK S RULE. 3 I/ 
 
 which gave the color of truth, at least, to the charge that a 
 disturbance was not unexpected and was rather courted by 
 the promoters of the convention scheme. J. Madison 
 Wells prudently kept out of harm s way. Dostie was the 
 only one of the incendiaries who lost his life. 
 
 The New Orleans riot of July 30, 1866, was a fortunate 
 occurrence for the Republican leaders who were bent upon 
 reconstructing the Southern States. It was the most unfor 
 tunate event for Louisiana and the whole South that could 
 possibly have happened. That it would have been pre 
 vented if the respectable citizens had suspected its possible 
 occurrence, cannot be doubted by reasonable men. The 
 consequences thereof would be apparent to all reflecting 
 minds. The reconstruction measures placed Louisiana along 
 with the rest of the South under absolute military rule. 
 Fortunately, however, for the people of that State, General 
 Hancock was assigned to the command of the fifth military 
 district which included Louisiana. For a few brief months 
 they enjoyed a government, military though it was, regu 
 lated by law. Upon assuming his duties the general an 
 nounced * " that the great principles of American liberty 
 are still the lawful inheritance of this people, and ever 
 should be." And he illustrated his words by his deeds, so 
 long as he was suffered to remain in that command. He 
 maintained the right of trial by jury, the privilege of the 
 habeas corpus, the liberty of the press, the freedom of speech, 
 the natural rights of persons and the rights of property. 
 He proved that to be true which he declared in his famous 
 order, namely : " that free institutions, while they are essen 
 tial to the prosperity and happiness of the people, always 
 furnish the strongest inducements to peace and order." He 
 sustained the regular civil tribunals and all crimes and of- 
 
 * General orders No. 40, Nov. 29, 1867. 
 
A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 fences committed were referred to them for consideration 
 and judgment. The result was perfect order and universal 
 contentment. A constitutional convention was held which 
 framed a new constitution. It was adopted and state offi 
 cers were elected. Before this occurred, however, General 
 Hancock was compelled, on account of the measures taken 
 by radical congressmen who were deeply incensed at his 
 conduct, to ask to be relieved of his command. 
 
 Henry C. Warmoth, a brilliant, but unprincipled advent 
 urer, was the first governor elected in Louisiana under the 
 reconstructed government. Handsome in person, engaging 
 in manners, eloquent and persuasive in speech, possessing a 
 quick, fertile brain, insensible to fear, and resourceful in ex 
 pedients, he was the beau ideal of a political freebooter. The 
 opportunities for self-aggrandizement and almost unrestrained 
 looting were unrivalled. The Federal patronage was vast, 
 and the chance to profit by frauds upon the national rev 
 enue to be collected was practically unlimited. Illicit dis 
 tilling was so open and notorious, that revenue agents in 
 trigued for details to New Orleans in order, in a few months, 
 to enrich themselves. The Custom House was the gateway 
 to affluence and political power. William Pitt Kellogg, 
 who was Collector of Customs from 1865 to 1868, accumu 
 lated a fortune and secured from the legislature elected 
 along with Warmoth a seat in the United States Senate. 
 The military power was now in hands less scrupulous than 
 Gen. Hancock was. But there was no occasion for its 
 exercise. The claim has been made that there was a great 
 deal of violence and much bloodshed in Louisiana during 
 1868 and 1869. There was doubtless some lawlessness and 
 bloodshed. There is always more or less in every com 
 munity. In portions of Louisiana there had always been 
 turbulent classes. The worst of them were, however, from 
 
ORGANIZED SPOLIATION. 319 
 
 the beginning acting with the carpet-baggers. This was 
 true of Rapides parish, the home of the Wells family. 
 But it is a noteworthy fact that during the months of Gen. 
 Hancock s command there were no massacres, no lawless 
 ness that attracted public attention. The necessity for polit 
 ical capital did not exist then. The government was one of 
 law and order and not one for plunder. 
 
 The organized system of spoliation which was inaugu 
 rated with the establishment of carpet-bag rule worked so 
 satisfactory that the only concern of the spoilers was to 
 make its continuance certain. That was impossible unless 
 they could grasp all power, local as well as general, and 
 provide the way to retain it in spite of the will of the people. 
 Preparatory to this scheme "the outrage mill" was set to 
 work. It was charged that fair electious could not be held 
 because of intimidation and violence. This was a pretext. 
 The object was an excuse to invent and put in operation 
 election machinery, which would enable them to maintain 
 control of the parish, municipal and state offices. Their 
 purpose was to fasten upon the intelligent, respectable and 
 property-owning class a government which was to regulate 
 the local concerns of the parishes, towns and cities as well 
 as the affairs of the state, the burdens of which were to be 
 borne by citizens who were to be practically disfranchised. 
 It was necessary to secure the co-operation of a few unprin 
 cipled white men, natives of different parishes, or carpet 
 baggers recently settled in the interior towns, and, therefore, 
 they were assigned the local pickings and stealings. But 
 this made it necessary to provide, that whatever local officers 
 were elective should be really named by the central power. 
 All political authority, the distribution of vast and widely 
 ramifying patronage, the valuation of property, the assess 
 ment and collection of all local and general taxes, the man- 
 
320 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 agement of public schools, the building of school-houses, 
 the employment of teachers, the construction and repair of 
 highways and bridges, the administration of justice every 
 thing pertaining to the local government was to be centered 
 in the governor, whose will could only be regulated by a 
 Senate which was always subservient. 
 
 The men who originated this scheme knew that its main 
 tenance would be a difficult and dangerous undertaking. 
 They based their hope of success upon three things first, 
 the control of the large negro population, second, the coun 
 tenance and protection of the Federal government, and third, 
 the fact that the white population was not altogether of 
 Anglo-Saxon lineage and had, moreover, long been accus 
 tomed to the civil law and many of the institutions peculiar 
 thereto. A pure Anglo-Saxon community, with its tradi 
 tional folkmote, its cherished right of local self-government, 
 could not have been kept in subjection to an alien rule of 
 this kind. 
 
 Registration and election laws* were enacted in 1870 
 which supplemented each other. The first, delegated to the 
 governor the appointment of the persons who determined who 
 should vote, and the second, invested a Returning Board 
 composed of the governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary 
 of state, and two senators named in the act, with the power 
 to count the votes and declare who had been elected. The 
 act was unconstitutional because it made persons not con 
 templated by the constitution Returning officers. But this 
 was of no consequence to the conspirators against the liber 
 ties of the people, because the entire judiciary was appointed 
 by the governor, and the judges were his creatures. More 
 over, a political court had been created which was invested 
 with exclusive original jurisdiction in all cases of summary 
 
 * Senate Report, No. 457, 420! Cong. $d Sess. pp. 35 to 75. 
 
THE REGISTRATION LAW. 321 
 
 process, and in all proceedings instituted to try contests for 
 office. 
 
 The governor, by the registration law, appointed by the 
 advice and consent of the Senate a State Registrar of Voters, 
 who was to be paid $3,000 a year out of the state treasury 
 upon his own warrant, one chief clerk at a salary of $1,500, 
 and one assistant clerk at a salary of $1,200 per annum. 
 The chief clerk could perform the functions and discharge all 
 the duties of the registrar in his absence or disability. Quar 
 ters, and all blank books, stationery, and all expenses were 
 to be paid for on the warrants of the registrar. The sextons 
 of all cemeteries in the parish of Orleans were to report the 
 interments of all males of twenty-one years and over, and 
 whatever other statistics the registrar might require he was 
 authorized to obtain and report to the legislature annually. 
 This general authority was held to cover a quadrennial cen 
 sus of the state which was made the basis for election 
 frauds. The governor also could appoint, within two months 
 of any general election, for each parish in the state, except 
 Orleans and Jefferson, one supervisor of registration, and one 
 assistant supervisor for each ward of New Orleans and for 
 each part of Jefferson, as divided by the Mississippi river. 
 These officers were to receive $5 per day for each day they 
 were employed, which might be till ten days after the elec 
 tion. They could have two clerks, each at a salary of $3.50 
 per diem. They were to open one office in each parish, but 
 they could go to different points to give facility for registra 
 tion if they deemed it necessary. In New Orleans they 
 were to keep open their offices for fifty days prior to the 
 election, but must close ten days before, and in the parishes 
 twenty days prior to, and close nine days before the day 
 of election. They were to give notice of the appointed time 
 and place of registration. They were the sole judges of the 
 
322 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 right of electors to register and their certificates alone gave 
 citizens the right to vote. Parish judges not only could 
 afford no relief to the citizen unlawfully deprived of his 
 rights, but if they attempted to do so they were liable to a 
 fine of not less than $500, six months imprisonment and 
 impeachment and removal. The governor could at his 
 pleasure remove supervisors and assistant supervisors. The 
 supervisors appointed three polling officers, known as com 
 missioners of elections and any number of assistants who 
 had the power of constables. It was required that a gen 
 eral registration should be held in 1874 and no one could 
 vote on a certificate issued prior to that date. 
 
 The election law provided that each parish and each 
 ward of the city of New Orleans should constitute an 
 election precinct and that the supervisors and assistant super 
 visors should determine the number of polling places but 
 were only required to establish one for each justice of the 
 peace s ward outside New Orleans. The commissioners of 
 election were to receive the ballots of registered voters, and 
 to preserve the peace with the assistance of their assistants, 
 and could order the arrest and confinement, until after the 
 close of the polls, of any persons they adjudged guilty of 
 disorder. They were to keep a list of the names of the 
 persons voting, numbering the voters from one to the end, 
 which they were to sign and swear to as correct, immedi 
 ately on the close of the polls. The ballots were to be 
 counted at the close of the election, then and there, in the 
 presence of bystanders, without moving the boxes, and the 
 tally lists, lists of voters, and ballots were to be placed in 
 the boxes and committed to the custody of the clerks of the 
 district courts. 
 
 A duplicate of the count of votes was to be for 
 warded to the Supervisor of Registration together with a 
 
MAKING PROTESTS. 323 
 
 full statement, under oath, verified by three citizens, respect 
 able and qualified voters, of any riot, tumult, acts of 
 violence, intimidation, disturbance, bribery or corrupt in 
 fluence preventing or tending to prevent a fair, free, peace 
 able election, and of the exact number of qualified electors 
 thereby deterred from voting. The Supervisor of Registra 
 tion was to make a consolidated statement of the vote of 
 his parish, in duplicate, and attach to each " by paste, wax, 
 or some adhesive substance, that the same can be kept to 
 gether," first a statement, made and sworn to, by himself, 
 and corroborated under oath by three respectable witnesses, 
 qualified voters, of " any riot, tumult, acts of violence, in 
 timidation, and disturbance, bribery or corrupt influence at 
 any place within said parish, or at or near any place of 
 registration, or revision of registration" which " prevented or 
 tended to prevent a fair, free, peaceable and full registra 
 tion ;" and, second, the statements of the commissioners of 
 election as to any like occurrences at the time of the election. 
 One copy of these duplicate consolidated statements with 
 the attachments, he was to deposit with the clerk of the 
 court after swearing to both before him, and the other he 
 was to forward by mail to the Returning Officers together 
 with the returns from the commissioners of elections, their 
 tally sheets and lists of persons voting. 
 
 Within ten days after the closing of the elections the 
 Returning Board was to meet in New Orleans to canvass 
 and compile the statements of votes made by the commis 
 sioners of elections. They were to continue in session till 
 such returns were compiled, and at such meeting the pre 
 siding officer in the presence of the other members should 
 open the said statements and compile first the statements 
 from all polls and voting places at which there had been a 
 fair, free, and peaceable registration and election. In the 
 
324 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 event of any statement, as required by law, from the Super 
 visor of Registration affecting the registration, or from the 
 Commissioners of Elections affecting the election, or both, 
 they were not to canvass, count, or compile such statements 
 of votes, thus affected, until all statements from other polls 
 or voting places were canvassed and compiled. This being 
 done they were to proceed to investigate the statements of the 
 supervisor as to interference with registration, and the state 
 ments of commissioners as to occurrence at time and place 
 of election, and if they were fully convinced by evidence 
 that for any of the causes specified the purity and freedom 
 of election at such poll or voting place was interfered with 
 they should " not canvass or compile the statement of the 
 votes of such poll or voting place, but shall reject it from 
 their returns." 
 
 It will be observed that the power and influence of the 
 governor over elections was almost unlimited. He ap 
 pointed, practically, all the election officers. The Super 
 visors of Registration were his creatures. Their dictum 
 as to the right of voters to register was absolute. And after 
 the election they and their appointees, provided they could 
 secure three respectable citizens, qualified electors, to join 
 with them, might invalidate the election at any poll or polls. 
 The Returning Board officers were the final arbiters, it is 
 true, but they were also his creatures. But the proceedings 
 of these officers must be regular and in strict conformity to 
 the law. The Supervisor of Registration could protest ONLY 
 to acts affecting the registry of voters, and the Commissioners 
 of Election only to acts affecting the voting. It was true, 
 nevertheless, that the courts, presided over by creatures of 
 the governor, were of no avail to the citizens, if the forms 
 of law were not observed in exercising the tremendous 
 power thus vested in a few men. 
 
UNCONSTITUTIONAL LAWS. 325 
 
 That the election law was clearly in conflict with the 
 constitution of the State admits of no doubt. A majority 
 of the committee on privileges and elections of the Senate 
 of the United States, among whom were some of the ablest 
 Republican lawyers of that body, say of it : * " This act is 
 in conflict with the constitution in several particulars : first, 
 the constitution provides that the returns of the election of 
 all members of the legislature shall be made to the Secretary 
 of State. And article 48 provides that the returns of every 
 election for Governor shall be sealed up and transmitted to 
 the Secretary of State, who shall deliver them to the 
 Speaker of the House of Representatives then next to be 
 holden, and that the members of the general assembly 
 that is, both houses of the legislature shall meet in the 
 House of Representatives to examine and count the votes 
 for governor and lieutenant governor." 
 
 Senator Edmunds in a speech made in the Senate, 
 March 16, 1875; m combating the theory advanced by 
 some of his Republican colleagues that the " returns " 
 spoken of in the constitution of Louisiana, might be held 
 to mean the " returns " made by the Returning Board said, 
 after quoting article 48, of the constitution : 
 
 t " In the light of that language, can any senator stand 
 up here and say that he believes that the word " returns " 
 as used in that constitution, means, or can mean, any other 
 thing than the local official papers taken at the time in every 
 voting district and precinct in the state, and that in Louisi 
 ana, as I believe in Indiana, and certainly in Vermont and 
 Massachusetts and many other states, the votes of the peo 
 ple, taken on the same day, and before a thousand different 
 officers in different places, are by a statement to be sealed 
 
 * Senate Report No. 457, 430! Cong. 3d Sess. p. V. 
 t Cong. Record, Part I, Vol. IV, p. 65. 
 
326 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 up and transmitted to the sovereign power of the state, that 
 by them, and not by any judgment of any intervening 
 authority, the original evidence of what the will of the 
 people has been, shall receive examination, and that by 
 them the result shall be declared ?" 
 
 The political adventurers thus entrenched in office be 
 hind this unconstitutional law, exercising, nevertheless, 
 supreme, though illegal, control over the ballot-box, flour 
 ished exceedingly until those who were the beneficiaries of 
 the Federal patronage became jealous and envious of War- 
 moth and his followers. The quarrel began in the fall of 
 1870, and continued with varying fortunes to the respective 
 sides till it culminated in December, 1872, by the complete 
 overthrow of Warmoth. But from 1868 to 1871 the carnival 
 of plunder was enough to satisfy both the State House and 
 Custom House ringleaders. The inception of the quarrel 
 was probably the desire of James F. Casey, the brother-in- 
 law of President Grant, who was collector of customs at 
 New Orleans to be made United States senator. There had 
 been, and there promised to be, ample spoil to satisfy the 
 small number of chief adventurers no matter how voracious 
 they might be. They have testified before Congressional 
 committees concerning each other s villainy, and from this 
 data their characters will be delineated. 
 
 Warmoth had an appreciation of printer s ink and be 
 sides subsidizing the press of the entire state by the judicious 
 distribution of the publications paid for out of the state 
 treasury, founded an official organ of which he owned one- 
 third, and in one year bestowed upon it $700,000 for pub 
 lic printing. He, in 1867, secured the funding of a debt 
 against the state which had been incurred under Confederate 
 authority and was outlawed by the constitution of 1868 to 
 the amount of $290,000. He was accused of having an 
 
HENRY CLAY WARMOTH. 327 
 
 interest in every job and scheme of plunder that was put 
 through the legislature. As will be seen hereafter he dis 
 played wonderful familiarity with legislative corruptions. 
 He was unquestionably the source of all power an auto 
 crat uncontrolled save by his own will. The legislature was 
 under his undisputed and absolute sway for two years. 
 Whatever bill he favored became a law, and with his op 
 position no legislation could be obtained. The judiciary 
 were likewise his creatures and tools. Warmoth made no 
 pretense of immaculateness. He was always frank and 
 bold. He once said to a delegation of bankers : " I don t 
 pretend to be honest. I only pretend to be as honest 
 as anybody in politics." He, however, on that oc 
 casion proved himself to be quite as honest as the New 
 Orleans bankers. They had endeavored to buy legislation, 
 and Warrnoth mercilessly exposed them. He told them 
 the truth when he declared that " corruption is the fashion" 
 in Louisiana. A corrupt government inevitably demora 
 lizes the entire community. One of his most eloquent op 
 ponents, the speaker at one time of the House of Repre 
 sentatives, thus describes Warmoth :* 
 
 " Who is Henry Clay Warmoth ? I knew him before 
 he was governor. He came in your midst poor and an 
 adventurer, and he has been elected to office, and gradually, 
 by corruption and all the questionable means resorted to by 
 the political demagogue, abusing the confidence of a sim 
 ple-minded and confiding people, he has acquired and 
 holds power more despotic than any king in Europe, and 
 patronage more abundant and potent than any five 
 governors in the Union. Through the registration and 
 election laws he makes voters and controls elections. 
 Through his patronage he poisons public virtue and cor- 
 
 * New Orleans Picayune. 
 
328 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 rupts public officers ; and through the metropolitan police, 
 militia, and constabulary laws, he intimidates and coerces 
 those whom he cannot corrupt. With executive powers the 
 greatest possible, he has nefariously absorbed, in many 
 instances, judicial power, and manipulated and controlled 
 the legislative department of the State ; and all this for the 
 perpetuation of his power, and the aggrandizement of his 
 partisans, rather than for the public weal." 
 
 Mr. Warmoth delineated the characters of his principal 
 opponents in his turn.* He testified that James F. Casey, 
 collector of the port of New Orleans, was interested in the 
 act to incorporate the Shed Company, which monopolized 
 the front levee from Common to Poydras streets, New Or 
 leans, and taxed all merchandise landed at the steamboat 
 wharves ; that Casey was in charge of the corruption fund 
 to secure the passage of the bill. This act Warmoth vetoed. 
 But Casey and others associated with him passed a ware 
 house bill, over Warmoth s veto, which gave the concern 
 $1,400,000 of State bonds. 
 
 S. B. Packard, then United States marshal, subsequently 
 candidate for governor in 1876, secured the passage by bri 
 bery of a paving bill which would have taken from owners 
 of property in New Orleans and the State treasury for one 
 street $1,250,000, and Warmoth vetoed it notwithstanding 
 he was, as he claims, offered $50,000 to approve it. 
 
 John Ray, of whom we will hear more hereafter, and 
 Luedling, chief justice subsequently of the state, secured the 
 passage of a bill which gave their railroad from Vicksburg to 
 Monroe, Louisiana, $546,000 in state bonds; and also the 
 incorporation of the Louisiana Levee Company with author 
 ity to build fifteen million cubic yards of levees at 60 cents 
 a cubic yard, and to assess a tax of 10% on the cost of the 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 211, 420! Cong, ad Sess. pp. 395 to 401. 
 
WHOLESALE BRIBERY. 329 
 
 property of the state for twenty-one years and to issue its 
 bonds endorsed by the state in anticipation of the taxes. 
 
 It was proved by other witnesses that a Mr. H. S. 
 Kimball,* procured legislation in behalf of the New 
 Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern Railroad Com 
 pany, by the bribery of P. B. S. Pinchback, Hugh 
 J. Campbell, Mortimer Carr, and other legislators. One 
 witness testified as follows : " I have seen money paid 
 to members of the legislature by one or two different 
 parties. I was asked, in one instance, to go with a party 
 who told me he had a large amount of money to pay out ; 
 as he supposed some members would object to giving him 
 a receipt, he asked me to go along as a witness." This same 
 witness testified that he knew members of the legislature to 
 accept notes in part payment for their services and votes. 
 Bartley Campbell, author and dramatist, who was at one 
 time official reporter of the Louisiana assembly, while 
 Warmoth was governor, states that on frequent occasions 
 he had seen money paid to legislators on the floor of the 
 House to secure the withdrawal of their opposition to cer 
 tain measures. It was proved that H. S. Kimball disbursed, 
 to secure railroad legislation at one session of the legisla 
 ture, $80,000. The expenses of the general assembly which 
 in 1 86 1 had only been $175,000 were in 1871 increased to 
 nearly $1,000,000. That year the State tax was $2 on every 
 $100, and in the city of New Orleans $5 on every $100 
 of assessed valuation of property. George A. Sheridan, a 
 favorite of Warmoth, received in one year as collector of 
 taxes fees amounting to over $60,000. 
 
 This saturnalia of jobbery and corruption, with the at 
 tending public and private immorality, lasted for two years 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 211, 42d Cong, ad Sess. pp. 474 to 481. 
 
33 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 without any disturbance to the harmony of the rogues. In 
 1870 Warmoth having obtained the registration and elec 
 tion laws which vested in him absolute power, determined 
 to perpetuate his sway. The constitution provided that the 
 governor should be ineligible for the four years succeeding 
 his term of office, but this was a trifling obstacle to a man 
 who had been made master of the ballot-box and the 
 counting of the votes. He simply had his legislature pro 
 vide a constitutional amendment making him eligible and 
 went through the form of submitting it to the people. 
 The Custom House branch of the carpet-bag party were 
 alarmed by this bold move of Warmoth. They had grown 
 rich and the patronage they controlled gave them potent 
 political influence provided by any means they could clip 
 the wings of the governor. They endeavored to defeat his 
 constitutional amendment in the legislature but failed. They 
 sought to have it voted down by th people, but the elec 
 tion machinery was too perfect and worked too smoothly. 
 The ratification was secured without difficulty. 
 
 The secretary of state, who was by law a member of the 
 Returning Board, was indiscreet in announcing his opposi 
 tion to Warmoth, and he was promptly removed and his 
 successor appointed. This was an act of usurpation. The 
 secretary of state had been elected on the same ticket with 
 Warmoth and could only be removed by impeachment. 
 Constitutional provisions never stood in the way of these 
 political freebooters. The courts being the only restraint 
 upon the governor during the recess of the legislature, War- 
 moth always saw to it that the judges were his pliant tools. 
 The appeal of the secretary of state to the courts resulted in 
 his prompt non-suiting. 
 
