Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-08-09
COULD KNOCKOUT
PETITIONS NOW
SAY ATTORNEYS
Have Invalidated Enough of the
Names to Render Recall
Papers Useless
NOT SATISFIED HOWEVER
Will Continue Until Ii Is Shown That
Documents Are a Joke-ThriIIs
Furnished Today.

and Commissioner Archie Hart stated
this afternoon that they are convinced
that they have already invalidated
enough names on the recall petitions
10 bring the total below the required
1896, which is 80 per cent of the vote
OF the city and the number required
by the statute. There is no desire on
the part of the directors to let up now,
! however, it being the idea TO show
/ that the petitions are so insufficient
/ as to be rather in the nature of joke.
| The number of names invalidated by
/ the admissions of Billburg and Gard
ner alone reduces the total by about
/ 700
FORGERY Is PROVEN.
! Basis for charges of forgery were
6btained this morning by Attorneys
Haas, McEniry and Schoede by the in
/ PRODUCTION of NJ. l. Morris, Simon
! Lewis, Hymen Lewis, Henry Morris
and j. J. Taxman as witnesses. They
were shown their names on page 1877
/ Of the recall petition and were asked
/ if they had signed. Their replies in
each case were similar. They stated
positively that they had not signed
and that they had authorized no one
else to sign for them. The names are
all in one handwriting.
After the testimony of the first wit
ness, Attorney Wells for the petitions
asked that the court order all five
stricken as they were obviously forg.
ed. On Interrogation by the court, he
stated that the petitioners would ad-
nit that the five signatures were in
valid. The judge declined to take such
action unless the DIRECTORS asked it
and the latter side stated that they
preferred to go ahead and show by di-
rect testimony that forgery had been
committed. They then did so.
WANTS SEARCH FOR WEAPONS.
Two thrills featured the hearing
this morning and enlivened the other
wise tedious proceedings. The first Of
these came at the opening OF court
when Attorney Wells demanded of
Judge Graves that Mayor Schriver be
searched for concealed weapons, and
disarmcd if il was found he carried
any The judge advised Wells TO
either conduct the search himself or
make an affidavit charging the mayor
with carrying weapons in which case
it would be in the province of the
Judge to issue a warrant. He explain
ed. however that he could not take
the initiative of his own accord. Wells
made a vain attempt TO get some one
else TO make affidavit and then drop
ped the matter. Whereupon Attorney
NJ. V. Cannon. associated with Wells
in representing the petitions arose
and announced that the motion of
Wells had been made without his
knowledge and his tone intimated that
it also failed to meet with his appro-
baton.
NEGRO MAKES CHARGES.
The second thriller of the day came
when Harry Parsons, colored, was on
the stand. Parsons is the man who
made affidavit that he had been hired
by Billburg to secure names and that
he had done so at the rate of 10 cents
per name. He also claimed that he
had been misled as to the purpose OF
the petition and that he had not sworn
, to the genuineness Of the signatures.
While on the stand this morning he
made the startling statement that
Billburg and Wells had visited him
since the publishing of his affidavit in
The Argus and had offered him money
to get out of the city or TO make an
other affidavit retracting his charges
made in the first. Parsons is TO be
called back to the stand later ac,
cording to the program of the objec
tors and at that time his charges and
allegations made today will be deIved
into.
TO IDENTIFY WITHDRAWALS.
After the introduction of the com
plete list OF withdrawn names yester
day, the petitioners attorneys requir
Cd that the genuineness of the sigma
lures be established Accordingly tn,
withdrawal list was dropped for tn,
time being, but today it was taken vi
J again and several OF those who ha,
1 charge of the lists and who secured
s.gners, were placed on the stand t
! identify signatures. The attorney
4 promise to identify every one although
4 thus far they have not done so. Abou
half OF them have been identified how
ever.
CAN'T REMEMBER TAKING OATH.
f. H Gardner, editor of the Tri-cit!
Labor Review and active among III,
4 promoters OF the recall. was on the wit
ness stand for an hour yesterday aft
ernoon and a part of this morning
4 Through him the attorneys for the oh
jectors attacked the validity OF nin'
n different sheets of the petition con
4 tanning some 500 or 400 names. II,
j claimed TO have circulated the sheets
4 but could not say whether or not III,
signers we're voters. What was NOR
4 material he stated that he had no
sworn TO the genuineness of the sigma
lures, although each sheet containe,
4 his name, a printed form OF the oatl
q supposed to be administered by III,
4 notary and the notarial seal of eithe
F. II. Wells or G. P. Nissen.
q BILLBURG MAKES ADMISSIONS.