The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-04-06

them a quorum. Their story is that
the roll of counties was called and
Ricklefs announced ten votes from
! Doniphan county for H. NJ. Aten ~of
Hiawatha, whereupon a poll of Doni-
phan county was demanded and the
roll of delegates was called and the
chairman declared Rieklefs the only
| Doniphan county delegate present and
/ voting, giving Nugent ten votes. and
Aten one.
An AFFIDAVIT by NIr. Ricklefs stated
| that he went into the court room
| where the convention assembled a few
minutes before 7.30 o'clock and saw
some of the sDoniphan county dele
gates on the other side of the ROOM He
/ thought they We're holding a caucus
and did not go near them, as they APP
/ peared to be talking in a low tone of
voice. Somebody said something to
! him about how DOniphan was voting
and he said it was voting ten votes
for Aten, but said nothing more. He
had no idea the Brown county dele
gates were pretending to hold con-
An affidavit by Henry Ramsey stated
that he came from St Joseph to Troy
on the evening on which the conven-
/ ton was held, and that the train was
on time that when it reached Troy
two men asked the conductor to hold
the train until some more men came;
William Maynard, the Grand Island
agent at Troy. said in an affidaVlt
that the Grand Island train which
some of the Brown county delegates
/ caught was due to leave at 1856; that
/ it came in and left on time; that 1t
was not held for anyone; that it takes
from three to five minutes to walk
from the court house where the con
vention was held to the depot-three
/ minutes if one walks very fast.
/ Several other affidavits were intro
duced, and then Cyrus Leland, c. v;
Norman and several others testlhed
IoralIy. Mr.. Leland said that ne was
around the door of the court room
] r,5a q
looked in and saw some of the Brown
fcounty delegates, and supposing they
were holding a caucus, he did not go
/ in; that there were only elght dele
Other Doniphan delegates testified
along the same line.
| w F. Means, county attorney Tor
/ Brown county represented Mr.. Nugent.
He ALLEGED that the Brown county del
egates waited until several minutes
after 1880 before calling the conVen-
/ ton to order; that it was f;SZ Dy the
| slowest watch in the room. he salu
tba business conducted was as follows:
/ Charles Reisner, secretary OF the con-
vention, announced that the regular
chairman was not present and asked
who the delegates would nave Tor
chairman pro tenn; John Weitman was
nominated and elected; the chairman
ordered the roll call on the nomination
of a senator; Brown county Voted ~
votes for Nugent, and Riclxefs of Don
iphan voted 10 votes for Aten; the
Doniphan vote was challenged ana
polled, and only Ricklefs was 1oula
present and voting, Whereupon the
chairman announced that as Nugent
had received a majority of the votes
cast a quorum being present, ne was
nominated for senator: resolutions
were read and adopted, and the con-
ventiOn adjourned. Mr.. Means said the
whole proceeding did not occupy more
than two and half or three minutes,
and that some of the delegates then
hurried to catch the Grand 1slahd
train, which was a Few mlnuSes ldle;
Afidavits of R. F. Buckles, George NJ
Davis, D. T. Wharton, S +. Friend.
and others, were read in support or
these statements. They alleged that the
time the convention was called was frOIn
7:32 to 1887 All sWOre that Ricklefs
was present that he participated in the
convention, voted for Aten when DOM
phan was called, and also voted Wnen
Doniphan was polled- This last point
Attorney General Coleman asked ABOUT
in particular, and Mr.. Means admitted
that probably Mr.. Ricklefs did not say
anything at all when Donlphah county
was polled, but the chairman announced
that he was present and voting
Mr.. Davis was present and Mr. Brew
ster cross examined him. Davis got
considerably tangled up and finally ad-
mitted that his affidavit was incorrect as
to Ricklefs voting on the poll OF DOnl-
phan county. He also admitted that II
was planned beforehand to take snap
they were not present on the dot that
the resolutions were all prepared, in
Guiding the naming of new senatorial
committee.
ment signed by Thos. ]. Lynch, con-
ductor on the Grand Island train on
the evening March IA. It was not
sworn to and Mr.. Brewster objected to
it's admission as evidence. 1t was held
that it was not good evidence but Mr..
Means was allowed to read it. MI
Nugent explained that he got the
statement while Lynch was registering
his train in passing through Hiawatha
on March g. He admitted that 1t was
all prepared for Lynch beforehand an !
that Lynch simply signed it during the
two minutes stop that the train made
The statement said that Lynch was
asked to hold the train on March IA at
Troy, that he did so and that it left
Troy a few minutes late.
Charles Reisner, one of the two sec
retaries of the convention, testified as
to the proceedings in which Nugeat
was nominated, and stated that they
did not take more than two or three
minutes. He also produced some min
utes which he said were the original
minutes of the senatorial convention,
but on crosse examination he admitted
that the other secretary, a DOniphan
county man, had part of the original
naDers and that his minutes of the
Nugent convention were written in Hi
awatha after the convention adjourn
ed.
The Doniphan contingent was try
ing to prove a conspiracy on the part
of the Nugent crowd to take snap
Judgment on the Doniphan delegates,
and Reisner inadvertently helped in
the proof. Brewster was cross-exam-
lining the witness as to who came into
the court room while the Brown coun-
ty delegates were there
Did you see me there ?" Mr.. Brew
ster asked.
You came in at just 100" said
Reisner ''and [ remarked to the other
fellows that guessed you smelled a
rat"
Reisner then admitted that the
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