 The Federal patronage party realized that their only 
 way of defeating Warmoth was to wrest from him the con- 
 
WARMOTH S MISTAKE. 33 l 
 
 trol of the party organization. But to do this it was abso 
 lutely necessary to have the sympathy and cooperation of 
 the President. The first step was to detach Casey, collector 
 of customs, who being the President s brother-in-law had 
 his confidence. Warmoth had flattered Casey with intima 
 tions, perhaps with promises, that he should be elected to 
 the United States Senate in 1871, but so confident was he 
 of his own strength that he suffered one of his creatures 
 who was administrator of public improvements in New Or 
 leans, John R. West, to walk off with that prize. Casey was 
 bitterly disappointed, and was ready to join Packard, Kel 
 logg, and the rest of the anti-Warmoth gang. They knew 
 how to flatter and wheedle him. He was a jovial, agreea 
 ble fellow without any moral stamina and possessing very 
 limited abilities. Intent upon his personal enrichment and 
 political elevation he readily became the facile instrument 
 of the adroit, unscrupulous men who surrounded him. One 
 of the radical defects of President Grant was his total inability 
 to judge men. His devotion to those he liked blinded him 
 to any of their shortcomings. He had suffered the incon 
 veniences of extreme poverty and he was always ready to 
 assist one of his relatives to better his fortunes. He had 
 made Casey collector of the port of New Orleans because 
 he was poor, and he would have been exceedingly gratified 
 if Warmoth had made him United States Senator. He was 
 piqued when the promised work was not performed. Casey 
 was supplied with the requisite stories of Warmoth s insin 
 cerity, faithlessness, and general treacherousness, and plied 
 the President therewith. The President was in the mood 
 to accept them as gospel truths, and gave his sympathy and 
 cooperation unreservedly to the anti-Warmoth faction. 
 
 A state convention was to be held in New Orleans, 
 August 19, 1871, to appoint a Republican state central 
 
33 2 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 committee. Packard was chairman of the then existing 
 central committee, and issued the call for, and called to or 
 der, the state convention. He did not indicate where it was 
 to be held in his call, but the day before the meeting he an 
 nounced that it would be held in the custom house. The 
 same day he made a requisition on the commanding gen 
 eral of the military district for troops and the commander 
 at the barracks was ordered to supply him.* One company 
 of infantry were marched to the custom house on the morn 
 ing of August i Qth and, with a hundred more deputy mar 
 shals, Packard guarded every approach to the United 
 States court room and admitted no one till he had packed 
 the convention with the delegates selected by himself and 
 friends. Warmoth and his friends, who were admitted to 
 the custom house, but held in the corridors, between files of 
 soldiers and deputy marshals, until Packard was ready to 
 admit them to the court room, refused to take part in the 
 packed convention and withdrew and held a convention of 
 their own elsewhere. Complaint was made to the President 
 by Warmoth and his faction of the conduct of Packard and 
 of the use of troops and deputy marshals for political pur 
 poses. 
 
 The President, according to Judge Dibble s evidence, 
 said he would investigate the matter, but he never did. It 
 was Dibble s opinion that the President " had come to the 
 conclusion that anything was justifiable to overthrow Gover 
 nor Warmoth." The Packard, Kellogg, Casey, combination, 
 named their central committee and claimed to be the regu 
 lar Republican party. They were in control of the organi 
 zation and began preparations to impeach Warmoth. The 
 control of the House was in their hands and by presenting 
 articles of impeachment against the governor his functions 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 211, 426. Cong, ad Sess. pp. 136-7. 
 
ROGUES QUARRELLING. 333 
 
 were suspended until he was acquitted. This would have 
 made the lieutenant-governor, a colored man, and an ad 
 herent of the Custom House party, acting-governor. But 
 Dunn died and Warmoth called, instead of an extra session 
 of the legislature, the senate only to meet in extraordinary 
 session. Warmoth succeeded by the bribery of a senator, 
 who voted the first time for the Custom House candidate, 
 in having Pinchback elected lieutenant-governor. 
 
 The regular session of the legislature met on January 
 ist, 1872, and Packard and Casey by putting seven sen 
 ators on the revenue cutter, Wilderness, and keeping them 
 out of the way of the sergeant-at-arms, prevented a quorum 
 in the senate. The House met and by a vote of 49 to 45 
 confirmed Carter, the speaker of the previous session, for 
 the ensuing one. This was simply a test vote, for the 
 legislature being biennial with two sessions, of course, the 
 speaker elected at the beginning of the term held over un 
 less the House proceeded to a new election. The next 
 day, however, on the motion to approve the journal of the 
 preceeding day, the vote was 46 for and 49 against. The 
 Custom House faction knew that Warmoth had " got in 
 his work" during the night and a row ensued. A motion 
 to elect a new speaker was made and declared carried by 
 Mortimer Carr, but force being opposed to the installation 
 of the new speaker, the House adjourned in a tumult. 
 
 Thereupon Packard procured warrants, from a friendly 
 United States commissioner, for the arrest of Warmoth, 
 Pinchback, several senators, and eighteen members of the 
 House on a charge of conspiring to resist the execution of 
 the laws of the United States. It was an infamous pro 
 ceeding but it accomplished its purpose. The next day 
 Packard s deputies entered the State House and began 
 making the arrests. The Warmoth members, thrown into 
 
334 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 confusion nearly all left the hall whereupon, without a 
 quorum, the Custom House faction unseated seven War- 
 moth members and admitted six of their fellows, but they 
 stopped short of impeaching Warmoth and adjourned. He 
 was equal to the emergency with a like unconstitutional 
 proceeding. He issued a proclamation convening the 
 legislature in extraordinary session that same day. Notice 
 was given only to his friends. The senate met, but being 
 without a quorum, the Warmoth members of the House 
 assembled and, procuring the attendance of a quorum, pro 
 ceeded to wipe out the proceedings of the morning, to de 
 clare the office of speaker vacant and to elect a new, and to 
 expel from the House the old one. Thereupon ensued the 
 famous Carter- Warmoth war. For three weeks two armed 
 bodies faced each other and the lives of peaceable citizens, 
 as well as their property, were endangered. The only 
 strength of the Carter faction was the support given it by 
 the Federal officials and the belief that the national ad 
 ministration would back it with physical force. The gov 
 ernor communicated the facts about the use of the revenue 
 cutter to keep the Senate from having a quorum, and the 
 interference of the United States marshal to deprive the 
 House of eighteen of its members. It was six days before 
 the commander of the revenue cutter was ordered to 
 return to his proper duties and to unship his freight of 
 recalcitrant senators. The President, through the Attorney 
 General, declined to take any part in the contest. In 
 this he was undoubtedly right. It was a factional fight 
 and he had no constitutional authority to interfere or to 
 employ the troops. But this conservative view of his 
 functions on this occasion should be marked and remem 
 bered in view of what followed a year later. Preparations 
 were made on both sides for an armed conflict and Carter 
 
WARMOTH TRIUMPHS. 335 
 
 proclaimed that on January 22d he would move on the 
 State House. The morning of that day General Emory in 
 formed the leaders of the two factions that he had received 
 orders from Washington to suppress both sides if there was 
 any fighting. This ended the Carter-Warmoth war and the 
 latter remained master of the situation. 
 
336 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 The quarrel of Warmoth with the Federal administration: The 
 people s party: The election of 1872: The investigation by the 
 Senate committee of privileges and elections : The Returning Board 
 embroglio: The infamous conduct of the Federal judge, E. H. 
 Durell: The scathing report of the majority of the Senate commit 
 tee : The usurpation of Kellogg sustained by Federal troops : The 
 conduct of Attorney-general Williams : Warmoth turned out : The 
 people do not recognize Kellogg s government: The September re 
 volution : The election of 1874: The verdict of the people again 
 set aside : The conduct of the Returning Board denounced by a 
 Republican congressional committee : The interference of the mil 
 itary : The speech of Mr. Evarts : The Federal administration de 
 nounced. 
 
 SOME efforts at reconciliation were made during the spring 
 of 1872. What threatened to be a serious defection in the 
 Republican party in the North had manifested itself upon 
 the assembling of Congress in December 1871. A series of 
 investigations followed into the conduct of the War and 
 Navy departments. The opposition which the attempt on 
 San Domingo had created among Republican senators was 
 strengthened by the disclosures in connection with the sale 
 of arms to France by Belknap, Secretary of War, and the 
 payment of the Secor claims by Robeson, Secretary of the 
 Navy. A formidable attack was begun, and followed up 
 with great persistence, by several leading Republican news 
 papers. The administration and its friends in Congress de 
 sired to bring the disunited party in Louisiana together and 
 
A COALITION TICKET. . 337 
 
 to establish harmonious relations between the Warmoth and 
 anti-Warmoth factions. But overtures to Warmoth were 
 met by the demand for the removal of Casey. The Presi 
 dent would not agree to sacrifice his brother-in-law and 
 Warmoth would not yield. He had already entered into 
 negotiations with the democrats of Louisiana, and believed 
 that the Independent Republican revolt at the North would 
 be sufficient to secure the defeat of Grant whose nomina 
 tion was a foregone conclusion. 
 
 A coalition was formed between Warmoth and his fol 
 lowers and the democrats. The people s party nominated 
 John McEnery for Governor and D. B. Penn for Lieuten 
 ant Governor. A legislative ticket, Congressmen, and an 
 electoral ticket for Greeley and Brown, were also agreed 
 upon. There was to be an important municipal election in 
 New Orleans and a judicial ticket was to be elected also. 
 For the important eighth district court, otherwise known 
 as " the Political Court," the fusionists nominated Judge 
 Elmore. The Custom House republicans nominated 
 Kellogg for Governor, C. C. Antoine, a colored man, bom 
 in Hayti, for Lieutenant Governor, legislative, congres 
 sional, and electoral tickets, and for the eighth district 
 court judgeship, Judge Dibble, who had gone over to the 
 enemies of Warmoth. 
 
 The election was held on the fourth of November. It 
 was conducted strictly in accordance with the laws enacted 
 in 1870. The supervisors of registration were appointed by 
 the governor and the revision of the registration lists was 
 completed in due time and form. The commissioners of 
 election were appointed by the supervisors, and the polling 
 places designated. The law was strictly observed in the 
 count of votes and the return thereof to the governor, and 
 the deposit of duplicates with the clerks of parish courts. 
 
338 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 It was not denied that every form of law was strictly com 
 plied with. The committee on privileges and elections of 
 the Senate carefully investigated this election in connec 
 tion with the rights of certain persons, claiming to have 
 been elected senators of the United States. Four re 
 ports* were made from the committee, a majority report 
 by Senators Carpenter, Logan, Alcorn, and Anthony, all 
 republicans, one by Senator Trumbull, then a republican, 
 one by Joshua Hill, senator from Georgia, elected as a re 
 publican, and one by Senator Morton. The majority report 
 claims that " the colored population of that state largely out 
 numbered the white, and in the last election the colored 
 voters were almost unanimous in support of the Republican 
 ticket." They admit, however, that " the election was gener 
 ally conducted in quiet, and was, perhaps, unusually free 
 from disturbance or riot." Their opinion was that "Governor 
 Warmoth, who was the master spirit in the whole proceed 
 ing, seems to have relied upon craft, rather than violence, 
 to carry the state for McEnery." On the other hand 
 Senator Trumbull found that " the census of 1870 shows 
 that there were in the state one hundred and fifty-three 
 more white than colored males over twenty-one years of 
 age," and that it was proved " that from eight to ten 
 thousand colored persons voted the fusion ticket, while the 
 number of whites who voted the Republican ticket is not 
 believed to have exceeded half that number." He insisted 
 that " it was confessedly one of the most quiet and peaceful 
 elections ever held in the state, and the evidence shows it 
 was substantially free and fair." Senator Hill maintained 
 that " while it must be conceded that the election in certain 
 parishes was not conducted with entire fairness, and in 
 others frauds were committed, it is nevertheless true, 
 
 * Senate Report No. 457, 426. Cong. 3d Sess. pp. I to 80. 
 
REGISTRATION FRAUDS. 339 
 
 according to the evidence before the committee, that on 
 the whole, the election was as fair and certainly as peacea 
 ble, as the people of Louisiana are accustomed to hold." 
 Senator Morton contended that the Republican ticket had 
 been elected although the election " was an organized 
 fraud of the largest dimensions." 
 
 The majority for the fusion ticket was, according to the 
 returns of the commissioners of election, several thousand 
 votes. The testimony taken by the Senate committee 
 demonstrates to an impartial mind that there were in all 
 not exceeding 5,000 white voters in the state who favored 
 the custom house ticket, and that a very large number of 
 negro votes were cast for the fusion ticket. It is capable of 
 the clearest proof that the colored voters of the state were 
 not in excess of the white electors. The census of 1870 
 gives 153 more white males, of twenty-one and over, than 
 colored males of like age. That census was taken by the 
 appointees of men who were interested in swelling the 
 colored population of Louisiana to the largest possible 
 proportions. They had deliberately concocted their scheme 
 to maintain themselves in power by controlling the negro 
 voters and to make the Northern people believe that the 
 colored population was much larger than the white. They 
 had provided the machinery for taking a census every four 
 years for the very purpose of enabling the seemingly fair 
 registration of a large majority of negro voters. The census 
 of 1880 shows that there could not have been in 1870 the 
 number of negro males of twenty-one years and upwards re 
 turned in the state. The excess of white males, of twenty- 
 one years of age and more, in Louisiana, over Negroes, 
 Chinese, and Indians, of like age was 833. There were of 
 Chinese 460 males, and of Indians 441 males. Deducting 
 the usual proportion, one-half, for Indians under twenty-one, 
 
340 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 would leave 220. The Chinese immigrants may safely be 
 assumed to be, as a rule, over the voting age. Hence in 1880 
 there must have been 1,513 more male whites of twenty-one 
 years of age and over in Louisiana than there were negro 
 voters. The same proportions must have held approxi 
 mately in 1870 and, therefore, the excess of white males of 
 twenty-one years and over, was, probably, nearer 1,550 
 than 153 as the census of that year gave it. 
 
 The returns of the election from the election officers 
 came, as the law provided, to the governor who with the 
 lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, and John Lynch and 
 T. C. Anderson were the Returning Board to canvass and 
 compile them. But the lieutenant-governor, Pinchback, 
 and T. C. Anderson, having been candidates, were dis 
 qualified. Warmoth could not depend on Herron whom 
 seven months previous he had appointed secretary of 
 state vice Bovee removed. On the day the Return 
 ing Board was to begin its work, Warmoth removed 
 Herron and appointed Jack Wharton. The authority 
 claimed for this act, was first, the office was vacant, because 
 Herron s commission expired with the adjournment of the 
 legislature, and, second, the power of the governor to fill 
 all vacancies happening during the vacation of the legisla 
 ture, and, third, that Herron was ineligible to hold the 
 office because he had been a defaulter. Here was a com 
 plication. Herron disputed the right of the governor to 
 remove him and claimed to be a member of the Returning 
 Board. Warmoth, Lynch, Wharton, and Herron met 
 at the hour appointed November 14, for the assembling of 
 the Returning Board. Warmoth and Wharton proceeded 
 to fill the vacancies, caused by the ineligibility of Pinch- 
 back and Anderson, by electing Hatch and DaPonte. 
 Lynch and Herron elected Longstreet and Hawkins. 
 
A NEW ELECTION LAW. 
 
 341 
 
 There were thus two boards. But Warmoth had the returns 
 and the others had nothing. They might have obtained 
 certified copies of the duplicate returns deposited with the 
 clerks of the courts, but this did not suit them. 
 
 Both boards appealed to the eighth district court, 
 " the Political Court," Judge Dibble, as it alone had juris 
 diction. Dibble promptly issued injunctions restraining 
 both boards from canvassing, compiling, and declaring the 
 result. He was personally interested, because having been 
 defeated, two to one, by Elmore, he could only hope to 
 hold on by preventing a legal determination of the result of 
 the election. In this dilemma Warmoth took from his safe 
 a bill which had been passed by the legislature in the pre 
 vious spring but never approved by him. It could not be 
 come a law until it had his approval. He approved it 
 Nov. 2oth, 1872. It changed the election law in two im 
 portant particulars the constitution of the Returning Board 
 which was to be " five persons to be elected by the Senate 
 from all political parties," and the repeal of all existing 
 laws. The Senate was not in session, and the governor, 
 under the provision of the constitution, empowering him to 
 fill all vacancies, in the vacation of the Senate, appointed 
 De Feriet, Wiltz, Isabel, Austin, and Taylor, as the Re 
 turning officers. 
 
 In the meantime Kellogg had begun proceedings before 
 Durell, Judge of the United States District Court, against 
 the Warmoth, Wharton, Hatch, and Da Ponte board, to re 
 strain them on the ground that they were about to deprive 
 10,000 citizens on account of their race, color, and previous 
 condition, of their suffrages by having already deprived 
 them of the right to register and vote. This falsehood was 
 to give the judge color to assume jurisdiction under the 
 Fifteenth Amendment and the act of Congress of May 31, 
 
342 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 1870, with reference to depriving citizens of their suffrage 
 on account of " race, color, or previous condition of servi 
 tude." The promulgation of the new election law, and the 
 appointment thereunder of a new Returning Board, of 
 course, invalidated the proceeding before Durell even 
 if he had had jurisdiction. The majority of the Senate 
 Committee on privileges and elections say of this pro 
 ceeding, " conceding, however, that the bill did present a 
 case within the jurisdiction of the court, that jurisdiction 
 was limited by the scope of the bill, and gave no warrant to 
 the extraordinary proceedings which were subsequently had 
 in the case." However, a restraining order was issued 
 against the old Warmoth, Wharton, Hatch, Da Ponte 
 board. This board was out of existence, and the report 
 above quoted says " it is difficult to see what was left of the 
 case made by Kellogg s bill in the United States court." 
 Accordingly the new Returning Board not being compli 
 cated by restraining orders proceeded to canvass and com 
 pile the votes from the returns turned over thereto by the 
 governor, and to declare the result. This being done 
 Warmoth issued his proclamation " making known the re 
 sult of said election aforesaid," and commanding " all offi 
 cers and persons within the State of Louisiana to take 
 notice of and respect the same." 
 
 The only irregularity about Warmoth s proceedings, 
 which can possibly be excepted to, was the original removal 
 of Bovee in March 1872 from the office of secretary of 
 state. But it may very plausibly be argued that the legis 
 lature had condoned that act by declining to notice it. 
 Warmoth claimed that Bovee had been guilty of a misde 
 meanor in office in promulgating an act which he had not 
 approved and which by a trick was made to appear to 
 have been received by him, when in fact he had not, 
 
DURELL S INFAMOUS ACT. 343 
 
 and, not being returned with his objections, was held to 
 have become a law. The bill created a monopoly and in 
 flicted great hardships on the people. Moreover, the eighth 
 district court, Judge Emmerson, in which Bovee began 
 suit against Herron under the "intrusion act," held that 
 the governor had authority to suspend him and to fill the 
 vacancy thus created in the office. All the other acts of 
 Warmoth were clearly within the law and the scope of the 
 extraordinary authority conferred upon him by the consti 
 tution and laws of the State. Undoubtedly the entire 
 fusion State ticket, and a majority of the members of the 
 legislature, were elected by the ballots in the boxes which 
 were counted in strict compliance with law and return 
 thereof legally made to the governor. The canvassing, 
 compiling of these returns and the declaration of the result 
 by the Returning Board, and the proclamation by the 
 governor were all in due form of law. That there was 
 constitutional power resident anywhere to lawfully undo 
 the result of the election no one has ever dared to assert. 
 But nevertheless it was undone ; the history whereof consti 
 tutes the most disgraceful chapter in even the annals of 
 carpet-bag rule in Louisiana. 
 
 There had been no amendment of the bill filed by 
 Kellogg in Judge Durell s court; his injunction issued in 
 pursuance thereof had no one to operate against, because 
 the promulgation of the new law made all boards created 
 under prior acts functus ojficio. It could not apply to one 
 not in existence and uncomplained of at the time the writ 
 issued. Nevertheless late the night of December 5th, 1872, 
 at his house, out of court, without application by any party, 
 Judge Durell made an order in which he assumed that 
 Warmoth and others were in contempt by reason of the 
 promulgation of the result of the election, as found by the 
 
344 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 De Feriet board, and directed the United States marshal to 
 " forthwith take possession of the building known as the 
 Mechanics Institute, and occupied as the State House for 
 the assembling of the legislature therein, in the city of New 
 Orleans, and hold the same subject to the further order of 
 this court, and meanwhile to prevent all unlawful assem 
 blage therein under the guise or pretext of authority 
 claimed by virtue of pretended canvass and returns made 
 by said pretended Returning Officers, in contempt and 
 violation of said restraining order." 
 
 Senator Carpenter and four other Republican senators 
 declared that,* " it is impossible to conceive of a more 
 irregular, illegal, and in every way inexcusable act on the 
 part of a judge, conceding the power of the court, to make 
 such an order. The judge, out of court, had no more 
 authority to make it than had the marshal. It lias not even 
 the form of judicial process. It was not sealed, nor was it 
 signed by the clerk, and had no more legal effect than an 
 order issued by any private citizen." 
 
 There are circumstances connected with the issuance of 
 this illegal order by Judge Durell, which lays a heavy burden 
 of responsibility on the Federal administration. If the At 
 torney-general and Secretary of War were not a party to the 
 conspiracy, which culminated in Durell s outrageous act, 
 the facts, as they subsequently appeared, bore very strongly 
 against them. They were as follows: The night before 
 Durell s order was issued, Attorney-general Williams tele 
 graphed to Marshal Packard,! "you are to enforce the de 
 crees and mandates of the United States courts, no matter 
 by whom resisted, and General Emory will furnish you 
 with all necessary troops for that purpose." It did not then, 
 
 * Senate Report, No. 457, 42d Cong. 3d Sess. p. 17. 
 t Ibid p. 54. 
 
" DECREES AND MANDATES." 345 
 
 and has never since been made to appear that any applica 
 tion had been made to the President for troops. And yet 
 two companies of artillery had been ordered from Fort Bar 
 rancas, Florida, to New Orleans, and they arrived there the 
 night Durell issued his infamous order, and they were the 
 troops, which under Packard s direction, occupied the State 
 House. The remarkable coincidence of the Attorney-gen 
 eral s telegram to Packard, and the arrival of the troops, 
 with the action of Judge Durell, very naturally excited 
 comment at the time. Scores of men have been convicted, 
 in courts of justice, of capital offences, and condemned to 
 death, on circumstantial evidence little less conclusive. 
 There was never any explanatian of the occurrences offered, 
 either by the Attorney-general, or the Secretary of War or 
 by any of their defenders in Congress. There had been no 
 application for troops, and General Emory had not asked 
 for reinforcements. The inference is irresistible that it was 
 known to the Secretary of War and the Attorney-general 
 that some extraordinary " decrees and mandates " were to 
 go forth from Durell and preparation was made accordingly. 
 The Attorney-general was advised of the application to 
 Judge Durell by Kellogg for an injunction against Warmoth 
 and his colleagues of the first board. He was advised of 
 the promulgation by Warmoth of the new election law on 
 November 2oth, and he was lawyer enough to know that 
 the repeal of all existing laws swept away all offices and 
 officers thereunder. Therefore, long before December 3d, 
 he knew that, if the United States district court had juris 
 diction in the first instance, and authority to enjoin, the 
 board enjoined had ceased to exist. Where then was the 
 case in which " decrees and mandates " could issue from 
 the United States courts? If it is claimed that he was 
 without this specific knowledge he is in no way relieved. 
 
