Arizona republican., 1908-04-11
AN EXPERT INQUIRY
 INTO RUM0R OF FRAUDS
The First Ward Primary Officials Testify as to Their shtforward Conduct.


 The primary election commission en- gagged in the investigation of rumors of irregularities in the first republican primaries, held two sessions yesterday and will announce its findings this morning. Messrs. Dwight B. Heard and Mayor L. w. Coggins were ap pointed a subcommittee to collect the Iacts and report to the whole commit tee consisting of them and Messrs. J. C. Reed, C H. Davidson and Elliot Evans when a decision will be an nounced As there had been no formal charges of fraud and as the time had not yet arrived to make such charges there was naturally no one present to allege that fraud had been committed. Some wonder has been expressed that the self-maGe defendants had not eX- posed themselves to a church trial in stead of an investigation by the com mission. There would have been the same inevitable fruitless result and the five busy men who constitute the com mission would not have been required to waste a day.
 The first session oi the investigation vas held at the office of Chairman Mintz of the county central committee where some facts regarding the meet ing Of the committee at which the call for the primaries was issued were brought out. The call under which the primaries were held was identified by Secretary Harry Tritle as the genuine blown in- the neck of the bottle call. Thus, so far. the proceedings of the primaries must have been regular. The rest of the investigation took place in the district court room anG the wit uesses were members of the election board federal and territorial officials, all of whom testified that if there was anything wrong on their part they had failed to observe it. Regarding the rumor that d young colored man had been denied the right to vote on the ground that he was not old enough some of the witnesses said that that was so and they offered to go and get the young man and bring him in as exhibit No. 1. George Kirkland was one of the clerks at the primaries and he testified that the only irregularity perpetrated on the ballot box was the work of Charles TribOlet who had thrust a handful of ballots into il. Further questioning brought out that they were administration ballots and as the ballot box was an administra tion receptacle, no great impropriety on the part of MT. Tribolet was dis closed.
 There were offered as exhibits two sealed envelopes, one of which MI. Kirkland said concealed the ballots cast at he primaries and the tally sheet. The other contained lot Of ballots which MT. Kirkland said that J. w. Canning had picked up from the floor and which he thought had come out of the box. Nobody was sure of that and il was decided not to put them with the others for there were certainly as many of them as were needed to size up with the tally sheet and perhaps q good many more. They were accordingly presented for what they were ,ro~th '. was also brought out .'-. -',o returns" were not sealed up .-o polling place but at the sher- ifs office sometime after the closing of -'~ -~-'- There had been some in formal expression of curiosity regard ing the number of ballots which had been put into the box that day Some thought there were as many as 1000 and other ultra conservative persons were sure there were not more than 800. The latter were probably influ- five hundred. The latter were probably influenced by the knowledge that there were not more than 500 voters of all cOlnrs and all parties in the ward. Ii was thought that the contr'--,-----. between the 1000 ties and the 500-ites might be settled yesterday but the question is stiil an open one. once it looked as if the en- velope might be opened but It was not.
 Among the witnesses who testified 10 the absolute purity O. the first ward polls were Inspector Kersting. J. P. Rhodes, Amos Egley. George Kirkland and l.. J. Rice of the eiCcIion board and J. W. Canning George Christ. w. c. Foster. L. w. Collins and other cas- ual observers who kept dropping in ev- cry few minutes to see how things were coming The examination was conducted by Ernest w. Lewis, presi- dent -N~ Taft club. who may be de- cgrfI,rd Dorfrcaf oc1f- -dafguee