Iowa capitol reporter. [volume] (Iowa City, Iowa) 1841-1855, 1848-09-13

as have been to learn that am charged will
having offered you large sum OF money to ust
your influence with the members Of the Mormon
Church to induce them to cast their votes fol
the democratic candidates at the late election
Some OF these reports state the sum to be fiv,
hundred, others thousand dollars and some ter
thousand. Some say that made you these Of
|fers last spring on our trip from St. Louis, ant
others that | made them short time before oul
ELECTION. 1t is extremely notifying to me t
have to defend myself against a charge so bas,
and destitute of all foundation in truth, but sucl
is the injustice and violence of party spirit tina
am constrained to do it, and, for that purpose
respectfully to ask you:
LIST. Whether ever did, directly or in iirect
/ ", IN any way or manner, offer you any sum OF
sums of money, large or small, to get YOU to in.
Huence the votes of the Mormons?
2nd. Whether ever did, through you, or te
your knowledge by any one else, offer directly
or indirectly any bride or other reward, to The
authorities of the Mormon Church or any of its
members, to cast their votes for or against any
candidates at any election?
An early answer to this communion will
greatly oblige
Your ob't servant.
A. c. DODGE.
A. W. BABBITT, Esq, Nauyoo, Ill.
To the above letter, owing to the acct
dental detention ofthe friend who bore it
he having lost his horse on the way
received no reply until the evening of the
9th ult. Upon that day learning from
my friend, B. Hem, Esq, that Pickett
was in this place, and being anxious to
bring him to points that there might be no
loophole out of which he could creep,
wrote him note demanding the names of
all the persons upon whose authority he
alleged that | had ever offered money to
influence the Mormon vote--he having
admitted to Mr.. Hem, in the presence Of
a number Of gentlemen, that no such pro-
Iposal was ever made to himself. Here is
his reply:
"BAERErT House, Aug. oath, 1915.
Gen. A. c. DoDeE, Sir:-1 hereby state in
reply TO your note, that Mr.. Almon w. Rabbit,
Of Nauyoo, is the person have repeatedly re-
ferred to, as having been offered money for the
purpose mentioned. He so informed me.
Yours respectfully
WILLIAM PICKETT.
Now it might not be decorous in me to
say that Edwards, Howell, and Pickett
have done nothing but lie on me in regard
to this whole matter-and, as | wish to be
courteous to all men, will only say that
out of the mouth of their own witnesses
will prove them liars:
NAUvoo, Aug. 22n1, 1913.
l.. C. DoDGE, Esq !, Dear SiI:-Your Letter OF
the Goth inst. was duly received informing me
that you had been charged with paying, or off
ering to pay, large sums 81 money to me and
to other men holding influence with the Mormon
population in your State, to use their influence
TO have the Mormons all vote the democratic
ti:ket at the August election, (and asking from
me statement Of the facts to which | most
cheerlully reply: and
lst. most positively say that no offer ever
was made by you nor any money paid by you or
any other person to me for any such purpose,
either directly or indirectly.
End. l have no knowledge of your Offering or
paying to any other man holding influence among
the Mormons any sums of money for election
eering purposes.
3rd. have no knowledge of the Mormons re-
ceiying from the democratic party any sums of
money to secure their votes.
If the above statements are of any use to you,
you are at liberty to make them public.
have the honor Of being,
Your ob't servant,
A. w. BAB3ITT.
Not the least astonishing feature in this
whole matter is, that democrats should be
accused of resorting to such desperate and
espicable means to obtain the votes of
these people when every body knows that
nine tenths of them had always voted with
the democracy. Turner, who has year
still to serve in Congress was elected by
Mormon votes. The wings of Illinois
could never carry the district from which
they have now elected Baker to the next
Congress until the Mormons left. 1t is
also within the Recollection of all those
who were then residents of Iowa that the
Hawkeye charged the late majority in
Davis Co., in favor of the Constitution,
two years ago, to illegal votes cast by So
journing Mormans. But notwithstanding
this was the character Of their last vote. |
have never heard of but two democrats,
Messrs Clark, of Monroe, and Townsend,
of Lucas who were in favor oftheir being
called on to vote in their present isolated
position. 1t is due to myself to say that l
was always opposed to it, and never did
to favor the organization Of coun-
ties or precincts amongst them. fl had
even been favorable to their political or
ganization in body in our State, the brag-
gadocia statements Of Pickett when he
called to "play the game" on me would
have made me otherwise. He stated that
he had stood at the polls all day on cleo
ton day and forced them to vote tickets
which he gave them-taking from their
hands those which they themselves had
filled out and were ready to deposit in the
ballot box. My worthy and respectable
wing friend, Cyrus Walker, Of Illinois, is
doubtless familiar with the operation des-
cribed by Pickett. He, if am not misin-
formed, saw the tickets filled out in pres
ence of the Prophet himself, and would
not at one time, on the election day, have
given one cent to insure his election
to Congress, and yet when the ballots
were counted out he was victimized. The
kissing between the Iowa wings and the
Mormons, and the modus operandi by which
they have been wooed and won to whig-
gerry will be source of wonder if not of
admiration, to Mr.. Walker and the Illinois
wings. 1t illustrates the superiority in
inventive genius of the Iowa whig tactici-
ans over that IF the Ohio Missouri or III