346 A POLITICAL CRIME, 
 
 But it is inconceivable that the Attorney-general was not 
 fully and accurately informed of all that was transpiring. 
 
 It is certain that they were advised of all the facts 
 immediately after Durell s order was enforced. Both sides 
 made their statements. The infamy of Durell s order could 
 not be glozed over. It was as patent as the sun at noon 
 day in a clear sky. The wrong could have been righted. 
 Decency, self-respect, would have impelled men not privy to 
 the conspiracy to have acted in order to clear themselves 
 of the suspicion of complicity which the Attorney-gen 
 eral s telegram to Packard would create. They stood firmly 
 by the stand they had taken, and when a committee of one 
 hundred of the best citizens of Louisiana asked permission 
 to wait upon the President and lay before him all the de 
 tails they were brusquely told by the Attorney-general that 
 they need not come because the President had made his 
 decision and would not change it. 
 
 There was no halting or hesitating by the Custom House 
 party. The Lynch-Herron board proceeded, without any 
 returns, with no official data of any kind before it, to count 
 in Kellogg and the whole state ticket and a large majority 
 of senators and representatives. They made Kellogg s ma 
 jority 1 8,86 1. They might as well have made it 88,861 while 
 they were about it they drew upon their imaginations 
 for their figures. Three days thereafter the State House 
 was seized by United States troops. Warmoth was im 
 peached and ousted and Pinchback made governor. These 
 proceedings were one and all revolutionary. Even the 
 forms of law were not observed. Nobody in the state, 
 outside the Custom House and the State House where they 
 were protected by the troops, respected the sham govern 
 ment which had been set up. Durell s court was kept busy 
 fulminating orders and Collector Casey and Pinchback sent 
 
GROSS USURPATION. 347 
 
 almost hourly telegrams to Washington informing the Presi 
 dent and Attorney-general of the progress of the conspiracy 
 and clamoring for the approval of all that had been done. 
 They frankly told their masters their co-conspirators(P) 
 that unless this was done immediately that their fabric 
 would fall to pieces. One week after Durell s order a 
 week which compassed more outrageous violations of law 
 than were ever before chronicled in a land of constitutional 
 lib er ty Attorney-general Williams telegraphed to Pinch- 
 back " Let it be understood that you are recognized by 
 
 the President as the lawful executive of Louisiana, and that 
 the body assembled at Mechanics Institute is the lawful 
 legislature of the State, and it is suggested that you make 
 proclamation to that effect, and also that all necessary as 
 sistance will be given to you and the legislature herein 
 recognized to protect the State from disorder and vio 
 lence." 
 
 Well might Senator Trumbull have exclaimed after re 
 viewing these proceedings * " the history of the world 
 does not furnish a more palpable instance of usurpation 
 than that by which Pinchback was made governor, and the 
 persons returned by the Lynch board the legislature of 
 Louisiana; nor can a parallel be found for the unfeeling 
 and despotic answers sent by order of the President to the 
 respectful appeals of the people of Louisiana." And 
 Senators Carpenter, Logan, Alcorn, and Anthony declared 
 that " viewed in any light in which your committee can 
 consider them, the orders and injunctions made and granted 
 by Judge Durell in this cause are most reprehensible, er 
 roneous in point of law, and are wholly void for want of 
 jurisdiction ; and your committee must express their sorrow 
 and humiliation that a judge of the United States should 
 
 * Senate Report, No. 457, 420! Cong, sd Sess. p. 17. 
 
34-8 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 have proceeded in such flagrant disregard of his duty, and 
 have so far over-stepped the limits of Federal jurisdiction." 
 It was these orders and injunctions made in "flagrant 
 disregard of his duty " by Judge Durell which made, what 
 Attorney-general Williams said, was the lawful executive 
 and legislative power of the State of Louisiana ! It was by 
 this mockery of justice, for which four Republican senators 
 expressed "their sorrow and humiliation," that William 
 Pitt Kellogg was made Governor of Louisiana. For two 
 years his government had to be sustained by the troops of 
 the United States and the instant they ceased to be the 
 guards of the State House the whole fabric fell to the 
 ground. It required no display of force on the part of the 
 opposition to accomplish this. The sham government had 
 no friends among the white people, except its pensioners 
 and hirelings, and even these began to desert as rats do a 
 sinking ship because state warrants, the only currency the 
 Kellogg government could command, were at an enormous 
 discount. The tax-payers would not contribute to the 
 treasury of the usurping power, notwithstanding they could 
 not bring suit, or be a witness for, or in their own behalf, 
 unless they could exhibit tax-collector s receipts ! Outside 
 the city of New Orleans there was no pretense of obedience 
 to, or respect for, the authority of the so-called governor, 
 or any of his minions. The whole body of the intelligent 
 and self-respecting people preferred anarchy to a rule im 
 posed by partisan power in Washington. There was no 
 show of opposition to Federal authority in its legitimate 
 sphere and to its illegal exercise in imposing upon and 
 maintaining over them an usurping local government 
 there was only determined non-recognition of it. The 
 limit had been reached. If the people could not have local 
 self-government they would support no other. The interest 
 
A GRAND EXAMPLE. 349 
 
 upon the enormous indebtedness of the State, in large part 
 illegally created, could not be paid, and forty per cent of 
 the principal was repudiated. 
 
 In September 1874, nearly all the Federal troops having 
 been withdrawn from New Orleans, Kellogg s metropolitan 
 police attempted to seize without process of law arms be 
 longing to private parties. This brought on a conflict 
 between the people and the mercenaries. It was of short 
 duration. Before the day closed the usurping government 
 disappeared and the officers who had been elected in 1879 
 quietly assumed power. They were everywhere recognized 
 throughout the state. After the brief struggle between the 
 police and the citizens there was no necessity for even the 
 display offeree by the McEnery government. But orders 
 came immediately from Washington to the commander of 
 the Federal troops to restore Kellogg and upon the appear 
 ance of a few soldiers the people yielded quietly. It was 
 the grandest example of an outraged and cruelly wronged 
 people submitting to illegally exercised national authority 
 ever witnessed ! 
 
 An election occurred the succeeding November. The 
 whole power of the Federal administration was exerted 
 through the United States marshal to secure the triumph of 
 the Custom House and Kellogg candidates for Congress 
 and for the State legislature. There was an entire registra 
 tion anew of the voters as provided by the election law. 
 To bolster the frauds of this new registration a fraudulent 
 census was prepared. Under the Federal election laws, su 
 pervisors of election were appointed for every polling place 
 almost, and swarms of deputy marshals spread over the 
 state, to rally the negro voters. Troops were stationed 
 throughout the state as Kellogg and his friends dictated. 
 The entire election machinery was in his hands. He ap- 
 
350 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 pointed the supervisors of registration and dictated the ap 
 pointment of commissioners of elections. There was no 
 possibility of intimidation or frauds on the part of the 
 people s party. The election resulted in the overwhelming 
 triumph of the people s candidates at the ballot-box. It 
 was a fair, peaceable, and honest triumph. All efforts to 
 prove the contrary had to be abandoned, and resort was 
 had to the pretext that prior violence and intimidation pre 
 vented the negroes from voting the Republican ticket. 
 How remote was this intimidation ? The minority of a 
 Republican Congressional committee went back eight years 
 to find causes for the admitted defeat of Republican candi 
 dates at the polls! The ingenuity and eloquence of 
 Messrs. Hoar, Frye, and Wheeler were taxed to the utmost 
 to make out a plausible case for their side, but they reluc 
 tantly admitted that the campaign and election of 1874 was 
 one of peaceable methods on the Democratic side. With 
 great rhetorical effect they revamped, with increased parti 
 san coloring, stories of riots, alleged political outrages, and 
 intimidations, occurring from 1866 to 1872. The desperate 
 character of their cause is evidenced in every line of their 
 report. They were fully sensible of the fact that there had 
 been a revulsion of popular sentiment at the North. A 
 great uprising of the people had occurred, and a tidal wave 
 of public indignation had carried into power a Democratic 
 House of Representatives. " The bloody shirt " was no 
 longer the oriflamme of Republican victorious hosts. The 
 maladministration of carpet-baggers in the South, their 
 wholesale plundering, their general official immorality, and 
 private rascality, could no longer be concealed, or glozed 
 over, by ancient stories of alleged barbarities to colored 
 rrien. The northern people, devoted to the sacred principle 
 of local self-government, would have preferred almost any 
 
STATE OUTRAGE STORIES. 351 
 
 calamity to the deprivation of a right which had come 
 down to them from their remotest ancestors. And when 
 ten years of peace had cleared away the fog of sectional 
 distrust and prejudice, and they could see, with eyes no 
 longer blinded by passion, the real situation in the South, 
 they placed their seal of emphatic condemnation on those 
 who were responsible therefor. Undoubtedly, the multi 
 plied exposures of the misdeeds of high officials, the clearly 
 proved betrayal of trusts by Republican office-holders, the 
 gigantic Credit Mobilier fraud, and multifarious peculations 
 and plunderings in every branch of the public service, the 
 impeachment of a Secretary of War, the demonstrated rot 
 tenness of the Navy department, and the wholesale cor 
 ruption of the customs houses, had a powerful effect in 
 hastening the conviction that a political reformation was 
 necessary. But it was unquestionably true that the great 
 mass of the people were disgusted with the indefensible 
 conduct of the President, in the employment of the army 
 to impose a lot of usurpers upon a peaceably protesting 
 community. 
 
 It is not strange that two Republican members of 
 the Hoar Committee should have declined to join in the 
 report prepared by him. The confessions he was compelled 
 to make neutralized his eloquent recital of stale outrage 
 stories. * Neither is it singular that Mr. Phelps, of New 
 Jersey, and Mr. Foster, of Ohio, refused to unite with their 
 party associates in reasserting the exploded fiction about 
 the large majority of negro voters in Louisiana. It was too 
 palpable a falsehood to be any longer accepted by intelli 
 gent people, and they did not propose to be set down as 
 wanton falsifiers. They, therefore, drew a report which was 
 accepted by their Democratic colleagues and by a Republi- 
 
 * H. R. Mis. Doc. No. 26. 43d Cong, ad Sess. pp. i to 4. 
 
352 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 can House of Representatives. * It asserted and proved 
 that the election of 1874 in Louisiana was free and fair; 
 that if there was any fraudulent registration and voting it 
 was on the Republican side; that the official data showed 
 that in 1870 the voters were nearly equally divided between 
 white and black, and that the registation of 4,000 more 
 negro voters in 1874 than were shown by the census of 
 1870, and 10,000 less white voters, could not be satisfacto 
 rily accounted for; that the returns of the votes cast, com 
 pared with the registration figures, showed a fair election ; 
 that " it was idle to assume that the disturbances so vividly 
 pictured by the minority could have kept up throughout 
 this State such a feeling of intimidation as would justify the 
 assumption that but for that feeling the State would have 
 gone Republican ;" that they " understand the committee to 
 be unanimous in finding that the action of the Returning 
 Board has defeated the will of the people as expressed by 
 them at the polls on the 3d of November, 1874;" that 
 " the people then elected to the lower house of their legis 
 lature a majority of conservative members;" that " a por 
 tion of the conservative members thus elected were refused 
 their certificates. ! 
 
 What was " the action of the Returning Board," thus 
 unanimously denounced by republicans and democrats ? 
 It had taken the returns of the election forwarded by 
 the supervisors of registration, which showed the elec 
 tion of a majority of Democratic representatives, and 
 deliberately counted out enough democrats, and count 
 ed in enough republicans to make a Republican ma 
 jority in the lower branch of the legislature. This 
 was done notwithstanding the returns of the commis- 
 
 * H. R. Miss. Doc. No. 26, ^d Cong. 2d Sess. pp. 2, 3. 
 t Ibid, p. 3. 
 
A MONSTROUS OUTRAGE. 353 
 
 sioners of election did not certify that there had been 
 riots, disturbances, acts of violence, intimidation, bribery, 
 or corruption whereby a fair and free election had been 
 prevented, and notwithstanding the supervisors had not 
 protested that a full, fair, and free registration of voters 
 had been prevented by like acts. There being no evidence 
 of this kind before the Returning Board even Republican 
 members of Congress were compelled to find that the 
 counting out and counting in were in violation of the elec 
 tion law. Bear this in mind. Bear in mind also that a 
 Senate committee, only one Republican senator disagreeing 
 had held in 1873 that the Louisiana Returning Board 
 could under the terms of the election law obtain jurisdiction 
 in no other way than by the regular compliance with these 
 forms. Remember, too, that the majority of the House 
 Committee in 1875 reported that with months of time, and 
 all the machinery of government at their command, the 
 Kellogg party could not, outside their dependants in office, 
 produce " more than half a dozen persons to testify to any 
 thing impeaching the freedom and fairness of the late elec 
 tion." 
 
 When the constitutional time for the meeting of the 
 legislature arrived, Kellogg by the approval of the President 
 ordered the United States troops to forcibly eject Demo 
 cratic members of the assembly, and with the hall of the 
 House filled with soldiers the Republican members organ 
 ized that body. This unwarrantable, illegal use of Federal 
 troops, the indecent delegation of command over them 
 to Kellogg raised a storm of indignation at the North 
 which made the President and his hitherto unswerving de 
 fenders in Congress quail. Spontaneous gatherings of citi 
 zens irrespective of party in various cities of the North 
 denounced the outrage in unmeasured terms. A mass-meet- 
 
 23 
 
354 A POLITICAL CRIME. 
 
 ing held in New York City and addressed by Wm. M. 
 Evarts, resolved that this interference of the military was a 
 monstrous outrage and deserved the condemnation of all 
 lovers of constitutional liberty. The administration ap 
 pealed to its friends in Congress to help it out of its dilemma. 
 The Senate had persistently refused to recognize the crime 
 of 1872 by seating persons claiming to have been elected 
 by the legislature counted in along with Kellogg and main 
 tained by Federal forces. This was a quasi condemnation 
 of the President and his illegal acts. The Republican sena 
 tors who united with their Democratic colleagues to prevent 
 an approval of the President s unconstitutional perform 
 ances could not rise to the height of the great occasion, and 
 flinging aside party trammels, put on record their open con 
 demnation of what they knew to be subversive of free in 
 stitutions. The majority of the House Committee which 
 reported in 1875 recommended the recognition of Kellogg 
 as the defacto governor of Louisiana for the remainder of 
 his term and a compromise was agreed upon whereby the 
 democrats were given control of the lower house of the 
 legislature. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 THE following extracts referred to in the note on page 30, 
 are given as fuller proof of the statement made in the 
 text to wit: "It might seem incredible that General 
 Grant could be so enthralled were it not for the concurrent 
 testimony of his most intimate friends and supporters 
 which is contained in the eulogiums and reminiscences 
 published since his death." 
 
 George W. Childs in the Phila. Press, Aug. 2, 1885. 
 
 " Gen. Grant," Mr. Childs went on to say in conclusion, " in the sim 
 plicity and honesty of his character, trusted all men who seemed to be 
 friends and often stood by them long after their duplicity had been discov 
 ered by other people." 
 
 In his " Memoirs of Grant," published in the Phila. Ledger, Sept. 5, 
 1885. Mr. Childs said : 
 
 " When he was mistaken there was no man more ready to acknowl 
 edge a mistake. He showed a great tenacity in sticking to friends longer 
 than he ought to have done. When I spoke to him about this he would 
 answer, Well, if I believed all I hear, I would believe everybody was 
 bad. General Grant would say there was nobody who came in contact 
 with him but that he was traduced, and secondly, he very often had to de 
 pend upon his own judgment in the matter. One of his expressions was, 
 Never desert a friend under fire. " 
 
 Hon. Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State for nearly eight years under 
 President Grant, said in the New York Independent, July 28, 1885, of his 
 former chief : 
 
 " His knowledge of men was generally accurate; but he was apt, in 
 this respect, as in others, to reach his conclusions rapidly, and was thus not 
 infrequently led to give his confidence where it was not deserved, and it was 
 from the abuse of his confidence thus reposed that arose most of the cen 
 sure which, after the close of the war, was visited upon him. Where he 
 gave his friendship he gave it unreservedly whether friendship or confi 
 dence, he gave it unreservedly and was slow to believe anything to the 
 discredit of those of whom he was fond." 
 
356 APPENDIX. 
 
 Jesse Seligman said of General Grant in the New York World, July 
 27, 1885: 
 
 " He was a man noble in many ways, yet very weak in many others, 
 and his weak points grew out of his noble qualities. He could not think 
 that one whom he thought was a friend of his could deceive him. He was 
 so honest himself that he took the word of those about him as fact without 
 question." 
 
 Hon. Chauncey Depew, in his reminiscences of General Grant, pub 
 lished in the New York World, July 27, 1885, said : 
 
 "His great fault as President and in that lay the difficulty 
 which overthrew him as a politician was his selection of confidants, 
 When a man had once got into the confidence of Gen. Grant, no other 
 man except himself could shake that confidence. Nothing that he could 
 do except to Gen. Grant himself, could disturb it. There is no more ad 
 mirable trait in personal and social relations than this, but in politics and 
 in business it always brings overwhelming disaster upon the honest and 
 confiding possessor of the faculty, as Gen. Grant has discovered to his 
 cost. 
 
 " It was this which furnished the key-note to his connection with Ward 
 in the late business firm. When he had taken a man into his confidence 
 he trusted him with everything he had his money, his honor, his every 
 thing. It is this which makes it so difficult for the man of business train 
 ing and habits to understand him when the story of that failure is told." 
 
 Ex-Secretary Robeson published in the Phila. Press his reminiscences 
 of General Grant and said : 
 
 " The next quality which attracted attention was his want of suspicion. 
 Direct, brave and unaffected himself he never seemed to realize any pre 
 tence or subterfuge in other persons or to dream that they would allow 
 their judgment of any question of conduct in regard to it to be influenced 
 by outside considerations. He always assumed that people were honest in 
 their convictions as well as their practices, and believed that honest men 
 differed only from want of judgment or lack of information. 
 
 "The fact is that this great man, experienced in the direction of large 
 affairs and familiar with the principles which governed them, was at the 
 same time utterly ignorant of commercial details. Not accustomed to these 
 transactions and wholly unsuspicious in his nature, he was, notwithstand 
 ing his great qualities, perhaps by reason of them, the most likely man to 
 be deceived in such business that I have ever known." 
 
 Hon. John A. Logan, in his recollections of General Grant, published 
 in the New York Independent of July 28, 1885, says : 
 
 " He was a most confiding man ; was strictly honest and truthful, and 
 believed implicitly in the honesty and truthfulness of every one until the 
 contrary was made to appear. If to have such confidence be a fault, it 
 was a grievous one in him, it being the cause of all the serious trouble I 
 ever knew him to have." 
 
 The New York Tribune of July 24, 1885, in its editorial article on Gen 
 eral Grant, said : 
 
 " It is to be added as a vital fact in General Grant s political history, 
 that he never acquired the faculty of valuing men for their devotion to 
 
APPENDIX. 357 
 
 principles. Thus he lost one great safeguard against error in selection. 
 Nor was he always ready to appreciate criticism in the light of the princi 
 ples by which he was guided. To him a friend was a friend, whether agree 
 ing with him wholly or not, and a foe was a foe. 
 
 * * / ***** 
 
 " Since he did not question his own judgment, and had learned to 
 trust without reserve the men of his choice, he was many times placed in 
 false positions by his errors of selection and by confidence misplaced, and 
 in matters of vital public policy found his high aims defeated by the un- 
 worthiness of persons he had trusted. 
 
 ******* 
 
 " He was easily deceived, and was the ready prey of designing flat 
 terers. Whoever wished could gain his confidence by adulation, and could 
 then turn him vehemently against another by the flimsiest of misrepresenta 
 tions." 
 
 The Albany Evening Journal in its obituary notice of General Grant, 
 said : 
 
 " The only fault the most critical could find was the rugged obstinacy 
 with which he clung to his friends through evil and through good report. 
 He never betrayed a friend." 
 
 Rev. James S. Chadwick, pastor of the Forty-third Street Methodist 
 Church, N. Y., in his sermon of July 26, 1885, on the character of Presi 
 dent Grant, said : 
 
 " But I believe that the purpose and heart of President Grant were 
 ever with the right, although the glory of some of his movements was ob 
 scured by the attitude and sayings of some men who seemed to be very 
 near the seat of power." N. Y. Herald, July 27, 1885. 
 
 Surgeon-General Gunnell. of the U. S. Navy, speaking of the influ 
 ence those about General Grant had, says : 
 
 " Then came a long struggle with political enemies and false friends 
 who abused his confidence. After his political career was ended he made 
 another mistake by entering Wall street. Always confiding he placed his 
 all in the hands of disreputable men who robbed him." N. Y. World, 
 July 26, 1885, 
 
 The New York Evening Post of July 25, 1885, speaking of General 
 Grant and the Republican party, said : 
 
 " The Republican party, its best friends must confess, abused, through 
 its leaders, Gen. Grant s inexperience and trustfulness, and thus prepared 
 early in his first Administration for that gradual withdrawal of popular 
 confidence in it which finally led to its loss of power." 
 
 In its issue of July 23, the same paper said : 
 
 " The President refused to believe evil of his personal friends and de 
 pendents ; his tenacity of purpose and of affection was successfully appealed 
 to, to prevent his abandoning them under fire, and the scandals only grew 
 in number and in proportions. The appointment of Mr. Bristow to the 
 Treasury Department was, however, accepted as proof that thorough work 
 was meant with the suspected irregularities there. When prosecutions 
 were begun, and Babcock was indicted, the President s words, Let no 
 guilty man escape, were again hailed with delight by all who wished well 
 to the country. Yet Babcock was not convicted, and the Secretary found 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 his position intolerable. The managers of the whiskey ring had the effron 
 tery to claim that they levied their assessments upon distillers and cheated 
 the Treasury to raise a fund to insure a third term to the President, and 
 that the end justified the means. When some of them were convicted and 
 sent to the penitentiary, they even alleged an understanding that they were 
 to be pardoned out." 
 
 Ex-Governor Bedle, of New Jersey, said July 27, 1885, to the New 
 York World, of General Grant : 
 
 " He made many mistakes in life. The one most prominent was his 
 over-confidence in the integrity of his friends. This fault may have cast a 
 shade upon his usefulness in public life and it remains a question for mature 
 historians to discuss." 
 
