The San Francisco call., 1896-08-14
KELLY'S FATE IS
IN THE BALANCE.
The Congressional Candi-
date May Be Turned
Down.
HANLY's PROXY FORGED.
To Be Placed Before the Demo.
cratic State Central
Committee.
A LIVELY MEETING TONIGHT.
William Hinton Jr. Says That an
Affidavit Will Be Secured
for the Fight.
A LIVELY MEETING TONIGHT

The forces that are arraye6 against JOS
eph P. Kelly. the Democratic candidate
for Congress of the district convention in
the Fifth Congressional District, are pre-
pairing for grand coup when the Demo
cratic State Central Committee meets to-
night, and if Kelly's name Is on the ticker
after the Democratic State Convention ad'
journs it will be because his friends in the
committee are stronger than his foes.
The hopes of the anti-Kellyites rest on
proving tn at the candidate was indorsed
by means of forged proxy, and this they
claim to be eable to do without the slightest
difficulty.
When the ballot for Congressional can
didates was taken at the recent district
convention in the Fifth there were ninety
six delegates present, twenty.six from
Santa Clara, six from San Mateo and the
remainder from San Francisco. Forty
nine votes were necessary for choice,
and this number exactly Kelly received,
after the friends CT the opposing candi-
dates had done every thing in their power
to win his adherents.
While the votes were being recorded the
name of w. G. Hanly, hardware man
was called, and his proxy was offered by
Walsh and the other man named Will
son. Each claimed that he held the only
genuine proxy, ana the matter was placed
in the hands of a committee, which re-
tired at once to pass on the docunl ents.
The proxy held by Wilson was typewrit-
ten, while that in the possession of Walsh
was written. After some dellberation the
Wilson document was accepted, and the
vote secured Kelly the Endorsement, he
receiving bare majority.
When the result was announced Max
Pepper arose and moved that the indorse-
ment be made unanimous, which was
done. Shortly after that rumors came to
the ears of the friends of James 81. Barry.
who had hoped to gain the coveted honor,
gain for Kelly the Endorsement OF the con-
vention, and quiet investigation was
begun.
The Hanly proxy matter seemed a
fruitful field for research, and those who
took the matter in hand were not long in
striking a lead that developed into just
what they had been looking for.
Hanly was interviewed and fatty denied
that he had gwen proxy to any one else
than Walsh, and said that if h1s name
was signed to any other document pur-
porting TO be proxy it was forgery.
This was enough for those who were look
ing for crooked work, and they at once
began a search for means to pull Kelly
down on the ground that the Endorsement
had been gained by fraud, and that he
was not really the choice of the convention.
William Hinton Jr. is one of those who
have been taking an active interest in the
matter, and he thinks that the crucial test
will come tonight.
"There seems to be no doubt, he said
last evening, "that Kelly's Endorsement
for the nomination was secured by means
of forged proxy. Whether he was cog
infant that the matter was being handled
as it was does not appear, nor does 1t
really matter, for If he did not have a
genuine majority he did not get the in.
dorsement fairly and should not be al
lowed to keep it.
sHanly has stated unequivocally that
he did not give any one but Walsh q
proxy, and his affidavit to that effect will
be secured and presented, with other evil
dence that has been gathered, at the meet
ing of the State Central Committee to-
night.
I'VE hope of course that this will re.
open the entire matter, and that the in.
dorsement will be ignored by the State
Convention, but there may be an obstacle
to this in the action of the District Con.
yention in making the Endorsement
unanimous. Mr. Pepper OF course had
not the slightest idea that there was any
thing wrong when he moved to make the
Endorsement unanimous, or 1t never
would have taken that shape.
However, there Is no doubt that there
will be an interesting time at the meeting
tonight, and if Kelly pulls through it will
be because of his superior strength"