The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-12-30
SOMETHING ROTTEN.

SOMETHING ROTTEN.
Further Evidence of the Gigantic Frauds Per-
pctrated in Ohio and Indiana.
From the Raleigh. N. G. Caucasian.
The public will remember that when
the press reports of the late election
were stating that Mckinley had swept
all the doubtful central western states
by big majorities, that Chairman Butler
would not concede McKinley's election
even after other campaign managers had
given up. He stated that he had reli-
able Information showing that Bryan
had made gains in states like Indiana,
Ohio, Iowa, Minnesota, California and
other states big enough to give him the
electoral votes of these states by good
majorities. Even when the state chair
man in these states conceded that Nc
Kinley had carried them Chairman But
Ter said that he could not understand
it and insisted that there was something
wrong.
The official count of the vote in these
states is now coming out and they throw
much light on the matter. The vote
tabulated in Ohio, Iowa, Minnesota, and
Indiana show that there is something
not only wrong but very rotten.
In Indiana the following are the COM
plete figures as taken from the official
returns: .
Democratic and Peoples, 3O5, ,425
Rep, 1898; Prihibitionist, 3,O57;
cialist Labor, 323; McKinley's plurality,
18,403; McKinley's majority, 9,610. To-
tai vote cast, 7,046.
n 1900 tho como fofa1o cbouod tho
following vote: Democratic, 262,74O;
Republican, 255,615: Prohibitionist, 49,
O50; Populist, %. Total vote, 553, ,613
This shows an increase of ,433 votes
since the last presidential election. This
is an unreasonable increase, when we
consider that the last Republican can
didate was Harrison and that he lives
: in Indiana. 1t was claimed in 1892 that
Harrison brought out remarkably full
voc. Therefore there was little stay at
vote. Therefore there was little stay at
home vote to swell this tremendous in
creased vote. The increased vote would
indicate that the population of that state
had increased half million since the
last election, and this is unreasonable.
Another thing that proves that this in
creased vote is not straight is that near
ly the whole of it is counted for Nc
Kinley. Just think of it, Bryan this
year got $4,000 more votes in Indiana
than Harrison got in 1892. Now a man
who could gain $4,000 of the votes that
were cast for Harrison in 1892, would
certainly get at least half of the in
creased vote if it was not bogus. 1t is
clear that the gold ring bought up cleo
tion officers and stuffed the ballot boxes
or made this increase in some other
unlawful way and counted it all for Nc
Kinley.
Now let us look at Ohio. That state
this year gave 475,000 votes for Bryan.
This is 10000 more than it gave Cleve-
land four years ago, when the vote was
SO close that one of the Cleveland cleo
tors was elected, and is the largest vote
ever hitherto given by that state to any
candidate, Democratic or Republican. 1t
is 100000 more than Campbell received
last year, and $4,000 more than Bush
nell the present governor of the state
received. The biggest vote ever received
by any Republican candidate up to 1896
was Bushnell's vote in 1895, and that
was 427,000. This year Bryan beat
Bushnell's vote by $4,000, and yet he is
reported as defeated by say $4,000 ma
jority.
How was it done? The returns show
that the total vot of that state this year
is 259, ,784 votes more than was cast last
year 1885,. The contest in that state
last year for governor was a very ex-
citing one, and the vote was 100, 900
larger than ever cast before in the state
The Republicans tried to explain the
great increase then by saying that every
vote in the state was cast then for the
first time. On the other hand the DEM
ocrats charged that votes were import
ed and that ballot boxes were stuffed.
They showed that the population of the
state was 3,825,O0 and that counting
one voter for every five of population
that the total vote could not be over
765,0O0 while the returns showed $40, ,506
votes. Now here comes presidential
election only one year later and the total
vote is 259, 9,444 larger than it was last
year.
There is something very rotten there.
No one can claim that the population of
Ohio has increased over million in one
year, and it would take such an increase
of population to explain this increase of
vote even if the election was honest in
1895. In short comparing the popula-
ton and the total vote in Ohio this year.
it would show that nearly one person
OUT Vi every l1lItC VI POpuldCloA \COuAI-
ing, women, children, cOnvicts and in
sane) voted This is absurd. 1t is i'm
possible.
Yes there is something rotten in Ohio,
and if 1t can be investigated and the
truth arrived at, it would show that
Bryan carried the state.
In 1892 Kentucky's total vote was 340,-
848. Cleveland received 175,461 and
Harrison 135,441. In 1895 Kentucky's
total vote was 357,057. In 1896 Ken
tucky's total vote was 100000. OF these
Bryan received about 202,981, Mckinley
about 2O3,4 ,410. In Kentucky Bryan re-
ceived at least 27.90O more votes than
Cleveland received in 1892, and at least
81, 900 more votes than the successful
candidate for governor received in Ken
lucky in 1895. But Kentucky's vote in
creased about $4,000 in one year. Where
did they all come from.