Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1894-11-12
DONA ANA FRAUDS.
High Handed Proceedings by Repub
leans in Trying to Save
Their Nominees.

says the Las Cruises Misrepresentation
ocrat
1t was the open boast of the Republi-
cans that they had plenty of money and
would buy the election if it cost them $15
Il vote. The Democrats had spent all
their money campaigning, and had none
left on election day. When twenty vot-
ers, who had assembled in back yard,
sent word that they wanted to vote the
Democratic ticket but must have SIS
each, the Democratic managers ruefully
turned their pockets inside out and
proved that they couldn't dig up a cent.
The patriotic twenty then made dicker
with the other side, and presumably they
were supplied with at least hundred
good and satisfactory reasons for repress-
ing their ardent desire to vote the Demo
cratic ticket.
The emissaries were not obliged to seek
out voters and tempt them. The voters
hunted up emissaries and candidates and
demanded money for their votes, and
when they couldn't get their price from
one party, they went to the other. This
was true of quite a large number of vot-
ers, but by no means of all. A great
many refused all offers of money and
could not be persuaded to desert their
party. Large sums were offered by the
Republicans to some of the most inf1uen-
tial native citizens, but although many of
them are poor men, they could not be
bought. The voters who did sell out
were the more ignorant men who had
been benumbed and befuddled by
whiskey.
In the afternoon mounted messenger
created some excitement by galloplng
into town and telling an incoherent tale
about the stealing or stuffing of ballot
box in Dona Ana. Deputy Sheriff Will
Jams, armed with Winchester, started
for Dona Ana, and was Joined on the
road by mysterious stranger who had
been conspicuously in evidence on the
streets for day or two. The stranger
was dressed like Mexican and spoke
Spanish, but he proved to be an ex-ranger
named st. Leon. According to his own
story he was here on detective business,
but his actions indicated that he had been
engaged for some purpose by the Repub-
licans. He slipped around by back
street and TONED Williams, armed to the
teeth, and three other armed men fell
into line up the road. Judge Fall followed
the armed posse to Dona Ana to prevent
trouble.
When the party arrived there, it was
found that the Republicans had pitched
the ballot-box out of the window and re-
fused to 60 on with the election. Judge
Fall Informed the election officers that
they would have to keep the polls open
and give every man chance to vote, but
the Republicans crowded around the poll
ing place and declared that they would
not permit the election to be held. Judge
Fall then called upon Deputy Williams to
clear the place, and Williams promptly
responded and drove the crowd back.
The Republicans asserted that the
Democrats had stuffed the ballot-box
with illegal ballots while at dinner.
Judge Fall informed them they could
keep the alleged illegal ballots separate
and proceed with the election, making a
note of the circumstances and certifying
only TO such voters as might be cast prop
erly.
1t was learned later, however, that
there had been no stuffing of the box. 1t
appears that while the election officers
were dining, the unmatched box was re-
moved by somebody from its proper
place and deposited on table in an ad
joining room used as the postoffice.
After dinner Pablo Melendres, Judge of
election and Republican candidate for
probate Judge, illegally unlocked the box,
emptied its contents out of the window,
jumped out after them and deserted his
post, declaring that no more voting
should be done. He declared that the
box had been stuffed. One of the other
election officers caught the ballots as they
fell and returned them to the box, and
chased Don Pablo and brought
him back. 1t was then found that there
were just 81 ballots in the box, the num-
Der corresponding exactly with the num-
Der of votes recorded as having been
cast. The 81 we're Democratic tickets
but each one bore the name of Don Pablo
Melendres in his own handwriting. Don
Pablo himself held the key of the box.
Who removed the box and whether or
not it was tempered with are questions
that nobody seems able to answer.
OF the SO votes cast after the row over
the box, the Democrats had majority
of 10. These are certified to as legal,
but the election officers have not certified
to the legality of the "a suspected bal
lots, and the Republicans are trying to
have the whole vote of the precinct
thrown out. The contest pro misses to be