Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-12-27
ApMA9 COUNTY, OHIO, cULPR'Ts
BROUGHT DEFoRE COURT BY
WAGON LOADS.
ACCEPT p,sFRANcH.sEMENT
AND pAv NOMINAL FINES
yet, q County TO Ds Reduced During
Next Five Years -Witnsss Tells
arand Jury Custom Of Selling votss
w. Old One Price ~ Each in Last
Election.

lOA0S OF men 10o4CIe0 Ava
cipation in wholesale election trauos
In this county continued to arrive al
the court house today. They were nur-
ried before Judge Blair to plead gull
ty. receive suspended jail sentence. be
d,sfranchised for five years and pay
fine, Of IS to 325 and costs. The srano
4urv returned 124 indictments. making
the total 752.
How the Votes Were Sold.
Tho conditions alleged to exist III ene
county were described to the slanu
Jury By John A. MacCarty, memoel y.
the democratic state central comnl..ee
from Adams county. who was kNsn
immunity for telling all ne knew OF .le
alleged corruption and furnlsnins ens
names Of the men whom ne saao pau
fo vote. He gave the grand jurors
,on. list md spent yesterday revising
Il and adding to It the names OF scores
~ others who were not included be-
fone Judge Blair is giving immunity
81 thosa who confess and tell on 9TH
ers.
Ut doe, not cause any bad feeling
down In my county to tell on the other
fellow. He expects it. At least two
fifths Of the voters do. They know that
the only way to keep out Of the peni-
tentiary IL for q fellow to tell all he
knows.
.aThe very best people in the county
ara involved in this mess. The buyers,
an we call them, are made up OF minis
ters, lawyers, business men, farmers.
teachers, laborers. Sunday school su-
perintendents: in fact, all kinds Of men.
At the last election several influential
men, honest as the day is long. held
out until they got $26 each for their
votes. had to pay some an awful
price. The average price at the last
election was 50.
voto DUye0 sHonssk"
"a few. votes could be purchased for
IS each and little talk. Lots Of tho
fellows who bought votes were honor
able. Workers Of both parties knew
that II man had sold out he would
not be bribed by the other side. Very
few Of the fellows were downright
crooked.
"we'l be glad. tho. when this business
is over. It got to a point where man
couldn't be seleced without spending
about all the money he could get out
of the Office he secured. Many man
has gone broke because he ran for coun-
ty office.
"1n defense Of my own county I
want to say have positive knowledge
that the same conditions that prevail in
Adams also exist in Pike. Highland
scioto counties"
Mccarthy added that in his home
precinct out Of 327 voters over 100 have
been before the grand jury on charges
Of selling their votes.
Custom an Old One.
Men well along in life say they can
not recall when 1t was not the common
thing in Adams county for an elector
to get all that he could for his vote.
Old politicians declare that the practice
began in 1879. when a candidate for
governor started flatboat filled with
50 bills down the Ohio river at Bellaire
and bought every marketable vote as
FAR as New Richmond, in Clermont
county. Part Of the cargo was taken
ashore at Manchester, they say. and
loaded on a "prairie schooner" which
was driven up to Winchester. West
Union and PEBBLES to be properly
spread"
That fixed the minimum price for
surfaces in Honest old Adams" de-
clare the old-timers, and the only ques-
ton since has been the ability Of can
tlidates to lift 1t above that mark.
Probe 60 Spread Out.
Adams is strictly rural county and
practically all the voters are farmers.
Conditions almost as bad II not worse
are alleged to exist in Pike. Lawrence,
Clermont, Brown, Sciota, Highland and
Gal1ia counties. Judge Blair declares
he will see to it that these charges are
investigated as soon as he is thru with
Adams county.