The Grit-advocate., 1905-03-10
PEABODY VS.. ADAMS
ARGUMENTS OF THE ATTORNEYS
Charles S. Thomas Speaks for Adams
and John s. WaIdron Repre-
sents Peabody.

sents Peabody.
Denver March s.-Arguments by
counsel in the gubernatorial contest
were completed yesterday afternoon
Sixteen hours had been used. eight by
each side. Members of the joint con.
yention will begin this morning their
debate on the case. They will speak
70 the four reports that have been sub
mitted by the joint contest committee
Ten minutes will be allotted to each
member. Any member may yield his
time to another. but under the rules no
one can talk over twenty minutes. 1t
is believed that not more than half the
legislators will wish to take part in
| the debate. In that event the discus
sion will take up less than nine hours.
| Former Governor Charles S. Thomas
consumed two hours during the morn
ing and one hour in the afternoon ses-
sion yesterday with a powerful argu-
mcnt in behalf of Governor Adams
| cause.
The duty has been assigned to me" !"
began Mr.. Thomas, ito present what
ever else may be said in behalf OF
contestee. l shall endeavor to confine
my self to things which have not been
touched upon"
In the course Of his address MI.
| Thomas said:
There are three fundamental propo-
sitions presented by this record The
| first is, shall the will of the majority
rule? The second shall the man who
now occupies the governors chair by
| constitutional right be deposed to
make way for man who was never
/ oil or nv irI hon n
| precedent of this kind be established?
This alleged conspiracy is a pecu-
liar thing. 1t was located in six coun-
ties. Who would naturally be the con-
spirators? The Western Federation of
Miners. the Mine Workers Of America,
and other labor organizations. They
OF all others would have cause to try
to defeat Mr.. Peabody. Yet the con
spiracy appears in isolated spots, the
lower part Of Denver which is Demo
cratic. in Pueblo, Boulder, Las Ami
mas, where the power OF the Colorado
Fuel and Iron Company and the Victor
Fuel Company hold the county in it's
| remorseless grasp.
Have you thought that in following
| Mr.. Waldron's az vice as to this con-
spiracy you will disfranchise 10000 of
your fellow citizens? Not Democrats
alone, but Republicans as well.
Mr.. Waldron refers to the spring
election. That was Conejos county
combination, and l think | am not
wrong in saying that Mr.. Waldron
himself supported that combination
ticket. If the Denver charter election
was infamous it was made SO because
of the fact that the influences asking
you to seat Governor Peabody sup
ported the Democratic ticket at that
time.
Expert testimony is an extremely
delicate matter" he said.
To be at all convincing 1t requires
much time and infinite care before even
approximately accurate results can be
reached. Yet in this contest in four
teen days the Republican experts
passed upon 10000 ballots. 1t was be-
yond human possibility 10 get anything
like accuracy in such an examination"
Mr.. John NJ. Waldron, attorney for
Mr.. Peabody, made the closing address
In which he said:
Il did not say that in the determina-
ton of this contest, you were war
ranted, either morally or legally, to
disregard the will of the people. / did
not say that this body, was to arbi-
trarily decide this case without right.
In the past, precedents may be
found in which law and justice were
trampled under foot for the purpose of
forcing on the state United States
senator who had no lawful title to that
office. am not asking you to repeat
that act. It comes with bad grace from
! members Of this body who voted for
! that precedent to ask the other mem-
bers Of this body to produce stronger
testimony than that they acted upon.
Their lips should be sealed. They
should be dumb as the dead. What just
man will deny the soundness of that
thesis!
II wish to say further that this body
has no right to consider other than Mr.
| Peabody or Mr.. Adams in this contest
The report Of one member of the COM
mittee that neither of these contes-
tants was elected governor and that
the honorable gentleman who is presid-
ing officer of this body should be
seated, will not do. The OILY way for
the lieutenant governor to be made
governor would be for Mr.. Adams to
resign his seat and for Mr.. Peabody to
withdraw his contest.
"Such has been the operation of the
machine that controls this city that
had it not been for the injunction of
| the Supreme Court of this state COM
pelling the throwing out Of certain pre-
cincts, there would not have been a
Republican member in the House from
Denver county. There has been an ef-
fort OF the Supreme Court to purify the
elections Of this state. And yet these
lawyers and publicists who have been
in close touch with the contestee, and
who have villified the Supreme Court
for trying to purify the ballot, are here
to ask this Republican body to allow
that machine to remain in control of
the Election Commission of this city
don't believe your consciences will
allow them to remain SO that they
may steal the next election. See to it
that the receiver of stolen goods is no,