The Portland daily press., 1885-03-21
Higgins.



y Baltimore despatch to the Philadelphia
Press says; Ever since the appointment Of
Eugene Higgins to be appointment clerk Of
the Treasury Department upon the recommen-
dation Of Senator German, members OF the
staH OF morning paper, with the aid
aid OF tha Civil Service Reform Association Of
Maryland have been engaged in the investiga-
tion OF his crooked career. The result will be
printed In the Morning Herald tomorrow, and
| the Civil Service Reform Association will send
committee to Washington, to lay the facts
and the resolution adopted by the association.
asking the removal of Higgins before Secreta-
~ Manning. If he does not remove Higgins,
the committee will then appeal directly to
President Cleveland.
The prominent features OF the discoveries
uade regarding Higgins are that In the Balti-
more mayoralty contest in 1873, when f. G.
Latrobe, the regular Democratic candidate,
was elected for his first term, the returns were
so papably fraudulent that @ mandsmus was
Issued by the Supreme Bench compelling a re-.
count OF the ballots, which were by law pre-
served in the record Office OF the courts. Bv
!sllles kept oy the leaders Of the reform party
IL was positively known that the late Henry
M Wartield. the reform candidate, had re-
ceivsd majority of at least 5 600. The reeu-
lar Democrats made every effort to prevent a
recount, and when this failed they decided to
tampar with the returns.
Mr.. Charles T. Cook, one Of the citizens an
pointed py the court to superintend the re-
count, and who is we'll known business man
OF nnimpeachable integrity, said:
Chere was in my mind at the time, no
doubt that the bundle of tickets had been tam
peted with during the nights that interviewed
from the time we began until we completed
tue count. saw tickets in the boxes that had
never been voted. They were clean and with
out crease, and had undoabtedly been thrust
into the box IN bundles, after the first count,
IL was the talk around the Record Office at
that time, that MIR. Higgins entered the office
at night. With the connivance of the ianitor,
and stuffed the boxes
IL Is said that Higgins went to the record
ot1c9 at night, and by tapping on tbs window
gave signal which induced the ianitor Will
nam j. Bowling, to admit him. Bowling
was also questioned, aud his remarks verbs
tim were as follows: 81 have sworn that
VIII never open my mouth again about 1t, and
won't II go to the penitentary ten times
for 1t. They told me before that they would
not use my name, and then Wallis blowed it
al cut In speech. am out of politics and
snail stay out. l was in the record office
twelve years and L am sorry for it,"
boWlng's statement about "Walls blow
ing ing refers to the fact that Hon. 8. Teackle
w alls, the eminent lawyer, publicly stated
last Fall, while speaking in the Reform cam
palgn, that Eugene Higgins, with the COR
nivance OF the janitor, entered the record OH.
ce, and that while there he stuffed the ballot
boxes: Mr.. Wallis now admits that he OBJ
tanned practical confession from Bowling
ap ABOUT admitting Higgins, and his public
cnarge, which Higgins has never contradicted,
was BASED upon Bowling's admission.
blgglDs' record in Howard county, Nd.
wnere Senator German has his residence. ia
pecollarly significant. In 1879 there was re-
mOUomanf in fhoe tote
ring rule, and it became particularly formida-
Ole IN Gorman's own county. The latter saw
the necessity for desperate exDedients, a. "A
would have ruined him to let Howard county
20 against nim The result OF his fear Is
SHOWN 10 the fact that Eugene Higgins took a
oody OF colored men from Baltimore city and
went out TO Laurel and CarksVille, where
Ihey worked and voted for Gorman's ticket
, Hon. John Il. Clarke, who was chairman Of
the Democratic Central Committee for howard
county, is gentleman whom every one in the
county KNOWS we'll TO be a man OF integrity
ana Veracity. Speaking of Higgins appear
ance IN Howard county in 1879, Mr.. Clarke
S. 'alo; ne was the champion bulldozer in
JiafKsvlile district, where, under a rowdy
lilas, and with pistol and whiskey bottle Ia
'and, he terrorzed the quiet citizens and IL
egally voted hundreds Of negroes and others
'rought from outside BY the assistance of the
district register and other conspirators."
Charges of this kind were made over and
gam, and throughout the county during the
eform movement of 1881, by such Dsmocr ATTIC
eaders as Judge Merrick, Hon. Henry F.
lng 10 GafRt Afru Tor his rascality as the place
ghich he has been given by German, his
naster."
HIGGINS was elected secretary Of the State
senate in 1880, the year following his disrepat-
ously controlled the Senate, aud he paips6fy
ysve the place to Higgins as a reward for the
alters efforts in his behalf. The election out
ages and how German profited by them were
ully ventilated in the fall OF 1884 by Judge
Merrick and Hon. Henry E. Wooten. The lat
er said on the stump that Higgins deserved
20 be the occupant of q convicts cell, and
libel. The only answer German ever made
was, II was always afriend of Henry Wooten."
At the next session however, ,Gorman compell-
I'D Higgins to decline reelection to the secre'
tarysbip in order to avoid the defeat which
stared him in the face. For the past ten years
Higgins has been a notorious lobbyist at every
session of the Legislature and since 1879, the
time when he got in his work for German at
he has been recognized as the lat
ter's agent. II was through him that German
made known his orders to the Legislature, and
Higgins was always treated with great defer
ence as his agent.
In 18S2-84 Higgins was sn active lobbyist In
the legislative halls at Annapolis, and was
VIGOROUSLY there to make money. When
conflict arose between the interest OF the Bal
timore and Ohio and the Pennsylvania Roads
ne was prepared TO WORK Tor the company tnab
squeezed the best. This happened to be the
former. Among the many schemes which he
lobbied was measure, advocated by liquor sa-
loon keepers, who wanted the license taken on
pool tables, and the abattoir bill, which was in
tended 10 compel all the butchers to have their
stock slaughtered at the establishment Of an
ebattoir company. Higgins was notorious
gambler, during every session, particularly in
1882 and '94. He was the trusted friend of the
notorious Robert J. Slater, of Baltimore, who
had a branch-gaming- house in Annapolis.
Higgins also carried on private game in his
room at the City Hotel, Annapolis.
sHNGULAR CASE.