The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1875-08-20

SuDDOS-
ec superior knowledge, and the countenance of
such volunteers, that the regular authorities
would have permitted such an abuse, and rem
dered themselves liable to the serious penalty
attached thereto. All the votes of one party
given throughout the French District at the
last election. were on Enthusiastically blue paper.
And ii is only continuation of plan hitherto
resorted to in that quarter under like inspira.
tion."
''T6e revenue officer from Houlton, MIR.
MADIGAN, taking his stand at the polling
place by the side of the window through which
the votes were deposited. infexioly maintained
his position throughout the entire time of bal
loting. Here he could deliberately inspect
every voters ticket and from this inspection
no map Old or could escape. The Dencil TALES
upon the sill ottbdt Wiadoao do to this day to the
number of forty.fUe, attest to the Industry and
thrift Nth achich Nh. Mddigan droUe his busi-
ness transactions on the Mdda1dsk0 Exchange
that day. There IS reason to believe that each
OF those talles represents the federal sum Of
one dollar and fifty cents. This conjecture is
elucidated by the statement of that substantial
citizen of Madawaska, Mr.. Francis Thibodeau,
this report. Mr. Madigan's watchlul guardian
ship and the blue ticket, rendered the espion-
age OF the ballot box at that poll perfect and
complete"
MIR. Francis Thibodeau, who is named in the
foregoing, was at the time one Of the best
known citizens of Madawaska. His testimony
under oath contains the following reference 10
Mr.. Madigan: .
"MR. MADIGAN paid my friends 10 keep
still. He gave money to the women.
Mr.. Madigan stood a. the voting place all day
at the window, very near too. He paid MI
chael Martin and Solomon DAiele dollar
and halt apiece for their day. He paid them
ALL could not get one without pay. Some told
me he got half dollar and some dollar and a
half MR.. MADIGAN had a bad effect on
people here; learned them all to take money for
their uotes. Some ,cOuld cote the other toav but
for the money Mr. Madigan
called on Marcel Thibodeau's wife and asked if
her husband was Republican. She said he
was a republican democrat MIR MADIGAN
asked her how much poalld buy him ouer, if Ave
dollars would. She said sometimes 1t did not
take 50 much. He gave her five dollars and
asked if that was enough She said il was.
This is what she told me Madigan paid
ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Madawas-
ka. changed some voteS for Mddigan He
only cared about Bradbury. / got for Brad
bury's name on the Republican ticket enc
dollar and half a vote. think changed
ten tickets. 1 could tell the Democratic vote
by the looks of it; it pds on blue paper; could
not tell the mixed vote. Bradbury's name was
put on white paper ticket when the vote was
mixed. Mr.. Mddigdn counted the votes in this
plantation election day."
DcsiucS HIS CiOSo peIsOudl SUPERVISION Oh tu6
plantation of Madawasks, as given in the FORE
going testimony, Mr.. Madigan had general
charge of all the French plantations. And
the general conduct of the elections wherever
Mr.. Madgan had organized the outrages was
as bad as at the polls where be personally pre-
sided. Hear the following testimony from wit.
nesses wh) we're on the ground
William II. Cunliffe, Clerk of Hancock
Plantation, testiies as follows:
"At the last election here, everything was in
a hubbnb. l could not check the names on ou.
list. nor anything else. The Ffencbmen were
all drunk election day. The election was
called at one o'cock. got to the polls soon
after twelve--at any rate before the time,-but
the polls had 5een opened some time. The
critters were all drunk. tried to keep a
check list, but 1t might as we'll been thrown to
the devil. There might have been as many
votes cast before got there as after, but may
oe not, L dom. know The people
voted SO fast it was impossible TO check them.
They piled over one another like flock Of
sheep. The new names were kept on sepa.
rate paper, in a book, by the Frenchmen Ii
was all hubbub, and the devil to pay. Some
names were added to the regular voting list-a
few. l do not know where the bounds of this
plantation are. All the inhabitants above
come down to vote here. We had some voters
down from Little Black River. There would
would let rum alone. i shouid Hks 70 see an
electi9s here Sstn1Ss ,s hun: :nsS Sscs isepao,oan
about the polls election day, and they drove
him off. The way they abused the old gentle-
| man was ridiculous; it was too bad. He is a
very nice man and good citizen.
Dickey did the most of the work. He is law
yer, doctor, and most anything. He knows
more law and gospel than most any cody here.
He told me at the close: MY God, we have
voted like hell. have not worked so long for
nothing"
Martin Savage, Assessor of Hancock PIanta-
ton, testifies as follows:
II think there were some voted who were
not of age. l saw one thought not sixteen;
but his father swore he was twenty one and we
let him vote Pretty much our whole vote in
this plantation is French. They act more like
wild beasts election day than like men. There
could oe no more pulling aud hauling among q
parcel of wolves just out OF the woods, than
there is among them the day OF election"
Mr.. George Seely, merchant of Hancock
Plantation, test;ies as follows:
"7here ooere not seventy-fve votes Arowa here
that ,1ere not paid for. Not moro
than one in fifty of the French voters can read
aud write; l do not know of but one who can.
Very few of them know who is President of
the United States or Governor of the state of
Maine. .a4-tv 10
Mr.. David Page, of Hancock Plantation, .
we'll known Republican, testified: ~
"Plenty of offers were made 10 me 10 sell
votes. had no money and did not buy any.
Voters were round Dickey's store like bees,
two months before election. Almost all the
votes were paid for There must have been
one thou sand dollcrs spent In this plantation.
There was no chance to dispute votes at the
election. 1t. was like throwing feathers
against the wind to object to votes. ,.---.
This testimony might be quite indefinitely
ID.A a. ~
of the same kind of outrages throughout that
French region of Aroostook where Mr.. Madi-
gan has for years been sort of Political Vicar
General for the Democratic party. Indeed,
some of the testimony is too Indecent and
offensive to be transcribed in the columns of
paper that circulates in families.
From all this testimony it clearly appears
that Mr. Madigan was palpably, gratuitously
and shamelessly guilty of offences against the
law and good morals under the following
counts:
1st. He acted as an election officer in
plantation one hundred miles from his resi-
denoe, where he had no right to do so except
the right of mob violence.
I'd. He conducted the election in utter dis
regard of the laws of the state-having all the
votes of his political party on blue paper, when
the law, under heavy penalty, requires them to
be on unmarked white paper.
Sd. On the testimony of unimpeachei wit
nesses, fortified by the strongest circumstantial
evidence he openly bought and paid for voters.
Indeed, as one witness states, "MR.. MADI-
GAN learned the people to take money for their
uotes," and Furthermore that he chad very
bad effect on the people,
4th. Mr.. Madigan evidently resorted to the
prejudice uf creed and the force of religious
pIgotry to effect political results. Addressing
his political crowd from the steps Of the
Catholic chapel on Sunday and buying their
votes at the polls on Monday is mixture of
church and state which few would attempt.
These are the simple facts of the case, which
are narrated with no more harshness of Ian
guage thaa is absolutely necessary to clearly
present the enormity of the offenses. It is fol
the voters of the Fourth District, without re-
gard to previous political differences, to teach
Mr.. Madigan wholesome lesson on the 18th
of September. He may again organize fraud
in Madaw asto