The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-03-03


| tempered with. When sent to the clerks
office, there was a single seal; when
| found it had a double seal He sought to
| show that this had been done by friends
| Of BrOughtOn, whereas, as a matter of
| fact, the boxes were from first to last, in
| the hands of the Republicans He made
/ a technical argument He followed this
| up with a vigorous abuse of the young
| men at Wake Forest College who voted
| for Brought0n. None voted except the
| few who had abandoned their former res
| licences, and were studying for the min
istry, or were studying law there. They
swOre it was their home and legal resi-
| dence. Mr.. Cook charged that these high
| minded young men were guilty of per
| jury; that their votes should be taken
| from Broughton, thus taking q votes
| from Broughton and electing Young
| The minority report showed that
Broughton was legally elected. Mr.. Duff
| fly assumed that members wanted to do
| right A great deal hangs on the case.
| The right of the people Of Wake to be
| represented by the man they elect. Mr..
| Broughton is man of character, wide
reputation, and so honorable that detrac-
| ton could mot reach him. He would not
| make a claim that was not proper. If
| he did not believe he was elected, he
would even now withdraw this contest.
| He has thoroughly investigated this case.
| He did not begin the contest until asSur-
ed OF his election Mr.. Cook muddied the
/ waters What he had to say was so con-
| fused that a fair nearer would not know
| how to vote. There was very little in this
| case By the original count Young got
Abs, and Broughton APO, giving IS
| majority to Young. AT the recount, at
| which all were represented, it showed
| Youngs majority only >. He reviewed the
| recount in detail, after being required to
| DO so by Justice Clark, showed that there
| could have been no motive ON the part Of
| Br0ughton's friends to tamper with the
| boxes. They couldn't have access to them
| it, they tried. Mr. Broughton had infor-
| nation as to the mistakes that the recount
| disclosed. Young, the clerk, is a Repub-
| lican The boxes were sealed up and
sent to Young, who put ii in the vault until
| the recount He had the key Nobody
| could tamper with the boxes without
| Young's knowledge. The evidence is that
| the seals were broken at the polling place
| to take out a ticket before they were
| carried to Youngs office. The thin piece
of paper over the lock had not been bro
| ken. He showed beyond question that
| and that the recount made it certain that
Broughton was elected on the admission
Of Cook and Attorney Loge Harris There
| was only one way that the boxes could
| have been tempered with. and that is con-
Wet Mr.. Young with being a party to the
| fraud. If you decide that these boxes
| were tempered with, the grand jury ought
| TO indict Young for fraud. | say that no
man can say that those boxes had been
| tempered with. If there was any crime
| Young must have been responsible for it.
| He defended the Wake Forest students
| and was applauded everywhere in the
lboby and in the galleries. If you seat
/ Young, you convict and brand these noble
men as perjurers and liars. He grew elo-
| quent as he pictured the character Of the
| Wave Forest boys most of whom are
4 studying for the ministry, and predicted
| that putting a brand of jerjury on them
would send up a cry Of denunciatiOn of
/ the Legislature He read the testimony
| Of the young men claiming residence at
/ Wake Forest, showing that they had no
| purpose to return to the home OF their
| fathers. He read the questions pro-
| pounded by the Populist poll-holder,
/ which had been prepared by a Supreme
| Court Justice, which showed that the
A
| except those who were declared by several
| Supreme Court Justices to be entitled
to vote. If Wake Forest students are
| to be thrown out, you will have to throw
out the voters of Shaw and St Augustine
| who voted for Young. Concluding, Mr.
| Duffy applied the law to the case, quot
| ing McCreary on Elections, and closed
| with an able and convincing argument on
| the case.
Mr.. Cunningham followed for Mr..
| Brought0n, and said:
SIN presenting the claim of Needham B.
Broughton to a seat in this body, / wish
| to say that if Mr. Broughton was not
clearly entitled, he would not have made
the contest, and would not be here now
| asking for a recognition of his right.
But he has been chosen by a majority of
the people of Wake to represent that
| county in the Legislature. He feels that
he has the same right to be here as any
one of us on this floor, and he feels that
it is incumbent upon him to endeavOr to
give expression in our counsels to the
| voice OF the people of the county that hon
ored him with a majority Of their ballots.
| Were it otherwise, he would be the last
man in the State to make any claim here.
Every man on this floor knows of Need
| ham Il. Brought0n, and he is widely
known.
| Every man knows Of his high character;
| knows his correct walk in life; that he
has risen by his industry, his integrity
his correct principles from printers boy
to be one of the most influential business
men in North Carolina. He is an honor
to any community While no politician,
and not an Office seeker the people of
Wake county have elected him to repre-
sent them and he comes here and asks
for his seat.
/ beg the attention of the House to
the fact that two years ago the POpulists
and Republican parties declared that they
had formed a coalition in order to secure
fair elections, and that they passed a law
which they said would prevent frauds in
elections and give expression to the pop
ular will. Whatever improvements they
made in the election law, whatever
changes they made that would make 1t
more certain that the popular will as reg
istered at the ballot box would prevail,