Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1886-03-04
The Raodlers in a Hole.

workings square into the neaoq uaIeels
of lbe Democratic boss. The probe has
struck the abscess. and the corruption Is
flowing cepiously as the result. A man
named W. II. Deacon was on the witness
stand Thursday. Deacon is a Democrat
He was hired by George Campbell, one
of John r. McLean's heRchmen, to serve
AS a Judge of election IN precinct T,
Ninth ward. and assist in stuffing the
ballot box. According to his own tesli-
moDy, he did his work thoroughly, and
fully earned the paltry price of his ini-
duity-ten dollars. Deacon told the
committee in the first place how an en-
inent Democrat known as "Bunko"
Sweeney had captained gang of ten
Democratic repeaters, who each voted
four times, in spite of the protests of
the Republican challengers. George
Campbell told Deacon during the day
that be must work up as big a Demo-
cratic majority as possible In that pre-
cinct; that they must "stick on three or
four hundred votes, anyhow" and that
the Democratic judges must not be scru-
pulous about matter like that. After
the polls bad closed, Deacon said, orders
were issued to the effect that no Repub-
cans must be allowed in the room during
the count, and the Democratic police
enforced the order. When the ballot
box was opened McGill, one of the Dem
ocratic Judges, took possession of it, and
would permit nobody else TO touch the
ballets, even taking the precaution to
lock the box when he left the room for
few minutes. During the evening
somebody found bunch of scratched
| Republican tickets. These were handed
to Policeman Evans, who put them in
| his pocket. When the cennt had been
completed McGill took charge of the
correct tally sheets and carried them to
the Enquirer office, and bogus tally
sheet was made out for the County
Clerk on Duckworth Club blank.
When this work had been completed
Deacon went up to the Enquirer Office
to see the boss. Mclean came cut of
his sanctum and told Deacon that if be
| would bring note from Campbell to
prove that he was the man who had
done the work in precinct f, he INC
Lean would treat him right" The
boss was too busy and too anxious to
bother with him that night. Deacon
never got the note from Campbell, but
as Campbell afterward gave him SO be
was satisfied that be had been treated
right" no matter whether it cane di-
rectly from the boss or through one of
MS heelers. A few days after the elec-
tion Deacon met Bernard, another We'll
known Mclean lieutenant, On Vine
street. Bernard handed him one OF the
original tally sheets-the one made out
by Maxwell, the alleged Republican
clerk, and asked him to take care OF II.
Deacon kept the tally sheet until the
mandamus case, to compel Dalton to is
sue certificates to the Republican candi.
dates fer Senator, came up in the Cir
cult Court. Then he received a message
from Isaac n. Jordan, ex- Democratic
congressman and attorney for the gang,
asking Lin to bring the tally sheet To
Jordans Office. He responded to Mr..
Jordans summons and the latter pur-
chased the tally sheet, paying him So
for it. Mr.. Jordan did not say what he
wanted the sheet for, but Deacon over
heard conversation in which Mr.. JOr-
don said the original tally sheets had
better be kept out of the way; that the
Dackworth Club return must be insist
cd upon as the correct one.
Ex-Polieeman Evans, to whom refer
ence is made above. was also examined,
and he testified to gJing 10 the Enquirer
Office and getting ore hundred straight
Democratic tickets from Police Comm 7
NJ l.. uawkins. He carried these tick
cts to precinct Z, Ninth ward, and saw
them placed in the ballot>boX, eighty
Republican and eight Democratic tick
cts being taken out and given to
him. These be threw in the sewer.
Deacon and Evans were the two im-
portant witnessrs of the day. and they
told him their stories i'll convincing
way, spite of The eff jrts of Attorney
John F. Follett 10 break them down on
cross examination. To what did they
swear? That the editor of the organ of
the Democratic party of Ohio had offer
ed to treat a man fair" for stutfiAg the
ballot box with Democratic tickets, and
that be kept his promise through ene of
his henchmen; that Democratic ex-
Congressman and prominent attorney
had paid So to get possession of one of
the records of Hamilton county in order
10 suppress evidence of Democratic
| fraud; that Democratic Police Com
missioner, in the Euqnirer Office, made a
bargain for the stSffing of the ballot box,
and furnished the tickets with which to
do it. They swOre TO these things spe.
cifcally, but their testimony gave
in general way the best account of the
villainy practiced by Democrats at the
polls in Cincinnati last October that has
yet been furnished. This is Democratic
testimony and Democrats cannot repu-
diate it.
We venture te say that not one word
regarding these startling developments
will appear in the st. Clairsville Gazette
or any other Democratic paper of this
region. Why not, Mr. Gazette, pHbish
the testimony taken by this non-partisan
com mittee, so that Democrats may
learn the true inwardness" of the Ham
I . g.. l.. H.