 The New York Tribune, of July 24, 1885, in its obituary notice, 
 said : 
 
 "The chief event of Mr. Bristow s administration, which lasted for 
 two years, wa*s his attack upon the Whiskey Ring, by which many corrupt 
 combinations for defrauding the Government were broken up, large sums 
 of money recovered, and a large number of convictions obtained. Mr. 
 Bristow apparently had the hearty support of President Grant in this course, 
 but for some cause a coolness grew up between them which led to Mr. 
 Bristow s leaving the Cabinet. This was supposed to be partly due to the 
 fact that General O. E. Babcock, the President s private secretary, was in 
 the course of these prosecutions indicted for conspiracy. The jury, how 
 ever, failed to convict him. During a House investigation which followed 
 the trial, Secretary Bristow, when placed upon the stand as a witness, de 
 clined to state what had passed between General Grant and himself with 
 regard to the matter, taking: the ground that it was a privileged communi 
 cation. The President addressed him a letter, absolving him from any 
 such restraint. The President ultimately pardoned most of the leading 
 members of the Ring who had been convicted, and most of the officials 
 who had been prominent in the prosecutions withdrew from the public ser 
 vice or were dismissed. The entire episode was one of the most impor 
 tant in the history of the Administration. One of the pardoned members 
 of the Ring had confessed to frauds amounting to a quarter of a million 
 of dollars, suffered only a nominal imprisonment, and paid back only 
 
 $10,000.^ # 
 
 " At times he would delight his well-wishers by some appointment of 
 such ideal fitness that it served to recall the cool sense he had always dis 
 played in selecting men for various posts in the war ; and then he would 
 disappoint and mortify them by some appointment made on purely per 
 sonal reasons and without any apparent regard to the public interest. He 
 appointed so many of his connections of one degree and another, to places 
 that his came to be called a brother-in-law Administration, and the charge 
 of nepotism was the one most frequently made against it. Casey at New 
 Orleans, Leet at New York, Babcock and Boss Shepherd at Washing 
 ton, and Belknap in the War Department were among the relatives and 
 intimates who brought discredit upon his Administration." 
 
 George C. Bates. ex-U. S. District Attorney for Utah, in the Denver, 
 Col., Opinion, said: 
 
 In life and in death he suffered more from the false pretenses of 
 scurvy politicians and such men than he ever did from his worst enemies, 
 
APPENDIX. 359 
 
 if any he had ; but in truth and in faith he had no enemies, save false and 
 pretended partisans, who sought to use him and his memory for their 
 own aggrandizement and advancement dead moons, with no light in 
 themselves, that circled around him while President and clustered at his 
 grave in death. 
 
 "It was the Belknaps, the Dories, the Babcocks, the Luckeys, the 
 
 McDonalds, et id omnes penus, that beclouded his Presidential career. 
 
 * * s * * * * * 
 
 " I have lived to mourn over the disease and death and misery of one 
 of the greatest heroes and military chieftains and one of the purest and 
 truest patriots that the world has ever yet produced one eminently worthy 
 and well qualified, duly and truly prepared, to sit down with Washington 
 and Lincoln in that house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens 
 and yet who, in his last Presidential term, was so blinded by his pertina 
 cious devotion to those whom he thought were his friends, that his Admin 
 istration was one of the most corrupt and infamous ot any ever recorded 
 in the history of this nation. And yet the President himself, although 
 blind to the crimes committed all around him was as pure and as honest as 
 Lincoln himself. " 
 
3^0 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 FAC-SIMILE OF THE CARD 
 GENERAL GRANT GAVE MR. MADDOX. 
 
APPENDIX. 361 
 
 JEWETTS STATEMENT. 
 
 COPY of a brief left with General B. F. Butler by Col. 
 D. J. M. A. Jewett, of Louisiana, for use in his examina 
 tion by the Potter committee. Jewett was the secretary of 
 the Republican state committee on registration and can 
 vassing in 1876. This brief being made by a partisan of 
 the most virulent kind, a champion of the carpet-baggers 
 Jewett being himself a carpet-bagger is important be 
 cause of the admissions it makes. It is unnecessary to say 
 that his interpretations of the election law are wrong in 
 those instances where he was directly interested on account 
 of rulings he had made. 
 
 REGISTRATION AND ELECTION LAWS. 
 
 An elector shall be not less than 21 years of age ; a citizen of the 
 United States ; shall have been a resident of the state not less than 
 one year and of the parish 10 days. 
 
 Registration shall close 10 days before election, and a person who 
 moves into the parish on the last day of registration may register, as 
 on the day of election the 10 days residence will have been complied 
 with. 
 
 Registration shall be supervised by a supervisor of registration, 
 who shall be appointed not less than sixty days prior to election, shall 
 have two clerks, shall personally make the registration, for which 
 purpose he shall successively open his office at not less than three nor 
 more than twelve points in the parish other than the seat of justice. 
 
 The supervisor decides all disputed rights under the registration 
 law, without appeal but subject to the civil penalty of $500, for refusal 
 to register a duly qualified person. Courts are prohibited from inter 
 ference with him in the discharge of his duties by mandamus, injunc 
 tion, or otherwise. 
 
362 APPENDIX. 
 
 
 
 The law imposes upon the supervisor the duty of erasing from the 
 registration book the names of all who have become disqualified for 
 any reason, or who have obtained registration fraudulently, limiting 
 his powers in this respect only by the provision that he shall not erase 
 the name of any one in his absence, except upon the affidavit of two 
 respectable citizens registered electors of the parish. 
 
 To the supervisor is committed the duty of making arrangements 
 for election. He locates the polling places, his discretion being 
 limited in this respect by the provision that there shall be one poll for 
 each justice -of- the -peace ward. He appoints the commissioners of 
 election, he furnishes to these last the ballot-boxes (which he may de 
 mand from the clerk of courts for this purpose,) the stationery, poll 
 lists, and other requisites, and instruct them verbally or otherwise in 
 their duties. 
 
 At this point all his discretionary powers appertaining to ELEC 
 TION cease and determine, and his remaining duties become strictly 
 
 MINISTERIAL. 
 
 From the opening of the polls at 6 A. M of the day of election, to 
 the close of the count and the delivery of the statement of votes, the 
 commissioners of election decide all cases appertaining to election 
 without appeal. (An appeal remains during the day of election to the 
 supervisor, but on questions of registration and erasure only), the 
 commissioners powers are limited only by the power of the supervisor 
 to close the poll for notorious and open violations of law, within the 
 same or in its immediate neighborhood. 
 
 The commissioners of election count the vote, and make the 
 statement of votes without there being in the supervisor any power of 
 supervision or interference. Their statement of votes is made in du 
 plicate, one copy and the box (the ballots having been replaced therein) 
 resealed, they deposit with the clerk of courts, the other copy they de 
 liver to the supervisor, together with any protest appertaining to the 
 election which they may have seen cause to make in duplicate, and 
 which if made shall be corroborated by the oath of three respectable 
 citizens, registered voters of the parish, and may be accompanied by 
 such other written evidence as may exist. 
 
 These duties it is provided shall be performed and completed 
 within 24 hours after the close of the poll, this however on the ground 
 that the law never requires impossibilities, has been construed* to be 
 
 * This construction was made by Jewett, Blanchard, McArdle & Co. 
 
APPENDIX. 363 
 
 declaratory, only, and that the duties are to be performed and com 
 pleted as soon as it is physically possible. These duties performed the 
 commissioners become functus officio. 
 
 The supervisor shall now from the several statements of votes 
 which have come to him from the several polls, compile the consoli 
 dated statement of votes, in duplicate. These he shall submit to the 
 clerk of courts, and obtain his certificate that they correspond with the 
 duplicate copies of the statements of votes filed in his office by the 
 commissioners of election. To the consolidated statement he shall at 
 tach his protest (if any) appertaining to registration in his parish. The 
 original with his original protest attached, and accompanied by all the 
 original statements of votes from the several polls, the original protests 
 of the commissioners of election, all tally sheets, lists of voters, and 
 memoranda of election from each poll, and any evidence in the shape 
 of affidavits or depositions affecting registration or election, he shall 
 forward by mail to the returning officers of the state at New Orleans. 
 The duplicate consolidated statement of votes he shall deposit with the 
 clerk of the courts, and at the same time shall deposit with the same 
 officer, the duplicate of his protest of the registration and the duplicate 
 protests of election (filed with him by the commissioners of election) 
 for the use of the district attorney. This done he becomes functus 
 officio. 
 
 To the five returning officers of the state are limited all powers as 
 returning officers of election and there can be no returns of election 
 except those made by them.* 
 
 The law gives them unlimited powers to enquire into any and all 
 violations of law ; which have affected the freedom and purity of regis 
 tration, or the freedom and purity of election, in any parish, or at any 
 poll in the state and to apply the remedy; and the return of election 
 which they may, after such enquiry, make, is not subject to review by 
 any other authority. 
 
 The law, however, is express in its terms as to the manner in 
 which these officers may acquire jurisdiction in any particular case. 
 
 It was made in view of the probability of having to manufacture affida 
 vits after the returns from the parishes came to New Orleans. If it was 
 necessary to throw out a few votes in order to bring in some candidate 
 they would not be foreclosed by the 24 hour clause of the law. 
 
 * This provision of the election law is in direct conflict with section 48 
 of the Constitution of Louisiana. It has been held by the supreme court 
 of the state to be unconstitutional. Senator Edmunds held the same in 
 the Senate of the United States March 16, 1875. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 A protest affecting the registration shall emanate from the super 
 visor and affects the entire parish, a protest affecting the election shall 
 emanate from the commissioners of election and affects only the par 
 ticular poll. These shall be made and forwarded to the board with all 
 the formalities detailed herein ; upon the receipt of the protest in the 
 form and in the manner provided by law, the board acquires jurisdic 
 tion in the particular case affected thereby. This jurisdiction can be 
 acquired in no other manner. In the absence of the protest received, 
 in form and manner prescribed by law, the duties are purely ministe 
 rial to canvass and compile the statements of votes as received, and no 
 evidence may be received or enquiry made except respecting the authen 
 ticity or form of the documents before them. 
 
 I am unable to recollect that in any case, except that of Caddo, 
 protests were forwarded to the board inform and manner prescribed 
 by law. Farther, if a strict construction of law, as affecting super 
 visors were raised, and that of my circular of October 15 were admitted, 
 it remains that the protests received were those of supervisors apper 
 taining to the election, while it is expressly provided that these shall 
 be made, if at all, by the commissioners of election and by them only. 
 
 CONSPIRACY. 
 
 There was no conspiracy existing prior to the election in La., be 
 tween Packard, Kellogg, Dibble, Blanchard, Moray, Ray, Wells, An 
 derson, Cassannave, Kenner, myself and others to obtain a fraudulent 
 return by the board if the election went fairly against us. 
 
 All matters touching registration, election, and returns were freely 
 and fully discussed by and between Gov. Kellogg, Judge Dibble, Mr. 
 Blanchard and myself from time to time. No one concealed his 
 opinion that the bull-dozed parishes so called would be carried heavily 
 against us by fraud and violence, and that the proper means must be 
 taken to give the board jurisdiction in these cases. 
 
 That due evidence must be obtained of all facts which would en 
 ure to our partisan advantage after the election and before the Board. 
 Gov. Kellogg seemed to rely chiefly upon Mr. Blanchard and myself 
 to attend to this department. I, on several occasions during the cam 
 paign, especially on two or three occasions in October, communicated 
 to all supervisors likely to be interviewed upon this subject, and im 
 pressed upon them the great importance of lawful evidence of all vio 
 lations of law in their several parishes, affecting or likely to affect the 
 
APPENDIX. 365 
 
 purity and freedom of registration and election. Mr. Blanchard and 
 myself being in practical control of the office of late registrar of voters, 
 draughted and sent out over Gov. Hahn s signature, various instruc 
 tions to supervisors and commissioners of election, intended to pre 
 serve such freedom and purity, or to secure evidence of illegalities if 
 they could not be prevented. If all these several instructions had 
 been duly obeyed and enforced there is no question but that the return 
 of the Republican ticket would have been obtained in strict accordance 
 with law. 
 
 AFTER THE ELECTION. 
 
 After the election when it was found that the White league tactics 
 had been more successful in the bull-dozed parishes, and that by the 
 just fears of some supervisors, and the inattention and stupidity of 
 others, the instructions had not been carried out, or the evidence of 
 fraud and violence obtained as required by law, the officials named and 
 others concurred (without any special agreement however to that effect) 
 in an endeavor to supply the requisite evidence in a colorable shape. 
 Having anticipated, in part, what actually happened, I had recently, be 
 fore election, issued a circular calling attention to the fact that, if unable 
 for any sufficient reason to attach protests and evidence to their returns 
 in accordance with Sec. 26, election act, they might forward the same 
 to the board in separate packages under Sec. 43. This was a strained 
 construction of the law, sent out to meet a possible contingency which 
 actually arose. This construction was, of course, found very useful 
 after election. As the time approached for the board to close its 
 labors and the utter unscrupulousness of the opposition became more 
 manifest, still more unscrupulous means were used to circumvent their 
 frauds and perjuries. Though, at no time was any formal agreement 
 come to by and between any of the Republican managers and myself 
 or with my knowledge, to go outside the law. 
 
 Mr. Packard was not in the city until the evening of Nov. 4th, 
 and neither then or after was any consultation had with him respecting 
 details. 
 
 Nov. 8, and several days thereafter Mr. Packard, Mr. Pitkin, Mr. 
 Blanchard and myself were at the custom house in receipt by telegraph 
 and otherwise of the result of the election. Our gain in the city had 
 been large (2,400) and the first advices from the country were favor- 
 
366 APPENDIX. 
 
 able, and it was not until about Nov. 13 that we knew that the state 
 had gone against us by the ballots in the boxes. 
 
 The Returning Board were by law to meet Nov. 17: about Nov. 
 12, a committee of counsel was selected to attend to the interests of the 
 party before the board. 
 
 This was composed of Dibble, Gorham, Hardy, Harris, Morey, 
 Blanchard, Campbell and myself. Each member took charge of evi 
 dence from localities with which he was most familiar. I appointed 
 Mr. Hagin, a young lawyer of N. O., attorney for the committee on 
 registration and election, and made him chief clerk. I detailed one of 
 my confidential clerks, Jas. P. McArdle, as his assistant and others as 
 occasion required. Campbell, Harris, Hardy, and Gorham chiefly 
 draughted the affidavits and protests while Blanchard and myself re 
 served to suit ourselves the examination of all witnesses from localities 
 with which other members of the committee were unfamiliar and the 
 decision respecting the value or availability of their evidence. In the 
 collection and reduction of such a mass of evidence in a few days, it 
 was manifestly impossible for one man to even read it all but I kept 
 myself informed of all that was of importance. 
 
 After the arrival of the Congressional committees the committee 
 was enlarged to include 
 
 and the following sub-committees were organized : 
 
 Again at the special request of Mr. Packard I took charge of the pre 
 paration and collection of evidence, as chairman of the committee for 
 that purpose. 
 
 DE SOTO PARISH. 
 
 C. L. Ferguson, supervisor, mailed his returns per registered 
 package to New Orleans from Mansfield, Nov. I4th ; he reached New 
 Orleans in person about the 23d ; on the 24th I received from Geo. L. 
 Smith, in person, or from some person in his interest, a notice that my 
 presence in the private office of the post-office would be desirable about 
 9 or 10 P. M. that night. On my arrival I found there Geo. L. 
 Smith, candidate for Congress, 4th district, D. D. Smith, cashier post- 
 
APPENDIX. 367 
 
 office, C. L. Ferguson, supervisor De Soto parish, T. H. Hutton, su 
 pervisor Bossier parish, Jno. S. Morrow, supervisor, Fred. E. Heath, 
 candidate for House of Representatives, and Sam l Gardner, citizen of 
 Webster parish, with one or two others I think, whom I do not now 
 remember. I had detailed Mr. McArdle to attend, and he was there, 
 but on account of objections on the part of Geo. L. Smith he was sent 
 away. The fact whether protest, had been made or not, etc. , having 
 been considered, D. D. Smith unlocked the post-office vault and 
 produced therefrom the returns of De Soto, Bossier, Caddo and Web 
 ster. Caddo, it was stated that he had brought down himself. Bossier 
 and Webster he had, as I understood. On the De Soto package I no 
 ticed the post-mark of Mansfield and that it bore evidence of registration. 
 It was, however, already open. It was unrolled and examined by 
 Smith and myself. It was not possible to create a Republican ma 
 jority except by throwing out polls I, 3, 5, 7 and 8. These were se 
 lected for protest and Ferguson was asked for facts. I draughted a 
 protest based on such facts as he had knowledge of, either personally, 
 or from information received, or as were suggested by Geo. L. Smith, 
 or by the well-known conditions of the parish. This Ferguson copied 
 and was directed to take the same before F. A. Woolfley for adminis - 
 tration of the oath. 
 
 It was suggested by me, that of course it was not possible to at 
 tach this protest and various affidavits in hand affecting the same 
 parish (taken before commissioner Levissee in Shreveport) to the con 
 solidated statement of votes, this having come forward by mail and 
 there being a disagreement of dates, but they should be handed, or 
 sent in under Sec. 43, as per my circular letter of instructions. 
 
 Notwithstanding, the unbounded stupidity of somebody, rolled 
 these up in the original package, which restored apparently to its orig 
 inal condition, went forward by carrier to the board Nov. 25. 
 
 BOSSIER PARISH. 
 
 The returns of Bossier were handed by Capt. Hutton, the super 
 visor, to G. L. Smith for safe-keeping upon his (Hutton s) arrival in 
 the city and were by Smith placed in the vault of the post-office. 
 
 T. H. Hutton, had on Nov. 13, (the day that he started from 
 Bellevue for New Orleans) sworn his consolidated statement of votes 
 (popularly known as the return) before Geo. B. Abercrombie, clerk of 
 
368 APPENDIX. 
 
 court, and had deposited with said clerk a copy as required by law, at 
 the date named and when the returns were examined by me in the 
 post-office. This document bore in the space for remarks a protest of 
 the Atkins Landing box (No. i) and no other. 
 
 In my presence in the private office of the post-office, the super 
 visor interpolated in the same space under the protest noted above, 
 and above the jurat, a second protest affecting the Red Land box (No. 
 3. ) There is no question in my mind but that the protest and exclu 
 sion of this box was an afterthought which first took shape at this 
 time (Nov. 24). 
 
 WEBSTER PARISH. 
 
 Jno. W. Morrow, supervisor of registration, forwarded his re 
 turns by mail to New Orleans as I now believe. If I am mistaken 
 herein he had deposited them with Geo. L. Smith for safe-keeping. 
 
 On the night of Nov. 24 I saw them taken by Smith out of the 
 post-office vault (see De Soto), at this time they were unrolled and ex 
 amined. Those present took the view that it would be highly con 
 venient to get rid of about 250 votes in this parish. An affidavit 
 made in Meriden, (Nov. 20), by W. L. Franks was at hand affecting 
 poll No. I. Sam l Gardner then present made another, then and 
 there, affecting poll 5, (Meriden.) 
 
 I draughted a protest for Morrow on this occasion based on facts 
 stated in the affidavit, and by F. E. Heath and Jno. W. Morrow. 
 This protest Morrow copied, or it was copied for him by F. E. Heath, 
 and he signed it in the clerks office, U. S. Circuit Court the following 
 day. This protest and these two affidavits were forwarded to the 
 board with his returns. 
 
 MOREHOUSE PARISH. 
 
 F. M. Grant, supervisor, brought his returns to New Orleans 
 about one week prior to Nov. 2oth. No protest accompanied his re 
 turns. In conversation with Mr. Blanchard and myself he stated (im 
 mediately after his arrival) that while he was of the belief that there 
 had been intimidation affecting both registration and election, he knew 
 nothing important of his own knowledge and could not see his way 
 clear to make a protest. He also called attention to the dangerous 
 
APPENDIX. 369 
 
 consequences to himself, as a property-holder and resident of the parish, 
 should he do so. 
 
 The evening of that or the following day, at the governor s re 
 quest, Blanchard and myself drove him out of the governor s residence 
 where we had a conference respecting his parish and testimony. This 
 being without effect the governor took him apart, into an adjoining 
 room, and they conferred together some time. The next day he was 
 again interviewed by Kellogg at the custom house and was (as I was 
 informed), taken to see the visiting statesmen. Blanchard informed 
 me, that Grant was bull-dozed by these and other parties for several 
 days before he would make the protest which he made Nov. i8th. 
 
 At this time I purposely avoided even seeing the visiting states 
 men except as I met them casually at Kellogg s, and it was arranged 
 between myself and Mr. Blanchard that he should do everything 
 which would require the slightest connection with them. 
 
 This was done because it was not proposed that Mr. Blanchard 
 should testify before either committee of Congress when they came, as 
 was expected, and I desired to be, myself, incapable of answering any 
 inconvenient questions which might be propounded to me touching 
 these gentlemen and their connection with our affairs. 
 
 OUACHITA PARISH. 
 
 M. J. Grady, supervisor, was extremely reluctant to protest the 
 election. He stated that he had sent in considerable testimony in the 
 shape of affidavits but assigned as a reason for not making the protest, 
 which would confer jurisdiction upon the board, that many facts al 
 leged were personally unknown to him, and that he feared the future 
 consequences to himself. He was so reluctant to formally protest 
 facts which were notorious and indisputable that I recollect being 
 somewhat severe in my language to him as betraying his principles, 
 his friends, his party, by his refusal. He finally made the affidavit or 
 protest. 
 
 I am informed by Mr. Blanchard that Mr. Grady was bull-dozed 
 by Kellogg, Sherman, Garfield, and others for a week before he would 
 sign the protest. He admitted to myself that he could not stand the 
 pressure. I do not charge or believe that any fact stated by Grady 
 was untrue or unknown to him, at least by common report. The evi 
 dence was simply obtained in a manner which deprived it of any legal 
 value. 
 
370 APPENDIX. 
 
 EAST BATON ROUGE. 
 
 F. A. Clover, supervisor, reached New Orleans with his returns 
 complete about Nov. n or 12. It is already in evidence that his pro 
 test was written in upon his consolidated statement above the jurat 
 which he made in Baton Rouge. His protest dated Nov. 18, (258 
 Sherman) stated facts no doubt, and no dishonesty is charged in con 
 nection therewith. 
 
 The fraud in this parish was committed by his refusal to compile 
 the statements of the votes cast at polls 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 13, on the 
 ground of technical informalities of proceeding upon the part of the 
 commissioners of election. 
 
 The judicial powers of returning officers of election is confided by 
 the Louisiana law to the returning officers of the state and to them 
 alone, and it was Mr. Clover s duty to compile and forward to the board 
 all statements whatever, and all memoranda connected therewith, to 
 call attention to all frauds and irregularities connected with any poll, 
 in order that the board might obtain jurisdiction to apply the remedy 
 provided by law. (See see s 26 and 43, act 98, 1872.) 
 
 This Mr. Clover refused to do and was sustained in his refusal by 
 Kellogg, Campbell, and others, to whose advice he would have 
 yielded. Mr. Clover undoubtedly did this with the promise or expec 
 tation of reward. 
 
 I do not by any means charge that Mr. Clover committed an in 
 tentional fraud. He was a man not especially qualified to construe a 
 statute. Under a construction, which he adopted, and which was up 
 held by parties fully aware of his error, (those named), he attempted to 
 remedy one wrong by the commission of another. 
 
