[Newspaper]
Publication: The Newark Daily Advocate
Newark, OH, United States
vol. 23, no. 86, p. 1, col. 1
The Foul Conspiracy
Against the Hon. James E.
Campell
COMPLETELY OVERTHROWN,
And Recoils Like a Boomeang, With
Deadly Effect, on its Projectors --
The Hand of Foraker Quite Visibly
In the Infamous Plot
COLUMBUS, Oct. 11. — The ballot box lie is exploded. The remains of the wreck prove the existence of a diabolical plot to defame the character of Hon. James E. Campbell and illustrate the degradation of Forakerism. Bold, outrageous, desperate forgery has been resorted to for the purpose of assisting in the work of feinting third termism upon the Republican party, but the criminals have been overtaken and the plot exploded. It was a carelnlly prepared plan. Several men joined in the work of forging the name of James E. Campbell. One wrote the $5,000, while anothnr traced his name and submitted it to his companions. Murat Halstead told a falsehood when he said the original document was in his possesion. It never was. He had a photograph of the original, which was held in the possession of the forgers. The whole thing is a product of the stranglers of Cincinnati and was originally concocted by them to secure the Topp letter from Mr. Campbell's friends. Topp belongs to the stranglers, and the Campbell forgery was executed to force Mr. Campbell's friends to destroy the Topp letter. The strangler overtures to get friends of Hon. James E. Campbell and friends of Governor Foraker together and arranging for burning the Topp letter and the ballot box subscription list together failed. Mr. Campbell's friends knew the ballot box subscription list was a forgery and refused to consider such a proposition. In due time the Topp letter was exposed and in order to counteract it Mr. Foraker's friends sprung the forged ballot box subscription list.
When Mr. Campbell telegraphed his attorneys, Hon. Isaac N. Jordan and Judge Harmon, to demand a retraction from the Commercial Gazette the strangers became alarmed. One of the young men who assist ed in the forgery knew that if himself and companions in crime maintained that the document was original they would go to the penitentiary, and hence concluded to make a clean breast of it. The evidence was secured and presented to Mr. Halstead last Thursday by Messrs. Jordan and Harmon. Mr. Halstead asked for twenty four hours time to consider the evidence submitted. It was granted him, but it not require twenty-four hours to convince Mr. Halstead that he was guilty of libel and had gone so far as to be liable to imprisonment and a tremendous fine. He was cornered. To say that he was in the soup would not tell half. He was annoyed, paralyzed, and hastened to extricate himslef at once by a complete and unequivocal denial. Under the circumstances Mr. Halstend could do nothing else but humiliate himself and confess that men who are workirg to secure the re-election of Governor Foraker to a third term were guilty of forgery and that the crime wns committed in the interests of Gov. Foraker.
The manner in which Mr. Campbell faced the ballot box lie and coolly asked his friends to wait for developments shows that he is a shrewd politician and a man of great ability and nerve. Under the extreme pressure and advice of friends he yielded sufficiently to make a few denials and submit Gov. Foraker's letter to Gov. Luce of Michigan, in which Foraker indorsed the glass ballot box. Had Mr. Campbell kept entirely quiet, as he wished to do, the recoil on Gov. Foraker and the stranglers of the g. o. p. would have been much greater.
There seems to be a heavy fog hanging over the State house and Republican headquarters. The gloom is awful. The clerks look despondent and few of them venture an explanation.
The agony is awful. They can't even imitate the boy who whistled to brace his courage while walking through a graveyard.
When the details of the forgery are published it will show a conspiracy that is appalling in its depravity and which illustrate in a most forcible manner the viciousness of Gov. Foraker's administration. The letter is the direct result of Mr. Foraker's invasion of the time honored rights of local self-government. The principal forger desired position under the municipality of Cincinnati, in order to secure it found it was necessary to make himself solid with Foraker and his friends. What could he do to merit the attention of Gov. Foraker? What could be done to secure a coveted position under the municipality of Cincinnati? The man who was thinking over these qnestions came to the conclusion that to secure the position he mast do something for Gov. Foraker and the forgery of Mr. Campbell's name was the result.
This is what Forakerism and the invasion of home rule by strangles is doing for the Republican party. There is no longer much doubt that the thinking portion of the Republican party who are not office seekers will rise to the occasion and purge the party of stranglers and forgers.
