The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-01-26
TWO NEW COUNTIES.
An Agreement to Cut Lincoln
Into Three Pieces.
BIG BEND AND GRANT CREATED.
Spokane Wants the School of Science
Little Chance for McCarty in
the Contest.


OLYMPIA, Jan. ae.-Tspecial. The fight
for the division of Lincoln county
has resulted in an agreement by the
Lincoln delegation that the county
shall be divided into three new counties,
Lincoln, Big Bend and Grant. The county
Is 10 be divided by north and south line,
and the new western territory called Big
Bend. The remainder is then to be divid-
ed by an east and west line and the nor
thern half called Grant and the southern
will remain Lincoln, with Sprague as the
county seat. This threeiold division is the
result of a bitter jealousy that has for
years existed between Davenport and
Sprague as to the county seat, beginning
as long ago as 1884, when Representative
Hutchinson and seventy armed men pre-
vented the removal of the county seat from
Davenport to Sprague, holding the keys to
the courthouse for twenty-eight days.
Every election since has been influenced
more or less by the bitter local feeling and
on that account it was first proposed to cut
oft Big Bend county and leave both
fighting towns in the old, and .
bill to that effect was introduced The
present arrangement will leave Sprague
county seat of Lincoln, Davenport of
Grant, and Wilbur of Big Bend The
effect of the division will be to increase
Republican representation, inasmuch as
Big Bend and Grant are strongly Repub-
Hcan and Lincoln Democratic The old
county nearly always returns one or more
Democratic representatives. Representa-
tive Hutchinson's home is in the proposed
Grant county, which is heavily Repub-
ican, while he is Democrat Lincoln
county will contain about 1900 people,
Grant =, 800 and Big Bend 100.
The House committee on railroads will
meet tomorrow to consider railroad bills.
of which there are seven now before il.
Speaking of proposed railroad legislation,
Representative Hutchinson today said:
81 am in receipt of many letters from Eastern
Washington urging me to secure effective lesis-
lation. The president of Lincoln county Farm
ers' Alliance writes me to secure beneficial laws
or none at all, and We will fight 1t out at the
polls next election. Two grain crops are to be
moved between now and the fall of 1892, and
farmers will have ample opportunity to see
whether such laws as are passed are good or
not II not, can safely promise you that the
next governor and congressman of Washington
will be Democrats"
The MISUNDERSTANDING contested cleo
ton case comes up at o'clock tomorrow
on special order in the Senate A great
deal of interest has been manifested in the
case, particularly in view of the fact that
MaCarty proposes to make another hard
fight to retain his seat The disposition
among Republican members is to accept
the report of the committee as made, and
not to go extensively into the merits of the
case anew. Representatives Goldman and
Snively, who have been retained by Nc
Carly to present his case, will probably
find trouble in securing hearing before
the Senate, inasmuch as the unanimous
consent of members will be required to
give them the privileges of the floor 1t is
certain that some Republican will object.
Senator Forrest, talking of the matter,
today said:
"For one shall regard the report of the com.
mlttee as settling the question. | do not think
there is sufficient excuse for the Senate to go be-
hind the recommendation of the committee
The committee comprises two Republicans and
one Democrat, and the fact that the report was
unanimous is to my mind an unmistakable in
dlcation that their conclusion was arrived at
fairly and impartially. ! understand the Demo
Gratis have been consulting on the matter, and
they have decided that they can do nothing, in
asmueh as Mr.. McCroskey, the Democratic men,
Der of the committee, will not stand with them
The report of the committee gave mere outline
OF the facts OF the case and was perhaps not sufi
Gent to give very clear idea of the evidence and
the circumstances that Influenced the decision
of the committee. The committee omitted one
precinct entirely, because there was indisputabe
evidence OF fraud in that precinct. 1t was estab-
lished that n number of Illegal votes were cast
therein and it was proven that ar least a part of
them were for MeCarty, while there was not a
scintilla of evidence TO show that any of them
were cast for Richards Ii could not be def
nitely determined just how many of these illegal
votes there were, aud there was no recourse left
the committee but 10 omit the entire poll They
had numerous presidents for such action,
which was, under the circumstances, unavoid-
able ] do not think there lie the slightest qnes-
ton but that the finding of the committee was
legally and equitably correct, and believe il is
entitled 10 be so regarded by all senator's"
Another normal school bin came in this
morning from Megler of Wahkiakum. 1t
is proposed TO establish a school at Cath
lamet, which offers suitable grounds The
bill is similar in its provisions 10 other
normal school measures, appointing a
commission, consisting OF the governor.
superintendent of public instruction and
secretary of state, to select the site, ap-