Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1880-01-07

Hpcccn IN my iuNOr w nlS oouhti) hoh
the night before tho election. He got
up and made q speech in favor Of
Wasbburne, and admitted next day
that he had received $3.50 Tor doing so.
| could fill columns with just such
cases. Hundreds upon hundreds OF
railroad laborers who were not resi-
dents OF election precincts, but were
building railroads, living in box.cars,
moving from place to place, voted for
Washburnc, the polling place being in
box car or railroad depot building,
with cigar boxes or candle boxes for
ballot boxes, and every mothers son
of the voters paid for his vote In one
case some ninety wood-choppers in an
unsettled region voted at railroad
depot, where there was no legal pre-
cinct, each man voting for Washburne
and receiving So for his vote, and the
money was repaid the wood contract
ors, who paid them, by Mr.. Wash
burne's business manager. And so |
might 60 on. The bribery was whole
sale.
aWhat was the motive for such large
expenditures z"
IL cannot say. Isuppose the whole
Washburne family felt that their
futures were at stake. Elihu, you
know, is the dark horse in the Presi.
dental race. 1t might hurt his chances
to have his brother beaten for Con-
grcss. | can conceive Of no other
reason"
ut is true that the workingmen
were bull.dozed into voting Tor Wash
burne p
"Bull. .dozed IS no name for it. There
are 1000 workingmen in Minneapolis I;
they had a political Labor Union with
1900 members they indorscd my
nomination unanimouslyby resolutions,
and were enthusiastic in my support.
Their employers went to work on
them, frightened them, brought them
to the polls in squads with their tickets
in their hands, and then, to make sure
that they would vote right, they put
every mans number as he stood on
the poll list on the back OF his ballot
so that 10 might be identified at any
time. They had secured the passage
of a law the Winter previous that the
ballots cast at elections in the towns
of St. Paul and Minneapolis should be
numbered in this way, so as to control
the labor vote, but q case was raised
and one of our State courts decided
that such law was unconstitutional
and void yet, in the face of the deci-
sion, in seven Of the fifteen precincts of
Minneapolis, the precincts having the
largest labor population, they num-
bered the ballots. The result was that
instead of getting thevotes of the 1900
workmen Of that city, or even of the
1900 that had nominated me, my
whole vote in the city was but 1900 T;
Washburne received 100 majority in
the wards where the ballots were thus
numbered. claim that all those votes
should be thrown out as not free ex-
preston of the popular will"
"ls any of the bribery traced directly
to Washburne himself?"
SIN one case we proved that Demo
cratic village postmaster wrote to
Washburne that no would support him
for $50. Washburne turned the letter
over to the Republican postmaster of
Minneapolis, who answered it, and
thanked the writer and told him that
he would give the letter to one of the
Republican land officers at st. Cloud
This land officer called soon after and
told the party that il he worked for
Washburne he would see him all right
This testimony is from the party who
asked Tor the $50"
"Do you expect to succeed in your
contest ?"
81 don't know about that. The
clerk OF the Republican district com.
mittee Of Minneapolis, who handled
the most OF the corruption fund, has
taken house here in Washington for
the session under the thin disguise Of
newspaper correspondent. 1t is, to
say the least, singular coincidence
that he should crop up here just at
this time and should camp here for the
season. But | am determined 10 fight
it out, win or lose. feel that If this
kind OF iniquity is exposed and stopped
there may be some hope Of rcdeeming
Minnesota from Republican rule"
"What sort of people have you got
out there to stand that kind of thingY"
"Thc bulk of our population is as
intelligent and honorable as any in the
United States, but there are lots OF
Republicans who sincerely believe that
If the Republican party goes out of
power the negroes will be re.enslaved,
the Confederate war debt assumed as
part of the National debt, and JEFF
Davis made President"