GEORGE HASTINGS Sworn and examined. By Mr. PLATT: Question. Where do you reside?--Answer. In Sutton. Q. In what part of the town?-A. I am right in the center. Q. How far from the Manchaug Company's works?-A. Five miles. Q. Do you hold any position in the town of Sutton?-A. I do; I am constable, treasurer, and collector. Q. How long have you held any or all of these offices?-A. At this next election it will be twenty-five years in succession; I have been elected twenty-five years. Q. The office of treasurer and collector is one and the same office ?— A. Yes, sir. Q. Have you been constable also for twenty five years?—A. I have. Q. What are your politics ?-A. I am a Republican. Q. You were elected by the votes of both parties?-A. Yes, sir; one year I was elected by the Democrats, and the Republicans ran another candidate. Q. They left you off, but you ran nevertheless?-A. Yes, sir. Q. Were you at the polls on the election day in November, 1878 ?A. Yes, sir. Q. All day?-A. Yes; that is, during all the time of the meeting. I never missed a meeting, I think, either in the spring election or fall election, since I have been elected. Q. Was there any apparent intimidation, coercion, or constraint by the Manchaug corporation, or any of its officers or subordinates, upon the employés of that establishment on that day ?-A. Not that I know of. Q. Was the election on that day excited or quiet as compared with other elections?-A. It was rather more exciting that day, I should say. Q. Did you observe any more effort on the part of Republicans to carry their point than you observed on part of the Democratic Butler party-A. No, sir; I think all worked pretty smart. Q. It has been testified by some one here that Mr. Kuox (who is now in Canada) scrutinized the votes of the operatives; compelled them to cast ballots in accordance with the wishes of the owners of the mill; took tickets from them without their consent, tearing them up and giv. ing them others. One witness (Mr. John O. Parker) testifies that he called your attention to this conduct; that you turned him off with a laugh; that he protested against it and you told him to mind his own business. Is there anything in that?-A. No, sir; it is false, every word of it. Q. Are you connected with a manufacturing corporation in any way? -A. Not at all, only as treasurer and collector in a business way, but in no other way. By Mr. McDONALD: Q. Where were you standing on the day of that election ?-A. I sat right at the corner of a settee. Q. Where the voters passed along?-A. Yes, sir. Q. You were not outside where Mr. Knox was -A. No, sir. Q. You did not see anything of what he did ?—A. No, sir. Q. You do not know what he did?—A. No, sir; no more than that he was around. I saw him. Q. But he didn't report to you what he was doing ?--A. No, sir. Q. Neither did the other agents of the Manchaug corporation report to you what they were doing?—A. No, sir. Q. Therefore you do not know what they did ?—A. No, sir. The WITNESS. There is one statement that I would like to make, with the permission of the committee. I have noticed in the newspapers that a statement was made here about a row of constables being stationed from the polls. The CHAIRMAN. That is a mistake; you are the only constable who was there? The WITNESS. No, sir; there were twelve or thirteen there, but I am the only one who stood at the polls at that time. Mr. PLATT. You constituted the row? The WITNESS. Yes, sir. By the CHAIRMAN: Q. When they tried to beat you, in the year when you were not nominated, did some of the corporation fellows vote for you or against you? -A. I can't say. Q. The Democrats turned in and helped you?-A. Yes, sir. Q. Most of the people in the town are employés of the corporation?A. O, no. Q. Most of the voters in the mills are Democrats?-A. Yes, I think they are. Q. Then you got the most of your votes at that time from those men? -A. I can't say that I know the number of votes that were cast by those people. Q. You are on good terms with those people ?-A. Yes, I mean to be. Q. You sometimes, when serving writs, put people out of their homes? -A. Yes, I do my duty. Q. You have put people out of their houses two or three times in the last year or two, have you not?-A. Yes, sir. By Mr. PLATT: Q. Has there ever been any concert of action between you and the mill-owners there politically, except that you were a Republican and they were Republicans?-A. No, sir. The WITNESS. I have seen in the papers (though it may have been false) that Mr. Hutchinson, who was here last week, made a statement that the Manchaug Company bulldozed the voters of the town. I want to say that Mr. Hutchinson came to me and told me that if I voted for the Manchaug Company he would mark me now and forever. By Mr. McDONALD: Q. He told you that?