The Coconino sun., 1926-12-24
Judge Clark Hands Governor
Hunt A Warm Contest Reply


of December IL, suggesting to E. S.
Clark that he place at the governors
disposal any evidence of fraudulent
voting in the recent election that Mr..
Clark might have, the latter made
public yesterday letter dated De-
cember 16 in which he offers to sup
ply evidence to show:
Fictitious registration of persons
who did not live at the addresses
given
That votes were cast in the names
of persons who had died before cleo
tion day.
That Indians not possessing the
qualifications of voters were voted on
absentee ballots.
That names of persons in consid-
cradle number were forged upon reg
iStration certificates.
And that still others were regis
tered and voted who were neither in
the state nor the United States.
But cas- prosecutor of consider
able experience" Mr.. Clark adds, Il
can assure you that it is one thing
to prove that certain act or thing
has occurred and quite another to
fix criminal responsibility upon its
author"
Mr.. Clark does not charge that the
governor was the 'perpetrator of any
of the frauds above mentioned, or
that you were in any wise connected
Herewith" and regrets that ''you
should have deemed it necessary to
enter denial"
The governor in his letter of De-
cember II said in part:
CAS- a good citizen, if you have evil
dence of fraudulent voting in the re-
cent election, l would suggest that
you place the evidence at your dis
posal in the hands of the county at
torney in whatever county the fraud
may have been practised, or if you
prefer and will call my attention to
the evidence, / shall be glad to direct
it to the attention of the proper au-
thorities."
The text of Mr. Clark's letter, de-
livered to the governors offices fol-
lows:
December 16, 1926.
Dear Governor Hunt:
l acknowledge your letter of the
18th instant in reply to my note OF
congratulations of the 10th.
I appreciate greatly your observa-
ton that I am a ''good citizen" AS
one good citizen to another, may /
urge that you make use of the evi-
dence you claim to have of illegal
voting in Concho precinct and see
that if there are offenders they are
properly prosecuted? We had not
been able to find any evidence of ir-
regularities in Apache county, other
than that the Concho election board
sealed the returns in the package OF
ballots, thereby depriving me of the
majority you concede | received in
that precinct. / am not the head of
the State Highway Department, or OF
any political organization whatsoever;
nor have l any means of assembling
evidence at public expense; therefore
nv resources in the matter of inves-
tigating election frauds are meager
as compared with your own. But | am
quite willing to comply with your
request for such evidence as we have
thus far been able te gather, wholly
at private expense.
Our investigation has disclosed a
Der of precincts in the state, such as
the registration of unknown persons
whose address as shown upon the
registration certificates proves to be
vacant lots. Frequently persons have
registered from transient hotels and
boarding houses, and upon investiga-
ton it has been found that no such
persons ever resided at the address
given.~In some instances, ballots
were cast in the names of persons
who had died before the day of the
election. Other people were registered
and vots cast in their names who nave
not been in the state, or for that mat
ter. in the United States, since the
registration books were opened. In
other precincts, Indians, not possess
ing the qualifications of voters, were
nevertheless voted on absentee bal
lots. In certain precincts of the
state. notably in Jerome, which you
carried by a majority far exceeding
that received by me IN Concho, 1t ap-
pears that the names of persons IN
considerable number were forged on
registration certificates. There are
many instances of people voting who
did not possess the quallflcatlons OF
voters.
AS a prosecutor of considerable
experience, / can assure you 1t Is one
thing to prove that certain act or
thing has occurred and quite another
to fix criminal responsibility upon its
author. 1t might be possible to bring
few of the perpetrators of the
above mentioned frauds to justice, but
it would be utterly impossible to pro-
secute every guilty participant. How
ever, the material we have IN our
possession is at the disposal OF any
prosecutor of the state to whom you
NAV desire to refer this investigation
/ am not charging that you are the
perpetrator of any of the frauds
Herewith, and l regret that you
should have deemed it necessary to
enter denial
Yours very truly,
-