New-York tribune., 1890-08-28
fsY TELEGRAPH TO THE TkrruyE.J

| dulDOllltS tnlS AFTERNOON SIrnck n DlOW at Ino
| Shameless and INSCRIPTIONS Democratic ring that
has dominated and pundered this city for so
many years. Not Mississippi could furnish
a more sensational story Of Democratic outrage
than is furnished by this little city, in the I5t
| District of Maine and the action of the United
| States authorities to-day will bring 10 light
state Of things which would do credit TO the
boldest and sbarpcst manipulators in the Tweed
Ring. The history of Democratic corruption in
| the ten or n dozen years that the party has con-
trolled Biddeford is a long and eventful chapter.
1t is story of packed juries, Of unrestrained
bribery, of intimidation, of repeating at the polls
OF abortiye attempts to get justice in the State
courts, and of indianapolis to United States
authority
The culmination of the conflict with the ring
was reached this afternoon when United States
| Marshal Saunders, OF Portland placed under ar
rest the seven Aldermen of Biddeford, and took
| them to Portland, with several persons detained
| as witnesses on warrant from the United States
| District Court, The Aldermen are charged with
neglecting TO strike from the Biddeford voting
lists the of persons not legally entiticd 10
vote, and with conspiracy in arranging TO place
| Oh tlc lists the names OF persons not legal voters
These illegally natualized men are more than
800 in number, most of them French Canadiana.
and all of them under the influence of the Demo-
cratic ring in Biddeford.
For n number of years the little local munich
pal court in Biddeford has been naturalizlng
aliens The hest lawyers, who knew what
was going on, long ago expressed the opinion
| that this court was not competent court to
exercise such q function under the laws Of the
United States Still the naturaizations went on,
until many hundreds OF aliens. mostly Canadian
French. were made citizens. Many of these aliens
apDed for citizenship of their own votion, and
| went through the forms in good faith and at
| their own expense. Many, however. sought
| naturalization at the instigation of politicians.
| who wanted the votes. In this way the Demo-
cratic ring in this city has perpetuated its power,
drawing upon aliens 10 make good the losses Oh
respectable members Of its party, who have been
going over TO the Republican party or relraln-
Ing altogether from voting.
But about a year ago alien. who had taken
ont his first papers in the municipal court here,
applied to Judge Webb, OF the United States
Court at Portland, for the final papers oil natural
izotion Judge Webb refused the application, de-
Gliding that the preliminary papers were null
and void, since the Bddeford municipal court
was not a comuetent court of naturalization. Al
| this decision the Republicans Of Biddeford. who
have been fighting the ring for years, took cour-
| aoe They knew that a large party OF the aliens
| Illegally naturalized on the voting lists OK
Biddeford. and that they were the Instruments
by which the ring kept in power so lists were
made of these aliens illegally on the voting lists
.bout ZOO of them were found, chiefly French.
and many of them not speaking the English
language Some Republicans were in the NUM-
ber but most Of the Canadians were Democratic.
The Republican City Committee at once petit
toned that these 500 illegal names be stricken
from the voting-lists. According TO the laws Of
l,e.c in bic oif
the control of the Aldermen, and the Aldermen OF
Biddeford were Democratic. When the time came
to correct the lists for the spring municipal cleo
tion The petition of the Republican City Com
mttc was presented to the Democratic Alder
men The only answer the Aldermen gave was:
What are you going TO do about lt?' Not q
name would they strike from the list. lhey dld
not care for the opinion of the United States
Judge more than they did for the opinion OF
corner loafer But meanwhile some of the aliens
had become alarmed, and were hesitatnS about
voting Tor fear OF prosecution
The ring mold control Of Biddleford by from
200 TO 400 votes. If the aliens should not vote,
it might mean the overturning of the ring, access
to the accounts aGa the city treasury, and some
revelations that might make exiles or worse Of
some eminent local Democrats. So the aliens
were gathered in hall, and some of the leaders
of the ring addressed them, promising them i'm
munity from punishment The aliens were told
that if they should be arrested for illegal voting,
all the expenses of their trials would be borne.
Moreover, there is no justice for election crimes
| in Bddeford or in York County. The ring make
cut the jury lists for Bddeford, and only tried
! and true men are sent up rs jurors to the County
| Court at Alfred In period of about ten years
| there has not been drawn from Biddeford single
Republican juryman. gang of repeaters who
operated in Biddcford two three years ago were
caught ard confessed their crime but the jury
of the county disagreed and the repeaters went
tree These facts being duly impressed upon the
aliens, the latter recovered their courage, and
| determined to vote. The Republican City Com
mttce determined to prevent it, and called on
the county for help. The Sheriff of the county
| appointed deputies TO keep order at the polls in
the various ward-rooms Of Biddeford, and to pre-
vent all unauthorized persons from voting. The
| Democratic ring heard of it, and swore in about
| 200 special policemen.
Such scenes rs followed were never before
| seen at Maine election. The special policemen
| arrested every deputy y-shcriff-some of them only
| after hard iights-and locked them up IN the
city stationhouse. Then the voting on the il
legal names went on In order to maintain the
| integrity of the elections, tile Republicans then
secured the arrest and trial of of the illegally
| naturaliZed aliens who had voted. lie happened
TO be Republican, and his became test
case. This case has, in the last year, been passed
upon and decided by the Supreme Court Of the
| State, which declares that the municipal couro
uf iiddeford is not competent 10 naturallze.
With these two decisions behind them, one by
| the United States Court and the other by the
Supreme Court of Maine, the RepuDlicanS mere
| felt that the Aldermen could not refuse 10 strike
the illegal names from the lists: so when the
time came to revise the lists for the approaching
State and Congressional election, petition was
| presented to the Aldermen praying them TO strike
500 aliens from the lists. The Aldermen re-
piled that they had heard OF such
| q petition before and that it was chestnut"
They not only refused TO strike the names from
the lists, hut they proceeded to repeat the tactics
of the spring election ana assured 'ne i aehs 'hae
hind hin any one who should be arrested for illegal
Voting. This action of the Aldermen was in
| direct violation of the United States Statutes;
hnt the ring profcsscd to care as little for the