Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-07-25
VOTE GRAFT PROBE
OPENS TOMORROW
Senate Committee to Start
Inquiry Into Illinois Pri-
mary in Chicago.
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press
CHICAGO, July 24.-An the tales
o& political chicanery told behind
tarred doors to four grand juries
since Illinois held its April primaries
are grist for the mill of a special
United States Senate election investi-
eating committee. which meets here
Monday, under the Craftsmanship OF
Senator James A. Reed.
There is no indication how far 1t
may proceed into the tumble of
charges of vote stealing. slush funds,
alliances of politicians with gunner
and bootleggers and other irregular
tItas which have been charged in the
last three months
4siIs these things stand at least as
a background for the committee in
its particular mission of discovering
how much Frank l.. Smith and Sen
ator William b. Mckinley spent in
their contest for the Republican SEN
atoital nomination and how much it
cost George Brennan, Democratic
leader, to crush the faction of his
party which opposed him,
Senate Fight Mere Detail.
The Senate fight was only detail
in Cook County of bitter factional
contests over nominations for county
offices, and Smith and Mckinley
found their fortunes linked in Chicago
and its environs with the fortunes of
the opposing Republican factions
which supported them.
Charges arising from the county
contests already have resulted in in
dictment of more than 100 election
workers and a complete recount of
the vote. The recount includes, at
Reeds request the vote on the sena-
tor1al races in both parties. The
handling of the Smith and Mckinley
campaigns in Cook County by the
two Republican factions embroiled in
grand jury Investigations of the bal
loting interlocks the senatorial situa-
ton in Cook County with factional
combats. And the grand juries have
found factional diSsension linked with
stories of gangs and gang feuds, State
prison conditions and Illinois politics
in general.
None of the grand juries has been
interested specifically in the Smith
Mckinley contest nor in Brennan'S
campaign for the Democratic Senate
nomination. But some of the juries
nave been very much interested In
. how hundreds of thousands of votes
apparently were counted for candi.
dates who did not receive them, and
in how much money and influence
were poured into the campaign by
factional groups in behalf of their
candidates.
Grove to Be SuhpOenaed.
States Attorney Robert e. Grove,
whose group appeared to have won
overwhelmingly before the recount
began, will be subpoenaed
Almost every investigation of mo-
ment in Cook County and its vicinity
since the primary has evoked testi.
mony linking politics and crime.
Brennan, Illinois Democratic com.
mitteeman, attracted less attention
with his candidacy for the Democratic
Senate nomination than did the
Smith-McKinley Republican contest,
for Brennan was a conceded victor.
But a recount of votes has shown
that his triumph was made more con.
elusive by the counting of ballots for
his slate which We're not cast for it.
And Brennan has been charged with
having bipartisan alliance with the
controlling Republican faction Of
Cook County by which he traded sup
port and favors, thus obtaining an
indirect voice in Republican affairs
while keeping control of his own
party.