The Falls City tribune., 1909-07-30
"reminiscences of a Wayfarer
of Richardson County and Southeast Nebraska, as
remembered by the writer. who has spent fifty
one years here.

time, was without arms of any
Kind, and as affable and polite in
his general demeanor as a French
man, or two Frenehmen for that mat
ter, and was a~ssiduous in his atten-
ton to principal judge of election
Jim Buchanan; SO much so that when
the board of election adjourned for
dinner Buchanan invited the Rulo ex-
quisite to partake of the midday
meal with him at his house, over
where Ben Poteet now lives.
The invitation was very graciously
accepted, and Buchanan, carrying the
ballot box with him for greater pro-
lection and to prevent unlawful inter
ference with it and its contents,
along with the young emissary from
Rulo, went over home and in due
time returned and the election went
on in peace and quiet. Word had
been passed at our poll that no man
be allowed to vote unless his legal
right to do so was known and unques-
toned. We knew that Rulo was pre-
pairing TO vote everybody. and would
scruple at nothing to swell her vote,
and We We're determined that our
poll should show nothing but an alb
%solutely legal tally sheet. There was
no disturbance of any kind during the
day but it was remarked that Buchan-
an again took the ballot box and the
Rulo visitor home with him for sup
per.
1t was not believed that a single
Rulo vote had been cast at our poll
besides that of the polite young mar
from Rulo, but to the utter astonish--
ment of everybody the count of the
ballots showed that of the one hun
dred and thirty cast, Rulo had re-
ceived thirty-five and Falls City the
balance, about ninety-five. That a
fraud had been committed was plain
to everybody, and the modus of it's
commission was also plain-the ballot
box had been stuffed, and at Buchan-
ans house. The Falls City ballots
we're printed but the Rulo ballots
found in the box we're in writing and
it was afterward proven that every
one of them were in the handwriting
of the young man from Rulo. He
and Buchanan had distracted thirty
five Falls City ballots and substitute
ed therefor the same number of Ru-
10 ballots. All this was established
to the satisfaction of the court in the
contest that followed. Just what he
paid Buchanan for his fraud and
treachery was never known. But the
country got too hot for Buchanan and
he made himself scarce.
In after years it was learned that
Buchanan went to the state of Ore
gon and for some pleasantly of his
of a %felonious nature the authorities
over there gave him a berth in the
states prison for a term of years
and that was the last We ever heard
of him. It was the boldest piece of
~rascality ! ever knew or heard of,
and so transparent that the dullest
mind could comprehend it in all it's
very simple details. In the trial, we
called every man who voted at the
Falls City poll and had him tell under
oath how he voted, and in every in
stance, except one as above stated,
each voter answered that he had
cast his vote for Falls City. That set
tied the question of fraud, the way it
was committed, and the men who did
it, as it was proved that nobody had
access to the ballot box out of the
presence of the other members, ex-
cept Buchanan and the smooth young
man from Rulo.
In the last and final election We
were determined that no fraud or
sharp practice of any kind should be
INDUCED in to carry 1t, as we were
satisfied that a fair poll of the people
would give Falls City the majority;
and on the final test in the judicial
examination that was made necessary
by the conduct of u opponents,
they were not able to prove a single
instance of illegal voting on behalf
of Falls City, or any OF its friends.
1t was not so with the opposition.
We proved by its poll list that at
the general territorial election the
fall before, that Rulo only polled SIX
ty-five votes, while at the last county
seat election, that occurred some -four
or five months afterwards, the poll
list showed that 225 men had voted
thereat and nearly, if not all of them
were cast for Rulo.
That could not be an honest poll,
for Rulo had no such number OF vot-
ers. There we're some who had not
voted the fall before, but voted at
.or