The Portland daily press., 1880-02-19
FRAUD PROVED.
HOW THE LINCOLN COUNTY
SENATOR WAS STOLEN.
A Forged Return Substituted
For a Genuine One.
THE TOWN CLERK OF SOM.
ERVILLE CONFESSES
FORGERY.
And Says He Did 1t by Or
ders from Augusta.

AUGUSTA, Feb. Is,
Mr.. Hale's investigating committee COM
menced their serious business Tuesday night,
and took testimony which convincingly
shows the manner in which Gov. Garcelon and
Council stole the senator from Lincoln Coun-
ty. The committee is now possessed of all the
returns upon which the Governor and Council
based their count. Mr.. Sawyer, who claimed
to be Secretary of State under the Fusionists
delivered up the returns for senators and rep
| resentatives and the county returns have re-
Gently been found. The committee have also
possession OF the tabulations made up by Gov.
Garcelon and Council in finishing their count
Mr.. Bisbee, the committees clerk, has been
for several days classifying these returns and
| hunting up evidence of the fraud and conspir-
acy Tuesday night he brought before the
| full committee the case of the senatorial re-
turns from Lincoln County. The tabulating
by the Governor and Council of the entire SEN
| atorial vote discloses these facts:
| The Republican candidate for senator in
Lincoln County was Andrew r. G. Smith and
| the Fusion candidate Isaac T. Hobson The
entire Republican vote for senator as shown
by the tabulation was 2S09, the Democratic
vote was 24i6, giving Smith majority of 1853.
| Gov. Garcelon and Council threw out Smiths
| entire vote in Nobeboro-l40 in number.-be-
| cause the clerks return gave these votes to
| Andrew Il. g. Smith, but this still left Smith
| elected over Hobson by % majority. Another
| town was needed to secure the election of
| Hobson. and the committee Tuesday night
found out how it was got. The witnesses be-
fore the committee were the selectmen of the
town of Somerville and town clerk. The tab
ulations show that as at first made up Andrew
! R. G. Smith was credited with 70 votes from
| Somervlle and Isaac T. Hobscn with 81. But
| the 72 has been erased, leaving a blank and
the Y votes are carried out in another column
and given 70 Andrew A. Il. Smith and this
would elect Mr.. Hobson BY 43 majority, and
under this he was certificated, took his seat
and acted in the Fusion Senate. The testimo-
| ny of the selectmen and town clerk shows up
| She whole proceeding.
The original return of the senatorial vote in
Somerville was made up in open town meet
ing by the clerk and it gave the y votes cast
for Andrew R. G. Smith, which is the proper
name of the Republican candidate. The clerk
himself 80 testified, and another witness testi-
fed that he saw the return made up and call
cd attention to the fact that DIR. Smiths name
was correctly returned The clerk testified
that he delivered this return with that of the
other officers voted for IN the town on the day
| succeeding the September election, into the
office Of the Secretary of State in person. The
return upon which the Governor and Council
acted shows clearly that the votes were cast for
Andrew r. G. Smith. This return is entirely
in the handwriting of Bowler the town clerk,
and he was summoned to explain the substi
tuition. He is man whose politics have been
Mixed" voting sometimes one way and some
time another, but is an intimate, social and
business friend of the notorious Capt Black,
who headed the armed Fusion guard at the
State House. He testified when confronted
with the substituted return that it was in his
own handwriting and that the signatures of all
the selectmen were made by him without au-
thority. This was confirmed by the selectmen
themselves who also testified to the facts.
Bowler was an unwilling Witness but on being
pushed by both Republican and Fusion mem
bers of the committee, confe ssed the following
facts:
About the middle of December and lust
prior to the contingent by Gov. Garcelon
and mis- Council, he received from Augusta a
blank return for senatorial votes for the town
of Somerville to be filled out and returned.
with a letter of instruction accompanying. He
declined to show the letter of instructions to
the committee or give the name of the party
signing it, claiming that he had mislaid the
letter and had forgotten the name of the per-
son signing 1t, but on pressing from the COM
ho oIv ftoI <I,>< Al
cial heading like others shown to him coming
from the Secretary Of State, and that it was
from Augusta. He testified that he was at his
nome when he received the. letter with the
blank return; that he sat down at once with
the book of the town records with the letter
which he had received before him, and filled
up the blank return signing the names of all
the selectmen though neither were present
and neither of them knew of the transaction
The page OF the town record which was open
before him, as he says, when he made out the
second return shows plainly that the Y Re-
publican votes for Senator were for Andrew
Il. G. Smith, but the return SO made up at the
time and in the manner in the handwriting of
Fowler SHOWS with equal plainness that the 70
votes were given for Andrew A. R. Smith and
It is upon this return that the count was finally
made up and the certificate given by Garcelon
and Council to Isaac T.. Hobson The
appearance of the witness was bad.
Both the Republican and Fusion members of
the committee were convinced that he SUBJ
stltuted the name Of Andrew A. r. Smith for
that OF Andrew r. G. Smith in accordance
with the letter OF instructions received by him
from Augusta, which accompanied the blank,
and that the plot originated there and not
with Bowler. But Bowler declined to produce
the letter, and in response to all enquiries
persisted that he had mlsaid or lost it, but he
admitted that the return on which Smith was
counted out was made by him in the manner
before described, showing clearly that whoever
was the author of the scheme Fusion Sena-
tor from Lincoln county was certified by the
Governor and Council on a second and sub
stituted return received by them as late as the
middle OF December, after they had tabulated
the returns in favor of the Republican candi-
date, and that to change the result they were
obliged to change and erase the figures and
tabulations and to substitute the returns made
by Bowler in December, and to DESTROY the
proper and true returns delivered By Bowler
into the office on the day after the September
election. 1t is understood that this examina-
ton was entirely convincing as to the fraud to
both the Republican and Fusion members of
the committee, and is only the beginning of
complete disclosures covering all parts of the
state.
Municipal Elections.
PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 18-The election YES
terday for magistrates resulted in the choice of
10 Republicans, regular Democrats, / Inde-
pendent Democrat. Vote for council resulted
IN the election OF 80 Republicans, 8 Indepen-
dent Republicans and Democrats.
HARRISBURG, Feb. 1S.-The Republicans
elected 20 members of the Council and Demo-
Gratis II, with the 9Th Ward (electing ~ yet to
be heard from.
READING, Feb. 18 The Democrats elect 5
and the Republicans members of the select
council. The Common Council stands "a
Democrats and 20 Republicans.
WEST CHESTER, Feb. 1S.-B, Wood (Rep)