Democratic Sentinel, Volume 1, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 September 1877 — SHERMAN IN NEW ORLEANS. [ARTICLE]

SHERMAN IN NEW ORLEANS.

How Returning Board Anderson Secured His Commission —Secretary Sherman Telling a Part of the Truth, and the Sun Finding the Rest, [From the New York Sun.] The Washington correspondent of the New York Evening Post telegraphs that journal as follows : Secretary Sherman to-day, in reply to an inquiry as to whether the appointment of Mr. Anderson, of the Louisiana Returning Board, to be Deputy Collector at New Orleans had been made directly by the President, said that the President had nothing to do with it; that the Collector of the Port at New Orleans, Judge King, made a written request for the appointment of Anderson, and that the recommendation was duly approved by himself. “And,” added Mr. Sherman, “you can say as coming from me that every appointment asked for by Collector King has been made, and neither the department nor the President has attempted to interfere with or suggest what appointments should be made there.” This is an important admission respecting the removals recently made in the New Orleans Custom House. Collector King was appointed solely upon the request of Tom Anderson, one of the members of the infamous Returning Board. King was one of the Judges of Kellogg’s Supreme Court, to which position he had been elevated at the dictation of Anderson. He owes his political advancement solely to Anderson, whose pliant tool he has always been. There were a number of respectable citizens recommended by the business men of New Orleans for Collector of that port, among them Mr. Phelps, President of the Cotton Exchange—one of the leading citizens —and Hayes virtually promised to appoint him. But An lerson came to Washington, saw John Sherman, and demanded the appointment of King. His demand was sufficient, and, to the surprise of respectable Republicans in New Orleans, and the disgust of other cilizens, the appointment was made. It was understood at that time that Anderson was to be the chief deputy of King, but be was not appointed. The reason was this : King was impecunious, but his friends, Anderson and Wells, could not accommodate him with ready money. Herwig, who was Casey’s deputy and political guardian for eight years, had plenty of money. He monopolized the stealings of the Custom House under Casey, and wanted to continue to reap the harvest under King through his tool, Champlin. He lent King money, and then demanded that Champlin and his othea: friends should be retained in the Custom House. Anderson wanted King to turn out Champlin and put him in. The fellows who had manufactured evidence for the Returning Board wanted positions in the Custom House, and they threatened that if they were not taken care of they would tell all they knew. Thus the pressure on King was very great, but he did not dare to make the dismissals without some pretext, like an order from Washington. Accordingly he made out a list of subordinates, with Champlin at the head, and sent the same to Sherman, asking him to approve their discharge. Sherman sent the list to Hayes without explanation, as none had come from King. Hayes thought this was a fine opportunity to exercise the civil-service rules, and he returned the list to Sherman indorsed in substance as follows : “ Under the civilservice rules these dismissals should not be made, as no cause therefor is assigned.” Thus indorsed, the list was returned to King. When Anderson saw it he was angry. He hunted up Wells, and the two started for the North. They came to Cincinnati, and learned that John Sherman was in Cleveland or Toledo. They went thither, but Sherman was pleasure-seeking on the lake on board a revenue cutter. Missing him at both points named above, they followed him to Mansfield, where they found him. They had an interview with him, and then came to Washington. Sherman followed. They saw Hayes, and the next day Anderson left for New Orleans with his commission as Deputy Collector in his pocket. The removals which Hayes said should not be made under the civil-service rules have commenced, and will continue till every one of the fellows who manufactured evidence for the Returning Board and the visiting statesmen are provided for. The statement of John Sherman to the correspondent of the Evening Post is therefore true, but it is not the whole truth. King did make a written request for the dismissal of certain people and the appointment of Anderson as chief deputy, but when that request was referred to Hayes he said it could not be done under the civil-service rules. Then Anderson and Wells were angry, and swore it should be done under the agreement made with them by the visiting statesmen. They came to Washington and demanded the fulfillment of the written pledge made to them —demanded what was nominated in the bond, and got all they asked. It is true also that neither the “department nor the President has attempted to interfere with or suggest what appointments should be made there,” but John Sherman and Returning Board Hayes did, in defiance of the civil-service rules, and in the face of the latter’s indorsement, agree that every appointment asked for by King, the alter ego of Anderson, should be made. In other words, they did not dare to refuse anything demanded of them by Wells and Anderson, and I venture the prediction here that J ohn Sherman will order the claim of J. Madison Wells to be paid before Congress meets, or shortly after it adjourns, notwithstanding it has been over and over again proved to be a fraud. I venture to predict also that after John Sherman and Returning Board Hayes have doubly damned themselves by their efforts to compensate Wells and Anderson for stealing the vote of Louisiana, and thereby making Hayes de facto President, they will not be able to prevent the whole truth about that “ great fraud of 1876 ” from coming to the light,