Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-05-02

New York, May 1.-GcOrGe l..
SCruGham. nlanlsscr of the Intermittent
al PuiiCyhriIt ~ committee. who was
arrested in Albany last night o. con
sriracy charges growing out of thu re-
cent life insurance elections. arrived in
the city early today i'll tho custody o.
Detective IitzsimmonS Of the district
attorne Us office. Later with Charles +.
Darlington and Charles Stirrup. en-
rl"y"S Of tho committee, who acted as
watchers during the elections ana Who
were arrested on similar charges, Mr..
Scrllcham were arraigncd before
magistrate and given 4 hearing.
Whcn ScruGham. Strrup ana Car
riHGton We're arrai"nnd in the TulnbS
court tn" case WIS continued until next
Monday. Til" two former were released
On 5000 bail ANA burlington on $30nn.
Before he was arraigned Scrugharn
issued Il statement in which he de-
clarci that acts Of an entirely legal ma
turr have been miscunstrucd 50 as to
make it appear that IN attempt was
MAJ" to circumvcnt the laws govern
ing The insurance election ana to pro
culc thc counting by fraud the ballots
that were not properly executed.
~ IL maj t''t ~ ltt't, Stlt IL, lilrts-''
charges do not have to do with alleged
ta'uprring With ballots ut M, but re
e." 10 calling Of names ana addresses
on envelopes in which ballots were Sont
to the inspectors at the New York Life
Insurance Go. 1t was unnecessary that
the assistant district attorneys who
have taken upon themselves. in the abb
Sence of Mr.. jerome. the responsible
tIry If these arrests. should have exam
incd the three women who were for
merry employees of our committee and
who Immediately upon the close Of the
campaign found ready employment
with the Now York Life.
Il stated the facts fully to the assist
an district attorney Of my own &C
cord ana there has never been any At
tempt at Ccnccalmcnt in the matter.
He dc cIarcd that the ballots in pucS-
tion, 400 in number. were placed in q
single box. which was labeled "hni-
lots without envelopes" He said lii;n
til" settlement Of election inspectors
tlat tn",c cnvci,i.cs were mixed j.:
with ether ballots was explained by the
fact that the first official act of their
board was to Unfortunately open the
how many ballots were cast by the
conmittcc. "Thc net result OF TINS ac-
ton" says the statement, was that all
the ballots were unfortunately Jum-
bid together "Whethcr or not Mr..
Lawshe and his associates in the New
York Life board of inspectors remem-
her now finding the affidavitS placed in
tho box containing the ballots IN fueS-
ton Is quite immatcrial The fact that
ti,cy we're made and deposited, is en-
t;rr1v susceptible of proof and that In
itsrif would hc a sufficient answer TO
any charge Of conspiracy to clrcum-
wont the election law, even if 1t dld not
aDDcar that the inspectors were obllG'h
4, t,l,c corniZanCc Of tho matter III the
by counsel for our commit
tee.
Tho facts in this case speak for
themselves. The arrest Of tarrington'
Mr.. Stirrup and myself is z fitting Gil
mix tn a campaign in which gentle
mon intent on pCrpotuatinG them-
selves in the control Of $30o.0Oo,No 81
.othcr pcoulc's savings have r@S"rtcd -
every conceivable kind of fraud ana
chicancry to defeat the will of the poi
lev holders who propose to drive oHl
thn unfaithful trustees and restore !"
themselves the management OF their
own property.
",rhat my arrest should have been
timed At tho very moment that | was
known to be in Albany arriving by the
exposure of these methods to AID IN
securing the passage of bill intended
to prevent a repetition Of the scandals
of last falls administration campaign
is in Itself significant. | have n" lear
for the outcome Of this matter. when
I shall make it my business to nave
sifted To the bottom.
Scrugham said later:
Mrs. Frances Goldsmith, who, ac-
cordinr to the statement in the atida-
vit of Assistant District Attorney
Howe gave him the information. was
discharged by me for incompetency
three weeks before the polls closed.
The two others went the day after the
polls closed in company with seven
others. They had no difficulty in get
ting positions with the New York Life
Il have no doubt that all of them
were put through sweat.