 It may be said that I ought to have corrected him. This it would 
 have been useless for me to do against the influence of those named 
 and, while Mr. Blanchard and myself were practically in control of the 
 state registrar s office, and while Gov. Hahn would have undoubtedly 
 signed an order (drawn by either of us) to Mr. Clover, the law has ex- 
 pressely excepted supervisors from obedience to the rulings or orders 
 of the state registrar of voters, who is at the same time deemed their 
 administrative chief. 
 
 EAST FELICIANA PARISH. 
 Jas. E. Anderson, supervisor, refused, upon his arrival in New 
 
APPENDIX. 3/1 
 
 Orleans, to make any protest, alleging as a reason his fear of being 
 murdered if he did so. This, in his case, I did not believe, having been 
 convinced by his then secret conduct that he was a corrupt scoundrel, 
 who would protest or not, betray one party or the other (he was un 
 questionably in the employ of both) as he might conceive to be for his 
 interest. 
 
 As Gov. Kellogg was responsible for his being in his parish to go 
 through the farce of an election I abandoned to Gov. Kellogg the task 
 of getting him to testify to notorious facts unquestionably within his 
 knowledge and washed my hands of him and of his affairs. I was 
 present on two occasions at Kellogg s house, when Anderson and the 
 Governor were in conference respecting his testimony. 
 
 On the loth of November, immediately after his arrival, Anderson 
 had signed a protest drawn by Hugh J. Campbell which the following 
 day he distinctly repudiated, and which he stated to be at least in part 
 untrue. This protest was not finally accepted by him again until, as I 
 was informed, Anderson had been promised the position of deputy 
 naval officer or something that should be a full equivalent. Anderson 
 himself informed me while under the influence of liquor (about No 
 vember 20) that "he had got what he was after," by which remark 
 and its context I understood that he had received pledges of reward for 
 his testimony. I have also been informed that Messrs. Sherman and 
 Garfield assisted in bringing Mr. Anderson " to listen to reason." 
 
 RICHLAND PARISH. 
 
 J. F. Kelley, supervisor, brought consolidated statement to New 
 Orleans in person, waited upon Gov. Kellogg (before delivering re 
 turns to board) and reported to him certain facts respecting registra 
 tion and election. 
 
 The Governor then and there draughted a protest for Kelley who 
 having disappeared meanwhile, Kellogg handed the draft to me with 
 the request that I would see that Kelley signed something like that, 
 and that he filed the same with his returns. 
 
 Upon meeting Kelley the next day, he declined to sign a statement 
 such as the governor had draughted, assigning as a reason, that he did 
 not personally know the facts stated to be true. Mr. Kelley returned 
 to his parish without making any protest. 
 
 Kelley returned to New Orleans with witnesses about November 
 
3/2 APPENDIX. 
 
 25th when I handed Judge Campbell a substantial copy of Kellogg s 
 draft and requested him to take charge of the matter. I think the 
 judge afterwards told me that Kelley still refused to sign. About 
 November 3Oth Mr. Kelley signed an inconsequential affidavit respect 
 ing the election in Richland which was shown to me, whereupon I 
 drew up the protest which appears with his returns (460 Sherman) 
 and handed it to Mr. Hagin I think for Mr Kelley s signature. This 
 Mr. Kelley signed 16 or 17 days after his returns were in the office of 
 the board. 
 
 SECOND WARD, ORLEANS. 
 
 A. J. Brim, supervisor, refused to compile and forward statement 
 of votes from poll 6 contrary to law and was sustained in his refusal by 
 Kellogg, Hahn, and others. 
 
 See remarks upon East Baton Rouge. 
 
 PARISH OF LAFOURCHE. 
 
 Marcelin A. Ledet, supervisor, refused to receive and compile and 
 forward to the board the statements of votes, tally sheets, and memo 
 randa of election from polls No. 
 
 His error was the same as that of Capt. Clover and was sustained 
 by the same parties. In this case also the returns were withheld a 
 very long time after their arrival in the city. 
 
 Mr. Ledet was perfectly honest in his error ; had no intention of 
 defrauding anyone, and the neglect did not change any result in the 
 parish or in the senatorial or congressional district. 
 
 CLAIBORNE PARISH. 
 
 Capt. J. E. Scott, supervisor, forwarded his returns by mail to 
 the board. His commissioners of election were all democrats. No 
 protests were made by them. No protest was made by him and for 
 warded with his returns according to Sec. 26, election act. 
 
 Upon his arrival in New Orleans he stated that he had no personal 
 knowledge of any facts which would justify a protest although he had 
 no doubt of the existence of such, his belief being based upon informa 
 tion received. November 24 Mr. Hagin drew up, under my instruction, 
 a protest in the presence of Capt. Scott which he signed and which 
 
APPENDIX. 373 
 
 was forwarded to the board. This protest stated no facts which, under 
 a fair construction of the law, would have given the board jurisdiction, 
 and affected polls i, 2, 3, 5, and n. No. 3 was thrown out. 
 
 VISITING STATESMEN. 
 
 I expect to prove that protests and evidence, such as it was, which 
 had been received and filed up to November 27, excluded votes for 
 Packard 1,620 and for Nichols 9,700, leaving Mr. Packard elected by 
 a clear majority, with a Republican majority in the Senate and House, 
 and also elected 3 Hayes and 5 Tilden electors. 
 
 That thereafter, in pursuance of a conspiracy between J. M. Wells, 
 Thos. C. Anderson, Jno. Sherman, and J. A. Garfield, and others, 
 polls were excluded in the parishes of Caldwell, Natchitoches, Rich- 
 land, Catahoula, Iberia, Livingston, and Tangipahoa, with the result, 
 and for the purpose, of returning as elected 5 Hayes electors who were 
 otherwise defeated. That the consideration of this conspiracy was the 
 absolute control of the Federal patronage within the State of Louisiana 
 by the said Wells and Anderson, that the evidence used to effect the 
 object of the conspiracy was manufactured without regard to actual 
 facts and with the knowledge of the several conspirators, and that the 
 consideration to be given to said Wells and Anderson has been de 
 livered up to date. 
 
 \*w 
 
INDEX 
 
 ARRANGED ACCORDING TO VOWEL LETTERS, A, E, I, O, U, Y. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 ALABAMA, disappearance of alien government, in .............. 
 
 ARKANSAS, disappearance of alien government, in .............. o 
 
 ALACHUACO., Fla ....................................... g | 
 
 Fraud in ..... ........... .................. o_ 
 
 Connection of E. F. Noyes, therewith .................. 7 
 
 AMERICAN PEOPLE, sense of justice of, the .................... 9 
 
 " DISHONOR, the Roll of, ......................... 2 9 
 
 < POLITICS, ignorance of the history of, ---- ---- 3 5 
 
 ALLEN, A. A., sheriff of Baker county: Admissions of, to P< f-- 
 committee ........................... : ; 
 
 ANTRELL, Wm. M., affidavit maker in Fla., appointment of, ... 109 
 ANDERSON, James E., character of, .......... . . .. - : ---- 
 
 Made supervisor of registration Parish of East Fehciana: 
 Instructed by Kellogg to prevent a fair election .......... IJ7 
 
 Testimony of, about letter from John Sherman ..... . . ... 144 
 
 Swore that he did not make a protest : Agreement of, with 
 C. E. Nash .......................... : ---- \" .;; 2 
 
 Did John Sherman promise a reward to : Dealings of, with 
 Stanley Mathews et al ................................ 2 _9 
 
 Connection of, with Stanley Mathews ..... .... ...... 33 7 
 
 Appointment of, to Funchal consulate ; declines the same. 307 
 ABELL, Chas. S., secretary Returning Board: Tampering with 
 
 Preewof at opening of returns of De Soto parish. ... 1 
 Connection of, with Eliza Pinkston s affidavit ........... 103 
 
 Appointed clerk iii N. O. custom house : Falsification of 
 
 * * -i i , 24-2 
 
 record by, ............ . .................. "JT 
 
 ANDERSON, Thos. C., character of, ..... ....... . - - . . - ^ 
 
 Appointment of, messenger by electors: Reached \\ash- 
 
 ington with return ................... ..... ^ 
 
 Testimony of, about interview with President of Senate: 
 False statement of, .................................... ! ^ 
 
 Admissions of, ................. V **. * ir Yi ...... j 
 
 Return of, to New Orleans : Meeting of, with Kellogg and 
 
 Q ar k ......................... ...... ......... J 79 
 
 Rewardof, for services ............................... 2 33"7 
 
 Indictment of, for forgery ...... ..... ............... *JJ 
 
 Attempt of, to resist arrest ....................... - ..... *3* 
 
376 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 ANDERSON, Thos. C., trial of, for forgery 235 
 
 Admissions of counsel for, of the forgery 236 
 
 Conviction of, 2 35 
 
 Command of, over Federal patronage in La 222 
 
 Depravity of, 223 
 
 Telegram of Sherman et al to, 224 
 
 ANDERSON, Chas. B., son of Thomas C., appointed clerk in N. 
 
 O. custom house 241 
 
 ALIEN GOVERNMENT, disappearance of, in Southern States 8 
 
 Upheld by Federal Military power 12 
 
 ALIEN Rule creates lawlessness 1 1 
 
 " and Sedition Laws *9 
 
 ACTIVE AGENTS, in manipulation of Florida returns 69 
 
 AFFIDAVIT MILL, the, set to work in N. O. custom house 14 
 
 Began to grind out so-called evidence I4 2 
 
 ANTOINE, C. C 337 
 
 ARTHUR, C. A., in communication with Sec y War 56 
 
 Statement of, concerning use of " Soap." ... 209 
 
 ARMY, increase of the, by the federalists 19 
 
 BARLOW, Francis C., Visiting Statesman: Belief of, that Mr. 
 
 Tilden carried Florida 33 
 
 Invited to go to Fla 65 
 
 Conduct of, in Fla 90-2 
 
 Chandler s plans nearly undone by, 90 
 
 Sincerity and honesty of, 91 
 
 Belief of, in Gen l Grant s sincerity 92 
 
 Honesty of, feared by L. G. Dennis : Ideas of, about 
 
 power of Returning Board 93 
 
 Desire of, to do right: Labors with Dr. Cowgill 96 
 
 Assignment of, to Alachua case : Distrust of, by L. G. 
 
 Dennis 100 
 
 Conscience of, not pliant 113 
 
 BAKER COUNTY, Florida, false return from 70 
 
 Return from, reached in canvass 80 
 
 Return of, thrown out 99 
 
 BAYONET RULE. 12 
 
 BARNES, L. A., registrar U. S. Land Office Fla.: Connection of, 
 
 with Alachua Fraud 86 and 108 
 
 BAYARD, Thos. F., appointed on committee 36 
 
 BLACK FRIDAY, investigation. , 10 
 
 BLACK, J. S. (Judge), language of, 33 
 
 " Richard, part of, in Alachua fraud 85 
 
 Appointment of, 107 
 
 BARTLETT, H. C., supervisor of registration, Ninth Ward, New- 
 Orleans 119 
 
 BACKERS, L. C., supervisor of registration, Eleventh Ward, New 
 
 Orleans 119 
 
 BADGER, A. S., services of, and reward therefor 273 
 
INDEX. 377 
 
 PAGE 
 
 BATES, Geo. C, on Grant 35 8 
 
 BLANCHARD, B. P., connection of, with forgery of Electoral Cer 
 tificate 279 
 
 Appointed Clerk N. O. C. H 280 
 
 BRADLEY, Justice, selected as the 5th Judge 39 
 
 Serious doubts of, in Fla. case : Wrote and re-wrote several 
 
 opinions 4-8 
 
 BRADY, Thos. J., goes with special agents to Florida 53 
 
 Carries money to Florida - 53 and 65 
 
 Connection of, with Florida frauds : Retention of, in office, no 
 
 BELKNAP, Secretary of War, attempt to impeach 6 
 
 Confession of : Allowed to resign 31 
 
 BELL, JAMES 69 
 
 Connection of, with fraud in Jefferson, Fla 89 
 
 Confession of, 9 
 
 Appointment of, l8 
 
 BEDLE, Ex-Gov. N. J. , on Grant 35 8 
 
 BREWSTER, O. H., ineligible elector: Resigns office of surveyor- 
 general of La. : Votes for Hayes and Wheeler and re-ap 
 pointed 43 
 
 Connection of, with Eliza Pinkston : Reward of, 265 
 
 BREWSTER, Benj. Harris, attorney-general, confidence of, in Geo. 
 
 Bliss 261 
 
 BRENNAN, H. F., supervisor registration, 1st Ward, N. O 119 
 
 BILL, Electoral Commission, of 1800 19 
 
 Provisions of 2I 
 
 Republican leaders fall back on the, 213 
 
 Revamped by Sen. Edmunds 37 
 
 Electoral Commission, of 1877, reported from committee.. . 38 
 BILLINGS, E. C., judge U. S. Court, Louisiana, refusal of, to de 
 liver electoral certificates l8 5 
 
 BLISS, Geo., saved Kellogg from indictment 261 
 
 BRIM, A. J., supervisor of registration, 2d Ward, N. 119 
 
 Services of, and reward therefor 291 
 
 BOUTWELL, Geo. S !2 
 
 BOWES, Joseph 69 
 
 Ballot-box stuffing by : Confession of 89 
 
 Services of, and reward therefor 107 
 
 BOSSIER, C. A., supervisor of registration, St. Charles parish . ... 126 
 
 BLOXHAM. vs. state canvassers 
 
 BROWN, Chas. F., services of, and reward therefor 
 
 BURKE E. A., statement to, of D. A. Ward of Grant parish. 
 
 Efforts of, to secure fair registration in N. O 
 
 Detection by, of De Soto parish fraud 
 
 Testimony of, to Potter committee; Interview of, with rep 
 resentatives of Hayes : Memorandum of points agreed 
 
 upon with Stanley Mathews 229 
 
 Presence of, at Wormley Hotel conference 230 
 
 Assurances of, to Mr. Springer 231 
 
 68 
 297 
 116 
 
 122 
 
 157 
 
378 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 BURCH, J. Henri, Hayes elector 43 
 
 Appointed clerk in custom house, N. O 263 
 
 BUTLER, General B. F., cross-examination by, of Thos. S. Kelley. 188 
 
 BURLESQUE ELECTORAL CERTIFICATE 192 
 
 Object of, 193 
 
 CARPET-BAGGER, the term used to express contempt : Rule of, 
 
 in 1876, dominated in but three states 8 
 
 CARPET-BAG ROGUES, their stories of alleged outrages : Laws 
 enacted by, a great burden upon the people : Justice un 
 der, became a mockery II 
 
 Indignation meeting of, at Tallahassee : Suspicion of, that 
 
 Hayes was not to be trusted loo 
 
 Knowledge of, that E. F. Noyes represented Hayes 101 
 
 Organized spoliation under, in La 319 
 
 What Grant thought of 308 
 
 CAMERON, J. D., Secretary of War, involved in the conspiracy; 
 
 Army directed by, in aid of the conspirators 30 
 
 Partisan conduct of; Orders of, to General Augur 32 
 
 Influence of, with General Grant 55 
 
 Conference with, over Jay Gould s private wire 56 
 
 Dispatches of, to General Sherman 57 
 
 Interview of, with Maddox 221 
 
 CAMPAIGN, the, 1874: How fought by republicans : Response of 
 
 the people and disapproval of 13 
 
 CASEY, James F., connection of, with Louisiana politics 326 
 
 History of, by Warmoth 328 
 
 Joins the anti-Warmoth party : Fondness of Gen l Grant 
 
 for, ...331 
 
 Use of revenue-cutter by, 333 
 
 Warmoth demands removal of, 337 
 
 Telegrams of, to President 346 
 
 CALIFORNIA, dispatches from, 5 1 
 
 CAMP, B. H. , sent to Florida 65 
 
 CAMPBELL, Hugh J., one of counsel to run " Affidavit Mill.". ... 114 
 
 Had charge of Kelley s affidavit 169 
 
 History of, 276 
 
 Services of; Rewarded for services 277 
 
 CAMPBELL, Bantley, saw money paid to Louisiana legislators. . . . 3 2 9 
 CARTER, George, speaker Louisiana House of Representatives : 
 
 Speech of, against Warmoth 327 
 
 Expelled by Warmoth s friends from legislature .. 334 
 
 CARTER- Warmoth war, the 334 
 
 CARPENTER, Mat, H., senator, report of, on Louisiana election.. 338 
 CARR, Mortimer, speaker Louisiana House of Representatives . . . 333 
 
 CASSANNAVE, Gadane, member of Returning Board 155 
 
 Character of 156 
 
 Visit of, to Washington for relief 237 
 
 Statement of, about Federal officers in La 238 
 
INDEX. 379 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CASSANNAVE, Gadane, letter of, to Hayes 239 
 
 Letter of, to John Sherman : Telegrams concerning, by 
 
 Hayes counsel 240 
 
 CARTWRIGHT, J. C, elector in Oregon 46 
 
 CANVASS, the, of Florida county returns begun 80 
 
 Of County returns for Governor directed by the Supreme 
 
 Court of Fla 98 
 
 Of Electoral vote not ordered by the Supreme Court 99 
 
 Technical meaning of , 130 
 
 CAMPBELLTON PRECINCT, Florida, evidence about 83 
 
 CHANDLER, Zachariah 12 
 
 Chairman Republican National Committee 29 
 
 Secretary of the Interior ; Inspirer of the most violent acts . 30 
 
 Telegrams sent in the name of, 50 
 
 Dispirited 51 
 
 Bold and unscrupulous man: Famous dispatch of: Letter 
 
 to, from W. E. Chandler 52 
 
 Communication of, to President over Jay Gould s private 
 
 wire 5 
 
 Dispatch of, to Gov. Stearns, Fla 62 
 
 Knew of forgery of Electoral certificate from La 184-192 
 
 Letter to, from Kellogg 184 
 
 CHANDLER, W. E., arrives from New Hampshire : Testimony of. 49 
 
 Figures 166 votes for Hayes 50 
 
 Requested by General Grant to remain in Florida 33 
 
 Telegrams sent by : Testimony of, to Potter committee. . . 50 
 Explains the situation to Zach. Chandler: Scheme of, to 
 
 claim election of Hayes : Advises that bold and skilful 
 
 men be sent South : Takes charge of Fla 51 
 
 Leaves for Fla : Letters from, to Zach. Chandler 52 
 
 Arrives at Tallahassee : Cipher telegram of, to private sec y 
 
 of Hayes 64 
 
 Cipher telegrams to 65 
 
 Cipher telegrams to Zach. Chandler : Interprets cipher dis 
 patches to Potter committee 66 
 
 Money sent to, for use in Fla.: Cipher telegram to Zach. 
 
 Chandler : Cipher telegram to 67 
 
 Discovery by, that Co. returns show a majority for Tilden 
 
 electors 7 
 
 Arranges cipher with Kellogg 74 
 
 Cipher telegrams to Kellogg 75 
 
 Purpose of, in having Noyes sent to Fla 79 
 
 Dealings of, with Francis C. Barlow 9 2 
 
 Barlow humored by, 93 
 
 Assurances of, to McLin 103 
 
 Mentioned L. G. Dennis to Hayes 104 
 
 Recommendation of Jos. Bowes by, 108 
 
 Quarrel of, with Hayes 112 
 
 CHAPMAN, Samuel, services of and reward therefor 296 
 
380 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHADWICK, Rev. J. S., on Grant 357 
 
 CLAY, Henry, on the question of eligibility of electors 43 
 
 CLANCY, M. A., letter to Zach. Chandler under cover to, 52 
 
 CLARK, H. Conquest, testimony of 1 79-180 
 
 Preparation by, of new Electoral Certificates 180 
 
 Knew of the forgery of the names of Levissee and Joffroin. 185 
 
 Appointment of, through Kellogg 190 
 
 History of, 277 
 
 Connection of, with forgery of Electoral Certificates 276-8 
 
 Rewarded for his services 278 
 
 CHAMBERLIN, Daniel H 8 
 
 Role of, as a political moralist and civil-service reformer. . . 9 
 
 CREDIT MOBILIER EXPOSURE, the effect of 6-11 
 
 CENTENNIAL BANK, of Philadelphia 51 
 
 CESSNA, W. K 69 
 
 Part of, in Alachua fraud 86 
 
 Appointment of, 108 
 
 CENSUS, the, of Louisiana, 1875 114 
 
 A basis for frauds Ilfj 
 
 Made for political purposes 120 
 
 CREAGH, Pat., supervisor 3d ward, New Orleans 119 
 
 Services of, and reward therefor 291 
 
 CIPHER TELEGRAMS, how republicans got rid of, 74 
 
 CHILDS, Geo. W., reminiscences of General Grant, by, 24 
 
 Statements of, confirmed by Mr. Drexel 26 
 
 Sent for by General Grant.. . . 27 
 
 Consulted by General Grant 28 
 
 Statement of, prepared before General Grant s death 34 
 
 Statement of, about General Grant being influenced by un 
 worthy friends 355 
 
 CHAILLE, Prof., on vital statistics 122-3 
 
 CLIFFORD, Hon. Nathan C., president of Electoral Commission. 194 
 
 CONSPIRACY to defraud the people 23 
 
 CONSTITUTION, the, violation of 16 
 
 Democrats in the House should have stood by, , 37 
 
 Disqualifies certain persons as electors 39 
 
 Unqualified language of, 41 
 
 Concessions and prohibitions in, 42 
 
 No meaningless or superfluous words in, .... , 43 
 
 CONKLING, Roscoe, senator 12 
 
 In accord with the President ; Held responsible for the 
 
 policy of the President 28 
 
 Carried Electoral-commission bill through the Senate ; Be 
 lieved that the vote of Louisiana rightfully belonged to 
 
 Mr. Tilden 29 
 
 COMMITTEE, the House, on count of electoral votes : Result of 
 deliberation of : The Senate, on electoral count: Reaches 
 
 a conclusion 36 
 
 Bill reported by, 38 
 
INDEX. 381 
 
 PAGE 
 
 COOK, Win. A., sent to South Carolina 53 
 
 Chandler s inquiry about, , 66 
 
 CORNELL, A. B 5 6 
 
 COWGILL, F. A 69 
 
 Visit of, to Francis C. Barlow 96 
 
 Declared vote of Florida did not belong to Hayes 97 
 
 Promised by Hayes an auditorship ... 103 
 
 Special agency of Treasury offered to, and declined by, 104 
 
 Expected and claimed reward for services loo 
 
 Assured by Hayes of personal obligations ..... 103 
 
 CONOVER, senator from Florida 103 
 
 COBURN, John, rewarded for his services in Louisiana 213 
 
 CORNOG, A. W., supervisor Red River parish Il8 
 
 COURT, the Supreme, of Florida, mandate of to state canvassers . . 98 
 COUNTY RETURNS, the, of Florida showed a majority for Tilden 
 
 electors 67 
 
 State canvassers compelled to count 9^ 
 
 COMMISSIONERS, the, of elections in La. reported no intimidation.. 125 
 
 Duties of, prescribed by law 127 
 
 Certified the election was fair and free 143 
 
 No cases of intimidation reported by, 143-200 
 
 Could alone certify facts about election 200 
 
 COLORED, the, population of New Orleans 120 
 
 COMPILE, the, technical meaning of, 130 
 
 CLOVER, F. A., history of, 283 
 
 Made supervisor of election for Parish of West Feliciana. . 118 
 
 Committed forgery and perjury 144 
 
 Illegally rejected Commissioners returns 152 
 
 Altered return 153 
 
 Rewarded for his services 
 
 CRONIN, E. A 
 
 CURTIS, W. E., statement by, concerning Kellogg 222 
 
 DARBYVILLE, precinct of Baker Co., Fla. , 72 
 
 DARRALL, Dr. C. B., testimony of, about Sherman Letter 147 
 
 DAVIS, G. B. , history of, 240 
 
 Assisted in falsifying returns of Vernon parish : Rewarded 
 
 therefor 243 
 
 DAVIS, David, justice selected as 5th Judge on Electoral Com 
 mission : Elected to U. S. Senate and declined to serve 
 
 on Commission 39 
 
 DEMOCRATIC LEADERS, the, in Congress, disregard of Mr. Til- 
 den s advice by, 3 
 
 Compared with those of 1800 37 
 
 DEMOCRAT, origin of the name, 20 
 
 DEMOCRATIC Senators and Representatives, acceptance by the, of 
 
 the Federal device of 1800 a strange thing 3^ 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, the detectives of, to report to Chandler. 53 
 
 Detectives of, sent to Florida 65 
 
382 INDEX. 
 
 DETECTIVES of Department of Justice sent to Florida 65 
 
 DEPEW, Chauncey M., on General Grant 30 
 
 Remarks about Grant [[[ ?$6 
 
 DENNIS, L. G. , connection of, with land schemes 69 
 
 Boss of Alachua Co.: Connection of, with Alachua fraud .. 85 
 
 Testimony of, about E. F. Noyes 87 
 
 Testimony of. to Potter committee " IQO 
 
 Asserted that Noyes gave assurances of Hayes fidelity 101 
 
 Introduction of, to Hayes : Recommendation of, by Hayes 
 to John Sherman : Recommendation of, by E. F. Noyes. 104 
 
 Appointment of, to a sinecure IO 5 
 
 DELEON, Geo. H., sec y to Gov. Stearns 69 
 
 Appointment of, IO g 
 
 DENNISON, Ex-Gov. Ohio 228 
 
 DELACIE, W. J, services of, and reward therefor .. 297 
 
 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA RING, the 31 
 
 DRIGGERS, E. W . . .... . . ..... 09 
 
 Admissions of, to Potter committee . . . . ] 72 
 
 False return from Baker Co. made by, So 
 
 DIBBLE, Judge, Louisiana " 141 
 
 Restrains Returning Boards 341 
 
 DRINKGRAVE, J. H. connection of, with Eliza Pinks ton s affidavit i63 
 
 Services of, and reward therefor 295 
 
 DRINKGRAVE, W. H., services of, and reward therefor. . . . . . , 290 
 DICKERSON, Vincent, services of, and reward therefor 207 
 
 DORSEY, S. W., in U. S. Senate o 
 
 DUMONT, A. J 
 
 Services of, and reward therefor .. .[ . " 206 
 
 DURELL, Judge, La. , injunction issued by . . . . . 741 
 
 Midnight order issued by 
 
 Conduct of, characterized by Republican senators " 744. 
 
