The Florence tribune., 1900-10-13
To the Democrats of ArIzona.

Maricopa delegates had a right to seats in the convention When the various county conventions had been held, it appeared that Col. Wilson had 70 votes and I had 92. My nomination was thus assured. A few disappointed politicians met, as l am informed, in room in the Adams hotel long time after the county convention had ad- journed, and matched conspiracy to defraud me out of the nomination l had fairly won.
 It was impossible to defeat me if Maricopa was allowed to vote By instituting a bogus contest and per mitting one of the conspirators to de- eide the contest, Maricopa's voice could be silenced and my nomination possibly prevented.
 Maricopa was selected for contest for the reason only that my majority over Wilson was 2, and no other coun- ] ty had that many votes.
 The county convention of that county was called to select delegates to the territorial convention and nominate full county ticket. When that conven- tion met, both sides were confident of success, and no charges, complaints or protests were presented. No fairer or more harmonious convention ever met in Arizona. The very men who started the conspiracy and brought on all this trouble to the party, were active par tieipants in the proceedings of the county convention, and the last voice heard in it was that of Mr. Thomas E. Parish, reading the platform adopted by it. The acquiescence of these dis appointed office seekers in the proceed iDgs of that convention, in morals and deceney, estops them from com plaining now.
 If there had been any fraud or irreg- ularities, corruption or bribery. the county convention alone had jurisdic- tion to hear and determine those ques- tions. Yuma, Yavapai, CochiSe and Mohave are hardly competent to pass on the delegates title to seat in the Maricopa county convention. If there was anything wrong in Mari copa, why did not these gentlemen make it known, instead of participat- ing without protest and nominating their own candidates on the county ticket without single complaint. The contest was an afterthought. There is no authority of the party be- hind it. Nobody ever heard of it until long after the county convention had adjourned sine die. After such ad- journment there was no delegate to the county convention. Their power as such passed away on the sfnal ad- journment, and if this conspiracy in its secret sessions claims for any of it's mem bers that they were delegates to the county convention, 1t only reveals more plainly the deceit and fraud ami | mating their action.
 The full proceedings of the county convention have been published, and will soon be published again through out the territory, so that all men may see, and l shall not here go further in- to it's history.
 In order to make success of this bogus and disgraceful contest, heroic ! ,i, md Ia must be found who would take them. On Mir. Thomas E. Parish, chairman of the central committee, devolved the duty of calling the Territorial eonven- Sion to order; and when he called it to order not delegate, as far as l have be able to find, knew the grounds of contest, and nobody knew the names of the men contesting the seats Of the regular Maricopa delegates; nobody knew what credentials they had, or who had signed them. Every body knew that there was no delegate of any regular convention who could sign them. And indeed, the first notice the democratic party had of any contest whatever, was when this chair man, of his own notion and authority, directed the secretary of the eonven- tion to omit the county of Maricopa when calling the roll of counties on the vote for temporary chairman. Why did not he direct him to leave out Graham as well? There was as much authority for oue as the other. The committee on credentials passes oD such questions and the chairman had nothing, of right. to do with it. The bad faith shown in the county con vention found it's climax in the terri torial convention, when Parish, who was not even member of the conven- tion, and who promoted this bogus contest, had tue effrontery to attempt to disfranchise Maricopa county by his mere ipse dixit, thus becoming, or trying to become, more than the whole convention put tog ether.
 The desperate purpose of these dis appointed office-seekers shows itself again, when after d vote by the con vention, ipstructing the secretary to make up a roll of delegates entitled to seats on the floor, and thus taking the matter entirely out of Farish's hands, he directs the secretary to omit the name of Maricopa.
 The secretary made up the list of deleg ates as directed by the eonven- tion. Nominations for temporary chair man were made. The secretaryi pro- ceeded to call the roll as made up, and called Maricopa county, 1t cast it's