The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1912-11-14
COUNTY TICKET
is REPUBLICAN
LONG AND BITTER FIGHT IN
PENNINGTON COUNTY RESULTS
in LOSS OF ONLY ONE
COUNTY OFFICE.

Rapid City, S. D.-Tuesday record
bitterest political wars that has ever
been waged in Pennington county,
famed for its strife in early times.
All of the trouble grew out of the
investigation of the county records
and its resultant effect, in the wolf
county cases prosecuted by the United
States government which landed the
Fall brothers John and David in the
Leavenworth penitentiary to serve a
term OF is months for having used
the mails to defraud.
AS long as a year e last August
the Fall brothers Significantly told
their friends that there would be
something doing in the county when
the election came around this yea
Little attention was paid to their in
situations but when the county COM
missioners met in January an inves-
tigation of the county records was
ordered.
At this point Edwin Todd of the
Guide, the most influential democrat
ic paper in the county jumped in and
with the assistance of the Fail broth
ers succeeded in having a friend Il.
w. Eustace, appointed examiner of
the county records at a salary of SIS
per day. AT about this time County
Treasurer George e. Flavin went to
Panama and the Guide published
some articles intimating strongly that
Flavin had been guilty of malfeas-
ance in office and had allowed $780,
oo0 worth of taxes to go uncollected
Prominent business men, who knew
the contrary to be true brought Todd
to conduct his campaign with greater
moderation and conflne his editorial
charges to the facts. These requests
were met with the answer that all
that the investigation was intended
for was its political effect.
Then came the wolf bounty inves-
tigation which showed that the con-
duct of the auditors office was even
lore corrupt than had been init
mated of the county ~treasurer's Of
flee.
When the fall campaign came on
democrats and republicans aligned
for a finish fight on strictly party lin
es. 1T had been intended to run the
Fall brothers, John for county treas
urer and Dave for county auditor.
They were in the ~penitentiary and
not available for positions on the
ticket. With this state of facts Edit
or Todd conceived of Il plan to break
into the political limelight He
brought out a third ticket endorsing
a part of the democratic and %republi-
can nominees and making an indie.
pendent fight on the Office of county
treasurer and clerk of courts Back
of all this lay the Fall brothers, who
were to be named as deputies il the
third party ticket known as the
clean the court house, ticket went
through.
10 accomplish this Dan Morris an
old time Hills ranchman was placed
on the ticket for treasurer and w. II.
otearns for clerk of courts. The fight
was on. Opponents of the ticket dub
bed it the "Godsakers" ticket because
Editor Todd when some of his back
ers got cold feet in frenzy shouted:
Gentlemen. for Gods sake let us do
something"
When the votes We're counted Tues
day night it was found that the
G~odsakers' ticket had been beaten
by about 0 majority that the coun-
ty remains safe in the republican COL
umn and tina in the miXup of scrat-
ching ballots all that had been ac-
compllshed was the defeat of Mrs.
Charles w. Brown for superintendent
OF schools whom no one was anxious
to see beaten.
Now Ben M. Wood. half owner of
the Guide has applied for a receiver
Tor the paper and intends to establish
IT on a firm business basis as the
democratic organ of the county.