The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-10-17

claimed In this case that this was
done, or that the tickets were voted
for any such purpose, or for any inn
proper or unlawful purpose whatever"
| The question of intent, therefore, is
the true question at issue, and all the
| clrcums tances, in the case under con-
| sideration. point to corrupt intent:
4. A cloud OF bribery surrounds the
vote OF the whole city, which the con-
| teStee has made no effort to disSipa te
2. There is evidence showing wide
| spread conspiracy among the employ
ers OF labor to corrupt, and where they
| could not corrupt, to intimidate their
| wOrkmen.
8. The testimony shows that the
workmen were intimidated. and that
they believed that they would lose
their means of subsistence if they
voted against Washburn.
1. The judges ofelection knew that
the numbering of the ballots had been
declared unconstitutional by court
OF reco I'd second only to the supreme
court in dignity; by the attorney gen
eral OF he state; by the city attorney
OF st: Paul; and by the county attor-
ney OF Ra msey county, and that even
the attorney who had defended the
constitutlonality OF the law in the dis
trlct court, had advised Judges of cleo
tiOn not to mum Der the ballots.
5. They had been told by their own
law officer, whose opinion they had re-
quested, that it would be uncons titu-
tional to number the ballots. inasmuch
as it violated the secrecy of the ballot.
6. They knew that the supporters
Of Mr.. Donnelly believed that the
numbering of the ballots would pre-
vent free and fair election, and would
result in the Intimidation of the work
men.
7. They had deliberately voted by a
large majority not to number the bal
lots.
There can be but one explanation Of the
intent with which they reversed this DELHI
crate action. 1t done to prevent a fair
election, and to give the employers of work
ingmen an opportunity to still further intim-
ldate them by preserving a record of how
the men voted whose means of life depend
ed upon the good will of those who employ
ed them; the workingmen well knew that
the ballot boxes could be opened at any
time in any real pretended contest and
the character of their votes revealed.
Only bold and reckless men would have
dared to set their private judgment, as lay
men, against the Judgment of the district
court of Ramsey county, against the judg
ment of the attorney general and of the
law officer of their own city, upon ques-
ton of law; and against the opinions of
two-thirds of the judges of election as ex-
pressed at the meeting of judges the day
before. In doing so they ran counter to
and defied the settled opinion upon the ques-
ton. These seven precincts were the only
precincts in the two cities, ST. Paul and
Mineapois-where there We're over 80 pre-
cincts-in which the ballots were numbered
in the year 1878.
1t must be remembered that the tes-
timony shows that among the q
judges of election of these seven
precincts, who thus reversed the ac-
ton of all the judges of the city the day be
fore, there but one judge who was a
friend of Mr.. Donnelly (see pages 195-19O;
and even he did not swear that he was a
supporter Of Mr.. Donnelly but only that
he was UNDERSTOOD to be such (see page
1860. BY law Mr.. Donnelly, as the candidate
of two political parties, should have had IA
supporters among these 81 Judges in eff
feet he had not one. Csc section l, act of
March y, 1879 This extraordinary ac-
ton was therefore taken by p judges who
were the political partisans of Mr.. Wash
burn; and no explanation is offered by Mr.
Washburn or themselves for their course.
The very fact that in these seven pre-
cincts Mr.. Donnelly had been deprived by
the city council of Minneapolis of all repre-
sentation among the officers conducting the
election is, in itself, a very strong proof of
conspiracy and fraud
1t appears by the testimony of one wit
ness, Democrat page 1870, that he Offered
his ballot at of these precincts and re-
quested that it be placed in the ballot box
without being numbered; this was refused;
the judges refused to permit him to vote
unless he voted a numbered ballot this he
declined to do, and he did not vote. 1t APP
pears that a large number Of Workmen did
not vote for fear of losing their places
page 113). 1t is an established principle of
a WI ra from Of
ing by an illegal requirement of the election
officers, it voids the election at such
polls. See McCrary's American Law
Elections, section 80 Scranton
Borough election, Brighty's Election Cases,
p. 455). 1t is evident that large numbers
of Democrats, from some cause, did not
vote at all at said election in that city.
Two years previously, at the presidential
election of 1876, the vote of Minneapolis
stood follows (see Saint Paul Pioneer
Press, November 9, 1876, in Congressional
Library):
1llden 743
IOtal
1t is matter of history that Minneapolis
increased during the two years between
November, 1876, and November, 1878, at
the rate of II per cent per annum (see
Minnesota State Register, 1879, Congress
sonal Library, p. 316) If we apply this
and suppose that the two political parties
increased pro rata, then the vote should
have stood in 1878 as follows:
Total Democratic vote. 56S
Total Republican vote ....................499 9
But instead of Mr.. Donnelly receiving in
1873 4,568 votes in Minneapolis, he received
but 1856 votes; falling off of 5000 votes
And it appears that but small part of
this Democrat tic vote went to Mr.. Wash
burn; for, if he received the full vote of
nartv no CHI had t,tac
while he claims to have received o026 votes;
a gain of only q votes.
1t thus appears that there We're nearly
5000 Democratic voters who did not vote at
all al the election of November 5, 1878.
The result was that, instead of the Re
publican majority given to President Hayes
in Minneapolis of 355 votes, Washburn
claims to have carried the city by $3.50
votes.
The evidence shows that Mr. Donnelly
was the Democratic candidate for congress,
and that he received the support but not
the votes of very nearly all the Democrats,
even in Minneapolis (see p 100, 11W the
immense falling off of two-thirds of the
Democratic vote in Minneapolis can, there |
fore, only be accounted for by the intimi- |
da ton of the workmen and the number
ing of the ballots in nearly half the pre- |
cincts of the city was part of this system
of intimidation.
of the city regarded Mr.. Donnely their
friend and champion (p. 112) They had a |
Labor Union, political society, number |
ing about 1900 members (p I'D, and which |
represented the sentiments and feelings of |
the working population of the city, num- |
bering between 1000 and 5000 p. 112); Mr. |
Washburn had friends in the Labor |
mi nd fha mt