Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-12-03
Special to the Register.

</robbing the people of their rightful re-
presentation in the Legislature which
they have elected, they received infor-
nation to-day which is so startling in
its character as to cause them to stand
awestruck in CONSERVATION before such
proposals of rascality.
The Democrats have not felt entirely
secure in their hold on the House OF
Delegates, in spits of their majority of
nine safely elected members. They had
a conception of the class of men they
had to deal with on the other side, and
had been given an idea of what was
proposed by the efforts of Atkinson,
Dawson, White, ct al, to secure the
consent of defeated Republican candi-
ter contests against the Democrats hon
estly elected in Marion, Tucker and
Barbour counties, while such work was
suspected in other close districts.
To-day, however, the full extent of
the scheme was given to the Democrat
ic managers from sources so close to
the Republican State Committee as to
leave no doubt of the correctness of
the news.
Secretary of State Dawson, who is
also chairman of the Republican State
Committee, is required by law to make
up, from the returns presented to him
by the various county courts, the pre-
liminary list of delegates elected. He
is merely a clerk in this matter and
has no legal power to question the re-
turns made. The roll which the coun-
ty returns create is for the purpose of
organizing the House, after which, If
there are contests, they may be deter
mined by the House itself.
The information secured by the DEM
ocratic committee is that Dawson, At
kinson, White and the other Republi-
can leaders have secured enough de-
feated Republican candidates for the
Legislature, who are willing to make
contests for partisan purposes, against
thir late Democratic opponents, to give
the Republicans majority of the House
if the contestants are seated. These
defeated Republicans have not the
slightest shadow of right on which to
base contest, most of them being men
who were not only defeated on the face
of the returns, but men who were fin
ally defeated by recounts made by Re-
publican county courts. In every in
stance the Democratic candidate
against whom a contest is proposed
has secured his certificate of election,
which is the only legal evidence the
Secretary of State can have from
which to make up his preliminary
roll.
The report is that Secretary of State
Dawson will make up a preliminary
roll Of the House which will include
the names of all the Republicans who
have declared their intention to make
contests, and from which will be ex-
cluded the name of every Democrat
against whom such contest is directed.
This preliminary roll will give the Re-
publicans a majority of four in the
House, and will enable them to or
ganize that body and declare elected
the men who lend themselves to the
making of dishonest and illegal con-
tests.
At first blush, it was such brazen,
revolutionary and unheard of piece Of
devilment that the Democrats refused
to believe that politicians could be
/. found who would carry their warfare
to such ends, but the after assertions
which have come out this evening lead
to the belief that the worst had not
been told.
TO bring this illegal and utterly I'M
justiiable proceeding to fruition with
CELEBRITY. an effort has been made to in
duoe b. e Hood, who was clerk OF the
last House Of Delegates. but who has
forfeited every right to continue in