The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1910-11-04
Men Who Filed Charges Asked
Permission to Withdraw Them
When Proof Was Asked :
Commissioners Objected and Interesting Stories
Were Told---Sheriff NeIIis and Deputy Jones
Accused Of Inducing Negroes to
Sign Papers

would be sufficient, in connection
with the original oaths of the absent
voters themselves
Mode of Procedure.
The commissioners decided to go
through the affidavts by wards. Tak-
ing up the batch of As filed by G. M,
Ellis, they asked him what reason
he had for believing that the persons
namea were not entitled to vote.f He
expressed a desire to withdraw all
the affidavits, but the commissioners
would not permit him to do this HIS
plea was that in most cases he had
been informed by others that the men
were not entitled to vote. He was
permitted to withdraw his affidavits
one by one after he had given his
sued, which, in the opinion of the
board were not sufficient. 1t ap~
neared that few if any of them were
basel on his own personal knowledge
A specimen case was that Of T.. r.
Comings. MIR. Ellis had filed an affi
davit alleging that Mr. Comings was
not legal voter. He understood that
Mr.. Comings' family resided in ST
Louis, He was not here to answer
to tae charge; but Frank Sehille ap.
peared and sYore. that Mr.. Comings
had occupied room in the same
building he occupies on Eighth
street for eighteen months.
Some Striking Incidents.
John w. Grief who had been con.
|cerned in large number of cases. as
notary public or as complainant He
also wished to withdraw his com
plants without hearing and the
board refused to permit it, going over
the afffdavits one by one and dc.
mandng to know what reasons he
had for filing them. 1t was he who
had complained against the people
in st. Mary's Infrmary and on being
questioned, he admitted he did not
veloped that he had not been to st
Mary's Infirmary and did not knoS
that some of the men against whom
he had complained lived there, al
though his affidayits bore the street
number of the hospital correctly. His
plea was that he had filed the affi-
davits because the men had TO
naturalization papers.
How do you know this?" he was
asked
81 have never seen them," was his
reply
did yor-ever ask to see them"
''No."
"Then why did you file these affi.
davits?"
II was told they had no papers.
He was asked particularly about
one of the men against whom he had
complained, Barny Smith.
did You call at his house?"
YES"
What kind of house Is it,"
why, a cottage; just an ordinary
house"
is II one story or two story?"
Just an ordinary sized house"
"Did you find him at homer
No, they told me he was out"
Why I'D you file the affidavit?n.~
Because he had not resided in the
state long enough"
Don't you know that Smith re
sides in the hospital large building
covering an entire block; that he has
resided there for years; that he was
horn in New York and therefore
needs no naturalization papers?"
Il did not know that"
Mr.. Smith rs veteran of the Mexi-
can war; is over 80 years old, and js
blind; but in full possession of his
ether faculties. DR. Walsh was pres
,ent and informed the commissioners
that word from the Mother Superior
of The hospital was that Mr.. Smith
was rot able to appear in person.
Another case in which Grief had
made complaint was that of Pat Car
mI1CI'-.-y, who had reside1- in Cairo over
80 years. He was crippled but was
brought 20 the hearing in an auto. He
could not get up stairs to answer the
summons without pain, and the CON
nfrssronerg excused him.
A lumber OF other cases of like M.
ture were developed. Grief withdrew
all his affidavits, that were not de.
clarel invalid by the board, one by
enc, as the names were called.
Commissioner Magee reprimanded
him severely for swearing to matters