The age-herald., 1897-09-05
HE GOT THE PLACE.
Nominated by BIunder and Grew Rich on the
 Fees.

From the Denver Times.
 In the stormy and riotous and tempes- tuous days of Leadyille, when fortunes were made in a day and squandered in a night, the great body of tho people gave little attention to the selection of public servants and the professional politicians held full sway. County, municipal and township offices were sinecures, and the struggle for possession of them was con- fined to the gang that was in and the gang that wanted to get in. The office of county clerk was worth to the incum- bent from $50,000 to s60,000 year. sheriff from $25,000 to $35,000, and so on through the list. The fees of a justice of the peace exceeded the salary paid to the governor of the state or the chief justice of the supreme court. In view of this fact the intensity of the contest for the
 plums may be easily understood. But
 this will answer as a preface to a story
 l propose telling about a heated contest
 for the republican nomination for justice
 of the peace, a nomination being then
 equivalent to an election. The rival
 claimats were De Mattos, now a resident
 of one of the sound cities, and Thomas,
 the present prosecuting attorney of Lake
 county. Each claimed to have received
 the nomination of the convention and
 neither showed the slightest disposition to yield to the other. The election was approaching and from the party stand point it was deemed essential that their differences should be settlsd, since if both entered the contest the democrat would carry off the plum. Tha contestants finally agreed to leave the dispute to the county central committee and abide it's decision.
 The committee held an executive ses-
 sion and after going over the testimony
 decided unanimously thst Thomas was entitled to have his name printed on the
 party ticket, and that the De Mattos had no standing whatever. It was suggested, however. that, in the interest of harmony, the matter should be taken up in open session of the committee, just as if it
 had not been considered and determined in secret, and that when the ballot should be taken two or three members should | vote for De Mattos, to show him that it | was not a cut-and-dried affair, but an | inevitable difference of opinion, likely to | occur at any time and to anybody. With | this understanding the doors Wsre thrown | open, the rabble admitted and the con- | test of Thomas vs. De Mattos taken up | as a new proposition. The evidence was gone over again, a discussion of its mer.ts | followed, and a vote by ballot ordered. | To the amazement and chagrin of the chairman and tellers and all of the mem | bers of the committee, every vote cast | bore the name of De Mattos. Each had remembered the agreement that a few votes should be cast for him and each thought the others might forget to do it, and the consequence was that the man really entitled to the nomination did not get a single vote. The cause of the mis- carriage of justice was, of course, in- stantly understood by all the members of | the committee, but it was too late to | rectify the blunder without causing a | hopeless Breach in the party ranks, and | so the decision was allowed to stand | De Mattos ran, was elected, qualified and | filled oua llia term of office. growing rich | from the fees. and probably to this day | does not know how the nomination hap | pened to be awarded to him.