Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 21, Number 60, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 April 1900 — Township Not Represented, But They Swiped the Vote. [ARTICLE]

Township Not Represented, But They Swiped the Vote.

State of Indiana ) Newton County j i Benjamin T. Davis, being duly 1 Sworn upon oath save: That he was duly selected delegate from McClellan township, Newton county, Indiana, to attend the Senatorial Convention which waß

held at Goodland, March 27th, 1900, that there was no alternate selected at the > time selecting the delegates to said convention nor was there one appointed, that this Hffiant at said time held the credentials as a delegate to said convention, that he did not attend said convention in person or by proxy, and that no person had a right to cast the township vote for any candidate at said convention. B. F. Davis. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 30th day of March 1900. Daniel M. Graves. Notary Public.

But little comment is needetLon the above affidavits. They have conclusively proven that there was no nomination made of state senator, at the Goodland convention of March 27th, or if there was, it, was Wm. H. Coover, of Jasper county. The pretended nomination of Eben H. Wolcott was brought about by force and fraud aigl can not and will not be permitted to stand. The Republicans of Jasper county repudiate it, asone man, and so also all of northern Newton and many in White county. The story of the method by which it was brought about has already been fully told in this paper. A gang of schemers from ,Kentland originated and carried out the disgraceful robbery. Their purpose was, undoubtedly, to have a mau in the state senate whom they could rely upon to help them continue their legislative fraud against the rest of their county, on the county seat matter. Mr. Coover would promise only to be fair to all parties, and that did not suit them, so they determined to steal the nomination for E. H. Wolcott. To carfy out their scheme they deliberately stole 11-thirteenths of the delegate vote of Lake and Colfax townships, which were represented by delegates with legal proxies, who wished to cast the vote of their townships for W. H. Coover, in accordance with the wishes of the Republican voters of those townships. They also stole the same proportion of vote of Colfax township, which was not represented, at all. This however, was not enough, and to secure their pretended majority for Wolcott, they deliberately held up and robbed A. L. Miller, the duly elected delegate from Lincoln township, ’and counted half of its vote for Wolcott, against the wishes of the delegate, and of the Republicans of his township, who were unanimously in favor of Mr, Coover. Having consummated this robbery, in order to- carry it out they resolved the convention into a lawless mub, in which the chairman was either their confederate, or a helpless cipher. With shouts and yells and beating of drums they drowned every effort made by their own outraged delegates for a fair count, and to every demand made by delegates from other oounties for a verification of their vote, they replied in the same way, and also by threats and attempts at violence, in which last outrage tlieir principal instrument was one E. R. Bringham, a big, hulking, cpwardly, foul-mouthed bully, from Goodland. Mr. Miller, whoso affidavit as above given, puts the finishing touches on the complete chain of evidence against these political bandits, is a respectable farmer, of Lincoln township, and the statement made by the bandits that lje is not a resident of that township is false. It is reliably stated, that after the convention the swindlers gave him to understand that be must go borne and keep his mouth shut, or he would get hurt. Further, that they have since been threatening him with prosecution if he inade the

affidavit, which he has made, and is above published. It was only what was to have expected of this lawless gang, that having carried as they thought, their point by robbery and violence, they are trying to retain it by threats and blackguardism. Mr. Coover, as honorable a man as ever ram for an office, is .receiving some of this abuse and villification. But The Republican having, by its fearless exposure of the swindle i and its firm stand against accept-

ing a nomination made by such means as binding upon the party, been the principal agent in its overthrow, it is naturally the chief target of their abuse and villification.

Various persons have contributed articles to this abuse and among them is one ostensibly written by E. R. Bringham, above referred to. In this article he admits himself a bully and demonstrates himself a blackguard, but more than ought else, writes himself down a fooL. He does this because he distinctly

gives his case away by admitting his ruffainism at the convention; and by also admitting that he and the smoot her Kentland gang whose tool he is, stole the votes for Wolcott in Newton county to offset alleged stealing of votes for Coover, in White county. This last would b 8 no defense if true, and most distinctly it is not true. Not a single v<>te was cast for Mr. Coover either from White or Jasper counties, that he was not fairly and honorably entitled to