Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1889-10-19
THERE WERE NO FRAUDS
A Man Who Knows Tells of
the Election at Tun-
mel Precinct.
He Suggests a Feasible Plan
for Disproving False
Affidavits.

From Fridays Daily.
One Of the voters who cast his ballot al
the Tunnel precinct in the late election wal
in the city yesterday. Reference lie mad,
TO John McEvoy. He has been q resident
of Montana for tw~enty-three years, and
in his time has done a goodly share in tht
work Of railroad construction in the terri
tory. At present Mr.. McEvoy is a for,
man under Keefe & Gallagher, sub con
tractors for Keefe. Green & Barbour, gen
eral contractors for the Northern Pacific
read. His gang is only one OF eleven gangs
engaged in railroad work, and his scene oil
operations ID two miles this side OF the
tunnel. When asked what he knew about
the allegations that there was fraud prac.
tised at the Tunnel. polling place Mr.. Nc.
Evoy said:
"0nly four Of the sixty men in my camp
wanted to vote and only that four left their
work to do so. The others are Italians
and only one Of them had q vote and he
would not leave his work. Thefour men who
did go to the polls we're docked a half day
each Tor lost time. I tool half a day off to
60 to the polls and lost q half days pay
in consequence. / know hat all the men
who lost time by registering themselves
were charged for that time. and that all
those who lost time in voting were charged
for that. too.
II was at the polls q long time during the
day and asked many Of the voters what
ticket they had cast. In every instance the
reply a Straight and when l asked
Straight what?' they replied that their
tickets had been cast straight for the DEM
ocrat c candidates. I told some Of them
iokingly, after they had voted,
that they were good for their
time and pointed out to them that
Mr.. Keefe OF the firm OF Keefs. Green &
Barbour-and who, by the way, is related
neither in blood nor business to Mr.. Keefe
OF Keeie & Gallagher-was a black Republic
can. and q candidate in Lewis and Clarke
The men replied that Mr.. Keefe
might be their boss in business but he
could not control their votes.
II know that there wal not an attempt
"du0 v nAuOuCO uuO pOt0OA6 uy uudu WIZ
voted there that day. Having been rail- |
road contracting so long in this part OF the /
country, ! know hundreds Of the laboring
men engaged on the work. I met scores
that / knew at the polls that day and I
have seen them since and I know that they |
are mad at the thought of being disfran-
/ could get more than q hundred |
stop work and lose q days pay for the
chance OF coming here to testify how they |
voted-to swear in their votes.
"All OF the men who voted at the tunnel
are intelligent men. They needed no in
struction as to how to prepare their hal
lots, and certainly they knew for whom
wanted to vote. Furthermore tn y
are qualified voters. / am satisfied that
the Democratic majority there was due az
much to Magipnis's popularity as any
thing else. The men knew of him as o man
who had done a great deal for the terri.
tory and who would do more il he was
1--WE hate to be cheated out OF our votes
hate to be cheated put of them. The
men are all eager to be given a chance to
tell under oath for whom they voted.
They are willing to tell, and their state
ments would settle the whole controversy.
.eefe q Gallagher have volunteered to
top work long enough to enable the men
20 come here and testify, and will use their
to bring them here. I hope that the
,ffer may be accepted"
Mr.. McEvoy had come up especially on
In errand from the disfranchised working
men to see II they could not go in a body
before a justice OF the peace and make afi-
to the vote they cast, or in some
way assert their rights as American free.
men. q