People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1896-09-04
OF THE LATE ELECTIONS
CANNOT BE FOUND.
HAVE THEY BEEN STOLEN ?
The Archieves of the Secretary Of
State Searched High and Low
But the Papers Are Still
Undiscovered.

State capitol.
1t seems that nearly all the records
of the late contested election cases
have mysteriously disappeared and
none of the State house officials seem
to know where they can be found.
Some of the documents contain the
showings upon which the senate and
house deprived Populist claimants of
their seats in those legislative
branches, and Chairman Cunningham
wants to use these records az cam.
paign documents.
He claims that the Democrats per-
petrated outrageous frauds in unseat.
ing PopuIists and refusing to unseat
Democrats in certain contested cases,
and he wants to show them up to the
people of the State.
There were large number OF such
cases before the last legislature, but
the only records which Mr.. Cunning
ham says he has been able to find
were those from Fayette, Pike and
bingham counties; and some parts
of the Fayette county records are
gone.
The records of the contests from
the Thirty third, Thirty-fourth and
Thirty-sixth senatorial districts are
missing as is also the Douglas county
contest, all of which Chairman Gun
ningham alleges show up the most
glazing and palpable frauds on the
part of the Democrats.
In the Douglas county contest, he
says the records show that Burnett,
the Populist member OF the House
was unseated in favor of Blair, Dem
ocrat, on the ground that the election
manager in the largest precinct in
the county, by reason Of owing one
bale of cotton on his plantation, was
Nora free holder.
Chairman Cunningham made siren.
uous efforts to get the records of this
contest but they cannot be located.
Colonel Joe James and Assistant
Secretary Charley Northen, of the
State senate, were asked if they had
the missing papers in their possession,
but they could not throw any light
on their whereabouts. Mr.. Northen
said Governor Atkinson might have
them, but he is out of the city, and
30 that ended the matter so far as he
was concerned.
"The law requires such documents
to be kept in the Office of the Secre-
tary of State" said Chairman Can
bingham this morning, sand 1 can.
not understand why it is not obeyed."
"Nobody has 8 right 10 take those
papers from the archives, and the fact
that they are missing looks like a
ruse on the part of certain Democrats
to keep them from figuring in the
present campaign. Things have come
to a pretty pass when such methods
have to be resorted TO-"
Mr.. W. H. Terrell of the firm of
Maddox & Terrell, states:
II was employed by Mr.. John D.
Cunningham, chairman of the State
executive committee of the Peoples
party, to collect certain data desired
by him from the records in the CON.
tested cases in the senate and house
growing out Of tina election of 1894.
81 went to the Office of the Score.
tary of State for the purpose of ex.
aiming the records in the various
contest cases before the legislature.
/ was unable to find any except the
record in the cases from Efinqham
Pike and Fayette counties, and that
of Fayette was incomplete, parts be-
ing missing. It has either been re-
moved by interested parties or lost.
l had talk with Mr.. johnson,
clerk in the department who had
charge of these records, and he said
that those we're tie only papers which
he had, and that it was the duty of
the clerk of the house and secretary
of the senate to send those papers to
him; that he was not allowed by the
law and also had instructions from
Hon. Allen D. Gambler, Secretary of
State, not to allow any oae to take
them away from the office. Mark
Hardin, clerk of the house, stated to
Mr., Barnes, who was sent by me to
his office, that he had none of the
papers, hut that he knew Joe James
did have fba papaVa IN fba I1a---l..