Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1890-10-17

l94 ballots without making a nomination,
but on the l95th, the third ballot cast that
afternoon, Mr.. Mcdowell received enough
votes to nominate him, i. e., his own
eleven and Browns four, fourteen of Jack
sons and three of Townsend making thir-
ty tx o in all.
The Beaver men suspected Immediately
that their MEN had been bought, but they
acouiesced and the nomination was made
unanimous and Mr.. Mcdowell was de-
clared the regular nominee of the 25th dis
trict for Congress.
Then all went home and the matter was
talked over. In Beaver county the loose
talk of one of the purchased delegates and
his having more money than usual con-
firmed former suspicious United states
Marshal Harrah undertook to discover just
how much the delegates had been paid, and
he did it. Taking couple of men with
him. he drove out to one of the delegates
homes. routed him ont Of bed at midnight
and scared him into confession; then fol-
lowed the confessions and admissions OF
the others, and Tate's affidavit making
clean breast of the whole matter, and this
was followed by the publication OF 1t, and
the public knew it all.
What fo,loweda Major Mcdowell
promptly announced that the money used
was not his; that he had nothing to do with
the bribery, and that he was caniidate
till the polls closed in November. The
Republican politicians of Beaver county
talked this matter over and perhaps acting
as much in spirit of revenge as in the
| interest of "clean politics, resolved to repu-
| date this nomination, and they called their
county committee together and did it.
| The people of Butler county read these
| confessions, the truth of which could not
be doubted; our indignation was aroused;
we called our county committee together
and, after hearing what Messrs. Mcdowell
and Miller had to say, and answering
them, repudiated nomination brought
| about by bribery. But in our action there
was no revenge and no resentment, except
1 against the crime committed. Our
county committee is an anti-Quay one and
the sympathies ofthe people here were more
with those of Mercer than with Beaver
county, because the latter county had mis-
treated our candidate.
We acted on principle alone. We abide
| by our decision, and that is the reason Mr.
Mcdowell to-day finds it practically I'M
possible to make an impression in Butler
county.
Mercer county called her county COM
| mittee together, and the committee, led
by Sam Miller, took the stand that unless
the bribery could be traced to Mr.. Nc
| Dowel they would stand by him. That
was a deplorable stand to take, for no
matter whether Mr.. Mcdowell had any
thing to do with the bribery or not, that
action was setting a premium on success
ful rascality.
The Lawrence County Committe met
and divided, and is divided to-day. Col.
| Jackson's course is the mystery of this
| affair.
| All the county committees appointed
delegates to an Investigation committee,
| which met and which was virtually made
| q barlesque of by the Mercer and Lawrence
| county members, and then Butler, Beaver
and part of Lawrence county went ahead
| and made new nomination.
That is a brief statement Of the case,
and what is Mr.. McDowelTs answer to It'll
| First, That he had nothing to do with
the bribery, and that the money used was
not his money. The reply to that is. that
| nobody says he had, or that 1t was his
IN oney; but his being determined TO hold
| a purchased nomination indicates lack Of
principle that units him for the respon-
| sible office to which he aspires Again, II
| this bribery could be traced to him nobody
would ask him to throw up this nomi-
| nation, he would be glad to do that to
| escape crimina! prosecution, and again, no
| honest man would retain bribed noml-
nation, and his course naturally creates
suspicion.
In addition to this it is known that he
expected to be nominated on that par
| ticular ballot. He walked from the hotel
to the convention that afternoon with Hon.
J. C. Brown, of Greenville, and induced
| him to give him the votes of his delegates
for the third ballot of that afternoon. Mr..
| Browns testimony to that effect is as follows:
JANIS C. BROWNS TESTIMONY.
A. live in Greenville, Mercer county,
Pa. was one of the candidates before
the late Republican Congressional Confer
| ence for the 25th District of Pennsylvania,
| held at New Castle, Pa, and remained
| candidate up till the close of the confer
| ence.
a few minutes before the afternoon ses-
| sion of the conference was called to order
on the 3rd of July, 1890, Alexander Nc
| Dowell, who was also candidate before
| the conference, from Mercer county, told
me that he had a fighting chance TO secure
| the nomination on the 3rd ballot after the
| conference was called to order that after
noon, and of course desired the full vote of
the Mercer county delegation. / immedi-
ately went to some of my delegates and
| told them what Mcdowell had said, and
| told them to tell the others and requested
| them all to vote for him on the 3rd ballot
that afternoon, and they all voted for him
on the 3rd ballot, as requested; that prov
ed to be the final ballot of the conference.
@. Did Mcdowell indicate the impor
tsnce of securing the full delegation from
Mercer county, and accompanying his re-
quest with any remark indicating his pur-
pose in case Of failure on that ballot!
A. He said, "If fail to make it on that
ballot the thing may 60 to the devil.
will make no further effort to be nominal
ed"
Q. How, Mr.. Brown, do you come to
give this testimony
A. Ia response TO subpoena from Col.
Sullivan, the Chairman of the Congress
ionnl Committee of the 25th Congressional
District.
0. Did you, Mr. Brown, in any way in
dorse the nomination of Mcdowell at the
close of the conferencei
A. I did heartily indorse tho nomi-
nation at the close Of the conference, sup
posing at the time that it had been accom-
plished fairly and without fraud and had
not thought of anything else than to sup
port the nomination heartily until the
evidence of fraud and bribery was made
public.
@. Have you since, at a public meet
ing of the County Committee of Mercer
county, expressed to the Committee your
belief that if the nomination of Mcdowell
was made by bribery it was invalidl
A. did so express myself before the
County Committee Of Mercer county when
the question was being discussed and have
not changed my opinion since.
Second He Gays there was no bribery;
that this whole thing was a scheme of
M..4b..,, C.oulov Ovo,, e.. lraan III nf