The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-10-12


tnat 1t will be found he received a ma
jority of the legal votes cast in said
convention, and should have been certi-
fed as the candidate of the Republican
party for district attorney for Lackawan-
ma county to the county commissioners.
And he will ever pray.
The paper was sworn to before Hugh
b. Andrews, notary public.
MOTION TO QUAsH.
Major Warren, in making his motion
to quash the petition, said:
May it please the court, my friend, Mr..
Jones, asked me this morning to repre-
sent him, he having been served with a
copy of this paper as it has been read by
MIR. Patterson. That was only a few mo-
ments ago. / am here at this time, If
your honors please, to move to quash this
petition. / have not a formal motion in
writing because l have not had the OPP
portunity as yet to prepare 1T, but de-
sire to have that opportunity accorded
me by your honors. The grounds upon
which we desire to make this motion are
these: First, the petition is not in proper
form in accordance with the statute; Sec
ond, it is in it's allegations vague, general
and indefinite; and third, the affidavit is
not as required by the law, and therefore
the petition as whole is not such as
ought to be entertained by your honors
Assuming that | had filed that motion
l desire to address myself to your honors
as if that motion were in writing and be-
fore the court. l am amazed, If the court
please, that reputable member of the
bar, man who was before the canven-
tion, as | understood Mr.. Watson was,
and a man learned in the law, as 1 as
sumo he is as officer of this court and
member of the bar, should present peti-
tion of this character against man who
is now the incumbent of the office of dis
trict attorney and seated at the table
of the prosecution and about to proceed
with the business of the court in accord
ance with the duties of his office and oath.
Is a mans character and reputation, his
recognized ability as the district attor-
ney of this county, to be attacked in this
way, without a single specific averment
i'm any way, shape or form, that would APP
peal to the discretion of the court con-
Meeting him personally or indirectly with
the things which would justify such an
investigation? A man who stands here, l
think l can safely say, equal if not su-
perior to any district attorney this county
has ever had.
ASSERTIONS ARE IDLE.
Some of the assertions in this affidavit
are idle. For example they complain of
the action of the committee on creden-
tials seating ten Democrats or men not
properly elected TO the convention as dele
gates. That is matter certainly that
your honors cannot investigate at this
time. And even though they were of
some substance, to make sucn an asser-
ton, with 2i4!2 votes recorded, upon the
face of this petition, for the successful
candidate before that convention and
the meagre handful of votes which they
assert here, your honors can see how ab-
Surd SUCH an assertion is, that your hon
ors should now act for this convention
and recount the votes several weeks if not
months after they in convention assem-
bled selected Mr.. Jones by a majority of
ten or eleven to one over the petitioner
now before your honors.
Now this petition is OF such a character,
if the court please, that it could have
been filed against either of your honors
when you We're nominated, or against the
present governor of the commonwealth,
or against anybody whoever appeared be-
fore the voters of the community as
nominee for office. Why couldn't anyone
swear to such u petition if he takes the
idle rumorS on the streets, if he is sore
over a nomination? And how does that
justify your honors in making an inves-
tigation of this kind as against a particu-
lar nominee of that convention against
whose personal action there is absolutely
nothing upon the face of this petition
that accuses him of doing one solitary
| thing to influence his selection by that
convention as its nominee.
BASED UPON RUMOR.
Is this court going to lend itself at the
suggestion of Mr. Watson to an inVesti-
cation the limits of which no man knows
the effect of which is absurd, based upon
nothing but an idle rumor? Are your
honorS going to say that Mr.. Jones was
guilty of bribery and corruption and fraud
on the say-so of a man upon the curb? ?
How many weeks is it since all this rumor
| that is here before your honors has been
in the breast cf George NJ. Watson? 1t is
weeks and weeks ago. Now, what does
the man do? Is this petition in good
| faith? Is this an assertion on the part
| of Mr.. Watson that he knows Mr.. Jones
| used any corrupt method in securing his
nomination? Why couldn't it be made
| against every candidate of every party
now before the people of this county?
| And would this court lend itself to an
| investigation of this kind. l ask your
| honors if under petition of this kind the
| court will stop the proceedings of this
| court (because you are bound to do it
| under the law, you have got to stop the
| business of the court right here and nOW),
| and go into an investigation which at the
| maximum is nothing moro nor less than a
| did not get within a thousand miles of
| being a close competitor of Mr.. Jones.
| submit to this court this petition is an
| outrage.
| If George NJ. Watson, coming before
| your honors invoking the statutes which
are upon the books, actually believed as
| he now swears that Mr. Jones had intimi-
| dated voters or had prevented him, Wat
| son, from getting majority of the votes
of the convention, don't your honOrs sup
pose that he could say something here
| that would bring home to Mr.. Jones some
knowledge of that? Don't you suppose he
could attach to it the affidavit of man
to whom Mr. Jones may have offered
| some money to give him his vote rather
than to give it to George Watson? Don't
| you suppose there could be some thing
| specific actually based upon facts? Not a
| general sweeping assertion that the county
convention did not suit George NJ. Wat
! son, for that is what that whole paper
| amounts TO and that he, George NJ. Wat
| son, now appears before this court and
| asks your honors to determine as be-
| tween him and John r. Jones the motives
| of every solitary voter that piled up q
| majority for him that was certainly most
| hattering to him, putting beyond all ques-
| ton the choice of that convention by an
n a NsNul laI atuaE. H..