Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1886-09-14
How It Was Done,
Greensboro Inquirer.


believes" that "one-third of Sl0' will
cover all the fraudulent votes added
10 the Hopkins county poll-books to
nominate Mr.. Laffoon in 1884.
The Times is nearly accurate. On
the night of the primary in 1884 a
telegram came to 0wensboro giving
Mr.. Lafftn's vot, in Hopkins count
htl,640. Returns from other counties
were in to sufficient extent 10 in
dictate that with no more than l640
votes in Hopkins county Mr. Laffoon
was a dead duck in that fight. But
there must have been some exceeding
ly careless figuring done by the Hop
kins county election clerks that day.
They went over the same books again
at a later hour that same night and
found 294 more votes for Mr.. Laf-
fOon.
BY a singular coincidence this was
just about what was needed to nomi-
nate Mr.. Laffoonl
1t is also very close to the number
of votes which the jacksonville
Times, Mr.. Laffoon's home organ,
admits were fraudulently placed on
the Hopkins county poll-books by
jealous friends of Mr.. Lafl'oon!
BY this remarkable coincidence Mr..
Clay lost his nomination to Congress.
by this unblushing, outrageous,
deliberate fraud, Mr.. Lafloon has
been enabled to draw Mr., Clay's sal
AIRY as Congressman from the Second
district of Kentucky.
With such a plan made ready, with
every conspirator carefully instructed
in what he was to do in case there
should be demand for more Lafloon
votes from Hopkins county after the
returns were in, with every arrange
ment made for deliberately cheating
the people by fraudulently adding as
many names to the poll books as
might be needed, it is not to be won
tered at that the Laffoon managers
were confident of success in 1884.
And it could not be wondered at il
they seemed confident of success
again.
1t is doubtless quite true that there
is never primary without some IT.
regular voting. Try they ever SC
hard, the officers of election can only
hope TO diminish, not wholly Ia
prevent, such irregularities. But
such votes, slipped III stealthily in
spite of official vigilance, are of 9
character altogether different from
the scheme of fraud presented by
this Hopkins county case. The Dir
regularity" in Hopkins county wa
deliberate fraud, planned before
hand and carried out with the co
operation of the very men chosen It
enforce fairness at the polls.
That so foul conspiracy to chea
the sovereign people of THIS distric
has been so far successful and unre
buked is to our shame. We hav,
been hoodwinked by a coterie of cor
rupt politicians. doing their deeds o
darkness under cover ofnight, andcon
cealing the evidence CT their guilt by
making way with the poll book
which contained damning array {
testimony-294 witnesses-agains
them, We have been robbed of th,
right 10 choose our nominee-he wa
chosen for us by ring of trickster
and fraud-hatchers.
This charge of fraud was made twt
years ago by the Henderson Journal
1t was at first feebly denied and
braggadocio offer made to allow al
inspection of the doctored poll books
When the time came for acceptin,
the offer the books could not b.
found. They never will be found
Some of the men who were in tn
scheme before are against Mr.. LaGool
this time, and they have given til
whole dirty business away. The onl,
denial now made is feeble protesta
ton that the reports have been ex
aggerated Enough is admitted
however, to show that Mr.. Clay wa
deliberately cheated out of his nom
ination by the fraudulent addition o
nearly 300 names 10 the Hopkin
county poll-books OH the night O
October l3, 1884, after the polls ha,
closed all over the district, and after
had been ascertained that by the hon
est vote of the people Mr.. Clay wa
the nominee of the party for Con
gress.
1t is about the dirtiest and foules
piece of business we know of i'm Ken
lucky politics, and that is saying
great deal.