The independent., 1905-03-23

tdlu Tue cOulnOn StOCk was tHIOWu iii
as makeweight without any charge
for it.
During the time which has elapsed
since election day the political COM
plexion Of the legislature and the per-
son of the governor have been charged
by agencies other than the will of the
people as expressed at the ballot box.
The first great change was wrought by
the supreme court, which, in con-
tempt proceeding, declared that it pos
sessed the authority to throw out en-
tire precincts when showing that
some fraud had been committed was
made in the precincts. The court did
not unseal the numbers on the ballots,
nor did it attempt to summon the vot-
ers and distinguish between good bal
lots and those alleged to be bad. It'll
held that because the proceeding was
not contest it could not, under the
law, unseal the ballots and thus reveal
who cast them. 1t could not violate
the secrecy of the ballot. The same
law which provides that the ballots
shall not be unsealed except In case
of contest, also provides that the
ballot boxes shall not be opened except
in case of contest. The court however
opened the boxes and permitted the
ballots to be scrutinized by pretended
writing experts who gave testimony as
wild, as foolish and as worthless as
that which they gave later in the con-
test proceedings. 1t may be assumed |
that this expert testimony, since prov
en- to be wholly without value, had
weight with the court in ordering the |
summary exclusion of a number of pre-
cincts from the count and the disfran- |
chisement of every honest voter in !
those precincts.
"The exclusion of these precincts |
had the effect of electing the three |
republican senators and the fifteen |
representatives who had been candi- |
dates for the legislature from Denver |
and the counties foated with it.
Next came the jobbery executed
under the order of the corporation |
bosses. A strange change in the re-
turns from a Pueblo precinct, which |
change was received without question |
by the Peabody canvassing board COM
posed of members of the late state
administration, defeated Senator Mar
tin, democrat, and elected Senator
Mccarthy, republican.
Next the same Peabody canvassing
board deliberately stole the seats of
Senators Ward of Boulder and Beshoar
of Las Animas and gave them to Mil
lard and Barela.
"Next the senate itself illegally ex-
PEELED Senators Born and Healy on the !.
pretext that the senate two years ago
had unseated-in perfectly legal
republicans, pushing
aside the fact that the house two years
ago had first unseated six democratic
members in the effort to create ma
jority to elect republican United
States senator.
Having thus established a strong
partisan majority in the legislature the
PeabodyiteS lodged a contest against
Governor Alva Adams The evidence
which was submitted during the hear
ing of the contest clearly proved that
Peabody had no case and never
thought he had case, but relied solely
on the partisan majority to seat him.
1t proved that Governor Adams, under
an honest count had larger instead
of smaller plurality than he received
on the face of the returns.
"Yet after long struggle the cor
poration influence, the influence of par
ty bosses and of Doodle, whipped
enough members into line TO steal the
governorship for Peabody by vote of
55 to 41-ten honest republicans vim
dicating their manhood by voting for
Mr.. Adams on the final ballot.
"Next came the working out of the
deal by which Peabody, the
recipient of the stolen office, passed it
along to Lieutenant Governor McDon-
old and retired repudiated and dis
credited.
Everything that has taken place
since the convening of the legislature
the extraordinary and dead
ly power which the corporation bosses
have gathered into their hands. They
have grown so arrogant and daripo