St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-10-29
NO REGARD FOR LAW
The Wealthy and Powerful
Client of Senator Davis
Moves.
Voters Of Ely to Vote at the
Offices of Their En-
ployers.
UnWarPanted and Illegal Ac-
ton Of the Council Of
That City,
But Something Had to Be
Done to Save Votes for
Davis.

oo
of party, demand that the great corpora
tions of the state shall keep their hands
out of politics.
The passage of the Australian election
law was demanded by the people for
this very purpose.
But there is one corporation in this
state that has given notice already that
1T does not propose to be governed by
either the new ballot law or any other
law that is not perfectly satisfactory to
it. This is the great Minnesota Iron
company. which has made preparations
to vote its 5000 employees upon a plan
as nearly as possible like the scheme
followed in years past.
The utter disregard of law by this
corporation was shown at a meeting of
the council of the city of Ely on the
evening of Oct. IL, at which the three
wards of the city were divided into six
voting precincts. although at neither of
the old ward precincts had there ever
been 400 votes cast in any election and
would not have been this year had they
remained unchanged unless many men
vote at least twice. The change, how
Democrats, Register Today.
ever, is entirely contrary to law and the
candidates defeated'by the votes cast in
Ely will have grounds for contest that
will nSure success.
The laws of this state distinctly state
that no such change can be made later
than six weeks before the election. The
law upon this point is found in section
2 of chapter 4 of the General Laws of
Minnesota of 1891, and follows:
And whenever any such election dis
trict is found, by the number of votes
there cast at any election, to contain
more than 400 votes. it shall be the duty
of the supervisors of the town, OF of the
common council. village, borough or
municipal corporation of the city or
village, to cause such district, at least
six weeks before the next ensuing gen.
eral, town or city election. to be divided
into two or more districts, each contain
ing as nearly as may be an equal num-
Der of voters"
This division is wholly illegal, and
was passed in spite of the protests of
several prominent citizens, and for the
purpose of having several precincts in
which the election officers will all be
not only Republicans, but also Repub-
licans of the Capt. Joe Sellw0od stamp.
There are honest and fair Republicans
in Ely, as in every other town, but they
are never placed on election boards in
the districts controlled" by Capt. Joe
SellwoOd.
On Oct. 3 last the city council of Ely
held a meeting at which the members
received and acted upon a petition re-
Democrats, Register Today.
queSting the appointment of one Demo-
cratic judge IN each precinct. This
petition was granted, as will be seen
from the following quotation from the
official proceedings as published in the
LEGAL paper:
COUNCIL PROCEEDING S.
ELY, Mimi. Oct. 4, 1892.
The city council met in regular session at
the city hall Monday evening, Oct. 3, 1892.
and was called to order at SIS by Mayor
Pengilly.
Present were Aid. Gilbert, Bateman, Frieds-
berg. Williams and Dumont.
On motion the petition of Edward d.
Brown TO have II. Van Blarcom, +. F. Mead
and D.. Brown appointed to act as judges to
represent the Democratic party at the gen,
eral election to be held on Nov. s was
granted.
This was evidently a new departure
and not at all satisfactory to the pow
erS that be" in that neck of the woods,
for eight days later a special meeting
was called to fix out matters. The
story of the manne in which this sub
servient council mapped out things so
as to leave the Democrats unrepresented
IN several precincts is told by an OBJ
serve as follows:
'E. ID. Brown petitioned the conncil
Or Oct. 3 TO have IL. Van Blarcom APP
pointed judge of the election for Ward
No. 1, E. F. Mead for Ward No. 2, and
David Bro yD for Ward No. 3, which
you will see by council proceedings of
that date Oct. 81. They acted upon and
accepted the petition, and on Oct. IL
they divided the three wards iii six
polling precincts only twenty-eight
Dave Brown, whom they had accepted
the week before. We will be able to
get Democratic judges in four of the
precincts, II not five, but there will be
one or two of the precincts not repre-
sented. Their action in dividing the
wards and appointing the judges the
same night does not have a fair
business look to say the least,
Now they cannot divide the ward
twenty-eight days before the election
when the law says it must be done at
least SIX weeks before. There is moth
ing 10 show their action vas necessary,
as Ward No. 1 in 1891 polled 243 votes,
and the other two wards fell something
below 200 each. At the city election
last spring, or 1892. there were only So
votes polled in the whole city. The
highest wa Ward No. l-26 votes. at
the coming election Ward No. l would
poll over 300 votes, and the Other
two wards $50 each, making a fair esti-
mate.
Democrats, REGISTER Today.
But the object of the division made at
the meeting on Oct. II is shown in the
designation of the polling places. Here
is the list:
The polling place of the First district
of the Second ward will be the office of
the Chandler Iron company.
The voters of the Second precinct of
the same ward are to vote at the No. 4
shaft house of the Chandler from COM
pany.
The polling place of the Second pre-
cincto of the Third ward is to be the en-
CINE house at the Pioneer mine.
The Chandler Iron Company is a part
of the Minnesota Iron company, it will
be remembered.
Does it look right for three out of six
places in Ely to be in offices of
the great corporation of which a mem
Der of the Republican state central com |
Capt. Joe Sellwood, is a mem
ber?.
The proceedings of the council meet
ing of Oct. IL follow:
Council Proceedings.
ELY, Mimi. Oct. II, 1892.
A special meeting of the city council was
held in the city hall Tuesday evening. Oct. II, |
1897, for the purpose of designating the cleo |
ton districts and appointing judges of cleo |
ton for the different voting districts.
Present were Mayor fengilly, Aid. Bate
man. Friedsberg, Williams and Dumont
The council proceeded to the the buiness
of the meeting.
Aid. Bateman offered the following resolu-
ton. which was adopted:
Resolved. That the First ward IN the city
of Ely be divided into two voting precincts
for the purposes of election to be held Nov.
S. 1892.