days after the election take to his assistance two Justices of the Peace, who shall proceed to cast up the vote, etc.

So it will be seen that the Governor appoints the Recorder, and the Recorder appoints all deputy recorders to register the voters: that the Recorder shall appoint a Board of Revision and all the judges and clerks of election.

The Governor appointed Clarence Hoblitzell, Recorder, who had the absolute control of the election machinery in the city of St. Louis at and before the general election in November, 1884. How he discharged the duties of that office will hereafter be

seen.

Grover Cleveland was the Democratic candidate for the presidency that year and was elected by a very narrow margin over James G. Blaine. At the election in St. Louis the grossest frauds, under the administration of Hoblitzell, were perpetrated. These were so pronounced and so well known that a feeling of great indignation was aroused among the honest men of the city, irrespective of party. This led to the appointment by reputable citizens of a non-partisan committee to aid in the prosecution of the scoundrels engaged in the perpetration of the frauds. John R. Holmes, recently deceased, was chosen Secretary and Treasurer of the committee and Honorable James O. Broadhead was employed as counsel.

Little progress was made in the State Courts looking to the prosecution and conviction of those implicated in the frauds. At that time a Federal Statute enacted by a Republican Congress and approved by a

Republican President was in force, making it unlawful to make a false registration of voters, or to falsely and fraudulently register and vote, or to fraudulently vote on the name of another, etc., etc., at any election for members of Congress or presidential elections, and provided heavy penalties for same. This was a wholesome statute and should be the law today. However, the Democratic party when in power in Congress repealed the statute on the ground that it was in violation of the rights of the States, i. e. "State Rights." This statute, of course, gave to the United States Courts jurisdiction to try and punish those offending against it.

The Republican party, although in control of both branches of Congress many years afterwards, never had the honesty and courage to re-enact that statute. Today the Federal Courts are without jurisdiction to punish repeating, false voting, false registration and the like.

At the general election in 1884, as before stated, Mr. Cleveland was elected President over Mr. Blaine by a very narrow margin. Honorable A. H. Garland, of Arkansas, was his first Attorney General.

The Citizens Committee before mentioned did all in its power with the aid of its distinguished attorney, Colonel Broadhead, to bring to punishment in the State courts the perpetrators of the frauds committed at the election in November, 1884, but without avail. The committee found that the court machinery was practically in the hands of those who had conducted the frauds or were the recipients of place by such means. The efforts of Colonel Broadhead to uncover the frauds and to bring to punishment the

guilty ones coming to naught, an effort was made to have the Federal Court take up the matter under the statute before recited. Colonel Broadhead laid the facts before the President, Mr. Cleveland, and asked his aid. The appeal did not fall on deaf ears.

Thomas P. Bashaw of Monroe County was appointed by Mr. Cleveland, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri. It therefore became his duty to prosecute all violators of Federal laws and to bring to trial those who perpetrated the frauds at the election. After this appointment, the President (as I was told by Senator Vest) sent for Senators Cockrell and Vest and told them that he had determined to have a full and fair investigation of the charges of fraud made by Colonel Broadhead and that he wanted it to be non-partisan in character. He then said, "I have appointed upon your recommendation a Democrat for United States Attorney and I now want you to recommend a Republican to assist him." I was recommended and duly appointed.

The first knowledge I had of this came to me on Monday, January 10th, 1887, through a reporter on the St. Louis Republican. On the twelfth of January I received the letter of appointment signed by Attorney General A. H. Garland. I accepted this and at once took up before the grand jury, the charge of fraud alleged to have been committed at the November election in 1884. The investigation was quite thorough and lasted for some time, the State law requiring that each person registering as a voter should, in addition to giving his full name to the registrar or deputy recorder, give the place of his residence, his street, house number, etc.

The grand jury ordered a subpoena duces tecum for the production of all the books of registration, poll books, etc., used at the election in 1884 in the custody of the city registrar. That officer was an old confederate soldier and an honest man. He responded with alacrity, and the grand jury room was soon full of the books and papers required, together with the lists of registration made by ward employes, most of whom were political "ward peelers." The inquiry also involved an examination of the official proceedings of the board of revision of which Hoblitzell was chairman.

To examine the thousands of names appearing upon the list of qualified voters, their places of residence, street and house numbers, imposed great labor upon the grand jury and the Government's attorneys. Soon the fact developed that thousands of names appearing upon the lists of qualified voters, as shown upon the original registration books, were written by one and the same hand; that is, many names on each of the election precincts in each ward were written by the same person. To ascertain the name of the party in each of the precincts who had written the names became the most important inquiry.

Certain persons appointed by Hoblitzell were suspected. To prove the hand writing of such persons became absolutely necessary to convictions. This could only be done either by witnesses who were acquainted with the handwriting, or by witnesses who had seen the suspected party write. I employed, by the aid of the Citizens Committee, F. W. H. Wiesehahn, an expert in handwriting, who proved to be a master in his profession. The grand jury re

turned many bills of indictment. After the trial and conviction of several, others pleaded guilty.

Those who stood trial and were convicted were: Egan, Prendergast, Morrissey, O'Toole, Mallory and Multaney. Egan was sentenced to the penitentiary for two years, while the others were given shorter terms.

The requirement of the State law that the place of residence, street and house number of the voter should be given, was diligently inquired into by the grand jury. It was found that the false and fraudulent lists of voters were given residences in vacant lots, saloons, bawdy houses and other impossible and disreputable places. From one of these alone (a bawdy house) there were thirty-eight names registered as legal voters, though there was not a man a permanent resident of the place. This was only one of many disreputable places where such condition existed.

The manipulators of the false registrations and false voting used several city directories in getting the names of "qualified voters." That of the city of Louisville, Kentucky, was the most extensively used. The first name appearing upon the list as qualified voters at the disreputable bawdy house above described, was that of the distinguished and well known Kentuckian, Luke P. Blackburn. The result of these frauds put men in office who were never elected and the "Sacredness of the Ballot" under Missouri court decisions was effective in preventing the opening of the ballot boxes and a consequent exposure.

The frauds were many and most infamous, and the grand jury probed the matter to its very bottom.