Q. It was a private conversation?-A. It was a private conversation between him and me. Q. Was he trying to influence you in any way?—A. No, sir; he could not influence me. I was a Butler man and voted for him. Q. He was a Talbot man and worked for Talbot-A. Yes, sir. Q. What do you know about this Sanderson matter?-A. I went off to some Butler rallies last fall with Mr. Sanderson, and he expressed himself as a Butler man. He was so anxious for Butler's election that he carried me out of the town to a Butler rally. He was so very cautious, however, that Mr. Whitney or Mr. Edgells should not know that he was using the town team for that purpose, that he asked us to step to a block near by before we set out; we did so. He was very strong for Butler up to just before the election, when he suddenly changed. He told me both before and after the election that his views were identical with General Butler's on the money question and on the election. Q. How did he vote?-A. He told me he voted for Talbot. Q. What was the reason of the sudden change that came over him? Mr. PLATT. If he gave it. The CHAIRMAN. Of course, if he gave it. The WITNESs. He did not give the reason to me. By Mr. BLAIR: Q. Where do you work ?—A. I work in a chair factory. Q. You do not work for Mr. Bryant ?-A. No, sir. Q. This conversation that you had with Mr. Bryaut could not have been designed to influence you in any way, then ?—A. It was designed to influence me, but could not influence me; it was a private conversation. Q. You did not work for him ?—A. I didn't work for him. Q. He said that in case of Butler's election he should close his factory and discharge his help; in other words, he would have to stop business, or would stop business?-A. Yes, sir; he would be unable to do any business; that was the meaning of it. Q. There was a pretty serious difference between those who voted for Talbot and those who voted for Butler upon the financial question, was there not, and upon the effect of the result of the election on business matters, and he thought it would probably have an effect to ruin his business?-A. That was the way I took it. By Mr. PLATT : Q. What is the name of Mr. Sanderson ?-A. Albert Sanderson. By the CHAIRMAN: Q. Do you know of anybody living there who went away from town because of a desire not to vote ?-A. I do not. Q. Do you know of a man na ed Smith going to New Hampshire ?— A. Yes, sir; he works near me. Q. What did he say ?-A. He did not go to New Hampshire to get rid of voting; he had been calculating to go to New Hampshire for some time; was calculating to go in the week before the election and something happened; his folks went away and he did not go; but he did go in election week, and did not vote. He was a Butler man. Q. Did he say why he went?-A. He told me that he went for the reason that his folks were not at home. Mr. PLATT. If a man's family leaves home before the election and goes out of the State, does that deprive the man of his vote? The WITNESS. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. This leaving, I understand, was only temporary? The WITNESS. The man himself has no family. By Mr. PLATT : Q. I understood you to say that he had a family.-A. No, I spoke of bis friends he was going to visit, in New Hampshire. By Mr. BLAIR: Q. What was the result of the election in Gardner?-A. It was Republican by a small majority. The vote stood, I think, for Talbot, 376 or 379, and for Butler 306. Q. It was a pretty sharp fight?-A. It was for the time we undertook to fight, six weeks before the election. Q. A large part of the Democratic party there went for Butler ?—A. Yes, sir. Q. Do you know Warren Newell?-A. I do not. Q. Do you know Jonathan A. Perham?—A. I do; I have known him for some time. EPHRAIM D. HOWE sworn and examined: By the CHAIRMAN: Question. Where do you live?-Auswer. In Gardner, Worcester County. Q. What is your business?-A. I am a practicing attorney. Q. State what you know about this transaction with Mr. Sanderson. -A. In relation to Mr. Sanderson, I know that up to the night before the election he was a very strong Butler man, and that he contributed to the Butler fund. He went to a Butler meeting in East Cumberland, and was going to make a speech there, but there were so many other speakers that he did not speak. In the night, or sometime toward evening of the day before the election, he came to me-Dr. William H. H. Hines, the dentist, being present-addressed me, and finally said, "I am going to change to-morrow and vote for Thomas Talbot. I asked him why. He replied that it was on account of a mob in Lawrence, or on the train from Lowell to Lawrence. I asked him, "do you not know, Mr. Sanderson, that the officers of that road have denied that statement?" Then he dodged on to another subject and gave another reason. He said that he had read Carl Schurz's speech very carefully, and that that had convinced him. Dr. Hines then spoke up and said, "Didn't you tell me, Mr. Sanderson, that you had read that speech, and you did not think much of it?" Then Mr. Sanderson assigned as a reason that he really did not know that he agreed with General Butler on the Greenback question. He was followed up and he changed three or four times, assigning that many different reasons. Q. He was a Butler man until the day of the election, and then changed from that?