Boyer,  the  minority  member  of  the  committee,  submitted  a  report  dis
senting  from  the  conclusions  of  the  majority,  and  making,  as  nearly
as  could  be  done,  a  defense  of  the  men  who  had  really  been  the  guilty
aiders  and  abettors  of  the  crime ;  but  he  did  not  deny  the  fact  of  the
riot  nor  of  the  great  number  of  its  victims.
THE  PRESIDENT'S  POLITICAL  TOUR.  237

The  substantial  correctness  of  the  report  made  by  the  majority
of  the  Congressional  Committee  was  never  shaken,  though  it  was
angrily  attacked  by  the  supporters  of  the  Administration.  Aside
from  the  credit  imparted  to  it  by  the  conscientious  character  of  both
Mr.  Eliot  and  Mr.  Shellabarger,  the  corroboration  of  all  its  material
statements  by  the  Commission  of  Army  officers  was  invaluable.  The
military  men  were  not  suspected  of  partisan  motives.  They  had  no
political  theories  to  maintain,  no  animosities  to  indulge,  no  personal
revenges  to  cherish.  They  proceeded  as  coolly  as  though  they  were
investigating  alleged  frauds  by  army  contractors  or  .were  hearing  evi
dence  touching  the  damage  to  frontier  settlers  by  an  Indian  raid.
