Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1870-06-01
Reading Matter on Every Page.


This morning, a circular signed by VIM A.
Cook, was placed upon the desk of every mem
Der Of the House, in which IL quoted the follow
ing editorial from The STAR of Monday:
"wILI NOT CONGRESS GRANT RELrEF?-The
sympathy OF Congress- has been shown in
too many ways in behalf of the citizens Of wash
lngton, VINO are honestly truggling for q reform
IN municipal affairs, to doubt that that body
Will arord protection TO the legal voters here IL
the way Is pointed out to them. We ask then
that members will take the pains to satisfy
themselves, by personal inquiry, Of the fact that
the Bowen ring are attempting to defeat the
and by placing the polling precir cts in
remote parts OF the wards difficult of
access for quiet citizens; and where their
''roughs" can have full sway. We further
call the attention Of members to the fact that
the registration books are in the exclusive c m
troll Of Corporation employe named William A.
Cook, who entrusts them to another Corpor alton
employe named Tom Bowie, a desperate and
inscriptions character, who has served out n
falI term IN the .: s. Penitentiary; also to the
fact That In many Of the precincts the receivers
OF votes are Corporation employees, and are
notorious strikers for Bowen; and that these
men have the opportunity to count the votes
elusive possession Of the ballot-boxes. The
legal voters of Washington ask of Con-
some competent United States official in whom
Congress may have confdence-the United
States Marshal OF the District, or the Judges
agnate polling precincts in accessible parts OF
the dlnerent wards; also, that some legislation
may be had by which the purity OF the registry
The citizens OF Washington ask for nothing but
a fair, orderly, legal election. and this We are
certain Congress means they shall have"
Cook proceeds to say that the article quoted
from The STAR " Is manifestly intended to in
duce Congress to pass q law which viii operate
in the interests of the Citizens party, or the en-
emies of the Republican party in this city," and
he then has the astonishing cheek to assert
That the statements in the editorial OF THE
STAR are Indignantly untrue Without an ex-
sseol1te s.s an opo or 81 ~
1iren 10 do so, most o0nclxsirs proof Of his asser-
tiOn val Be furnished-'
The italics are Cooks. He thus in the most
solemn manner possible stakes his character for
credibility on his ability to dsprove these allie
cations. And now what shall be thought Of this
miserable triekster, Hbeller, and falsiier who
thus, to bolster himself up for few hours before
Congress in order to defeat a measure only in
tended to secure a fair, orderly election, Is will
ling to put himself on the record in this shame
fully mendscious character? What single allie
cation in our statement can he deny?
Can he deny the frauds attempted in the
registration, the fact that his tool, Himber
this morning forfeited bail in the case Of q
fraudulent voter?
Can he deny that his Bowen ring have placed
the polling precincts in remote parts of the
wards, difficult of access for quiet citizens, and
where the Bowen ''roughs" can have full sway?'
Can he deny that he holds the registration
books in his exclusive control?
Can he deny that his tool, the notorious Tom
Bowie, TO whom he entrusts the registration
books, has served out q full term in the United
States penitentiary?
Can he deny what IS charged in relation 10
corporation employees acting as receivers Of
votes?
He cannot controvert one of these accu-
sations, and we again ask members Of Con-
gress to satisfy themselves by personal inquiry
of their truthfulness.
The two or three columns OF abuse of TIE
STAR and its editor by Cook in his lying circu-
lar do not merit attention.
MO.hA-s of Co.s-ssS know snmathinr Of TIE
STAR and something OF Mr.. Cook, and we can
safely trust to their estimate of the relative
cTedibility or political honesty of the two.
"Mr. Cranes pay rolls proved to be so large
that I considered il to be my duty to withhold
nv signature at the time from them"
We extract the above from the evidence of
Sayles j. Bowen before the Donovan investigat-
ing committee 1t seems that Mr.. Cranes pay
rolls were 50 large that our conscientious Mayor
could not approve them. A comparison of the
Fourth Ward pay rolls in the months of May,
1859 and 1850, produced about the following
result. Pay rolls May, $50, say:
$40 laborers, rs days, at ~ per day si5,600.0O
80 carts $4,000
Total .................... s2I, 5000
Mr.. Cranes pay rolls May, 1s6s...... 2,09i-5o
Excess Of pay rolls In May, 1870, over
those Of May, 1859 ................ SO, $3.50
We do not vouch for the exact hgnres OF
Murphys pay rolls, but are satisfied from our
observation that they will equal if they do not
exceed the figures given above. The amount Of
Mr.. Cranes pay rolls we have copied from the
record The balance in favor of Mr.. Crane Is
only little over 1900, or nearly ten times the
total amount OF C.s pay rolls in May, 1859. A
small item for our tax payers these times.
From what We can learn, il viii take 800 900
TO pay the laborers Of the Seventh Ward this
month. nice little sum for the conscientious
5. j. q. TO approve.