The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-01-07
THOEBE'S UPHILL FIGHT.
uyv HOUSE COMMITTEE TAKES NO
STOCK IN HIS STORY.


PARTY to the Alleged Fraud.
1v,surNGToN. Jan. 5.--rhere was a full
.o+inc of the House Committee on Elec-
ions today to agree upon the line of pro
..5,ra on the Thoebe-Carlisle contested
.,o.+ion case. The contestant, Mr.. Thoebe
,,os nresent with his counsel, Messrs. Sypher
E Hoover of this city. No one formally
rorresented Speaker Carlisle. Mr.. Sypher
bspan the presentation of Mr.. Thoebes
case Immediately after the Committee
b.d been called to order, taking
,ba first brief already submitted
With tbe record, which assumes as the basis
oftba case that the State Election Laws
wore violated in the appointment of the
.,doee Of election. This infraction of the
I'M he asserted, was sufficient to warrant
savorable consideration of Mr.. Thoebe'S
Linn but if the committee did not agree in
This view he was prepared to present
evidence to satisfy them Of his clients cleo
lion The record alone he said would not
reveal the facts in the case, and 1t was the
dntv of the committee to at once send
committee to the district to ascertain the
facts while it could be done.
DENTRI OF IAIEES1 0hAIlbbbs
Already important papers had been de-
sroved, as he was prepared to prove by atfi-
Javits Taking up details of tie case, Mr..
srnbers said that on the night Of the cleo
ron II became apparent to the judges of
election at Covngton that Mr.. Carlisle had
been defeated by more than 1000 votes. AT
o'clock they sent for Mr.. Carlisle and
brouoht him in carriage to the
bonse of friend. He (Ar. Sypher),
could give the name of the friend and the
location Of the house, but he would not do
sounless the committee urged him, as he
did NOT wish to state all he knew at this
stage of the case. After consulting with Mr..
Carlisle they telegraphed to have the re-
Turns of the outside counties withheld.
WHO are 'theyp inquired Mr.. Heard.
"TheyN why friends of Mr. Carlisle"
replied Sypher.
ALLEGED WITHHOLDING OF RETURNS.
The counsel said that it was fact that
the returns of six outlying counties were
withheld for five days, and that Mr.. Car
Isle had publicly confessed that be was de-
eated
"You do not attach much importance to
this pointm suggested Mr. Heard.
NO | just mention it," replied Mr.
Sypher
said Mr. Heard.
"Yes. replied Mr.. Sypher, land think
be ought to have stuck to it"
The counsel said that in seven of the eight
precincts of Carroll county the poll books
were written, signed and certified as to all
the names in one handwriting, and it was
evident that all Of them must have been
written after the election by one man as he
could not have been in all precincts at once
oIo Il IL raod 40 off ayyit
Of John J. Pierce, in support of his state
ments. In this paper Mr.. Pierce tells that
the signatures on the poll books were in one
hand, "a peculiar hand" while the sigma
lures of the election officers to their oaths
were in different handwritings.
FAILED THROUGH NEGLECT.
The counsel said that Mr. Carlisle had
failed of election through neglect. In some
precincts no tickets were printed until )
o'clock, and there was virtually no election
held IN some precincts In one case only
three Judges voted, two for Carlisle and
one for ThOebe In Boone county 200 votes
were cast on election day, but the returns
finally showed 567 votes. In Carroll coun-
ty there was practically 10 election. He
could show that voters had failed to go to
the polls on election day, but
when they found that Mr. Carlisle
D'VL ASltdltu uu6J NOutu blit llcAl uol
Not only was this the case in Carroll
county, but also in every one of the outly
ing counties. The counsel quoted from the
statement of j. j. Blakely, who was, he
said, a prominent Democrat and an attor-
ney OF CovingtOn, to the effect that twenty
iour names appeared to have been added to
enc OF the poll books after the signatures of
Inc judges had been affixed. The counsel
yaen said he would state something which
ne nad no affidavits to support, but which
could be proved by witnesses.
A BOLD STATEMENT.
Alter the election seven of Mr.. Carlisle's
friends met in conference at the Federal
mulldlng to endeavor to save Mr.. Carlisle.
lhey sent for an eighth gentleman-a
prominent and honorable gentlanan-Col.
T. W. Nelson. They told him that Mr..
IafIisle had been defeated, and they wanted
lln to confer with them to devise some
G1 meaiis OF changing the result. Thereupon
Iol. Nelson took his hat and left, declaring
sn,t snaC II they were up to anything of that
"lI tney must count him out.
Mr Carlisle dare not contradict this
fentleman," said Mr.. Sypher. HE is a
tpemocrat and Kentucky gentleman of as
Dlgh standing a Mr.. Carlisle
q ne counsel next took up an affidavit by
,yue contestant to the effect that Mr. Car
n nsle friends had corrupted his (Thoebe's)
oVyorhey, and induced him to abandon the
o ose ana suppress the testimony. In the
0uIs9 OF a statement of the trans
sclIon Mr.. Sypher said that they had given
,ae ,a name Of a man who had purchased At
ttoluey wood, and if their informant told the
ii.i iGqtli mat man was a relative of Mr.. Car
SSto tSie Ihe price named for Wood was
'''0' lie sold cheap" added the counsel.
CARLISLE CHALLENGED.
touching Mr. Carlisle's refusal to join
@ r,n III taking testimony, Mr.. Sypher re-
va naTAed; He did not dare meet me ;he dare
W. wv now 90 into that district and take testi-
So9y. So9y. Mr. Thoebe's affidavit was next
i' Where he accuses Mr. Wood of delay
biSs, Vl,e ne taking of testimony and with telling
IN iA IhT. Ihoebe) that there might be money
Si.3 ~ Tor both of them If he would
do'1p dorn d" the contest. Mr.. Sypher
5aIeu ev;saeu that there was enough
mi.to i.tence IN his brief to warrant the com
bini. bige III seating his client, but if it did not
cont lA So certainly there was ut least sufli-
i lNny co,g ground for the re-opening of the case.
nonjuIu eguiu De done in three ways-frst, by "A
eesoal soial committee, as in the Butterworth
as +, second by re-opening the case de noUo
6o II ms MIR Sypher's) Louisiana contest in
ann,r third Congress, and third, by
A'ioiilhg witnesses here to testify
r CARLTsLE's RANK
ba ne ~ speaker of the House he said, was
mt ,ulrd officer in rank in this country,
seat u wa, was not big enough to occupy That
4 Dar,aupoIi fraudulent title, nor was the
| Tain G;rGlc GGtraGlc party strong enough to main
4 Is H. I'm IN IN that position. "If Mr.. Carlisle
So honest man | think he is - said Mr.