The La Jara chronicle. (La Jara, Conejos County, Colo.) 1896-19??, 1904-12-16
DENVER ELECTION
FRAUD SENSATION

The extraordinary disclosures of
election frauds in Denver as a result
of the Supreme Courts inquiry into
the contempt cases against election
officials in that city has attracted the
attention of the entire country.
Never in the history of Denver cleo
ton thievery has it been so extensive
or SO brazenly committed. and never
before has punishment followed so
swiftly upon the heels of the crime.
The most astonishing feature of the
whole matter is that the frauds were
perpetrated in utter defiance of the Su.
preme Court injunction and in the
very faces of the official watchers of
the Supreme Court who were stationed
at all voting places.
There is but one explanation for this
extraordinary contempt for the power
of the highest court in the state.
Heretofore Escaped.
Heretofore the Denver election
thieves have escaped punishment upon
che preteXt or another. They knew
that they always had the protection OF
the Police machine of the Demo
cratic organization and the assistance
of the best legal talent in the Demo
cratic party to keep them out of Jail
They felt that they We're immune. And
indeed they have received the protec-
tion and assistance of the Democratic
organization. leaders and lawyers, SO
far as they could give it. Senators
Paterson and Teller have both ap'
peared before the Supreme Court and
done their best to save the election
crooks from legal punishment, but this
is an instance where their political
power was of no avail
No Jury to "Pack.'
When the ward heelers figured that
there would be some way of getting
around the Supreme Court injunction
they reckoned without their host. In
the first place. there was no jury to
take up time or to be packed"
to behave themselves and conduct the
election lawfully and honestly. Those
who violated this order were
promptly hauled up and promptly sent
to Jail. A high court rarely if ever in
terferes with a lower court in its eff
forts to enforce respect for its author
ity and dignity, and the appeal of Sen
ator Patterson to the United States
Circuit Court of Appeals was in vain
and his friends of the lower wards viii
have to serve their sentences to the
end.
Many Policemen Among Offenders.
Another surprising feature of the
whole proceeding is that such large
proportion of the arrested and con
victed election crooks were policemen
and other law officials and public EN-
ployes.
OF the first forty-one arrested, nine
teen were policemen, detectives and
court constables, deputies and othel
police and county employes-just the
men who should have the most respect
for lawful authority. The very mer
who are daily called upon to carry ou'
the mandates of courts and enforcethe
law were the first and most reckless
offenders against the Supreme Cour'
and the election laws.
In some places the Supreme Cour'
injunction when served was torn up. Il
is said that Alderman Mahoney, one
of the arrested men, tore the injunc
tion into Bits when it was served upor
him at the polling place. In some
places the Supreme Court watchers
were thrown out and assaulted.
Violence at the Polls.
At others, Republican judges were
thrown out, and in some instances Re
publican judges were denied clerks
to which they were clearly entitled un
der the law. In several polling places
fighting and rough-house tactics were
pursued and Republican voters rur
out, assaulted or intimidated.
Thugs and bullies crowded arount
the tables and ballot boxes in severa
places and by the use of foul and pro
fame language and rough tactics gen
orally kept numbers of voters away
Repeaters were voted in squads, as has
been proven by the examination of two
or three ballot boxes by the Supreme
Court. The Republicans have copied
the poll books and are now canvassinG
the city to see how many of the ficti
tious names were voted which arc
known to have been on the registration
books
In one precinct 500 registered letters
were sent to names from the registra
tion books and all but thirty-three o.
them were returned because no sucf
persons lived at the places named
The re-canvass now going on in the
bad precincts" together with the rev
elations made by the Supreme Court ol
other forms of fraud. indicate thai