 Infamy of, [ *Jj 
 
 Orders by, made Kellogg Governor of Louisiana . . . . . . . . . 348 
 
 EAGAN, Dennis ^ 
 
 Appointment of " 106 
 
 EVARTS, Wm. M., visiting statesman .; . m 
 
 Speech of, in 1875 ab ut use of troops in La 200 
 
 Hypocrisy of, \\ JJg 
 
 Defence of fraud, perjury, and forgery by: His reward.. . 211 
 Knowledge of, about La. forged electoral certificates. 2^4 
 
 Speech of, 
 
 ELECTORAL-COUNT BILL " j? 
 
 ELECTORAL-COMMISSION BILL. ..... ." jq 
 
 ELECTORAL COMMISSION, the creation of reviewed by Gen l Grant 2< 
 
 Gen 1 Grant, the originator of 2 Q 
 
 Unjust decision of, Jj 
 
 Determining vote of, . " * " " [ ^L 
 
 Decision of, on the eligibility of electors .... . . .. \ . . . * . 38 
 
INDEX. 383 
 
 PAGE 
 
 ELECTORAL COMMISSION, Florida case referred to .............. 39 
 
 Decision of, in Florida case; Self-stultification of, . . . ..... 40 
 
 Decision of, in La. case ............................ 41 
 
 Decision of, respecting Returning Officers in La.: Decision 
 
 of, in the Oregon case ...... ......... , ......... 44 
 
 Decision of, in Florida and La. cases compared with that in 
 
 the Oregon case .................................... 46 
 
 Facts in Oregon case suppressed by, .................... 47 
 
 Inconsistencies of the decisions of, .................... 48 
 
 Printed record of, does not show Louisiana forged electoral 
 
 certificates .................................... 196 
 
 ELECTORS : eligibility of, examined. . . ........................ 42 
 
 Republican, disqualified, .............................. 47 
 
 Eligibility of, before the Commission .................... 48 
 
 Five of Republican, ran behind in La .................... 166 
 
 Number of votes "actually cast " for, in Louisiana : Average 
 
 majorities for, in Louisiana ......................... 172 
 
 Republican, failed to obey Constitution in voting for Presi 
 
 dent and Vice-President ............................. 173 
 
 Names of, forged in Louisiana ......................... 181 
 
 ELECTORAL CERTIFICATES, the, defective, as made by Repub 
 
 lican electors of Louisiana ............................. 173 
 
 From Louisiana, delivered to President of Senate.. . . ... 174 
 
 Defect in, cannot be remedied .......................... 1 76 
 
 Preparation for forgery of, in New Orleans .............. 180 
 
 Forgery of names of Levissee and Joffroin to, ............ 185 
 
 Burlesque, on, ....................................... 192 
 
 ELECTORAL COUNT, attempt of filibusters to defeat, ............. 224 
 
 ELECTION LAW, the, of Louisiana, purpose of, ............... 114 
 
 Prescribes what the Returning Board shall do ............ 127 
 
 Of Louisiana, unconstitutional ......................... 199 
 
 History of, ........................................ 320 
 
 Opinion of Senator Edmunds on, ....................... 325 
 
 EDGEWORTH, R. B., ....................................... 118 
 
 Tells how affidavits were manufactured in New Orleans 
 
 custom house ..................................... 142 
 
 EVENING JOURNAL, the, of Albany, New York, on Grant ..... 357 
 
 EVENING POST, the, of New York, on Grant, ................ 357 
 
 EVIDENCE Aliunde, decision of the Electoral Commission on,. . . 40 
 
 Admitted to prove eligibility of Humphreys .............. 40 
 
 Admitted to prove eligibility of Watts ................. 47 
 
 ELLIS, E. John, representative from Louisiana ................. 229 
 
 EDMUNDS,. Geo. F., senator, motion of, about Joint Rules of two 
 
 Houses .............................. ............ 15 
 
 Author of Electoral-commission bill .................. 3 
 
 Declared La. Election Law unconstitutional : Voted that 
 
 La. Election Law was constitutional .................. 44 
 
 Confidential adviser of Jay Gould 
 Use of Jay Gould s private wire by 
 
384 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 EDMUNDS, Geo. F., speech of, on La. Election Law 325 
 
 Held Returning Board of La. to be in conflict with Consti 
 tution of that State 199 
 
 FRAUD, the Great, 10 
 
 Gen l Grant and, 34 
 
 Beneficiaries of the, reward of the perpetrators thereof. ... 23 
 
 FRAUDS, the : Registration in New Orleans 120 
 
 Registration in State of La 122 
 
 New Orleans post-office 149 
 
 ^FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, the, vast machinery of, 14 
 
 FEDERAL PARTY, the, device of, in 1800 19 
 
 FEDERALISTS, the, threats of, to defeat Jefferson in 1800 34 
 
 FERGUSON, C. L 118 
 
 Forgery by, 144 
 
 Alteration of election returns by, in N. O. post-office 150 
 
 Services of, and reward therefor 280 
 
 FERRY, Mr., President of the Senate 175 
 
 Illegal act of, 176 
 
 Suggested commission of a crime 178 
 
 FISH, Hamilton, 27 
 
 Opinion of, about Grant 3 
 
 Remarks on Grant 355 
 
 FIFTH AVENUE HOTEL 49 
 
 FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF NEW YORK, history of, 205 
 
 FILIBUSTERS, the : History of attempt to defeat electoral count. . 224 
 
 Defeat of, 231 
 
 FLORIDA, Gen l Grant thought vote of, doubtful 25 
 
 Troops ordered to, 32 
 
 Mr. Barlow thought Tilden carried,. 33 
 
 Democratic electors of, had a clear majority 47 
 
 W. E. Chandler to assume charge of work in, 51 
 
 Situation in, different from that in Louisiana 55 
 
 State canvassers of, had no judicial power 54 
 
 FLORIDA CASE, the, referred to Electoral Commission 39 
 
 What has been shown concerning, 299 
 
 FORCE BILL, the, 12 
 
 Killed, 13 
 
 Purpose of, 18 
 
 FOREIGN, the, population of New Orleans 120 
 
 FORMS, the, of law, violated by Returning Board of Louisiana, . . 138 
 
 FORGED ELECTORAL CERTIFICATES 177 
 
 Connection of Thos. Anderson with : Mr. Ferry s knowl 
 edge of, 1 78 
 
 Connection of Kellogg with : Connection of H. Conquest 
 
 Clark with, 1 79 
 
 Testimony of Sheldon about, 182 
 
 Names of Levissee and Joffroin to, forged : Testimony of 
 
 Thos. S. Kelly, about 185 
 
INDEX. 385 
 
 PAGE 
 
 FORGED ELECTORAL CERTIFICATES, secret of, preserved 190 
 
 Knowledge by Morton and Chandler of, 192 
 
 Copy of, not in printed record of Electoral Commission 196 
 
 FOSTER, Charles, pledges of, to representatives of Nichols 228 
 
 Anxiety of, to defeat filibustering 231 
 
 GAG-RULE, attempt to adopt in House of Representatives 12 
 
 GLADSTONE, Mr., and gag-rule 13 
 
 GARDINER, Samuel, presence of, in New Orleans post-office, 
 
 Nov. 24, 1876 I 5 I 
 
 GARFIELD, James A., visiting statesman 137 
 
 Supervision by, of preparation of affidavits in New Orleans 
 custom house : Testimony of, about, manufacture of affi 
 davits H 
 
 Remark of, to Dr. Darrall v Hi 
 
 Part of, in Louisiana frauds : Testimony of, at Atlantic 
 City : Averment of Jewett concerning : Elected to the 
 U. S. Senate : Election of, to Presidency secured by use 
 
 of money 2O 
 
 GAUDIAS, Victor, supervisor of registration St. Tammany parish. 1 19 
 
 GRANT, U. S., President i 
 
 Third term for, -. I2 
 
 Personal belief of, that Mr. Tilden was elected : Convinced 
 
 that the vote of Louisiana belonged to Mr. Tilden 24 
 
 Remark of, on the morning after the election : Significance 
 
 of the views of, 2 5 
 
 Expected that final judgment of Electoral Commission 
 
 would be in favor of Mr. Tilden 2D 
 
 Confers with Abram S. Hewitt : Sent for Mr. Childs to 
 
 come to Washington 2 7 
 
 Conference with Mr. Childs about electoral count 25 
 
 Conference with Senator Conkling : Explanation of cause 
 
 of unbounded ascendency of friends over, 29 
 
 Parasites around : Personal convictions of, smothered : 
 
 Weakness and susceptibility of, to influence 3 
 
 Reluctant to disappoint his political friends : Fond of atten 
 tion and flattery : Confidence of, shamefully abused in 
 
 whiskey frauds : Reputation of, nearly smirched 31 
 
 His confidence in Geo. M. Robeson ; Approved sending 
 troops to Florida by Cameron : Dispatches of, to General 
 Sherman : Visiting statesmen betrayed confidence of. . . 32 
 Requested Wm. E. Chandler to remain in Florida : Did 
 not commend conduct of Francis C. Barlow: Did not 
 send report of General Barlow to the Senate; Did 
 send report of Sherman about Louisiana election to the 
 Senate : Troops ordered to Washington, ordered by, ... 33 
 Acts of, must speak for themselves : Death of: Statement 
 
 of Mr. Childs about : Zeal of friends of, 34 
 
 Republican leaders compelled to accept dictum of, 4*> 
 
 2 5 
 
386 INDEX. 
 
 GRANT, U. S., Importance to Republican leaders to have support 
 of : Presence of, in Philadelphia, day after the election ; 
 
 Influence of Secretary of War, with, cc 
 
 Desire of Republican leaders in New York to communicate 
 with : Communication with, over Jay Gould s private 
 
 wire: Influence of Senator Edmunds with, 56 
 
 Dispatches of, to General Sherman eg 
 
 Tone of dispatches of, confirmatory of Mr. Childs state- 
 
 ment ^ 
 
 Intent of orders of, 6j 
 
 Card of, to J. H. Maddox 220 
 
 Fac-simile of card to Maddox 360 
 
 Experience of, with Louisiana carpet-baggers : Believed J. 
 
 Madison Wells to be a scoundrel 308 
 
 Ready to condemn excesses of carpet-baggers 309 
 
 Complaint of Warmoth to : Testimony of Judge Dibble 
 
 about 332 
 
 Inthralment of, by unworthy friends 355-9 
 
 GRANT PARISH, LA., attempt to prevent legal election in,. .. .... 116 
 
 GRANT, F. M., reluctance of, to make affidavit 118 and 144 
 
 GRADY, M. J., reluctance of, to make affidavit 118 and 144 
 
 Connection of, with Pinkston s affidavit 163 
 
 Services of, and reward therefor 285 
 
 GEORGIA # 
 
 GLEASON, W. H 69 
 
 GREELEY, Horace IO o 
 
 GREEN, W. H., clerk of Returning Board . .. ........ ...... . 243 
 
 Appointed clerk in New Orleans custom house 244 
 
 GREAT FRAUD, the, most disgusting feature of. 299 
 
 GIBSON, A. M., letter to, from A. K. McClure 25 
 
 GIBSON, Randall, representative from Louisiana 229 
 
 GOULD, Jay, use of private wire of, ^5 
 
 Interest of, in Stanley Mathews 207 
 
 GOVIN, Manuel ^l. .......... 69 
 
 Services of, 83 
 
 Appointment of, _ _ IO o 
 
 GORDON, J. B., senator from. Georgia 229 
 
 GUNNELL, surgeon-general, on General Grant 30 
 
 Remarks of 357 
 
 GRUNDY, Felix, on eligibility of electors ". ." . ." ." . . . ." *]*].. 43 
 
 HAMILTON, Alexander : Bold and illegal design of, . . 20 
 
 HAMILTON COUNTY, Florida \\ [ S 2 
 
 HAHN, Michael, state registrar of Louisiana lie 
 
 Returns addressed to, ... " l j o 
 
 Character of, . . . . . 269 
 
 Appointment of, 2 7o 
 
 History of, |[ ,j , 
 
 HALE. Eugene, visiting statesman 213 
 
INDEX. 387 
 
 PAGE 
 
 HARDY, W. R., services of, and reward therefor 280 
 
 HARLAN, Jno. M., services of, in New Orleans . . 212 
 
 Reward of, 2I 3 
 
 Relations of, to Jim. Anderson 3 
 
 HAYES, R. B., plan to count in, 2 7 
 
 Every disputed vote needed to elect, 4 1 
 
 Votes figured for, 5 
 
 Desperate measures to bring in, 5 2 
 
 Interview with, published: Opinion of, that Tilden was 
 
 elected : Hypocritical utterances of, about negroes 54 
 
 Cipher telegram to private secretary of, 6 4 
 
 Distrust of, by carpet-baggers r 
 
 Promises of, to Cowgill : Admissions of, to Cowgill i3 
 
 Letter of, recommending L. G. Dennis .... IO 4 
 
 Letter to, from John Sherman I 
 
 Personal friends of, encourage frauds J 99 
 
 Advised of Wormley s hotel conference 231 
 
 Letter of Cassannave to, 2 39 
 
 Fear of, being exposed 33 
 
 HAWLEY, Joseph R. , reward of, for services 2I 3 
 
 HANCOCK, General W. S., administration of, in New Orleans 3*7 
 
 HENDRICKS, Thos. A., elected Vice-President l 
 
 The people s choice, 22 
 
 HERRON, secretary of state, Louisiana 34 
 
 HENDERSON, Win. T - 5 
 
 Services of, 3 
 
 Retention of, in office 
 
 HEWITT, Abram S., conference of, with General Grant 2 7 
 
 Appointment of, on House committee 35 
 
 Visit of, to President of Senate: Statement of, about return 
 
 from Vermont 226 
 
 HEARSEY, A. M. C. , conduct of I2 5 
 
 HEATH, Fred. E *49 
 
 HILL, Charles, visit of, to Washington ; Letter to Kellogg from 
 Zach. Chandler, by : Letter to Kellogg from John Sher 
 man by, l8 4 
 
 Clerk of Returning Board: Testimony of, to Potter commit 
 tee 2 44 
 
 Appointed in New Orleans custom house 245 
 
 HILL, Joshua, senator, report of, on Louisiana election 33 
 
 HOAR, Geo., F., appointment of, on House committee 3 
 
 Report of, to HOUSE in 1875: Vote of, as member of Elec 
 toral Commission 44 
 
 Defence of, . 4 
 
 Author of report on Louisiana election 3.S 
 
 HOPKINS, H. Clay, sent to Florida 6 5 
 
 Retention of, in office l IO 
 
 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, gag-rule in, attempted 12 
 
 Election of a majority of democrats to, T 3 
 
388 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, committee of, on electoral count.. 35 
 
 Democratic majority of, should have stood by Constitution. 37 
 
 Committee of, on Powers and Privileges of, 38 
 
 HOWARD, R. C 119 
 
 Services of, and reward therefor 292 
 
 HOWELL, Rufus K 3H 
 
 " J. W 69 
 
 Services of, "I 
 
 Appointment of, IQ 6 
 
 HUMPHRIES, Fred. C., ^eligibility of, as an elector. 39 
 
 Opinion of Electoral Commission on the eligibility of, 40 
 
 Appointment of, IOD 
 
 HUNTON, Eppa 35 
 
 HUTTON, T. H n8 
 
 Committed crime of forgery 143 
 
 Alteration of election returns by, .. . 15 * 
 
 HUTCHINSON, Elias S., testimony of, concerning Geo. Bliss 261 
 
 "INDEPENDENT, " The New York, on Grant 30 
 
 INTIMIDATION, stories of. invented for a purpose 9 
 
 Solitary case of, reported, .... 125 
 
 JACKSON vs. Luedling, judgment of U. S. C. in, 246 
 
 JASPER PRECINCT, Fla., evidence about, 83 
 
 JAY, John, Gov. of New York 20 
 
 JEFFERSON, Thomas 20 
 
 Followers of, nick-named democrats 20 
 
 Attempt of Federalists to count out 34 
 
 JEWETT, D. J. M. A US 
 
 Statement of, concerning purpose of Republican leaders in 
 
 Louisiana : Plan advocated by, 11$ 
 
 Advice of, to D. A. Ward 1 16 
 
 Instructions of, to supervisors of registration 124 
 
 Testimony of, to Potter committee : 136 
 
 Information of, about visiting statesmen 144 
 
 Statement of, about what occurred in N. O. post-office 149 
 
 Testimony of, about Republican electors running behind : 
 
 Conspiracy charged by, 166 
 
 Testimony of, about Kelley 168 
 
 Hint given by, of forgery of electoral certificates 190 
 
 Statement of, about Gar field 208 
 
 Disappearance of letter of, from file of Treasury department 271 
 
 Statement of, about election in Louisiana in 1876 361 
 
 JOFFROIN, Oscar, Republican elector of -Louisiana 181 
 
 Absence of, from New Orleans 182 
 
 Forgery of name of, 185 
 
 JOHNSVILLE PRECINCT of Florida 7 2 
 
 JOHNSON, J. J., services of, and reward therefor, 297 
 
 JOIE, Aristidie, services^ of, and reward therefor 297 
 
INDEX. 389 
 
 PAGE 
 
 JONES, Geo. W., letter to, from Justice Strong 34 
 
 ONES, Milton, services of, and reward therefor 297 
 
 OSEPH, Peter, Republican elector, Louisiana 43 
 
 Reward of, 263 
 
 JOSEPH, Phillip, a fugitive from justice 118 
 
 JUSTICE, administration of, under carpet-bag rule 1 1 
 
 JUSTICES, selection of four, in the Electoral-commission bill 38 
 
 KASSON, Jno. A., sent to Florida from New Orleans 65 
 
 Services of, in Florida; Appointment of, Minister to Aus 
 tria 112 
 
 Arrival of, in New Orleans 137 
 
 KELLOGG, \Vm. Pitt, the Jonathan Wild of Louisiana politics ... 8 
 
 In the Senate of the United States 9 
 
 Overthrow of government of, in Louisiana 13 
 
 De facto governor of Louisiana 43 
 
 Cipher telegrams of, 75 
 
 What the telegrams of, prove, 76 
 
 Control of election machinery by, 114 
 
 Appointments by 115 
 
 Devious course of, 1 16 
 
 Commissions in blank issued by, Il8 
 
 Price paid by, for seat in United States Senate 167 
 
 Drafted affidavit for J. Y. Kelley 169 
 
 Coaxed Kelley to make affidavit 1 70 
 
 Certificate of electoral certificates by 174 
 
 Admission of, about Anderson 1 75 
 
 Claim of, about absence of Levissee and Joffroin. : Claimed 
 
 that he had sent for Levissee and Joftroin 182 
 
 Letter of, to Zach. Chandler ... 184 
 
 Knowledge of, of the forgeries of Levissee s and Joffroin s 
 
 names 185 
 
 Contest of, with Henry M. Spofford 189 
 
 Provision made by, for Kelley 189 
 
 Trusted Clark implicitly 190 
 
 Testimony of, to Potter committee 191 
 
 Admission of, to Senator Morton 192 
 
 Money raised by, in New Orleans 222 
 
 Character of, 249 
 
 Connection of, with forgery of records in Louisiana 250 
 
 Connection of, with forgery of Louisiana certificates 251 
 
 Knew the signatures of Levissee and Joffroin were forged. . 252 
 
 Hint given by, to Senator Morton 254 
 
 Instigation of forgery by, 257 
 
 Silence of Thos. S. Kelley procured by, 258 
 
 Purchase of senatorship by, 259 
 
 Discovery of bribe-taking by, 260 
 
 Indictment of, prevented by Geo. Bliss 261 
 
390 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 KELLOGG, Wm. Pitt, indictment of, finally secured : Escape of, by 
 
 pleading statute of limitations 262 
 
 Bought 34 members Louisiana legislature 297 
 
 Nomination of, for governor 337 
 
 Application of, to Judge Durell for injunction 341 
 
 Counted in as governor .... 346 
 
 Overthrow of government of, 348 
 
 Use of U. S. troops by 353 
 
 Conduct of, denounced by Wm. M. Evarts : Government of, 
 
 maintained by U. S. troops 354 
 
 KELLEY, J. F : 118 
 
 Refusal of, to make affidavit 144 
 
 Testimony of Jewett about, 168 
 
 Testimony of, about affidavit 169 
 
 Affidavit of, altered 170 
 
 KELLEY, Thos. S., negro messenger of Kellogg, 181 
 
 Letter of, to Clarkson N. Potter : Brought to Washington 
 
 by Kellogg 186 
 
 Money paid to, by Kellogg : Put in office by Kellogg 187 
 
 Testimony of, to Potter committee 188 
 
 Account by, of the forgery of the electoral certificates 292 
 
 Rewarded for his services, . 293 
 
 KELLEY, W. D., visiting statesman 137 
 
 Testimony of, to Potter committee 141 
 
 Control of patronage by, 213 
 
 KENNER, Duncan F., testimony of, 222 
 
 KENNER, Louis M., member Louisiana Returning Board 155 
 
 Indicted for petty larceny 156 
 
 Rewarded for his services 237 
 
 KEMPTOX, A W 125 
 
 Services of, and reward 290 
 
 KENCHER, A. W 119 
 
 KENTUCKY, the State of 7 
 
 KEY WEST, Fla., precinct of, rejected, 83 
 
 KIMBALL, H. S. , testimony of, 329 
 
 LAMAR, L. Q. C 229 
 
 Letter of, to E. John Ellis 229 
 
 LAW, the election, Louisiana 127 
 
 LEDGER, the public, of Philadelphia 24 
 
 Publication in, referred to 26 
 
 On General Grant ; 30 
 
 LEE, A. E., private secretary of R. B. Hayes 64 
 
 LEON, Thos., services of, and reward 291 
 
 LETTER, the, of instructions to supervisors 124 
 
 Of Republican visiting statesmen 137 
 
 Copy of, alleged from "Sherman to Anderson 146 
 
 LEVISSEE, A. B., disqualified Hayes elector 43 
 
 Republican elector of Louisiana. . . 181 
 
INDEX. 391 
 
 PAGE 
 
 LEVISSEE, A. B., forgery of name of, to electoral certificate 185 
 
 Appointment of, to office 264 
 
 LEVIE, Thos 119 
 
 LEVEY, W. M., representative from Louisiana 231 
 
 LEWIS, James, police commissioner of New Orleans 272 
 
 Services of, and reward therefor 273 
 
 LINCOLN, President, his plan of reconstruction 14 
 
 Approves the 22d joint rule of the two houses of Congress . 15 
 Plan of, for reconstructing governments of Southern States. 310 
 
