The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-04-13

son that their good sense told them
that it would be better for the country to
let the wrong go through than bring the
right by force of arms. The public con-
science, however, was corrupted by that
transaction and since then it has been
easier to steal elections than formerly Re-
turning boards do not hesitate as formerly
to throw out returns when it becomes nee
essary to elect their friends, and Congress
does not even blush when it violates law
and decency and reverses the popular will
TO help the party in control. During the
present session the Republican majority in
the House has seated number of contest
ants whose right to the places could not be
maintained in any court of justice. The
claimants were defeated at the polls, and
therefore ought never to have been heard
but their party being in control they pre-
sented themselves not with certificates of
election, but with credentials showing that
they were active and loyal Republicans,
and in every instance except one, we be-
lieye, has the contestant been seated, no
matter how flimsy or how lacking in merit
was his claim.
The immortality goes into the Senate, so
many members of which purchased their
seats for cash, and there brazenly asserts
itself. The partisanship which there goes
to the length of defying law as well as
right and justice can be nothing else than
dangerous to the permanency of the gov
ernment, for the people learn from
example and are quick to adopt
+ba ruavc IF oeScio1 ,r-,,on,r doors pbo Do
publican majority in the Senate is about to
outrage decency and law, and set another
example of partisanism setting aside and
defying the popular viii, by seating two
men in that chamber who were not elected,
and depriving two who were duly chosen
of their right to the places. 1t is of little
concern to the people of the nation whether
two Republicans or two Democrats shall
sit in the Senate from Montana, but it is
of very great concern that the men en-
titled to the seats be not turned away The
Louisville Courier Journal has the clearest
and altogether best statement of the Mon
tana case that we have seen, the writer
combining himself to the facts as they ap-
pear in the record or are generally known
AT this time, often as the story has been
told, the brief tale will be interesting:
The whole Montana controversy turned upon
the vote of one precinct, known as tunnel
precinct, No. 81, in Silver Bow county. 1t has
been spoken of as a remote voting place, away
up in the Rocky mountains; in fact, it is but
nine miles from the city of Butte, the most pop
ulous town in Montana, having railroad commu-
nication with it for part of the way. The cleo
10
after registration which was completed long
before the election. This registration was
made by Republican official, and it was his
duty to enter no ones name on the list
until his right to vote, was fully established.
There were 1872 votes registered. The election
was held on Tuesday, the 1st day of October.
1889. There were three judges of election-two
Republicans and one Democrat. Ballots were
cast by ia voters, all of whom had been duly
registered. The election was peaceable, with
out any suggestion of Intimidation or bribery,
The votes for the Democratic candidates ranged
from 1853 to 172. and for the Republicans from 9
to g. The vote is ussallys tated as III to 3, as
the result OF rough average.
The county canvasserS of Silver Bow county
met on Friday, October II, and made an alb
stract of the vote of all the precincts in the
county, No. 81 included. This gave the county
to the Democrats, electing the five Democratic
members of the legislature, whose right to
seats was afterward disputed. The board con-
tnued its work on Saturday and adjourned
over to Monday. BY this time it has been as
certained at Helena, the capital of the terri
| tory, that the control of the legislature de-
pended upon the vote of Silver Bow county
and that the rejection of precinct No. 81 would
give the county to the Republicans L
IL,
islature would be Republican; If not, it would
be Democratic. This discovery led TO the for
nation of plot to steal the state. Many Of
the Republicans held back from the conspir-
acy at first, but numbers of them were subse
Quently whipped in. There was no authority
existing any where to reject this precinct under
the law. as was subsequently iudicially deter
mined; but the Republicans had the state
board of canvasSers and a majority of the
county board of Silver Bow. Stated briefly
the plan was that these boards should make
false statements as to the vote of Silver Bow
county. These falsehoods would be as good as
the truth if the judiciary did not interfere anC
| this contingency was also considered.
| On Monday, October 12, lawyers from Helena
went TO Butte and appeared before the county
board of canvassers. They attacked the return.
from No. 81 on various technical grounds, none
of which had any equity in them. Brides were
offered to the officers of the election to induce
them to give testimony to impeach the fairness
of the vote, but they resisted the temptation
The county board had not authority to throw
out the precinct, but a majority usurped tn,
power, and did il. A mandamus was aslle(
from judge to compel them to count No 81
and upon hearing it was granted Pendin,
the proceeding, petition was circulated askin.
the President to remove the judge, who was ;
Democrat, and appoint Republican in his place
This was not done but the end desired wa
reached in another way. An appeal from tn,
decision was prayed, and before the appea
could be heard Montana was admitted as ;
state, which turned all the territorial Judges
out of office, and put an end to the case il
court
The state board of canvassers held their las
meeting on November 4, and counted the vot,
of Silver Bow county, except the Tunnel pre-
cinct, although they certified that they had n,
returns from that county, and although tn,
mandamus of the court ordering the countin.
of No. 81 was before them. On the same day
they made the other certificates necessary t,
the admission Of the state. On the Sth of No
vember, before any official documents from thi
board had time to reach washington, Mr.. HAIR
RlSoN issued his proclamation admitting Mon
tana into the union.
The main points of the case are her
stated without unnecessary words TIL,
precinct was thrown out because it wa
necessary to do so in order to gain tn,
Senatorship for the Republicans, and the r,
publicans being in power and having con
troll of the machinery they did not hesitat,
to impudently take advantage of the stu
alton, and in spite of the law, knowing tn
enormity of the crime they were commit
ting, and realizing that they were de
priving the citizens of sovereign state o