Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-10-13
TEN CONTESTED SEATS
Fights for Places in House Of
Representatives.
THE BRIEFS FILED
POINTS OF CONTROVERSY IN THE
DIFFERENT DISTRICTS.
Alleged Discrimination in the South
Marking Ballots in California
Barring Illiterate Voters.

Ten seats in the House of Representatives
Of the coming Congress will be contested.
All Of these contested cases are now In the
proper form to be referred to committees,
when appointed, for hearings and reports.
The cases OF contests follow: Colorado.
first district, Bonynge agt. Shafroth; Mas
sachusetts, ninth district Conry agt. Keli-
her; South Carolina, first district, Prioieau
agt Legare: seventh district, Dantzler agt.
Lever; California, fourth district. Kahn
agt. Livernash; Tennessee, eighth district.
Davis agt. SINS: North Carolina, tenth dis
trict. Moody agt. Gudser; Oklahoma, Cross
agt. Mcclure: Pennsylvania. tenth district.
Council agt. Howell; Missouri, twelfth DIS
trict, Reynolds agt. Butler.
The contestants in the first and seventh
districts of South Carolina are republicans.
colored men. who contest the election OF
democrats. In the ninth Massachusetts, s.
trict democrat contests the election OF an
other democrat. In the fourth district OF
California republican, Kahn, who was in
the last two Congresses, contests the cleo
ton of Livernash, elected on the democratic
and union labor tickets In the eighth Ten
nessee and the tenth North Carolina dis
tr.cts republicans contest the elections of
democrats, and In the Oklahoma case a
democrat contests the election of a repubii-
can. In the first Colorado district Bonynge.
a republican. contests the election Of Shat
roth. silver republican, who has been in the
last four Congresses. In the tenth Penn
sylvania district Connell. republican. con-
tests the election of Howell. democrat. In
the 18th Missouri Reynolds, republican,
contests the election of Butler. democrat.
The Conry-Keliher Case.
One OF the most interesting of the con-
tested election cases IS that Of Conry agt.
Keliher. both democrats OF the ninth Massa-
chusetts district. During the campaign in
that district. 1t Is claimed by the contest
ant, Chairman Griggs Of the national con-
gressional committee sent to Conry a tele-
gram stating that while it was improper
for him as chairman Of the congressional
committee to take sides in the contest in
the ninth district, in which two democrats
were running in opposition, yet he thought
personally that Conry's record entitled him
to denomination and he hoped he would be
elected.
This telegram was dated on November l.
and being on the eve of the election 1t was
regarded as strong card for Conry. A re-
bogus and had not in fact been written by
Gr1ggs. Conry claims that this report was
circulated by either Keiiher. or those In hs
employ, with the purpose to deceive the
voters and to injure Conry's chances of
election. and that, In fact, it did lose for
him many votes. In his brief Conry SUBJ
mits copy of telegram sent by Mr..
Griggs to the chairman of the ninth DIS
trict after the first telegram was published,
in which Chairman Griggs said he had no
preference for any candidate in that dis
tr.ct. and that he had not expressed any
preference. This telegram was published
with the statement that 1t was self-explan-
atory, and the inference of many voters
was that the first message bogus,
whereas both are claimed by Mr.. Conry to
be genuine although rather contradictory.
COnry also claims that Keliher made
promises of rewards or presents to many
voters for voting for him, and that many,
a fod
for him. He also claims that voters were
brought into the district Illegally.
A curious feature of the case of Prioleau
agt Legare, In the first district of South
Carolina, Is the claim that if Legare is de-
clared elected he must be declared elected
to any Congress and not particularly to
the Fifty-eighth. This is inferred by the
contestant from the fact that the ballot on
which Legare was elected did not clearly
state the Office to which he was to be
elected. .,.-.---