Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1875-04-15
THE WOOD COUNTY B2l-
Berry CASE,

10
Weod is AN agricultural county, hav
Ing no large towns. Bowling Green
the place which got the .county-sea
away from Perrysburg several year
ago, by the popular vote trick, is but
small village. 'Perrysburg, the only
considerable town in the county, ha
but about 1900 inhabitants. There.
fore, Wood is not county, from which
alarge amount of money could be raised
| to operate on the Legislature in sucn {
contest of localities as the question o.
again submitting the county-seat loca
tion to a vote of the people. OF course
Perrysburg las much more peeuuiary
ability than Bowling Green. But there
is general impression that this Demo.
cratic Legislature is very low priced
body and that much may be done in il
with little money. !
The testimony taken by the commit
tee appointed at the Instance Of Mr..
Gordon, of Hamilton, to inquire wheth.
cr any members were bribed ip regard
to the bill to submit 10 the removal OF
the county seat back to Perrysburg TO
vote of the people of the county, ap-
pears to have come about as near to the
preof OF bribery as can be expected in
these affairs, in which it is the interest
OF both parties to the transaction, TO
keep.it secret, and to deny it if it gets
bruited. The most positive testimony
to the direct offer of money to a mem
Der Of his vote is that o. MIR. Gordon.
He swears that Mr.. Cooley, Represen-
tative from CuyahOga, told him that
he had pecuniary interest in the bill,
and that there was 500 for Gordon if
the bill passed; and that he answered
that ii he was in the market he should
want more money than that. 81
He testifies also that Mr. Haag, Rep
resentative frOm Henry, came 10 him
and said There is not much money
in this thing; i can get 500 for voting
for it; if the bill passes, you will be
handed cigar with 500 wrapped
around it, Also, that Mr.. Murlin,
Representative from Mercer, said to
him, after the bill had been once voted
on and lost, If you had been here to
vote for the bill, l had Sl00 in my
pocket for you. l..-. ssa.4. -- ~. =
In the way of confederation there is
evidence that the l. bbies from the con-
tending towns had money for expenses,
aud, in the case Of WOOD, at least, did
not keep record of expenditures; also,
as an example that MIR. Cooley told Mr..
Richards, Representative from Jeffer-
son, that if he would make a speech for
the Wood County bill he could have
SI00. ;5a..,s -ss.stt l.l ..f-
DIR. Hamilton, head OF the Perrys-
burg lobby, stated that he authorized
this offer, and that it WAS coosidera-
tiOn for the trouble of posting himself
for the speech, he being already in, fa-
vOr of the bill. But when bribery is
going on, such propositions are set
down as covers for ii. But this illus
trates what we before remarked, that
this thing, but these lObbies that lit
tie would 60 far in this General Assem-
bly,. 80 ~ si....ss s.. !,
There was also much testimony to
chatting and bantering upon certain
class ef members-that is to say, the
case that gave character to this General
Sembly-abOut there being money in
particular bills, and about the price of
votes. -, IL .i-s --'.i. 7i---'
The members implicated by the tes-
timOny az having offered bribes claim
that the talk was a joke. There was
much of this bantering which might
cover serious approaches. Mir. White,
Representative from Crawford,
testified that Cooley asked him how he
was going to vote on the bill, and he
answered it was none of his business,
and that Cooley then said he would
give him 500 if he would vote for the
bill, and he replied that if he were Of
fered that he would vote against the
bill, even if favorable to do it, and that
he thought Cooley was joking.
Meuser, Mayor of Gallon, testified
that Haag asked him about Whites
and told him White
could get a couple of hundred dollars
for his vote for the bill, and that he
thought the conversation in earnest.
But Haag says he was trying to find
out whether White had been influenced
by money in his former persistent op-
position to the bill. -. .I
Without any prejudice to the other
testimony against Mr.. Haag, it may Be
observed that this is more probable
than that he went around in this free
and easy way offering bribes through
chance third persons, which would be
almost like offering them at public out
cry. .,tt |
Naturally, they who are prosecuting
the matter hold that all the talk the
men they are pursuing have had about
money for votes shall be set down as
serious, while they claim the joking
in their own behalf. There |
is testimony that Gordon INDUCED in
this kind Of humOr quite as broadly |
and as pOintedly as any, and in a way
that cOnld easily be made an opening
for business.
Two witnesses testify that Mr. Cor
don said to one of them in the hearing |
Of the other that he would not vote for |
the Wood County bill for less than 500, !
and then repeated the assertion, pla- |
cling the figure at $1,000, giving as a
reason that the Northwest was against |
him when he wanted the nomination |
for Secretary of State. The state that |
he opened the conversation by declar- |
ing that he was pretty drunk, which |
also might be convenience for retreat. |
witness testified that Gordon |
said to him: You Wood County fell |
lows don't pan out WELL
The foregoing is the most direct tes- |
tilnony to bribery that this investiga-
ton hus elected, and while it Is prob
able that there has been much chatting
about the price OF votes, yet the testi-
mony to bribery is, we suppose, as near
as it can ever be expected to getto such
4 fact.
But is it probable that all this chaff-
ing, banter, and raillery about there
being money in particular bills, and the
price of votes, and how much money
there was in certain things, and that
The lobby did not pan out well, and
these bantering demands of higher
prices for votes, had no foundation |?
Does it not show low tone in those
that have beer. n.managing legislation in |
this Democratic General Assembly, |
and an acceptance of the fact that the |