 Speech of, 3 11 
 
 Thought suffrage should be gradually given to negroes 312 
 
 Policy of, opposed by radicals 313 
 
 LITTLE, John, sent to Florida 65 
 
 LOAN, W. F., supervisor of registration I5th Ward N. O 119 
 
 Services of, and reward 291 
 
 LOGAN, John A., visiting statesman 137 
 
 On General Grant 30 
 
 Remarks on General Grant 356 
 
 LOUISIANA, false counts in : Disfranchised people of, 7 
 
 Kellogg government in, overthrown 13 
 
 General Grant familiar with chief actors in 24 
 
 General Grant convinced that electoral vote of, belonged to 
 
 Mr. Tilden 24 
 
 General Grant and vote of, 25 
 
 Vote of, rightfully belonged to Mr. Tilden : Senator Conk- 
 ling believed vote of, rightfully belonged to Mr. Tilden. . 27 
 
 Frauds in, justified by John Sherman ... 33 
 
 Decision of F.lectoral Commission in case of, 41 
 
 Law creating Returning Board in conflict with constitution 
 
 of, . 44 
 
 Ruling of Electoral Commission in case of, 45 
 
 Democratic electors had clear majority of voters of, 47 
 
 Telegram to governor of, 5 
 
 Troops ordered to, 5 
 
 Visiting statesmen invited to go to, 59 
 
 Preparation for frauds in, by republicans 114 
 
 Election in, in 1876 peaceable.. H5 
 
 What has been demonstrated concerning 299 
 
 Review of politics of, 3 IQ 
 
 Provisional government of : J. Madison Wells, Gov. of, . . 314 
 
 Attempt to amend constitution of, 3*5 
 
 Election of 1870 in : Reports on, by Senate committee. . . . 338 
 
 Election of 1870 in, result in favor of democrats 339 
 
 Lynch Returning Board of : Hatch Returning Board of, . . 340 
 
 Election of 1874 in, 349 
 
 Investigation of election of 1874 in, by House of Repre 
 sentatives 35 
 
 LUEDLTNG, John, chief justice of Louisiana 245 
 
39 2 INDEX. 
 
 McLix, Samuel B., expectation of, and claim of reward for ser 
 vices in Florida Ioo 
 
 Testimony of, concerning influences, which controlled his 
 action as a state canvasser : Declaration of, that E. F. 
 
 Noyes promised reward IO 2 
 
 Promises made to, by Gen. Lew Wallace on behalf oif 
 Hayes : Statements made to, by W. E. Chandler : Care 
 to be taken of: Appointment of, to be chief justice of 
 New Mexico : Confirmation of appointment of, defeated. 103 
 
 McMiLLAN, W. L., services of, and reward of, 274 
 
 McGLOIN, one of Democratic counsel in Louisiana 157 
 
 Detection by, of De Soto fraud ! rg 
 
 McCLURE, Col. A. K., editor of the Times of Philadelphia, con- 
 firmation by, of statements of Geo. W. Childs : Letter 
 
 of, to A. M. Gibson . . 25 
 
 McARDLE, James P., chief clerk of state registrar 115 
 
 Services of, and reward of, . . 270 
 
 McCREARY, George W., appointment of, on committee 35 
 
 Bill prepared by: Agreement on bill of, by House com- % 
 
 mittee : Bill of, submitted to Mr. Tilden 36 
 
 McExRY, John, nomination of, by people s party of Louisiana. .. 337 
 
 Election of, governor, ... /. 339 
 
 MADDOX, J. H., appointment of, as special agent of Treasury de 
 partment : Letters to, from W. B. Moore 216 
 
 Letters to, from J. Madison Wells 217 
 
 Card from General Grant to, . 220 
 
 Visit of, to Zach. Chandler: Interview of, with Don 
 Cameron : Authorized by Wells to sell the vote of Louisi 
 ana: Relations of, to Col. John T. Picket: Telegraphic 
 
 correspondence of, with Wells 221 
 
 MALOXEY, P. J., services of, and reward therefor 270 
 
 MAXATEE COUNTY, Fla., entire vote of, rejected . . 82 
 
 Voters of, not registered . . . . 84 
 
 MANDAMUS, by Supreme Court of Florida to state canvassers! . . . 98 
 
 MANAGERS, the Republican, in Louisiana, testimony of, 135 
 
 MARKS, Morris, Republican elector of Louisiana ". 43 
 
 Character of " 263 
 
 Perjury by "\ jg 3 
 
 Sent for by H. Conquest Clark \\ 182 
 
 Reward of, how secured 2 6^ 
 
 MARSHALL, John 22 
 
 MARTIAL LAW, in effect declared in South Carolina 18 
 
 MARTIX, M., services of, in Florida and reward of 109 
 
 MATHEWS, Stanley, presence of, needed in Florida by W E 
 
 Chandler 64 
 
 Arrival of, in New Orleans . . ........ 137 
 
 Cooperation of, with Kellogg j^o 
 
 Exertions of, to secure something for Jas. E. Anderson. . . 147 
 
INDEX. 393 
 
 PAGE 
 
 MATHEWS, Stanley, correspondence of, with Jas. E. Anderson : 
 Defense of, by Hon. Henry Watterson : Accepted charge 
 
 of Nash- Anderson agreement, 148 
 
 Relations of, to R. B. Hayes 205 
 
 Letter of, to S. B. Packard 206 
 
 Custodian of the Nash- Anderson agreement : Election of, 
 
 to U. S. Senate : Made justice of U. S. Supreme Court. 207 
 
 Pledges of, to representatives of Nichols 228 
 
 Agreement of, that Hayes should recognize Nichols gov 
 ernment - 22 9 
 
 Relations of, to Jas. E. Anderson 303 
 
 Watterson s defense of, 307 
 
 Interest of, in Jas. E. Anderson 308 
 
 MAXWELL, E. W., sent to Florida 65 
 
 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, the Democratic, timidity of, in 1876. . . 34 
 
 MERRICK, Hon. R. T., indictment of Kellogg secured by, 261 
 
 MILLER, Mr., justice, admissions made by, 48 
 
 MILLS, George D., services of, and reward of, no 
 
 MILITARY FORCE, ordered to Washington : Purpose to intimidate 
 
 representatives of the people 33 
 
 MISSOURI, disappearance of alien government in, 8 
 
 MISSISSIPPI, disappearance of alien government in, 
 
 MITCHELL, Amy, testimony of, about affidavit, 14 
 
 Affidavit of, draughted by Jas. A. Garfield : Made to say 
 what she did : Husband of, killed did not know who 
 
 killed him 141 
 
 MONROE COUNTY, Florida, polls of, rejected, 83 
 
 MOORE, \V. J, supervisor of registration, 7th ward, New Orleans 119 
 
 Places held by, in New Orleans custom house 290 
 
 MOORE, W. B., letters of, to J. H. Maddox 216 
 
 MORTON, Oliver P., senator, 12 
 
 Report of, on Electoral-count bills 14 
 
 Partisan character of bills of, 16 
 
 Drives Electoral-count bill through Senate : Provisions of 
 Electoral-count bill : Change of front by : A representative 
 
 of desperate men 23 
 
 Opposition of, to Electoral-commission bill 29 
 
 Maintains that President of the Senate has power to count 
 
 electoral votes 35 
 
 Appointment of, on committee to prepare for counting elec 
 toral votes . 36 
 
 Information given to, by Kellogg about forgery of Louisi 
 ana electoral certificates I9 1 
 
 Motion of, to Electoral Commission to count electoral votes 
 
 of Louisiana J 95 
 
 Knowledge of, when motion was made 196 
 
 Information received by, from Kellogg 254 
 
 Report of, on Louisiana election of 1872 339 
 
 MORTON, Alfred, post-office inspector, sent to Florida 65 
 
394 INDEX. 
 
 MORTON, Alfred, services of, in Florida m 
 
 MORROW, John T., supervisor of registration, Webster parish.. . 118 
 
 Alteration of election returns by, in New Orleans post-office 151 
 
 MOSES, Frank, governor of South Carolina, career of, 8 
 
 NASH. C. E., agreement of, with Jas. E. Anderson 148 
 
 NEGROES, the stories of the intimidation of, p 
 
 Marshalled to the New Orleans custom house . . . 142 
 
 How, were interrogated at the New Orleans custom house. 143 
 
 NEW JERSEY, fourth Presidential election in 10. 
 
 NEW YORK, fourth Presidential election in, 10. 
 
 Scheme by the Federalists for, . 20 
 
 NEW ORLEANS, foreign population of : Negro population of: For 
 eign voters of : White native population of : White voters of, 120 
 
 Fraudulent negro voters registered in, 123 
 
 Character of population of, 31 r 
 
 Riot in, .. ."316 
 
 NESSUS, a shirt of, to the participants in the electoral crime 34 
 
 NEVADA, dispatches from 5 1 
 
 NOLAN, Thos. H., description by, of making affidavits in New 
 
 Orleans custom house 142 
 
 NORTON, George A., services of, and reward of, . 296 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA, disappearance of alien government in, 8 
 
 NOYES, Edward F., sent to Florida by Hayes 65 
 
 Connection of, with the Alachua fraud ..[[ 87 
 
 Testimony of L G. Dennis concerning 87-8 
 
 Jocose on subject of perjury 88 
 
 Assignment of, to conduct of defense of Alachua fraud! . . . 100 
 Assurances by, that Hayes would stand by carpet-baggers. 101 
 Letter of, to John Sherman recommending L. G. Dennis. . 104 
 
 Recommendation by, of Jos. Bowes 108 
 
 Appointed minister to France 1 12 
 
 NUMBER the, of white voters disfranchised in New Orleans. . . . . 121 
 
 ODELL, W. H., elector of Oregon 46 
 
 OREGON, General Grant on the vote of, [ 25 
 
 Electoral Commission and, 44 
 
 Inconsistencies of Electoral Commission in case of^ 45 
 
 Florida and Louisiana cases compared with case oi, 46 
 
 Law of, misstated by Electoral Commission 47 
 
 ORDERS of the secretary of war to General Sherman 57 
 
 OFFICES of trust or profit under the U. S., prohibition of the Con- 
 
 stitution respecting, 42 
 
 PACKARD, S. B., letter of Stanley Mathews to, 206 
 
 Candidate for governor of Louisiana 266 
 
 Abandonment of, by Hayes: Appointment of, consul to 
 
 Liverpool 2 6S 
 
 Abandonment of, a confession that Hayes was not entitled 
 to vote of Louisiana 301 
 
INDEX. 395 
 
 PAGE 
 
 PACKARD, S. B. f Warmoth on, 328 
 
 Convention packed against Warmoth by, 332 
 
 Abuse of U. S. marshal s office by : Attempt of, to break up 
 
 Warmoth s legislature 33 
 
 PARKER, Courtlandt, visiting statesman 141 
 
 PATTERSON, John J., the Jonathan Wild of South Carolina carpet 
 bag politics 8 
 
 In the Senate of the United States 9 
 
 PAYNE, H. B 35 
 
 PHELPS, Wm. Walter, report by, on Louisiana election of 1874. . 351 
 
 Held action of Louisiana Returning Board was illegal 352 
 
 PENN, D. B., nomination of, by people s party 337 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA, fourth Presidential election in, 19 
 
 General election law of: Scheme of the Federalists in, 20 
 
 PEOPLE, the, will of, to be defied 13 
 
 Disregard of will of, by Republican politicians 22 
 
 PERJURIES, those guilty of, rewarded 23 
 
 In connection with Florida frauds 85 
 
 Knowledge of, by E. F. Noyes 88 
 
 Subornation of, 100 
 
 Systematic, 183 
 
 PRESIDENT, the, proclamation by, . ^ 18 
 
 His support necessary to the success of the Republican 
 
 conspirators 24 
 
 Electoral votes for, how shall be cast 173 
 
 Electoral votes for, how shall be returned 174 
 
 PRESIDENT ELECT, the, not consulted 36 
 
 PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, the, and Senator Morton s bill 23 
 
 Republican leaders assert power of, to count electoral votes. 24 
 
 Assumption of power by, to have been sustained 27 
 
 Senator Morton claimed supreme power of, in counting 
 
 electoral votes 35 
 
 PRESS, the, of Philadelphia, on General Grant 30 
 
 PICKET, Colonel John T., proposal through, for sale of vote of La.: 
 
 Rejection of, by Hon. A. S. Hewitt 221 
 
 PINCHBACK, P. B. S., elected lieutenant-governor of Louisiana. .. 333 
 
 Made governor by impeachment of Warmoth 346 
 
 Telegrams of, to attorney- general ; Telegram to, from At 
 torney-general Williams 347 
 
 PINKSTON, Eliza, character of, 160-4 
 
 Improbable story of, 161 
 
 Object of testimony of, 162 
 
 Story of, proved false : Two affidavits by : One affidavit of, 
 
 suppressed : Parties to suppression of first affidavit by, . . 163 
 Cowardly conduct of those who professed to believe evi 
 dence of : Character of, delineated by Congressional com 
 mittee 164 
 
 PlTKiN, J. R. G., U, S. marshal 121 
 
 Removal of, by Hayes 274 
 
396 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 PRICE, Colonel J. B., mail contractor, bribed Kellogg 260 
 
 POLITICAL ADVENTURERS, debasing influence of, not confined to 
 
 the South 9 
 
 POTTER, Clarkson N., letter of Thos. S. Kelley to, 186 
 
 POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT, agents of, sent to Florida 65 
 
 PULCHER, J. G-, supervisor of registration 6th Ward, N. O 119 
 
 RANDALL, Samuel J , secures defeat of gag-rule 12 
 
 Memorable struggle led by, 13 
 
 RANSOM, Mat. H., senator from North Carolina 36 
 
 RAY, John, history of, 245 
 
 Attempt by, to steal a railroad 246 
 
 Warmoth on, 328 
 
 RECOGNITION pledged 141 
 
 RE-CANVASS, the, of votes in Florida 99 
 
 REGISTRATION, the, of white men in New Orleans 119 
 
 Lists of, in New Orleans 121 
 
 Frauds, Republican, in New Orleans 119 
 
 Frauds, Republican, in State 122 
 
 REGISTRATION LAW, the, history of 321 
 
 REPUBLICAN LEADERS, the, people began to lose faith in, n 
 
 In Congress, anticipated defeat of their party in 1875 17 
 
 Instigated Returning Board frauds : And the electoral con 
 spiracy 23 
 
 Purposes of, 24 
 
 Depended on acquiescence in their scheme by Gen. Grant. 26 
 
 Plan of, to count in Hayes 27 
 
 In Louisiana, determined to prevent legal elections in cer 
 tain parishes 115 
 
 REPUBLICAN PARTY, the, enormity of its Southern policy, 1 1 
 
 Waterloo of, 49 
 
 RETURNING BOARD of Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina. . . 17 
 
 Flagrant disregard of election laws by, 23 
 
 Action of, in the Florida case ..... 39 
 
 Law creating the, of Louisiana held by Senator Edmunds to 
 
 be unconstitutional 44 
 
 Conduct of the, of Louisiana reported by Geo. F. Hoar. ... 49 
 
 Fraudulent counting to be done by, 61 
 
 Kellogg s knowledge of contemplated action of, 77 
 
 Method of canvassing by, prescribed 127 
 
 Process of, in canvassing 129 
 
 Method of, obtaining jurisdiction. . . ..... 130 
 
 Must canvass by polls 131 
 
 Character of members of, 155 
 
 Purpose of. rules of 157 
 
 Open sessions of, a farce 159 
 
 The canvass by, of parishes illegal 157 
 
 Stretched the opening of returns over ten days : Began Dec. 
 3d to figure out Republican majority 165 
 
INDEX. 397 
 
 PAGE 
 
 RETURNING BOARD, undertaking of, difficult 166 
 
 Number of Democratic electors disfranchised hy, 172 
 
 Result of manipulations by. announced 173 
 
 Powers conferred on, by election law; Certain forms neces 
 sary to confer jurisdiction on 199 
 
 Wrongfully and illegally assumed jurisdiction 200 
 
 Agent of government sent to watch, 216 
 
 Members of, indicted for forgery 233 
 
 Decided to be unconstitutional by supreme court of La. ... 237 
 
 Action of, in 1874 condemned by Congress 353 
 
 RETURNS, the, must be made by commissioner of election within 
 24 hours after close of polls : Supervisors of registration 
 
 must make, within 24 hours 133 
 
 From De Soto, Bossier, and Webster parishes altered in 
 
 New Orleans post-office , 149 
 
 Of Natchitoches parish 171 
 
 ROBESON, Geo. M., disgraced 7 
 
 Opinion of, about General Grant 30 
 
 General Grant s confidence in, 32 
 
 Disclosures concerning 33 
 
 On General Grant 356 
 
 ROBERTSON, W. H. , arrival of, in Florida 65 
 
 ROGERS, H. C., letter of, to J. H. Maddox 216 
 
 ROLLINS, D. G., arrival of, in Florida 65 
 
 ROWAN, T. H., supervisor of registration loth Ward, N. O 119 
 
 Services of, and reward of, 291 
 
 RULE, the twenty-second joint, adopted by Congress 14 
 
 Dispensed with by Senate.. 15 
 
 Feature of, 16 
 
 Dropped by the Senate 27 
 
 RUGER, General, ordered to Florida 57 
 
 Directed to report to Governor Stearns 59 
 
 STATISTICS, the, of registration and election in Louisiana 120 
 
 What they prove 123 
 
 SAN DOMINGO investigation 10 
 
 SARGEANT, A. A., recommendation by, of Jos. Bowes 108 
 
 STATE CANVASSERS, the, of Florida, specific powers of, 95 
 
 Ordered to re-canvass county returns for governor 98 
 
 SWAZEY, George A. G., history of, services of, reward of, 292 
 
 SECTIONAL PREJUDICES i 
 
 SECTIONAL POLITICS, rebuked by people in 1874 13 
 
 SELIGMAN, Jesse, opinion of, about General Grant 30 
 
 Remarks of, on General Grant 356 
 
 SENATE, the. appointment of select committee by, on electoral count. 35 
 
 Decided Louisiana election law to be unconstitutional 199 
 
 SHERMAN, General, dispatches to, 32 
 
 Orders of Cameron to 57 
 
 Telegrams of General Grant to 5& 
 
393 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 SHERMAN, General, telegram from, 60 
 
 SHERMAN, John, visiting statesman 33 
 
 Letters to, from Hayes recommending L. G. Dennis 104 
 
 Letter to, from E. F. Noyes recommending L. G. Dennis . 105 
 Attendance of, on sessions ol Louisiana Returning Board.. 139 
 
 Cooperation of, with Kellogg 140 
 
 Alleged letter of, to Anderson and Weber 144 
 
 Testimony of, concerning Anderson-Weber letter : State 
 ment of, that he would have written part of, 145 
 
 Testimony of, at Atlantic city 147 
 
 Eulogy on members of Returning Board by, 156 
 
 Letter of, to R. B. Hayes 166 
 
 Letter of, to Kellogg, mentioned 184 
 
 Appointment of Thos. S. Kelley by, on recommendation of 
 
 Kellogg 187 
 
 Chief of visiting statesmen to Louisiana 199 
 
 Knew forms of law had not been complied with 200 
 
 Admissions of, to Potter committee : Alleged letter of, to 
 Anderson and Weber : Knew that supervisors of regis 
 tration had not power to make protests 203 
 
 Knew that supervisors of registration had to be induced to 
 make protests : Made secretary of the Treasury in recog 
 nition of his services in Louisiana 204 
 
 Favoritism shown by, to First National Bank of New York 205 
 Letter to, from G. Cassannave 240 
 
 SHERIDAN, General Phil. , dispatch from, 60 
 
 Compelled to remove J. Madison Wells 155 
 
 Letter of, to Secretary Stanton about J. Madison Wells. . . 215 
 
 SHERWIN, Frank, schemes of, in Florida 69 
 
 SHELDON, Lionel A., Republican elector of Louisiana, testimony 
 
 of, about Levissee and Toffroin 182 
 
 Failure of, to tell a plausible story 183 
 
 Reward of, 264 
 
 SHELLABERGER & WILSON, counsel of Hayes, notice of Cassa- 
 
 nave to, 238 
 
 Telegrams of, to Cassannave s counsel 240 
 
 SPECIAL AGENTS, the, of Post-office department sent to Florida. 65 
 
 STEARNS, Governor of Florida, General Ruger to report to, 58 
 
 Dispatch of, about troops 60 
 
 General Ruger to obey 63 
 
 Suspicions of Dr. Cowgill 97 
 
 Appointment of, 106 
 
 SMITH, D. D., had custody of election returns 149 
 
 Services of, and reward of, 280 
 
 SMITH, George L., candidate for Congress 117 
 
 Control of supervisors of registration by, 1 18 
 
 Engaged in the manufacture of outrage stories . 142 
 
 Alteration of returns by, in N. O. post-office 149 
 
 History of, . 271 
 
INDEX. 399 
 
 PAGE 
 
 SMITH, George L,, reward of, for services. 272 
 
 SMITH, John, burlesque electoral certificate signed by, 193 
 
 SPRINGER, Wm. M. t appointed on committee 35 
 
 Chairman of sub-committee 36 
 
 Statement of E. A. Burke to, 231 
 
 SOUTH, the, cost of carpet-bag rule in, 8 
 
 SOUTHERN STATES, the, negro and carpet-bag rule in, 12 
 
 SOUTH CAROLINA, public plunders in 8 
 
 Martial law in effect declared in, iS 
 
 Purpose of troops being sent to, 19 
 
 General Grant s opinion about vote of, 25 
 
 Telegram to Governor of, 50 
 
 SOUER, Louis J., services of, and reward of 297 
 
 SCOTT, James E., supervisor of registration Claiborne parish 118 
 
 Services of, and reward of, 286 
 
 SPOFFORD, Henry M 189 
 
 Contest of, with Kellogg 259 
 
 STRONG, Justice, troubled conscience of: Letter of, to George W. 
 
