The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1879-12-19
THE BIG FRAUD.
xuxc AUDI ALrEnAa1 pARrEm.
Mr.. PiIisbury sIal<esfa Statement tie.
gardInE tho Maine steal. nnd
t. Endeavors 10 Wipe Out
a Foul Blot.

4 Il = 4-TT
Chicago. Dec.3 18.-Hon. L. f. Pills.
bury, answering telegram from the
editor of the Chicago Nelss, telegraphs
from Augusta. to-day long defense of
the action of the Maine returning
board. He says the apparehr republi-
can majority for members of the legis-
Iature was obtained by wholesale syste-
matte bribery, bulldozing and fraud.
There was a popular majority for gov
ernor, in opposition to the republicans,
in many districts, giving the fusion a
majority for governor.
The republicans succeeded in getting
a majority for members OF. the legisla-
ture by trickery and other frauds. The
governor and council have not based
their action on these frauds in any in
stance, but they have strictly followed
the constitution, and thrown out such
returns as were fatally defective, wheth-
er republican or democratic. In some
counties more democratic than republic
can returns have been thus rejected.
The republicans have been in the habit
for years of secretly returning defec-
tive republican returns to town officers
for correction, but took advantage of
the defects in the democratic returns.
During twenty-three years of republi-
can rule they have never lost an offieer
by reason of such defects, while the
democrats have lost more or less nearly
every year. This has served to make
the democratic town officers more care
full and the republicans careless.
The present governor and council
have held the republicans to the strict
letter of the constitution and laws, and
the result is an anti-republican majori-
ty in both branches. They have in no
case travelled outside of the precedents
established by the republicans them
selves, and in most cases their action
was based on the opinions given by the
judges of the supreme court. For in
stance: The judges gave an opinion in
IA that the governor and council could
not count the votes returned for VIII
liam H, Smith and w. H. Smith for
the same office, as having been given
for one and the same person. Applying
this rule this year, changes result in
large number of districts. n
Returns from the city of Portland
were fatally defective, in not complying
with the constitution, in not giving the
names of persons voted for, with the
number of votes against each name.
Some 140 votes were returned as ''scat-
tering," thus changing the result on
three senators, and leaves five vacan-
cies in the house.
In Lewiston, Saco, Bath and Rock
land, the returns were signed by "a
minority only of the aldermen. The
law requires that the whole number of
ballots be given in the returns, and
there are abundant republican prece-
dents for rejecting them, where they
fail in that respect. So, too, where
there is material difference between
the whole number of ballots and the
votes stated. Several changes have re-
suited from these defects.
In all doubtful cases the governor
and council have consulted eminent
council before coming to conclusion,
and in every instance the action of the
board has been. unanimous, with one
exception only. In that instance the
question at issue did not affect the
character of the result.