The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1907-08-30
GROSS FRAUD IN
PRIMARY ELECTION
Wilson Exposes Methods Used
to Defeat McCreary.
Mountain Counties Seat of Untold
Debiuch in Favor of Beck
ham and Hager.

In his speech at Pikesville last Mon
day, Augustus 4. Wilson, Republican
nominee for Governor, exposed the
methods used in the Democratic pri-
mary last fall, in which McCreary was
defrauded out of the endorsement for
United States Senator, and Hayes lost
in the Governors race to Hager. At
ter showing how the same gang had
robbed the Republicans in the cleo
ton of 1899, and had appropriated
the offices and used the power which
they gave them 10 further ambitions,
Mr.. Wilson then declared that they
had turned their fraud against men of
their own party and showed up their
crimes against the ballot in the fol-
lowing explicit language:
And the worst feature of this which
| have right to present to honest
Democrats who think for themselves
as a reason why they cannot honest
ly support the combination OF Hager,
Beckham & Co., is that the State
very well understands now, McCreary
and Hayes carried the Democratic
counties of Kentucky by good ma
jority, and were beaten by gross
| frauds in the mountain counties, not
one of which can give a Democratic
majority.
"McCreary and Hayes belong to the
old school, and although outraged and
Inundated by frauds and crimes upon
the primary, they hold their peace and
bide their time-too honorable and
manly TO 'squeal.
Il have heard at first hand from
personal witnesses many explicit ac-
counts of the way in which Hager
Beckham & Co, carried the Democratic
primary in the Republican counties,
and have referred TO them generally.
but | am going to state publicly here
to-day what has been told me by re-
spectacle men,of the facts of particu-
lar case in point in Pike county.
81 do not personally know the facts,
but | state them upon respectable in
formation, and state them here where
they are said TO have occurred, to the
end that if the statements made to me
are not wholly true and accurate as |
believe, else | should not state them,I
may be correctly informed SO that |
shall not speak of IL again.
HOW THEY WORKED 1T.
I'm 1906 the Democratic primary was
held on the day of the congressional
election, and Pike county, in which |
now speak. gave Mr. Langley, the Re
publican candidate for Congress, a
good majority. The banner Republic
an precinct in that county was Peter
precinct and the whole Democratic
vote of Peter Precinct, | am informed,
was SO votes for, Mr. Hopkins, Demo-
crat, for Congress, and 260 votes, Re-
publican and Democratic altogether.
II am informed by respectable men
a primary has gone through with UNI
Peter precinct was Mr.. Cline,a lawyer
at Pikesville, now Democratic Cam
paign Chairman of Pike county. and
that, in fact, no Democratic primary
was held in Peter Precinct, and that
unquestionably no form or pretense of
a primary was gone thorugh with un
people had nearly all gone home, when
the Democratic workers, with perhaps
three or four men. made up and sent
in to Pikeville, the county seat, what
pretended to be the returns of the
Democratic primary election at Peter
precinct in Pike county on that day,
and by that return, which was sent in
and counted as part of the returns from
the Democratic primary in Pike coun
ty, there were certified and counted
263 votes for Beckham and Hager
This was from a precinct which only
gave fifty-nine votes for Mr.. Hopkins,
the Democratic nominee for Congress,
on that day and at that place, and only
260 votes in all, and Pike county was
returned as giving Beckham and Hage
1900 majority, when it only had and
voted that day 2,10O votes.
GOT WRONG DOPE.
But there was another thing of
very particular interest in the story,
and that was a telegram from State
officer to Chairman Pinson, at Pike,
which read; What is your majority
Pinson wired in reply: Eight hundred
The State officer wired back, YOU
mean 1900, don't you??' and Pinson an