-A. Yes, he told me that. By the CHAIRMAN: Q. Did he bulldoze you much ?—A. No. By Mr. BLAIR: Q. Has he got you marked ?—A. I suppose so. By Mr. PLATT: Q. Have you known of any intimidation other than that?-A. No, sir. By the CHAIRMAN: Q. Is Mr. Hutchinson a Democrat?-A. No, he is a Republican or a Baker man; he is a sorehead. Q. He is a Republican though ?-A. Yes, sir. By Mr. McDONALD: Q. Are you and he on very good terms politically?-A. Yes, sir. WILDER S. HOLBROOK Sworn and examined. By Mr. PLATT: Q. Where do you reside ?-A. In Sutton Centre. Q. What is your occupation ?-A. I keep a country store and run the post-office and farm. Q. Are you connected with the Manchaug Manufacturing Corporation in any way?-A. No, sir. Q. How far from its works do you reside?-A. About five miles I call it. Q. Were you elected to hold any place in any political organization, in the fall of 1878?-A. They chose me as chairman of the Democratic committee. Q. What is meant by the "Democratic committee"-the Abbott committee or the Butler committee?-A. I call it the Abbott committee. Q. As such did you make a canvass of the probable result before the election?-A. I did. Q. How did the actual result compare with the result of your canvass-A. It came very near it. I have here the memorandum that I made up before the election. [Producing memorandum.] The votes are stated by school districts and are based upon all the information that I could get from the districts with two exceptions, those of Manchaug and the district next to it, which are marked as numbers 6 and 13 in this memorandum. As to those two districts I had to make an estimate from the best information I could get from residents in Manchaug, particularly from those there who were in any way connected with the Butler and Independent movements. I made up my mind that it would be very near an even thing, that is, about half and half. I estimated that there would be about 150 votes in Manchaug. That is what they generally supposed would be polled at a full election, and I supposed that it would be nearly that. I estimated that of that 150 there would be 140 votes cast from those two districts. There is the form that I had. [The memorandum was here exhibited.] Q. The districts 6 and 13 you divided, and called it equal?—A. Yes, sir; and just before the election I counted it up and made such changes as I heard had been made, and made that memorandum. Q. How did the actual result compare with that shown by your memorandum?—A. I think that the declaration of the vote was: Butler, 171; Talbot, 217. I gave Butler 170 and Talbot 225. Abbott actually receixed 32 and Minor 11. I gave Abbott 35 and Minor 8. As shown by the memorandum there were 28 votes in doubt. My estimate ran a lit tle over the full vote. I do not know where the 28 doubtful votes I give did go. Q. Were you at the polls on election day?—A. Very nearly all day. Q. So far as you observed was it a quiet or fair election there?-A. So far as I observed it was. I never saw a fairer election conducted than that of last fall. Q. Was there any attempt on the part of the officers of the Manchaug Manufacturing Company to coerce or constrain the votes of the people in the mill?-A. Not that I could see. By the CHAIRMAN: Q. You are postmaster ?-A. Yes, sir. Q. You say you are a Democrat?-A. I am. Q. What is the office worth?-A. It is not worth much-perhaps that is the reason I have it—perhaps $150 or $200. Q. Did you get a circular from the chairman of the National Republi can Executive Committee asking you to send on a subscription last year? -A. No, sir; not last year. Q. Did you get one the year before?—A. I was postmaster in 1871, and at that time I did get a circular. I don't know where it came from. But since that time, from 1871 to 1877, about six years, I have lived in Springfield, Mass.; then I came back and took the post-office again. Q. Did you not get a circular signed by George C. Gorham, asking you for a contribution, last year?-A. No, sir. Q. You did not pay anything toward the Republican fund?—A. No, sir; I didn't contribute to the general fund. Q. For whom did you vote for governor last fall?-A. For Abbott. Q. Who wanted you to make up this estimate of the vote?—A. I made it up myself. Q. Did you report to anybody?-A. I might have reported it to Mr. Batchelder and one or two others. Q. Did you report it to any committee in Boston?