The Topeka state journal., 1900-08-25
Johnson Miami Contest Settled
by Election Board.
Decide That F. W. SpOnabIe Is
Senatorial Nominee.
ENDS A BITTER FIGHT.
Baker People Were Evidently
OutgeneraIled.
Another SquabbIe to Be Heard
on Monday.

| Frank W. Sponable wins the contest
| for the nomination for state senator in
the district composed Of Miami and
johnson counties. This is the decision
of the state election board composed Of
/ Attorney General A. A GODDARD. State
| Auditor Geo. z. Cole and Geo. A Clark
secretary of state
| The decision was agreed upon Friday.
1t is unanimous and the three members
Of the board will today sign their ofii-
| cial names to the document which gives
| Sponable the nomination
| The decision had not been completed
/ by the stenographers at a late hour this
afternoon, but the members Of the board
| have agreed that Sponable shall be given
| the certificate OF election and the writ
| ten opinion is perfunctory matter.
This is the first contest heard this
year by the election board. Incidentally
! it was a Baker Burton controversy but
questions Of parliamentary procedure
and other technical subjects crept into
| the ma -ter but not at any time hava
these points concealed the actual issua
between the partisans of the candidates
/ for the senatorial toga-
Another Burton-Baker contest comes
before this election board Monday from
the senatorial district composed Of Riley,
| Wabaunsee and Geary counties This
| hearing is set for 2 o'clock in the after
noon.
| The Miarni-Johnson county contest
/ was one of the most bitter ever present
| ed to the election board. Contests in
/ volving minor issues have appeared at
| this tribunal OF last resort in the past
| but there was not one of them which
| presented the personal hatreds and an
| tagonismS which were manifested in the
! hearing of this case
The supporters of the two candidates
claiming the legal nomination. f. W.
/ SpOnable, representing Burton, NJ. G.
| Miller, representing Baker, although po-
( litical associates for years had as little
intercourse during the hearing as was
lpessible-
ferent parts Of the senate chamber, dur
ing the hearing, and each side regarded
| the other with great condescension and
evident cOmmisseration while the case
! was being presented.
Mr.. Sponable regarded his opponent
| with much haughtiness while Mr.. Miller
| evinced much sympathy for the misfor-
| tune which he believed stood in the way
| of Sponable's political ambition
Sponable and Miller live in johnson
county.
| When the Miami county forces left ths
senatorial convention, H. S. Coburn, one
of the delegates stayed with the Johnson
evenly divided, each county being enti-
| tied to II delegates, but Johnson county
stayed and nominated Sponable.
There was a controversy over the rep
claiming 13 delegates, because the coun-
ty had cast a sufficient number of Re-
publican votes to entitle it to 12 dele
| gates, and that Johnson, by the same
law, should have but 12.
| The basis Of representation adopted for
the county conventions was the vote
cast for George A Clark in 1898. Had
| this rule been adopted by the senatorial
district committee Miami county would
| have been entitled to 13 delegates, but
| the committee adopted no basis of repre-
sentation, simply fixing the number OF
| delegates from each county at r.
In the Miami county convention thir-
| teen delegates were elected, but after
| a prolonged discussion the name Of the
| thirteenth man was striken from the
| list
When the convention to nominate the
candidate for senator assembled Miami
| claimed thirteen delegates The ques-
ton was referred to the committee on
| credentials, which was divided. A ma
! 5ority report recommended that Miami
county have twelve votes, and was sup
plemented by minority report recon-
| mending thirteen.
These reports were under discussion
by the convention and in the midst Of
considerable confusion At the heighth
| of the disturbance a motion to adjourn
was made. The chairman Of the con-
vention said, according to evidence filed
| with the election board:
For the purposes of this motion
viii hold that Miami county has thir-
| teen votes"
l 1De mOC1On 10 aOlOuTn was carried Dy
l the one vote which the chairman gave
| Miami county, when the convention was
| discussing what should be done with the
report Of the committee on credentials
Upon this unprecedented action on the
part of the chairman the Miami county
| forces adjourned the convention and
left the hall
Mr. Coburn returned to the johnson
county delegation. At this Juncture the
| johnson county delegates reorganized
the convention, elected a new chairman
/ with the twelve votes from johnson and
one from Miami, that Of Mr.. Coburn-
There was no question concerning Mr.
Coburn's seat in the convention He
was one of the delegates regularly
elected by Miami county. His vote gave
the johnson county forces a majority or
the twenty-four delegates which the
senatorial committee decided should
comprise the conventions
The ruling by the chairman Is held
to be illegal and that there was no ad-
journment of the convention, because
majority of the regularly constitutes
delegates Of the convention did not vote
in favor of the adjournment
The johnson county delegates after
Mr. Coburn's vote organized the con-
ventfon, nominated Mr.. SpOnable, Civ
ing him twelve votes. Coburn did not
vote on the nomination, but a majority
| of the convention which CoburnS vote
Organized voted for Sponable. and he
was the nominee of that convention
The Miami county delegates Assembled
| at the date to which the alleged ad-
iournment had been taken and nonl-
mated Mr.. Miller. This is held TO nave
been an Illegal convention
The statute provides explicitly that
| from the decision Of this board there -
r7er~A ia or