Kansas City daily journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1892-1897, 1896-10-11

Second-With the exception of fewer than
20 said names. it is apparent upon the
very face of said papers, from mere in
spection, that all the names on all said
nominating papers were written by not
more than seven different persons, while
every name upon some of said papers was
written by one person. The following are
instances substantiating this objection, but
are given only as instances; every paper
proves. upon mere inspection, the general
fact that the papers were seldom signed by
the persons whose names they purport to
bear: ID that paper headed with the name,
o. P. Amos, Chetopa, Kas., containing
seven names. shows they We're all written
at the same time, with the same pencil, by
the same person: (2D that headed with the
name, William Richardson, Kansas City,
kas., containing seventeen names, shows
they were all written by the same person.
apparently William Richardson. who signs
the affidavit: (S) that headed with the
name, c. NJ. Rahman. Girard, kas,
: and ending with the name, John ]. Master
son. containing twenty-five names, shows
that every name but the last one was writ
ten at the same time and by the same per-
son, apparently c. NJ. Robinson. who
signs the affidavit; a. that headed with tho
names of John Stovis, 6l3iS Pleasant street,
Kansas City, Kas., and Charles Metler, 7S5
Shawnee avenue, containing seventy-three
names. shows that all save the last name,
Henry May, 6lS North Fifth street. Kan
sas City, Kas., We're written by the same
person: GJ that headed with the name of
L. Z. Beals. Medicine Lodge, containing
seventeen names, shows that all the names
were written by the same person, aDDar-
emily l.. l.. Beals. who signs the affidavit:
Co that headed with the name c. r. Mitch
ell, Hillside, Phillips county. containing
fourteen names. shows that eleven of the
names We're written at the same time, with
the same pen and the same ink and by the
same person: % that headed with the
name John Jones' Topeka. Kas., contain
ing 100 names, shows that seventy-seven of
them Were signed by the same person
and the whole 109 names were written by
only four different persons: the signers
purport TO reside mostly In Tennesseetown,
a portion of the city of Topeka, largely in
habited by colored people, who are. as
rule, strong Republican partisans; 81 that
headed with the name of John P. Dole.
Canton. Mcpherson county, containing
thirfy-one names, shows that, beginning
with the second name, fifteen in succession
were written by the same person, appar-
emily c. A. Frantz, who signs the affidavit,
and that all the thirty-one names were
written by not more than three different
persons: 90 that headed with the name
Abe Steinberser, Girard Crawford county,
kas., containing thirteen names. shows
that six of them are written by the same
person, the handwriting being apparently
the same as that of ]. F. Willis, whose
name is on the same list: Q0) that headed
with the name of ]. z. Richardson. Girard,
kas., containing eighty-four names. shows
that seventyfour of them were written by
the same person; CD that headed with the
name j. II. Palmer. Girard Crawford
county, kas., containing sixteen names,
shows that thirteen of them were
written by the same person;
Q2) that headed by the name of John
Hedge. Hoxie, Sheridan county, Kas., con-
tanning eight names. shows that the first
two were written by one person, the next
two by another and the last two by
third person. Inspection of all the papers
and their comparison shows that the same
six or seven persons wrote all the names
on all of them, with the exception of fewer
than 200; and / exclude many of those,
not because they are certainly genuine,
but only because / cannot say with rea-
sonable certainty that they were written
by the same persons who wrote so many
other signatures. My opinion is that many
OF them were thus written.
"Third-A few persons only excepted,
these nominative papers, even if all the sig
natures were genuine, were not signed in
good faith by persons desiring or intending
to vote for the candidates therein named,
but were largely signed by men who in
tended and intend to vote the regular Re-
publican ticket, and who are and for years
have been tenacious partisan adherents of
the Republican party. Neither were these
papers prepared and circulated in good
fGth and in furtherance of the object and
spirit of the laws; but said papers were
prepared, circulated and filed by certain
men acting in collusion with the state GEN.
tral committee of the Republican party of
Kansas and certain leading Republican pol
idcians of Kansas anxious for the success
Of their own party ticket, the real object
being to advance the interests of the Re-
publican party of Kansas by perpetrating a
fraud upon the law and prostituting to pur-
poses foreign to its design, and antagonis-
tic thereto, with a view to deluding and
deceivtng voters of the state into voting
contrary to their wishes and against their
honest convictions, the conspiracy conteTn-
plating the following fraudulent scheme:
That. whereas. the Peoples party of the
etate OF Kansas had regularly nominated
its candidates for electors and certified
them SO that its ticket would be headed
Peoples Party Ticket and would bear
che name of William J. Bryan as its candi-
date for president and the name of Thomas
z. Watson as its candidate for vice presi-
dent: and the Peoples party being quite
generally called the Populist party Off
ferenI set of candidates for electors was TO
be got upon the official ballot by these
nomination papers under the heading Pop
conspicuous letters above and bearing the
name of William ]. Bryan as the candidate
for president and the name of Thomas f.
Watson as the candidate for vice presi-
dent; and because the Democratic party
and the Peoples party had nominated the
same persons for electors, Peoples party
voters. being led to believe that to vote for
these electors would be to vote against the
the Peoples party candidate for vice pres
fdent Thomas E. Watson, were to be per-
suaded to vote for this 'Populist ticket
on the erroneous supposition that they
would thus be aiding the election of Will
lam ]. Bryan as president precisely as if
they should vote the regular Peoples par
ty ticket. while at the same time they
would be aiding the election of said Thom-
as f. Watson instead of the Democratic
nominee. said voters not perceiving till too
late that the names of the electors on the
'Populist' ticket were not the same as
those on the Peoples party ticket. and
that they were thus dividing the vote for
William ]. Bryan as president and actu-
ally voting against him: by which fraudu-
lent means those thus conspiring to delude
the people and render nugatory their 9TH
erw!se effective ballots hoped to divert
from the regular Peoples party candidates
for electors votes enough to enable the
Republican party's candidates for electors
to secure n majority, and so secure the
electoral vote of Kansas for William Nc
Kinley as president. For the purpose of
carrying out this scheme. and for this pur-
pose only. not for the bona iide purpose
of putting UP ticket to pe actually and
honestly supported, these nomination pa
pers were prepared. circulated, filed and
the effort made 10 place the proposed tick
ct OH the official ballot. These charges I
offer to prove, and in support of them /
instance the following facts. which offer