Durango semi-weekly herald., 1902-12-29
THEE HONEST. CON-
sCIENTioU6 MEN


Tie Herald is always as ready to
ca mend as to condemn actions Of
pal ic officials. In fact, 1t is pleas
~ to commend, and we are furnish
e. vith an opportunity OF acknowledg-
Ing re honest convictions of three
state officials elected by the late fu-
sionists in the case OF Whitelaw VS..
Cooper in the contest for representa-
tive from San Juan county. Judge
Whitelaw was determined to break
into the Legislature. no matter under
what conditions, and his first step was
10 have justices of the peace. compos-
Ing the canvassing board in conjunc-
tion with County Clerk Lockhart. to
take the law into their own hands
and disfranchise an entire precinct,
owing to alleged fraud. Every
honest. law w-abiding citizen knows that
If this was good law it would result
disastrously TO every party and every
county in the state where 1t might
happen that two justices of the peace
took 1t upon themselves to throw out
precincts because someone at late
hour cried fraud, or they might take
II OU themselves 10 lnlOW OUT pre-
cincts on suspicion. 1t will be re-
membered that Judge Russell was ap-
r7aled TO step in and mandamus the
county clerk TO acquiesce with the JUS
tees of the peace, and that after the
full facts had been placed before him,
he declared against the action of the
two justices. making it very plain that
they had overstepped their duty as
canvassing board This should have
been sufficient to have settled the
Whitelaw conte ntions. But there was
the state canvassing board. elected as
Democrats and fusionists and know
ing the easy manner Governor Orman
has of disobeying the law and playing
into the hands of henchmen, along
with the unsavory record of Treasurer
Chipley, the state warrant deal with
one Griffith showing him 10 be per-
son capable of prostituting his office
in most any particular, Whitelaw
thought he saw an easy way of secur
ing a certificate, in which case he felt
assured OF retaining a seat to which
be was not elected, owing to the mar
row majority of the Republicans. But
there were honest men on the board
of canvassers-men who cared more
for their oath to comply with the law
than they did who should he elected
United States senator and these men,
Messrs. Mills, Crouter and Post voted
accordingly when the question came
up for final settlement Wednesday,.
Crouter is Democrat of the old
school and surely cannot be accused
OF fusionist selling out He simply
followed the law. Secretary Mills was
for this policy from the start. 1t was
on Attorney General Post the Demo
Gratis counted. They knew him to be
weak in some things and believed he
could be horn-swoggled into doing
as they desired. But whatever may
be said of Mr.. Post as an attorney, he
is a man of honest convictions, and
his two years administration of the
office is proof of this. and realiZ
ing that the law was entirely on the
side of Mr.. Cooper, he voted to give
him the certificate of election. The
Herald feels. therefore, that Mr.. Post
is entitled to commendation from
every liberty-loving. law-abiding citi
zen for voting his convictions instead
of being led astray by the siren voice
of Tom Patterson and Weeping Tel
Ter.