The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-02-19
WOULDN'T SELL.
Senator Hopkins Offered $500
to Give Up.
Webb McNall Carried Him the
Offer.
WAS REFUSED AT ONCE.
Confident That the Senate
Would Treat Him Fairly.
Now Satisfied That He Has No
Chance.
WAS REFUSED AT ONCE.
Senate Elections Committee
Makes It's Unseating Report.

If what Senator Hopkins says is true,
and he IS not a man given TO telling
fairy tales, an Investigating committee
would not be out of the way in the sem
ate
He says he was offered $500 if he would
get out of the way and give his seat to
Buschow without a contest, but that he
refused and was again made the same
offer and again refused
When the elections committee of the
senate braeed its nerve and after delay
of several weeks determined to make its
report yesterday evening even If some OF
the Republican senators were inclined TO
get out of line ard oppose the report, al
was evident to Senator Hopkins that he
was elected to vacate his seat in favor
of Mr.. Buschow. The committee also de-
cided to give Robert Findlay Senator
Ross seat.
Senator l. R. Wright, who is on the
committee, made minority report and
asked that the reading of the reports 90
over until Tuesday evening at 1.30 when
they would be made a special order.
Il had some hopes that there would
be enough men who were fair on the
majority side,n said Senator Hopkins.
Ito give my case q just hearing, but
am convinced now that there is no hope
for me from that quarter. consider the
entire business rotten and know that
| was fairly elected. have received let
ters from Republicans all over my dis
trict stating that they thought / was
fairly elected and that the contest
should be dropped. They have written
to the committee to the same effect All
the Republican officers of Sheridan
county wrote to me and wrote to The
committee that they considered / WAS
fairly elected, and Republican newspa-
pers have said so in their columns
1T was foregone conclusion with a
great many Of my friends that I would
be thrown out, but had too much faith
IN the fairness and honesty Of the Re
publican members to believe it
Were you not offered a sum of non-
ey to give up the seat before the session
opened?" was asked Senator Hopkins
Well, who told you that2''
Il heard 1t pretty straight. Is it tFue2'
yes, it IS / was offered the amount
OF pay I would get in the two sessions
$500, If I would not take my certificate
of election and would make no contest.
As he talked of the matter he got little
angry and said:
1T was dirty piece of business AMI
J told the messengers to tell who ever
sent them to keep their money; that
was fairly elected and would keep my
seat until they threw me out. The mes
sengers both Informed me that who ever
sent them had said unless / accepted the
money and got out they would throw me
out anyhow. so would be just that
much ahead.
THAT was the day before the session
began and I did not receive my certifi-
cate until ten DAYS later No. I can nor
say who sent the men to me with the
offer: but I can say who the men were
who came to me One of the offers was
made to Webb McNall, my. attorney, and
by him to me. He did not tell me who
asked him to make the offer and did not
advise me to accept it" He would not
say who the other offer was carried by.
It has been a foregone conclusion that
Senator Hopkins would be removed by
the committee and his attorney, Webb
McNall has never had any hope that lie
could keep the seat, but he did all he
could in the case
COMMITTEE REPORT.
The elections COMMITTEES in its report
decided to throw out Bryant township IN
Graham county which is in Senator
Hopkins district. This township gave
Hopkins 81 majority and his majority
the conclusion to throw out Bryant
township the recount had been made
and Buschow gained 28 votes. This was
not enough to overcome HOPKINS ma
jority so the township was thrown out.
The report Of the committee states that
in the township a number of Russians
who could not understand English voted
and that the judges marked their ballots
for Hopkins when the voters asked to
vote the way the majority of the Rus
slams were voting. This the committee
considers Illegal and fraudulent and so
throw out the township.
In the minority report, and this is
agreed to by Major Harvey and Webb /
McNan, Hopkins attorneys, Senator
ENtG00CGE
that only 13 ballots were marked by the
judges in the township and that six OF |
these We're voted straight fusion at the
request of the voters and seven we're
marked fusion because the voters stated
they wanted to vote the way other |
Russians were voting. Tits township |
was carried by Bryan with a majority |
Of At and Hopkins received but 81 ma |
iority. 1t is evident that Hopkins did /
not get any Illegal votes or he would at /
least have polled as many votes as the I
head of the ticket.
The majority report also claims that I
one of the judges had money to use IN /
the election but the evidences does not I
show that any of it was used or thar |
any attempt was made to use it, The /
report states that the commit 1
the money. After throwing
out the Bryant township and the 28 IL 1
legal votes in the district the ma jority +
report OF the committee recommends /
that Buschow be seated as he has ma
j8rity of II.
In the Ross case the knees of the
committee weakened a great deal and /
they decided to change their report and
not throw out the nine townships in /
which the light weight paper was used
It was the stand taken by some of the
Republican senators which caused this i
change OF mind on the part of the conf
mittee, as they had refused to support
The report if the committee insisted up L
IN throwing out the nine townships ia
which the paper was used. They find ac~
-ording to their report that the recount
n the Ross -FindIay contest reduces
Ross majority from rs to So They also
ind cause for throwing out Cheyenne
.ownshiD IN Barton county where Ross