-A. He was until four or five o'clock in the afternoon of that day. Q. What was the condition of sentiment among the employés prior to this manufacturers' meeting at Worcester and the action by the manufacturers, and what was it after that in the county, so far as you know?-A. Previous to that time the feeling in Gardner was so strong for Butler that some of his friends, more enthusiastic than I, counted up 527 votes for him out of 900 votes; and yet, just before the election, I guess it was a week before, we struck off all but 300 names, and we only claimed about 300 votes. So that, toward the end, there seemed to have been a change. Q. Of the names of those who thus changed, what proportion, in your opinion, were those of Democrats and laboring men employed by Republicans?-A. I don't think I could give an answer to that. By Mr. BLAIR: Q. Do you know yourself of any definite, tangible thing that was done by employers to intimidate any one?-A. I do not. WILLIAM J. Dowd sworn and examined. By the CHAIRMAN: Question. What is your business now?-Answer. I am a police officer in Chelsea. Q. In the fall of 1878 were you connected with the registration_committee in any way?-A. I was one of the Democratic ward and city committee in Chelsea. I had a certain part of the ward in which I lived in Chelsea to look after so as to see that we got all the names on the list that we could find. Q. State what came under your notice in your performance of that duty?—A. I had some tax bills given me. One of them was for a mau named Thomas (or Robert) Gray, a colored man. I went down to where he worked in the afternoon of the last day on which he could register his name, found him and told him he had better come up and register. The man who employed him happened to be there at the time and asked him where he was going. He replied that he was going to have bis name put on the list so that he could vote on election day. His employer asked him for whom he was going to vote and he replied that he was going to vote for Butler. His employer then told him that he must not vote for Butler if he was going to work for him; told him that he (the employer) had done considerable for him, and that he wanted him to mind if he was going to vote for Butler. I told his employer I did not know who he was going to vote for. I supposed that the tax bill had been paid by the district committee. I supposed that the man was going to vote for Morse; in fact, I understood that the man was going to vote for Morse. Q. What became of the case? Did the man vote?-A. The man registered, and I believe voted. Q. Do you know the politics of the employer and his name?—A. Yes, sir; his name is Daniel Curry; he is a Republican. Q. This was a colored man to whom this was said?-A. Yes, sir. Q. What is the business of this employer?-A. He is an oil merchant. Q. Was anybody else present?-A. Yes. Q. Who was it?-A. Some of the employés of Mr. Curry. Q. How many of them?-A. I couldn't tell you just how many. It was right there in his yard. By Mr. BLAIR: Q. You do not know how this man did vote?-A. I do not. Q. You rather persisted, and you got his name on the list without any difficulty?—A. I did not insist at all. He came down with me in the team. Q. You went with him and got the name on ?—A. I do not think I did. I don't think he went down with me that time; I think he went down later in the day, and I believe that when he went down it was with the understanding that he was not going to vote for Butler. Q. You say you believe. Do you know anything about it?-A. He told me so himself; that is all that I know about it. Q. You have the idea that he was going to vote for Butler ?—A. I believe that he did. Q. Did he not tell you that he did?—A. I do not think he did, but I believe, from what was said there, that he was a staunch Butler man. Q. That is all the knowledge you have about it ?—A. I think that if he went to the polls he voted for Butler. If he went with his employer he did not vote for Butler. Q. He did not tell you how he would vote?