The Elbert County tribune., 1905-01-12
THE LEGISLATURE AND
THE GOVERNORSHIP

the contest.
In adopting the usual method Of
seating officials elected on the face OF
the returns" and then instituting a
contest where fraud is alleged, the Re
publican leaders have givn general sat.
Isfaction, although there is consider
able complaint among those who are
familiar with the details of the frauds.
They argue that a system that will
permit a governor to take the office.
even for day, when the fact that he
was elected by fraudulent votes Is a
matter OF common knowledge. needs
immediate changing.
The fact that the frauds exceeded
by far the plurality OF Mr.. Adams is
freely conceded by all who have had
an opportunity to familiarize them
selves with the results of the investi-
CATION This evidence and these bal
lot boxes will soon be examined, how
ever, and the office surely returned to
Mr.. Peabody.
Conservative Action.
In adopting this conservative course
when they had the power to push
through a more decisive and radical
course. 1t is pointed out will result in
great advantage to the Republican or
ganization.
The leaders point to the fact that
when the Democrats had the power
they threw out Republicans regardless
of law, constitution or decency, and
argue that this is just the reason they,
the Republicans, should go slow and
tread the straight and narrow path of
regularity.
In the meantime the full extent of
the frauds is becoming better appre-
ciated as the Supreme Court removes
the lids from the boxes of the various
precincts.
Three boxes opened last week
showed about 500 Democratic ballots
written by two or three persons. In ad-
dition to this the evidence has been
more sensational and startling, if that
were possible, than that given in the
earlier cases.
Court watchers and other witnesses
testified to the fact that in each pre-
cine the challenges of the Republican
challengers were absolutely ignored.
One witness kept list of names of
voters who had their names voted
upon by impersonators. When the
challengers would publicly denounce
the impersonators as frauds and call
attention to the fact that they were per
sonally acquainted with the party who
was being impersonated, the Demo
cratic judges would ignore the objec-
ton and accept the bogus votes.
Thousands of fraudulent votes were
cast by this method and of course the
number can never be accurately ascer-
tanned. Not even the handwriting ex-
perts can pick out such votes.
How Repeaters Were Paid.
The most interesting testimony was
hat of a witness who described the
manner in which he saw repeaters
herded, given ballots and money for
voting them. The following bit of tes-
timony referring to a man named Ely,
Democratic precinct committeeman,
is especially rich:
-, saw Ely pay two men two dollars
about fifty feet from the polling place.
Then he said to them, Go on in and
vote The men went into the polling
place. l saw Ely go into the family
entrance of the Coliseum saloon with
nine men. | stood on the curb and
watched them. saw Ely give them
bills and silver dollar pieces and slips
Of paper. Then they came out, three
at time, and went into the polling
place. l saw each one given ballot
and saw each one vote it."
This is sufficiently specific to satisfy
the most exacting. That a conspiracy
existed involving the election officials
cannot be denied, for such repeating
as this, which can be established by
hundreds of witnesses and which has
been established in every case IN the
Supreme Court, could not possibly
be carried out without the connivance
and assistance of the Democratic
election officials at the polling places.
In this box the expert found 167 bal
lots written by the same person and
he declared in his sworn statement
that if he had time to examine the
other ballots carefully he could have
found much more. The total vote in
this precinct was 290.
This is sample box and like others
it smells to heaven.
There is absolutely no question