The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1889-01-12
COMPLETE.
The Legal Steps in the Guber-
Material Contest.
NOTICE SERVED ON GoFF.
Ten Hundred and Forty
Two Illegal Votes
Contested.
DEMOCRATIC COUNSEL CONFIDENT
That the Final Result Will Prove the
Truth Of Judge Fleming's Election
Their Case Is Unanswera.
ble-The Situation at
Charleston.
Special to the Register.

/ CLARKsBURG, W. Va, January g.
Attorneys for Judge Fleming served
the notice of the gubernatorial con.
test on Golf in person here to-day.
The notice was served by Hon. j. W,
St. Clair and includes a complete
statement of the Democratic case.
The contestant relies solely upon the
rejection of illegal and fraudulent
votes, and does not make a single
technical specification. The notice
charges that 1,042 illegal votes were
cast for Golf, and names each person
casting a fraudulent ballot, and out
lines the sources Of proof by which
it is expected to make the statement
good. The great majority of these
illegal ballots were cast by colored
repeaters in Kanawha, Mercer, Nc
Dowell and Fayette counties. These
men were natives of Virginia, but
were brought to the polls in thinly
populated districts and voted by the
score A considerable number of
fraudulent ballots, it is also charged
in the notice, were polled in Mineral
county.
In addition to these, the notice
further alleges that nineteen legal
Democratic votes were thrown out
in various counties, and charges that
this was done through fraud and
conspiracy in General COTS interest.
Lack of time prevented a full inves-
tigation of the gross electoral out
RACES committed by the Republican
managers in the Third Congressional
district, but the counsel for Judge
Fleming are confident that incontro-
vertible evidence has been secured
to clearly establish his right to the
seat. 1t is expected to prove by
competent witnesses that every one
of the ], 042 men named in the notice
voted illegally and voted for General
Golf.
The representative of the Register
met one of the Democratic counsel
to-day, and in response to an inquiry
he expressed the utmost confidence
that the result of the legal proceed
ings would establish Judge Elem
ing's election beyond the shadow of
doubt. He said: ave would not
have entered into this contest unless
we believed that we could make a
complete and unanswerable case.
Grave suspicious of fraud were en-
tertained, and we determined to sift
them to the bottom. The result was
startling, even to us. The investi-
cation was pursued and it has re-
suited in this notice to-day. 1t does
not include more than one-half of
the cases in which fraudulent votes
were cast for the Republican ticket.
There was great difficulty in secur-
ing competent testimony to establish
fraud, but in each of these 1,O42
cases, on which the contest is based,
we have complete chain of evidence
and will establish all we charge.
'The attorneys for the contestant
in this matter have good reason to
believe that the people of West Vir-
ginia are with them. Our honest
voters do not desire that any man
shall take seat obtained by fraud
or corruption. They want the right
clearly established, and that is ex-
actly what We propose to do in this
case. II Gen. Golf is able to refute
the facts upon which our contest is
based, we will willingly concede his
election, but until he does do so we
claim that Judge Fleming is the
fairly chosen Governor of the State"