-A. He told me himself that he should vote for Butler if he had to lose his job. So I supposed from that he was for Butler. Q. He was one of the men who were not intimidated?-A. I had an idea that he would have his own way if he was not watched. JAMES J. CREED sworn and examined. By the CHAIRMAN: Question. Where do you live?--Answer. In Chelsea. Q. Have you been a ward officer there for any time ?--A. I have been inspector of elections for three different years in ward three, Chelsea. Q. Do you know the voters there ?-A. Yes, sir. Q. What do you know about the election in November of last year, in reference to the conduct of the employers (or their agents) of the Boston Elastic Fabric Company (McBirney's), Chelsea?-A. I know all the men generally employed there. As a general thing, the men employed in the factory who live in the ward have been Democrats. Last year it was understood that they would go, most of them, for Talbot, and, as a consequence, most of them did. Q. Most of them did?-A. Yes; those who stood by the foreman did. The foreman of this factory stood all day at the polls-a thing that was something unusual-and it was understood among the men that they were obliged to vote for Talbot. Mr. PALTT. I object to that. The CHAIRMAN. He may have got it from the men themselves. Q. Who was the foreman of the factory ?-A. A man named Bell. Q. Had you, in your time as inspector of elections, seen Mr. Bell at the polls before in that position?-A. Not in that position. I have seen him come in, deposit his vote, and go right out again. Q. Did he stand where he could see the employés as they came up ?— A. Yes, sir; between the door and the ballot-box. Q. Was be where he could see the ballots as they were cast?-A. Yes, sir; for part of the time. Q. Had this ever occurred before?-A. I had not seen it before in ten years. Q. Had Mr. Bell ever been there at the polls as foreman before, that you know of?-A. Yes, sir. Q. How long before -A. It was over ten years, to my knowledge. Q. How many of these men in that establishment were Democrats, to your knowledge?-A. We used to count from seventy-five to one hun dred in ward three. Q. How many of those men informed you that they must vote the other way or gave you information to that effect?-A. They would stand around in little bunches in the ward-room and talk it up. I don't remember any certain number. It was kind of understood among them. Mr. PLATT objected. He remarked that while the latitude given to the answers bad been.such as to admit individual statements to a witness, it had not covered statements of general understandings, and therefore he objected to any such statement now. The CHAIRMAN directed the witness accordingly. By the CHAIRMAN: Q. State what you heard the men say as to whether they were free to vote or were restrained from voting by terror or from any other cause ? -A. I heard as many as twenty-five of them say that Tom Sullivan (I don't know what his business in the mill is) gave each man to understand that it was Mr. McBirney's wish that they should vote for Talbot and they must govern themselves accordingly. Q. Sullivan was connected with the concern in some way, was he?—A. He is in the works there By Mr. McDONALD: Q. Was he the foreman or agent or a member of the firm ?-A. I cannot say. By the CHAIRMAN: Q. Did you see him on election day?—A. He was at the election. Q. Was he there all day ?—A. I did not notice particularly. By Mr. BLAIR: Q. You are a liquor dealer?—A. Yes, sir. Q. How long have you been a liquor dealer?-A. About ten years. Q. At this same stand all the time?-A. I have two different stands in the same ward. Q. You have two different liquor establishments in the sane ward?— A. I have had part of the time; I have been in two different places; I was in one place in one street about seven years, and in another three years. Q. Did you at any time have two different establishments in operation in the same ward?-A. Yes, sir. Q. Is your business wholesale or retail?-A. Retail. Q. In that way, did you come to be well acquainted in the ward ?— A. I have lived in the ward all my life. Q. And you knew many or most of these workmen ?-A. Yes, sir. Q Did you meet them at your places of business?-A. At different places in Chelsea. Q. I ask did you meet them at your places of business?-A. Some I did; a good many belonged to the temperance society. Q. You say that a good many of these workmen belonged to the tem perance society ?-A. Yes, sir; the majority in our ward. Q. In regard to this mau Sullivan, do you know him personally ?—A. Yes, sir. Q. Do you know that he is there at the present time?-A. Only from hearsay. Q. Do you understand that he is still there?-A. Yes, sir. |
