The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-01-17
UTAH COUNTY ELECTION CASE.

pressed Will OF the people under the
forms and to the extent prescribed by
constitutions and laws is the sovereign
power of the state; and if that is to
be defeated by fraud or overthrown by
trickery, the very fountain of demo-
cratic government is corrupted.
Because the crime is so grave an Of
Tense, it ought not to be charged with
out good evidence, it ought not to be
assumed but upon the best Of proof, it
ought not to be determined on ex
parte evidence. but upon the closest
and NOSE careful investigation. Both
political parties should be looked upon
as equally interested in exposing cleo
ton frauds. for the party temporarily
benefited by a fraudulent election can
least of all afford to profit by it, as
it always Iooses more in the end than
it can possibly gain.
Election frauds were charged in
Utah county last fall and there is
pending before the legislature a con-
test for three seats in that body from
Utah county. Evidence has been taken
in these cases before special Commits
sioner Dudley at Provo and q very
full synopsis of the evidence in the
several cases appeared in the local
columns of The Herald yesterday. Ac-
cording to the evidence it seems that
the Republicans based their charge Of
fraud on three things.
First-Republican votes were rejected
on account of being put in the wrong
box.
The summary of the evidence on that
head is as follows: At poll No. l in
Lehi there were three state ballots in
the county box-two Republican and
one Democratic. AS there were enough
ballots without these to tally with the
voted list, they were not counted
neither the Democratic nor Republican
vote. At poll in Lehi there were
five state ballots found in the county
box, two straight Democratic and two
straight Republican ballots. and one
ballot with all the candidates
scratched except Bartch, Wells and
Chapman. These ballots were not
counted.
At Highland precinct one state bal
lot was found in a county box; it was
straight Republican and counted. At
Pleasant Grove there were two straight
Republican state ballots found in the
city box They were counted. At
American Fork there were two straight
Republican state ballots found in city
box. They were not counted. At
Provo First ward there was one
straight Democratic state ballot found
in the city box. 1t was not counted.
In Provo Second ward there was one
state ballot-straight Democratic
found in the city box; not counted.
In Provo Third ward there were three
state ballots found in city box, two
straight Republican and one straight
Democratic. They were all counted
In Springville there was one Republi-
can state ballot scratched by pasting
the name of w NJ. Roylance over the
names of ]. F. Bringhurst. j. T. Thorn
and ]. c. Graham in such manner
as to completely obliterate the name of
Thorn. and as far obliterate the names
of Graham and Bringhurst as to make
them completely unrecognizable. The
ballot was counted for Roylance and
all the Republicans except Thorn.
An ANALYSIS of the foregoing aside
from Springville case shows that
OUT Of II state ballots found in county
or city boxes of them were thrown
out and OF them counted. OF the
number rejected were Democratic
votes and Republican ballots. OF
the state ballots found in city or
! county boxes of them were Republi-
can ballots and Democratic! As to
the one scratched ballot at Springville
found in the wrong box. one Democrat
was counted on it, and all the Repub-
licans except Thorn. From these mis-
takes in voting the Republicans gained
more than the Democrats.
Second-Illegal Democratic votes were
allowed to be cast. The evidence on
this head shows the following to be
the facts:
As regards the Illegal voting, the
only proof made by the Republicans
was against Eli Ribinson, Thomas
Lloyd, jr., Ephraim Rowe, q. S. Cow
ley, John W. Pike and Jonas Schow.
Robinson was born and reared in Span
ish Fork, and has a home and black
smith shop there, and pays taxes there
on; has a wife and family and for
about year and half has been work
ing for another Spanish Fork manAat
Mammoth. He has worked for wages
by the day as a blacksmith, has never
voted anywhere else but Spanish Fork
and holds his place there as a resi-
dence. Lloyd, it turns out, did not vote
the state ticket, but Republicans sWore
he did. The fact is, his name was not
on the state registration list. At any
rate he is a Spanish Fork boy, born and
reared there, his parents reside there
now; he is unmarried and makes Span
ish Fork his home when not off at work
for wages.
The same facts are true as regards
Rowe, except that Rowe voted the state
ticket. z. S. CoWley married a Provo
girl, lived in Provo until a, short time
before the election, when he went away
TO find work, taking his young wife
with him, leaving his household furni-
ture and a large portion of their wear
ing apparel at their home in Provo.
The things are here at present and
Cowley is at present in Salt Lake with
his wife occupying furnished rooms.
His absence from Provo is considered
by his Wife's mother and Step-father
as only temporary.
John w Pike was, prior to the 4th
day of January. this year, official stem
ographer of the First district court. He
had his Office room in the court house
building in Provo up to that date, car
ried the key and had sole control of
said Office. Just a few days before the
election he moved his family to Salt
Lake City, but he himself continued in
Provo, performing his official duties
visiting his family occasionally, as his
duties would permit. Schow lived in