The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1883-11-17
BOTKrN'S FRAUD HUNTING.

~ ~AOAS0
:. Montana Republicans and MOI
tana Republican newspapers wei
. loud-mouthed last fall in declarin
that Major Maginnis was re-electe
Delegate to Congress by fraud. The
asserted, and it was mere assertion
that the Territory was really Republ
can, but that through illegal yotin
by Democrats the voice of the pc.
pie was st'fed and the Republics,
candidate defeated. The MINE
among other Democratic newspaper
in the Territory, emphatically denie
the charges and challenged the RI
publicans Of the Territory to til
proof. We maintained that the Judge
Of election were among the best cit
zens Of Montana; that they were oil
residents of the Territory who ha'
earned and maintained reputation
for honesty and intelligence second t.
none and that the charges that the!
had been parties to a fraudulent cleo
ton were unjust and a libel upol
their good name. But with an un
reas"nableness akin to fanaticism
our Republican contemporaries KEEP
up the cry of Fraud! Fraud |!
Fraud! -! and never tired Of iterat
ingand reiterating the charge. .And
when Marshal Botkin gave Major
Maginnis notice that he would con.
test his (the Major's) seat in Congress
they app'alded his determination
and declared that developments
would be made which would estab-
fish MI. Botkin's right to a seat in
Congress and cover the Democrats
with confusion.
Well, the Marshal started in on his
mission. He sent his attorney to
Missoula county, who hunted high
and low for evidence by which sim
gle man-even one poor, insigni6-
cant voter could be presented before
a grand jury. His attorney made a
water haul. After due and diligent
inquiry among the faithful the attor-
ney was compelled to give up the
chase, and he went away empty
handed-a wiser, it not a better man.
Failing in Missoula county, which
the Republicans had charged was
one of the rottenest OF rotten Dor
oughs, the Marshal turned his atten-
ton to Custer county. There he met
no better success, and Mr. Maginnis.
who, all along, had grave suspicious
that the Marshal was conducting the
so-called Investigations with the
view Of making a little cheap politi-
cal capital for himself, gave the Mar
shall notice that he would no longer
be a party to them, and that he was
willing to submit his case to Con-
gress upon such testimony as he (the
Marshal) could obtain.
Custer county proved as barren a
field to the Marshal IS Missoula
county. Those two counties, the Re.
publicans charged, had been carried
for Major Maginnis by the most
bare-faced frauds, and it was conf
predicted that United States
grand juries and United States
Courts would have their hands full
for the next year in dis
Of the cases which
would he brought before them. The
of the Marshal and his friends
to find something upon which to
his claims to Major Maginnis'
seat in Congress was regarded as a
calamity to the Republican party of
This would not do. The
Marshal had put himself to great
and No little expense to ferret
'ut the dark and mysterious way by
which the Democrats had carried the
Territory by their usual majority,
md the prospects were that even the
most indulgent Of indulgent Con-
'resses would kick his case out of
hat body and refuse him the poor
Equivalent of the pay and mileage of
contestant. His case was getting
desperate when some friend told him
hat he had been Informed that a
tranger was heard to say tn 1t it was
umored in Benton that a darkey had
aid that he was promised a days
FORK If he world vote the Democrat
, ticket. |,
Here was the long-sought clue.
[ere was evidence that was evidence. j
[ere was testimony to prove that
sacred rights of a tree-born Amer !
an citizen had been trifled with and .
lat the ballot box-that great pala- ,
OF our liber.ies-had been pros- j..
in the interest of the Demo- p,
attic party. That cas- must be pros .
'uted, 80 Judge Tattan and Mr.. .
NTH, two of the ablest, pur- a
t ana best citizens IF Choteau !
unity, and q couple Of gen. t
emen from the neighborhood b
Wilder's Landing who were sup !
'sed to be directly or indirectly i'm ~ :
lcated in the ballot box prostitution b
'siness, were upon the evidence of g
half-breed Indians and Others II
lite as reliable, indicted for alleged
,ction frauds. ;e
1t was now supposed that the ends o o
justice would be satisfied and that =
e righteous indignation of the t.
arshal would be appeased and the
patriotism of his deputies \
d friends asserted. Messrs. Tat al
1, Smith, ct a1 were in the clutches "
an outraged law aud a disap- O,
lnted candidate for delega- m
honors. 1t was predicted Ia
Republican sheets that astound. k,
!. developments would be made on fa
trial, and that enough would be a,
to show IN the world thot -