-A. No, sir; I kept that estimate for myself; I don't think I showed it to more than one or two. I kept it away from the Butler men and didn't let it out, but just wanted to know the fact. Q. You didn't report it to any one in Worcester ?-A. No, sir. Q. You simply wanted to know the fact as to what the vote was go ing to be?-A. Yes, sir. Q. You did want to beat Butler ?—A. I didn't expect he was going to be elected. Q. You preferred Talbot to Butler -A. Of the two, yes, I should prefer Talbot to Butler. By Mr. McDONALD: Q. In your canvass you set down only thirty-five Democratic votes in that town. Were those all that you thought there were ?-A. Those were all that I could account for as being for Abbott. Q. What became of the rest of the vote?-A. It was merged with the Republican and Butler votes. Many of what I call "the straight Democrats" voted for Talbot. Q. And the balance for Butler?-A. I know of two who did. 66 Q. You have put down here as the respective headings for your columns of figures, Republican," "Butler," "Abbott," "Minor."—A. The Republican is the column for Talbot. Q. You put into that all who you supposed would vote for Talbot, whether they were Democrats or Republicans?-A. That was the way. Q. And into the Butler column all the votes for Butler, whether Dem. ocrats or Republicans?—A. Yes, sir. A. As to Manchaug, you had to make an estimate?-A. I had to estimate as to Manchaug, as I was not well enough acquainted with the voters there to sift them out. I made a jump at it. Q. They all voted at one place, did they not?-A. Yes. Q. How do you know that Butler got 71 votes out of the Manchaug village-A. I do not. I did not know that there were 16 out of West Sutton; but then I made that estimate in that way. Q. You said that afterwards, in comparing the results, you found that Butler got 171 votes. You don't know how many he got out of Manchaug-A. No. Q. Nor how many Abcott got out of Manchaug?-A. No. Q. How did it happen that in making this estimate you did not set down any votes for Abbott in Manchaug?-A. Because I couldn't find any. Q. You didn't know how the other candidates stood, only as you estimated-A. No. Q. Could you not as well have estimated for Abbott ?-A. As near as I could learn when I made this estimate, all these Democrats at Manchaug who were considered by us as Democrats were going to vote for either Butler or Talbot. That is why I left the estimate for Abbott entirely out. Q. You do not know whether Butler got seventy votes or fifty votes, or how many he got in Manchaug ?-A. I could not tell that. Q. You say that you saw no effort on the part of the superintendents of the Manchaug factory to control the vote there ?-A. No, sir. Q. You did not see much of anything about Manchaug, did you ?—A. The ballot-box was within a railing, about at this side and about as high as the desk here, and the table was about the same height. I stood on a settee that ran the length of this alley to the polling place. [Iudicating.] Q. Didn't Mr. Chase stand there, too?-A. No, sir; he stood next to the clerk. Q. As long as you stood there he stood there?-A. Perhaps so. Q. He was distributing tickets?-A. As near as I can remember, he was. Q. Another one of the employés of the Manchaug Manufacturing Company was holding the ballot-box ?-A. John McArthur I suppose you have reference to. Q. Yes; I have reference to him.-A. He was the chairman of the selectmen. He stood back of the ballot-box; he did not hold it. Q. He had charge of it?—A. Yes, sir; he and the other two select men. Q. So that the Manchaug force was pretty well arrayed there, wasn't it, with Knox outside, as a skirmisher, distributing tickets, Mr. Chase standing there at the gangway, where the voters had to pass through, and another of the employés of the company having charge of the bal lot-box as one of the selectmen ?-A, Yes. Q. They did not tell you what they were doing?-A. It was not necessary. Q. Did they tell you?-A. No, sir. Q. They never made any report to you of what they were doing?—A. I never asked them for any report. Q. And you didn't see them bulldoze anybody?-A. No, sir. By Mr. PLATT: Q. One of the selectmen was connected with the Manchaug corporation?-A. He was. Q. That was Mr. John McArthur. Were the other two in any way connected with it ?-A. No, sir. Q. Was there any special sympathy between the other two and the Manchaug Manufacturing Corporation, so far as you know?-A. Not so far as I can say. Q. Did you stand as near the ballot-box as Chase did?-A. I stood a little nearer. He stood in that manner [indicating], the clerk was next him, and I stood here. Q. Was there anything unusual in the arrangements for voting on that day, or as to the benches between which and the ballot-box the |
