The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1911-01-04
.B|RTHRIGHTS OF
MANY WERE SOLD
In Various Sums Obtained
for Their Votes.
SHAME0E ADAMS COUNTY, OHIO
Where Buying and Selling of
Votes Has Been Regular
= Business.
INVESTIGATIONS, TO CONTINUE

West Union, o., Dec. S0.-A doz-
en- men, when Judge Blair opened
court to-day. tramped into the court
room. and, without the least evidence
OF shame, confessed that they had
sold their Votes for trifing sums.
sevsnty-three true bills, the small
est days work for long while, were
reported by the grand jury to-day,
bringing the total indictments up to
1911. OF this number 377 have
already pleaded guilty. Forty men,
unlimited and likewise as yet. unin-
dicteds have come to the court house
to enter guilty pleas, not knowing
whether or not the grand jury had
reported their names and not wish
ing to take any chance at appearing
to be in the least dilatory.
They simply wished to clear their
skirts. Judge Blair said to-day that
the investigation Is going to continue
and that it may be two or three
months before it is concluded.
Although the county will have
new prosecutor, in the person of
Frank Shively, the first of the year,
it was announced that the present
corps of attorneys will continue in
charge of the investigation. A few
men, knowing that the court has
the goods" on. them, have left the
county. II they are caught It is ex-
pected It will go hard With them.
"why are you men so willing to
rush to the; court house to plead
guilty?" was asked of one of the
vote sellers.
There are two reasons" was the
answer. 'In the first place, we know
the court has the goods on us. In
the second place, We know Judge
Blair; that he is a man of his word.
II he says we will get immunity. we
know we will get it. We have had
experience with him before"
Judge Blair has adopted a uni
form scale in dealing with those who
plead guilty. He assesses a fine of
$25 and Immediately suspends $50
of the fine to be held over. the head
of the accused for any future offense.
He also hands out a six-months'
workhouse sentence, which is Sus-
pended and held for future refer
ence. The third section of the pen
altv is a tive-years' Acknowledgement,
which is absolute,
The barter of ballots, which -four
fish ed until IL became an institution,
carried no cringe of conscience with
II. AS a result, tears are being shed
in dozens Of homes and the specter
of poverty stalks those who, by de-
grading their franchise to the depths,
sought to place themselves on the
heights of political influence in their
country communities.
AS an instance: A widowed moth |
er of a first voter came into Court !
from PEBBLES, one of the principal
towns in the county, and told TODAY
how she had sold her sons vote for
So. She wept for the Courts mercy.
Another instance: Among the
voters who confessed they had faint
ed their citizenship to-day were men
who had voted for Lincoln and boys
who cast their ballots for Harding
and Harmon.
One farmer in Jacksonville pre-
cinct confessed that en- a recent cleo
ton day he had thrice bartered his
vote away, each sale to a different
In Manchester, a manufacturing
town, the shops are closed and home
boards of cash are depleted after the
season. of gift-gtVing and holiday
extravaganza. II Is problem with
many where to raise the $12-$5
fine and 81 COSTS hIich athey must
pay. ere their workhcnse sentences
are RENTED. p = -9ss
1.-The record aof chattel mortgages I
fled in tine scburt. hodse shows that
many of those who shaye confessed /
vote bartering have, moFtgaged their
bousehoid goods to raise money to |
pay their fines. :. In one. place the
family COW was SO placed In pawn to
procure liberty. .E':-c eyTs.-' ~
In the confession of phss Jackson
vile precinct tarmes'sTho came In