Great Falls daily tribune., 1919-01-06
NINE SILVER BOW
CONTESTSPROM|SE
T0E|v[NEN SESSION
Republican Leaders Look Ask
ance at Claims as Majority
Is Already There.
By W. W. MOSES

Helena. Jan. 5-What promises -
eniven the opening days of the Sixteenth
legislative session, ordinarily tame and
commonplace will be the contest salch
il Is now certain will be instituted agaifSt
the seating of nine of the 10 democrats
from Silver Bow county who have been
given certificates Of election. Inc con
test grows out of the recent lnVesuga.lon
made by the attorney generals Office INTO
charges Of fraud which were unoffidaliy
brot hv some of the defeated republican
The Silver Bow delegation to the
house, as it now stands, consists or ~
democrats and two republicans, the
democrats being jerry j.. Harrington,
Charles Boulware, William Meyer, VI ~ =,
NJ. Kelly, Hugh Carroll, John J. Foley
and Il. T. Mooney, with Sam Treioar and
George I'll. Scott as the republican mem
bers.
Now it is alleged that frauds were
perpetrated in the election of nine OF
these Silver Bow democrats in that the
absent soldier ballots, which it is alleged
were not taken care OF at the Young
places Mt the time of the opening OF
the polls, were delivered late in the aft
ernoon and dumped into the ballot boxes
without proper examination ana GER
tification and that with them were de-.
posted large number of ''straw votes.
The contest will seek to seat in the
places of nine of the democrats an equal
number Of republicans, VIZ: "; y. Car- 7,
roll, c. s. Warren, @. s. Henderson. o..
b. Howell, Joanna Grigg, Levi s. Wild,
!. Nj. Hinkle, i. c. Fluent and II: j.
Grimes. The tenth republican candidate
whose vote was SO low that he was not
taken into consideration in the contest
papers, is Charles Jones, coiored, who
Is present in the city and is very mmch
in evidence about the Placer lobby. Ihe
one democrat whose seat remains un-
contested. w. f. Dunn, was repudiated
BY the Silver Bow democratic central
committee prior to the election.
General G.. S. Warren and several
others of the defeated republicans are
also on the scene, as is former United
States District Attorney B. X. Wheeler,
who. it is known. had been asked to pre-
sent the case before the Aause OF repre-,
sentatives but who this afternoon refused
to admit that such was his purpose Ia
coming to the city.
Attorney General st. G. Ford denies
that contest papers were prepared by MS
office. but it is generally reported that
one of his deputies was engaged upon
the task It is the plan to present the
papers to the speaker tomorrow as soon
as lHe uoISe oISdulZes.
What will be the probable outcome is
merely conjecture as the house members
today were too deeply interested in the
speakership race to give the matter any
consideration. The general feeling, how
ever, is that unless a very strong show
ing is made by the contestants, the con
test viii not have easy sailing as the
republicans already have strong major
ity in that body, standing a republicans
to 33 democrats. and from a political
standpoint no good would come by refusal
to recognize the democrats bearing cleo
tion certificates.
County division schemes now number
q. it is said. and promise to consume
much Of the time Of the houses.
The third house will be large. Presi-
dent NJ NJ Donohue of the state fedora
ton of labor WILL he declares, ask for
A change in the compensation act. raising
the weekly payments for death from
$40 per week to $15 for 400 weeks and
raising the lump settlement from $4,000
to $4,000