The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-02-07
Ohio Ballot Box Forgery.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6.-The House COM
mittee on the ballot box forgery this morn
ing called Senator John Sherman as the
first witness He was shown exhibit "A''
and declared that he never signed it. He
saw it first when it was sent to him in No
yember by Halstead. The signature was
a CODY of his rubber franking stamp, and
not an imitation of his signature. Witness
never heard or knew of the ballot box con-
Stract and never heard of the Campbell bill
before Governor Foraker's music hall
speech.
Murat Halstead, editor of the Cincin-
natl Commercials Gazette, testified that when
he published Governor Campbell's sigma
ture he cut off from the Photographic copy
of the paper the signatures below Camp
bells. Witness told how he got hold of the
paper, of his talks with Governor Foraker
and others about it, and how it was thought
advisable to use it in the cam
paign. The witness did not see any
room for questioning the genuineness
of the paper He told Foraker it was
necessary to use the paper, or part OF 1t,
and that he felt so eXasperated at the Idea
Of Sherman. Butterworth and Mckinley
ANing in with John Mclean In SUCH mat
ter that he felt tempted to explode 1t under
them. 1t was something, more than policy /;
it was almost public duty, but Campbell
was the only one before the people
as candidate for public office and
therefore it might be proper to use only
his name. Another reason Tor cutting on
all the names but Campbell's was that
Sunset Cox, whose name was among the
forgeries, had just died and the witness
felt convinced of the genulneness OF the
signatures. Halstead's theory OF the
forgery was that it was never intended OF
expected to harm anybody. The motive
originally was Woods extreme anxiety to
get the smoke inspectorship. 1t was pre-
posterous to suppose that Governor
Foraker thought there was anything
fraudulent about it. There was cloud OF
witnesses and the lawyer who drew up the
contract The witnesses wondered now
that they did not come down and deny II
the day after the publication. Undoubt-
eddy Wood put Senator Shernan's name on
it To make it impossible for Foraker tc
use the paper After publication the wit
ness was staggered TO see Senator Sher-
mans declaration that the paper was lie
But he assumed that Sherman was ex
tremely unlikely to have signed paper
knowing what it was Thirty years age
Sherman lost the speakership by signing
in that way the compendium of the helper
book.
Mr.. Halstead placed at the disposal o
the committee his private letters to Gov
.ernor Foraker and said that some of then
were conclusive evidence that both himsel
ness of the paper. Cogswen asked VIII,
the witness did not verify the character o
the paper by Sherman and Butterworth
He replied that Butterworth was not L
the country or had just returned. Sher
man was in Washington. He recalled tn
saving that ''you could get member o
Congress to sign a petition to get himsel
hanged" 1t was not pleasant to put tin
ger on a sore spot like that; 1t was not HI
particular part to go scratching it JUS
there The Republican party was force
by circumstances beyond his control, so h
did not consult the signers. He admitte
that they could not draw Campbell out a
they tried to do. 1.-The fact ISL said he
che turned out more difficult person tina
we thought
Turner then said: ''If the governor ba
succeeded in getting Campbell into a CO..
ner, you would stand ct the mead OF th
cannon and touch it of ~
H4lstead: mo, sir. did not intend
stand at the head Of The cannon. but q
there" GGreat laughter. Continuin:
7 Halstead said there was supposed to /
some feeling between Senator Sherma
and Governor Foraker, growing out {
events at the Chicago convention OH
contained more than her snare oil On
tinguished men, ard there was necessalll
friction where they were SO crowded. tn
delicate relations existing between She
man aud Foraker made IL highly ne,
pedient TO allow it TO get OUT throug
Foraker's agency that he reflected c
the Senate, as it would have been fatal
the party. The witness had not relied {
Wood 5 word regarding the paper, but WI
guided by the internal evidence of Il
paper, a document far beyond Woods abb
ity TO produce. He believed from the .
ginning that Foraker had been fooled as
had himself. Witness never contemplate
aTivalry for the senatorship between hil
1911 In nd
known of great calamities Detailing publ
men. and he be ieved that il these men h;
signed thai paper they should be struc
Adjourned.