 Jones 34 
 
 Admission by; Concedes the commission of a great wrong 
 
 by the Louisiana Returning Board 48 
 
 STOUGHTON, E. W., visiting statesman to Louisiana 137 
 
 Participation by, in frauds in connection with De Soto 
 
 parish 158 
 
 " Clerical error " discovered by, 159 
 
 Disreputable work of, in Louisiana : Author of report de 
 fending Louisiana Returning Board 211 
 
 Appointed minister to Russia 212 
 
 SUPREME COURT, the, of Florida, opinion of, as to powers of 
 
 State canvassers 94 
 
 Of Louisiana, decision of, in case of Thos. C. Anderson . . 236 
 
 SUPERVISORS OF REGISTRATION in Louisiana no 
 
 Unscrupulous character of: What was expected of, by Re 
 publican leaders 124 
 
 Promises to : Only two of, made protests according to law. 125 
 Causing protest as to acts affecting registration : Protest 
 
 by, must accompany returns 127 
 
 Omnipotent as to registration, ministerial as to election. . .. 128 
 Instructions to, to disobey the law : Failure of, to send re 
 turns by mail as law directs : Returns taken by, to New 
 
 Orleans. 136 
 
 Only seventeen of, obeyed election law 143 
 
 Three of, committed perjury 144 
 
 Fimctus officio when registration was completed and elec 
 tion held : Instructed to disobey the law 201 
 
 SYPHER, J. Plale, testimony of, about Sherman letter. 145 
 
 Author of Cassannave s letter to Hayes 238 
 
 TAYLOR, Moses J., Florida, manipulator 69 
 
400 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 TAYLOR, Moses J., connection of, with frauds in Jefferson county. 90 
 
 Reward of, 108 
 
 TELEGRAMS, from W. E. , to Zach. Chandler. 62 
 
 From Governor Stearns about troops 60 
 
 Cipher, to A. E. Lee 64 
 
 From W. E. to Zach. Chandler : From Zach. to W. E. 
 
 Chandler 66 67 
 
 From Don Cameron to General Sherman 57 
 
 From Gen. Grant to General Sherman 58 
 
 From L. C. Weir to W. E. Chandler : From L. C. Weir 
 
 to E. F. Noyes 65 
 
 From W. E. Chandler to S. B. Packard: From W. E. 
 
 Chandler to Kellogg : From Kellogg to W. E. Chandler 75 
 
 TILDEN, Samuel J., elected President I 
 
 A foreseeing leader of men , 2 
 
 Advice of, against an extra-constitutional tribunal 3 
 
 Labor performed by, in breaking the Tweed ring 4 
 
 The most conspicuous reformer of his time 5 
 
 The people s choice 22 
 
 Election of, admitted by General Grant 24 
 
 Confirmatory evidence of General Grant s belief 25 
 
 General Grant s conviction in regard to election of: Expect 
 ation of General Grant that vote of Louisiana would be 
 
 awarded to, 26 
 
 General Barlow s opinion that vote of Fla. belonged to, ... 33 
 
 McCreery bill submitted to, 36 
 
 TIMES, the, of Philadelphia. Col. A. K. McClure, editor of, state 
 ment in regard to Gen. Grant s belief in election of Mr. 
 
 Tilden 25 
 
 TRIBUNE, the N. Y. , on General Grant 30 
 
 Editorial of, on character of General Grant 356 
 
 TIMES, the, of N. Y. claimed election of Hayes 51 
 
 TIDBALL. Z. L. , sent to Florida , 65 
 
 Services of, 83 
 
 Reward of, Ill 
 
 TWITCHELL, W. H., Services of, and reward of, ... 296 
 
 THURMAN, Allen G 36 
 
 TRUMBULL, Lyman, report of, on Louisiana election 338 
 
 Characterizes proceedings by which Kellogg was made 
 
 governor of Louisiana ... 347 
 
 TYNER, James W., postmaster-general, allowed to withdraw 
 
 cipher telegrams 75 
 
 UNDERWOOD, Napoleon, services of, and reward of, 291 
 
 VANCE, Thos. H., tool of L. G. Dennis 69 
 
 Part of, in Alachua fraud 85 
 
 Services of, and reward of 107 
 
 VARNUM, John, services of, and reward of 109 
 
INDEX. 401 
 
 PAGE 
 
 VEASEY, J. A., supervisor of registration Lafayette parish in 
 dicted for murder 11 9 
 
 VICE-PRESIDENT, the, and the electoral vote 23 
 
 VISITING STATESMEN, the, arrive in New Orleans 136 
 
 Invited to cooperate with Democratic visitors 137 
 
 Encouraged disregard of " forms " of law 138 
 
 Subdivided their labors 139 
 
 Invited to attend open sessions of Returning Board 156 
 
 Connection of, with Eliza Pinkston 164 
 
 Conducted themselves as violent partisans 198 
 
 Knew that forms of law had not been complied with ...... 200 
 
 Preached rigid adherence to " forms of law " and practised 
 
 widest departure therefrom 202 
 
 Understanding of, with Wells and Anderson 223 
 
 Roster of, 2 9^ 
 
 Dishonesty of defence of, 3 O1 
 
 Names of, linked to those of Kellogg, Wells, et a/ 302 
 
 WALLACE, General Lew, sent to Florida 63 
 
 Spoke for Hayes IO 3 
 
 Introduction by, of L. G. Dennis to R. B. Hayes 104 
 
 Appointment of, to governorship of New Mexico 1 12 
 
 WALSH, John A., banker, paid money to Kelley for Kellogg. ,. . . 187 
 
 WARD, D. A., supervisor of registration, Grant parish 116 
 
 WARMOTH, Henry C, first appearance of, in Louisiana politics. . 314 
 
 Character of, 3*% 
 
 Quarrel of, with Casey 3 2 " 
 
 Accusations against, recited by George Carter 327 
 
 Delineates the characters of his opponents : Accuses Casey, 
 
 Packard, and Ray of being corrupt 328 
 
 Determined to perpetuate his power: Struggle of, with 
 
 Custom House party 33-33 r 
 
 Attempt to impeach, 33 2 to 335 
 
 Methods by which impeachment of, was defeated 334 
 
 Quarrel of, with Federal administration 336 
 
 Attempt to conciliate : Coalition of, with democrats 337 
 
 Opinion of, by Senator Carpenter 33^ 
 
 Creates new Returning Board 34 
 
 Promulgates new election law : Injunction against, by 
 
 Judge Durell 34* 
 
 Proceedings of, irregular 34 2 
 
 WASHINGTON CITY, troops ordered to 33 
 
 WATTS, J. W., Republican elector of Oregon 45 
 
 Disqualified by Constitution of U. S. , 4" 
 
 Not elected 47 
 
 WATERLOO, the, of the Republican party 49 
 
 WATTERSON, Henry, defence by, of Stanley Mathews I4 8 
 
 WHARTON, Jack, history of, 2 74 
 
 Testimony of, about J. Madison Wells 2 75 
 
402 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 WHARTON, Jack, rewarded for his services 276 
 
 WEBER, E. L., testimony of, about visiting statesmen, 141 
 
 Testimony of, about letter to his brother 146 
 
 WEBER, Don A., alleged letter to, 14 
 
 Killed, March 1877 *47 
 
 WELLS, J. Madison, character of, !55 
 
 General Sheridan on, 2I 4 
 
 Greed and venality of, notorious 216 
 
 Letters of, to J. H. Maddox 217 
 
 Letter of, to Senator West 219 
 
 Proof of corruptibility of, 221 
 
 Testimony of Duncan F. Kenner concerning 222 
 
 Testimony of Jack Wharton about 275 
 
 Reward received for services 2 3 2 
 
 Fled when indicted for forgery 2 34 
 
 Dishonesty of, while governor of Louisiana 3 I 4 
 
 Thought by Grant to be a scoundrel 3^ 
 
 WELLS, A. C., son of J. Madison Wells, reward of, 240 
 
 WELLS, Sam 1 ! S., son of J. Madison Wells, reward of, 240 
 
 WEST, J. R,, senator, letter to, from J. Madison Wells 220 
 
 WICKER, F. N., collector of port of Key West, Florida . . 85 
 
 Retention of, in office 109 
 
 WEIR, L. C., cipher telegrams of, 65 
 
 WILLIAMS, Attorney- general, disgraced 7 
 
 And President Grant 3 2 
 
 Telegram of, to Packard to enforce mandates of U. S. 
 
 courts 344 
 
 Coincidence of order of, and Durell s midnight order. . . . 345 
 Conduct of, considered : Telegram of, to citizens of New 
 
 Orleans 34 
 
 WILLARD, George 3 6 
 
 WILLARD, C- D., schemes of, in Florida 69 
 
 WHITE, Gen. Henry, visiting statesman, - H 1 
 
 WHISKEY FRAUDS .. 3 1 
 
 WRIGHT, Silas, on question of eligibility of electors 43 
 
 WOODRUFF, B. F Il8 
 
 WOODWARD, York A., clerk of Returning Board, rewarded 241 
 
 WORMLEY S HOTEL CONFERENCE 2 3 
 
 YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor of Ohio 220 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS 
 
William S. Gottsberger s Publications. 
 
 ANTON CIULIO BARRILI. CEORC EBERS. Continued. 
 
 A Whimsical Wooing 1 , from the 
 Italian by Clara Bell, one vol. 
 paper, 25 cts., cloth, 50 cts. 
 
 The Devil s Portrait, from the 
 Italian by Evelyn Wodehouse, 
 one vol. paper, 40 cts., cloth, 
 75 cts. 
 
 The Eleventh Command- 
 in cut, from the Italian by Clara 
 Bell, one vol. paper, 50 cts., 
 cloth, 90 cts. 
 
 LA MARCHESA COLOMBI. 
 
 The Wane of an Ideal, from 
 the Italian by Clara Bell, one 
 vol. paper, 50 cts., cloth, go cts. 
 
 Nlme SOPHIE COTTIN. 
 
 Matilda, Princess of England, 
 from the French by Jennie W. 
 Raum, two vols. paper, $1.00, 
 cloth, $1.75 per set. 
 
 Mme AUGUSTUS CRAVEN. 
 
 Eliane, from the French by Lady 
 Georgiana Fullerton, one vol. 
 paper, 50 cts., cloth, 90 cts. 
 
 FELIX DAMN. 
 
 Felicitas, from the German by 
 Mary J. Saftord, one vol. paper, 
 50 cts., cloth, 90 cts. 
 
 GEORG EBERS. 
 An Egyptian Princess, From 
 the German by Eleanor Grove ; 
 authorized edition, revised, cor 
 rected, and enlarged from the 
 latest German edition, two vols. 
 paper, 80 cts., cloth. $1.50 per 
 set. 
 
 A Question, from the German by 
 Mary J. Safford; authorized edi 
 tion, one vol. paper, 40 cts., 
 cloth, 75 cts. 
 
 A Word, Only a Word, from the 
 German by Mary J. Safford, one 
 vol. paper, 50 cts., cloth, 90 cts. 
 
 Homo Sum, from the German by 
 Clara Bell; authorized edition, 
 one vol. paper, 40 cts., cloth, 
 75 cts. 
 
 Serapis, from the German by Clara 
 Bell ; authorized edition, one vol. 
 paper, 50 cts., cloth, 90 cts. 
 
 The Burgomaster s Wife, from 
 the German by Mary J. Safford, 
 one vol. paper, 50 cts., cloth, 
 75 cts. 
 
 The Emperor, from the German, 
 by Clara Bell ; authorized edi 
 tion, two vols. paper, 80 cts., 
 cloth, $1.50 per set. 
 
 The Sisters, from the German by 
 Clara Bell; authorized edition, 
 one vol. paper, 40 cts., cloth. 
 75 cts. 
 
 Uarda, from the German by Clara 
 Bell ; authorized edition, revised, 
 corrected, and enlarged from the 
 latest German edition, two vols. 
 paper, 80 cts., cloth, $1.50 per 
 set. 
 
 Ebers Romances, 12 vols. in 
 half calf extra, Matthews bind 
 ing, in neat case, $24.00. 
 
 ERNST ECKSTEIN. 
 
 Prusias, from the German by Clara 
 Bell, two vols. paper, $1.00. 
 cloth, $1.75 per set. 
 
 Quintus Claudius, from the 
 German by Clara Bell, two vols. 
 paper, $1.00, cloth, $1.75 per 
 set. 
 
 The Will, from the German by 
 Clara Bell, two vols. paper, 
 $1.00, cloth, $1.75 per set. 
 
William S. GottsbergeS s Publications. 
 
 B. PEREZ CALDOS. 
 
 Gloria, from the Spanish by Clara 
 Bell, two vols. paper, $1.00, 
 cloth, $1.75 per set. 
 
 Marianela, from the Spanish by 
 
 Clara Bell, one vol. paper, 50 cts. 
 
 cloth, 90 cts. 
 Trafalgar, from the Spanish by 
 
 Clara Bell, one vol. paper, 50 cts. 
 
 cloth, 90 cts. 
 
 ROBERT HAW5ERLINC. 
 
 Aspasia,from the German by Mary 
 J. Safford, two vols. paper, $1.00, 
 cloth, $1.75 per set. 
 
 LE I LA-HANOUM. 
 
 A Tragedy at Constantino 
 ple, from the French by Gen. 
 R. E. Colston, one vol. paper, 
 50 cts., cloth, 90 cts. 
 
 W. VON HILLERN. 
 
 A Graveyard Flower, from the 
 German by Clara Bell, one vol. 
 paper, 40 cts., cloth, 75 cts. 
 
 Ernestine, from the German by 
 
 S. Baring Gould, two vols. paper, 
 80 cts., cloth, $1.50. 
 
 Higher Than The Church, 
 
 from the German, by Mary J. 
 Safford, one vol. paper, 25 cts. 
 cloth, 50 cts. 
 
 The Hour Will Come, from the 
 German, by Clara Bell, one vol. 
 paper, 40 cts., cloth, 75 cts. 
 
 S. REYNOLDS HOLE. 
 
 A Book About Roses. How to 
 
 grow and show them ! one vol. 
 paper, 50 cts., cloth, 90 cts. 
 
 C. H. LEWES. 
 
 Ranthorpe, one vol. paper. 40 cts. 
 cloth, 75 cts. 
 
 OSSIP SCHU81N. 
 
 Our Own Set, from the German 
 by Clara Bell, one vol. paper, 
 50 cts. cloth, 90 cts. 
 
 GEORGE TAYLOR. 
 
 Antinous, from the German by 
 Mary J. Safford, one vol. paper, 
 50 cts., cloth, 90 cts. 
 
 Clytia, from the German by Mary 
 J. Safford, one vol. paper, sects, 
 cloth, 90 cts. 
 
 CARL VOSMAER. 
 
 The Amazon, from the Dutch 
 by E. J. Irving, one vol. paper, 
 40 cts., cloth, 75 cts. 
 
 ADOLF WSLBRANDT. 
 
 Fridolin s Mystical Mar 
 riage, from the German, by 
 Clara Bell, one vol. paper, 50 cts. 
 cloth, 90 cts. 
 
 Henry Irving, a short account 
 of his public life. Paper, with 
 frontispiece, 50 cts., cloth, with 
 four illustrations, $1.25. 
 
 A Practical Method for Learning Spanish, by A. Ramos Diaz 
 de Villegas, in one volume, i2mo. Price 75 cents. 
 
 A Method for the Idiomatic Study of German, by Otto 
 Kuphal, Ph. D. Part One. Lessons, Exercises, and Vocabulary, 
 large I2mo. 536 pages. Price $2.25. 
 
A METHOD FOR THE 
 
 IDIOMATIC STUDY OF GERMAN 
 
 BY 
 
 OTTO KUPHAL, Ph. D. 
 
 PART ONE 
 LESSONS, EXERCISES, AND VOCABULARY. 
 
 Large i2mo. 536 pages. Price $2.25. 
 
 This Method is based on the principles of modern 
 philosophy. Gradual progress and spontaneous develop 
 ment are its leading features. The sentence is the unit. 
 Natural language precedes literary language. The exam 
 ple teaches the rule ; language teaches grammar. 
 
 The work is printed entirely in the Roman character. 
 
 "Spoken language is to written language what the real object is 
 to its description. 
 
 "The knowledge of language is based on sound. Sound is 
 the soul of language; without it language is dead. Sound imparts 
 life ; vividly and forcibly it impresses facts upon the mind, and 
 facts are the absolute basis of all knowledge. No true, no real 
 knowledge of language has ever been attained, unless it was 
 founded on this solid basis which the living voice alone has the 
 power to create. 
 
 " The study of language must conform to the process of nature. 
 Language was spoken many ages before letters or books were 
 even thought of, and no one ever attempted to read or write his 
 mother-tongue before he was able to understand and to speak it. 
 To go counter to the sequence in which the faculties naturally and 
 spontaneously develop, is to oppose the precepts of nature. We must 
 understand a language before we can speak it; we must speak a 
 language before we can read it. Reading is indirect hearing. In 
 reading we mentally pronounce the author s words and these 
 mental sounds are reported to the brain. If we cannot pronounce, 
 we cannot read.^ When we begin to read our mother-tongue, we 
 recall to our mind known sounds and knoivn ideas. Must the 
 process not be the same when we begin to read a foreign tongue? 
 To make reading the starting-point in the acquisition of a foreign 
 language is contrary to reason and the student, after fruitless 
 efforts, invariably abandons his task. " Extract from Author s 
 Preface. 
 
 William S. Gottsberger, Publisher, New York. 
 
A PRACTICAL METHOD 
 
 FOR 
 
 LEARNING SPANISH 
 
 BY 
 
 A. RAMOS DIAZ DE VILLEGAS 
 
 " Spanish is not under any circumstances a difficult language 
 to learn. It has in its construction and pronunciation an encour 
 aging directness very unlike the grammatical involutions of German 
 and the delicate sound-shadings of French. Working in accord 
 ance with the rules of almost any system, a diligent student can 
 in a very little while acquire a fair mastery of the language; though 
 it is true that some of the systems are much more difficult than 
 others. One of the simplest and best of them all is A Practical 
 Method for Learning Spanish, by Senor A. Ramos Diaz de 
 VUlegas, just now published by William S. Gottsberger, New York. 
 The method of Senor de Villegas comprehends a collection of 
 anecdotes arranged in short lines with an English translation, 
 similarly arranged, on the corresponding opposite page ; familiar 
 phrases, with idiomatic renderings in English in parallel columns ; 
 a vocabulary of words in common use, and a complete list of the 
 Spanish irregular verbs. It will be observed that this method 
 hardly can be called original ; that it is more or less that of Morales, 
 of Velazquez, of Prendergast, and that some of its features are 
 found in Ollendorff and in Ahn ; but in simplicity of arrangement 
 and directness of purpose it is superior to all of these Prendergast 
 possibly excepted. It certainly is what it is called a practical 
 method for learning Spanish. With a relatively small outlay of 
 mental exertion it produces exceptionally good results." Philadel 
 phia Times, June 24, 1882. 
 
 ONE VOL., i2MO. PRICE 75 CENTS. 
 
 Sent by mail) post-paid, on receipt of price. 
 
 WILLIAM S. GOTTSBERGER, 
 
 Publisher, 
 \ \ Murray Street, New York. 
 
MATILDA, Princess of England, by M me Sophie Cottin, 
 from the French by Jennie W. Raum, in two vols., paper, 
 $1.00. Cloth, $1.75 per set. 
 
 "A good old-fashioned novel with a good old-fashioned hero 
 and heroine, possessed of superhuman strength and virtues, is 
 rare enough in the present day to be refreshing. Matilda, Prin 
 cess of England, would have been thoroughly satisfactory to our 
 forefathers. It is crowded with incidents, has an exciting plot, is 
 not sparing in sentimental love scenes, and describes the romantic 
 times of the crusaders. The heroine is a sister of Richard Coeur 
 de Lion, a novice in a convent, who desires to go with her brother 
 on his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The hero is Malek Adhel, a 
 Mussulman and brother of the famous Saladin. The passionate 
 love of the Eastern prince for the Christian maiden, and the chiv 
 alrous devotion which eventually won Matilda s heart, are but a 
 part of the romance. After love on both sides is felt and ac 
 knowledged comes the long and terrible struggle of the lovers to 
 be true to their different faiths. The agonizing efforts made by 
 the Christian maiden to convert the Saracen, his loyal fidelity to 
 his country and his people, and the subsequent tragedy, make 
 the novel exceedingly powerful and interesting. The descriptions 
 of scenery in the East are very fine ; the situations are dramatic, 
 and the language is highly colored and Oriental, perhaps too much 
 so to be always agreeable. One may wish that Mme. Sophie 
 Cottin had condensed her work and given us only one volume of 
 Matilda; but the novel as it is will be a valuable addition to the 
 historical pictures of the days of the crusades. The boys and 
 girls who have followed Richard Cceur de Lion s fortunes so 
 gladly in The Talisman and Ivanhoe will rejoice to find him 
 again foremost in battles and generous alike to friend and foe ; 
 while those who remember the venerable William, archbishop of 
 Tyre, will find his life and character portrayed with wonderful 
 truth and beauty. The first few chapters of any historical novel 
 require a certain effort of the will to accomplish, but after the 
 reader has left these behind he will find Matilda as stirring and 
 absorbing as a tale of modern times." Evening Transcript, Bos 
 ton, July 16, 1885. 
 
 William S. Gottsberger, Pub Usher ^ New York. 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 LOAN DEPT. 
 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below, 
 or on the date to which renewed. Renewals only: 
 
 Tel. No. 642-3405 
 
 Renewals may be made 4 days prior to date due. 
 Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 
 
 .. - . . 
 
 NOI/15 
 
 .,.- 
 
 General Library