Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-03-27
THE GREAT FRAUD.

THE GREAT FRAUD.
An0ther Great Paper ErcOriates the Brtbe-
characterization OF the "PGrty of Moral
ity."
Cincinnati Enquirer.
TURNING OUT FRAUD.
The committee of elections of the House of
Representatives, it is expected, will take q
vote tomorrow upon the contested election
case of Donnelly VI. Washburn of the Third
Congressional district of Minnesota. A major
ity of the committee have not, as was an
nOunced and as we supposed, determined to
vote for the contestant. Mr.. Emory Speer, of
Georgia, who was elected as Demscrat, but
who recently announced his intention of leav-
ing the Democratic party, is reported to be op-
posed to unseating Mr.. Washburn. Mr.. Speer
was elected to the Forty-Sixth Congress by a
majority of 225 votes over another Democrat,
there having been no Republican candidate in
that district, and he may believe that there is
q want long felt in the Ninth Georgia district
for little more variety of politics in Congress
sional candidates. Besides, he read law in the
Office of Hon. B. II. Hill. now Senator, whom
he succeeds in the House.s
It ID said that another Democrat will not
vote to seat Mr.. Donnelly, and the resolution
in favor of the contestant may fail of maiori-
ty in the committee on elections. Whatever
the result of this contest, the country will have
been made familiar with the methods by which
Mr.. Washburn gained his seat in the House.
Some of the testimony will make interesting
| reading.
At precinct called Tamarack River, in
which there were only four actual settlers,
Washburn received 100 votes and Donnelly one
vote. The sum paid for these votes-and the
men refused to vote unless they were paddy
| men named Webster and White, who engineer
| ed the matter. was between $l60 and $170.
Webster and White were to receive 5000 for
their services. and the money paid out by them
| for votes was repaid to White by Major Hale
the business manager of Washburn, eight days
after the election, by check for 1882. This
| check was cashed by the paymaster of rail-
| road company of which Washburn is
president. These votes, in bulk, were
| paid for in Washburn's own
office by his business manager. A man named
| Shagnen was paid $5 in Washburn's office. and
promised $36 more for his vote and influence
| for Washburn. The same business manager was
Washburn's agent in this case. Bernard Olou-
| tier, Democrat, having received $50 from a
friend and agent OF Washburn went to Wash
burns Office and asked for more money, $40
| more. HE (Washburn's friend) went into the
next room and commenced talking with Mr..
| back and handed me $40" Without going too
| infinitely into the testimony, it is sufficient to
| say that the bribery of ninety-six voters is
traced directly to Washburn's own office, to his
| business manager, to his brother, or to him
| self. This constitutes but small part of the
testimony showing bribery, but these ninety
| six cases are fastened by proof more imme-
diately upon Mr.. Washburn himself than are
| the majority of the instances.
favOrite method of increasing the votes for
| the ''party of morality and intelligence was
by voting railroad laborers in the wilderness.
Dennis ReardOn testified that he was one of a
gang of more than fifty railroad hands that
| voted between Middle river and Tamarack riv-
| er. At Two rivers the voting place was box
car; the ballot box was candle box; there were
| no tickets there but Washburn tickets. These
| fifty railroad men lived in box cars, and were
moved forward as the work progressed. They
| were all paid for voting by the railroad compa-
ny. Many of them were Democrats. There
were no houses in sight at that place, and no
| residents in that locality. In some instances
hand cars loaded with railroad inen were
stopped long enough for the travellers to vote.
An election precinct could be manufactured
for this purpose in a few minutes. At one
place in Polk county the testimony shows that
but eighty-fve legal votes were cast, while 25S
votes were returned az cast. d. NJ. Robbins, of
st. Paul, railroad contractor, had $50 men at
these men went with him on a construction
| train fifteen miles to vote. The most of them
| did vote, and for Washburn, and were all paid
for their votes. The voting place was a rail-
road car on q side track. There was no house
| of any kind in that part of the world.
1t is not necessary to further follow the
sickening list. These are chiefly illustrations
from the uninhabited regions. In the cities of
st. Paul and Minneapolis bribery was rampant.
1t should be remembered that bribery is Sc
| cret crime, difficult of detection, and a small
fraction only of cases of bribery can be brought
| to light and proved.
Bribing, wholesale and retail, in large and
sitting member in the case of Donnelly vs..
Washburn. What follows? In England
bribery is an offense of so heinous character.
and so utterly subversive of the freedom of
elections, that, when proved to have been COM
mitted, though in one instance only, and
though a majority of unbribed voters remain,
| the election will be absolutely void. (Cush-
1ngs Par. Law. p. 70. sec. 1879; st. Ives, Doug
| lass. IL, 389; Coventry, Peckwell, ], ST.; Maine
| on Elections 345). Freedom of election is vio-
| lated by external violence, by which the
electors are constrained, or by bribery by which
their will is corrupted; and. in all cases, where
| the electors are prevented in either OF these
the election aoM be void ,oithout reference to the
number of yotes affected thereby. Gushing s
Par. Law, p. 6S, sec. 1917.
The report adopted by the House of Repre-
sentatives in the contested election case of
Platt vs.. Goode, in the second congressional
district of Virginia, declares:
"These bribed votes should not be counted.
The record furnishes no method for their
| elimination. Their acceptance can only be
| avoided by applying the rule of law, 80 well
| known and of such general adoption that it
| need scarcely be repeated here, that when IL
legal and fraudulent votes have been proven,
and the poll can be purged with reasonable
| certainty, the whole vote must be rejected"
In this article we have not touched the proved
| intimidation of voters; or the counting of g.
2S2 numbered ballots in Minneapolis, which,
| by the decision of the supreme court Of the
State, are not ballots in the eye of the consti-
| tuition; or the 538 votes returned from one
| county by canvassing board that never had q
| legal existence; or the 1872 votes returned from
"the county of Polk and Kittson," there being
no such county in the State. We have simply
pointed out a few samples of proved bribery,
| by means of which this representative Of 1.-THE
party of morality and intelligence" obtained
his seat. And, of course, the party of moral
ity and intelligence" throughout the country
| is bowling at the attempt to unseat this man.
A DRAMATIC EPISODE.