have been connected with the company and I have been connected with the company as bookkeeper and agent for twenty-nine years.

Q. What other establishments are there in your town beside this one? -A. None but what grow out of ours.

Q. This establishment covers really all that employ operatives in the town? A. Yes, sir.

By the CHAIRMAN:

Q. You are a Republican ?-A. Yes, sir.

Q. You always have been such?-A. I have been such for many years. Q. You want the party to win?-A. Yes, sir; of course.

Q. You are anxious?—A. Yes, sir; not overanxious.

Q. You were present at the Presidential election of 1876 ?—A. I do not remember whether I was or not.

Q. You were there in 1877, of course?-A. I do not remember.

Q. But you are sure you were there last year, distributing tickets?A. I am sure that I was there last year because I remember some little incidents about it. I know that I stood at the entrance to the hall, right close to Mr. Draper, who was before you on Saturday, and that he was distributing the Butler ticket.

Q. Was not this the first time that you appeared as a distributor of tickets at this poll?-A. I think I have, several times.

Q. When?-A. I could not tell you; I think I have several times.
Q. You stood in the center of the room. What ticket did you give

out?-A. The Talbot ticket.

Q. Was it open?-A. It was an open ticket.

Q. Anybody could see how the man who got it voted?-A. Yes, sir. Q. Where did Mr. Butler stand?-A. Up at the other end of the hall, near the ballot-box.

Q. Near the ballot-box?-A. Yes, sir.

Q. He could see, then, how the men who came forward with the open ticket voted?-A. Yes, if they did not have them folded.

Q. Is it not the right of the selectman to see the ticket if the voter votes an open ticket?-A. Yes, I think they have. I have not noticed whether they saw the tickets of the men from the works.

Q. Who in the establishment has the largest number of men under him?-A. I think that Mr. Butler has. He has about fifty.

A. You, the agent, were there distributing tickets, and Mr. Butler, the next man, was there looking on to see if the tickets were voted? Was that so?-A. No, sir; I am not aware that that was so.

Q. What was he doing?-A. He was chosen at the caucus. We usually have, for years, chosen two. He and Mr. A. J. Thayer were chosen at that time as the challenging committee.

Q. Who is Mr. Thayer?-A. He runs a grist-mill in the town.
Q. He is not connected with the corporation?—A. No, sir.

Q. Then of the three men selected by the caucus to challenge and distribute votes, two were from the corporation and one from the gristmill? A. Yes, sir.

Q. How many men has the grist-mill?-A. I do not know how many employés.

Q. Do you know how many of the men in your works are Democrats?— A. I do not.

Q. You did tell men there that it was to their interest to vote for Talbot?-A. I have no recollection of telling anybody, but I presume I may have told them that.

Q. That is the way you felt ?—A. Yes, sir; I should have told them

so. I am not any more likely to tell the employés that than to tell the outsiders.

Q. But whatever influence you exercised you would not hesitate to use among the employés, and would be more likely to use it among them than outsiders?-A. Yes, but not any more so.

Q. You would not talk outside just as you talk in the shop?—A. Yes, sir; I think so. I would not undertake to dictate to the men in the shop. They are very independent men. They are ax-makers. If I undertook to dictate to them, I should suppose I would get the worst of it.

Q. Did Mr. Albert Butler ever undertake to dictate to the men in the shop?-A. I do not know. He may have.

Q. Did you not hear of it?-A. I have no recollection of it.

Q. Did you offer these tickets that you had to Democrats?—A. I have no recollection; I may have.

Q. Did they take them ?-A. I do not know. There may have been some one who took them. The voters would come in at the door, where there would be perhaps four or five vote distributers who would have a handful, and they would say they wanted one or two kinds. They would get them and move along towards the other end.

Q. And when they got up to the other end, Deacon Butler would see how the ticket was?-A. I should presume he might have seen.

Q. Now, you think it likely that a man with a family dependent upon him and the prospect of a bad winter coming on, who had received an open ballot, would go up and vote it with Mr. Butler looking on, and yet vote perfectly free?-A. I think he would be perfectly free and perfectly safe, and think that our men would so understand it.

Q. Did Mr. Butler distribute any tickets where he stood?—A. I did not think he did. I did not see him do it.

Q. What was he doing up there?-A. As I said, he and Mr. Thayer had been chosen as the challenging committee. Their duties were, if any men presented themselves to vote who were not legal voters, to challenge their votes; and then, of course, it was the duty of the selectmen to inquire into the matter and see if they were legal voters.

Q. Do you know whether there was any difference in the result in your town in the election of November, 1878, from what it was in November, 1877-A. I think there was.

Q. What was the difference?-A. I think there was a gain for the Republican ticket.

Q. You were not there in 1877—A. I am not sure. I am generally there. I go twice a year, in the fall and in the spring, and take an interest.

By Mr. McDONALD:

Q. You say that the Republican committee made these selections ?A. At the Republican caucus.

Q. Which was held for the purpose of making final arrangements for the election?-A. Yes, sir.

Q. You say you were at the polls some two hours, distributing tickets. At what time of the day was that?-A. I went up, I should say, from 11 to 12 o'clock. I think that when I got up there the meeting had commenced and the voting had commenced. I got there about half past eleven, and think I remained there up to one o'clock.

Q. About two hours?-A. I presume so.

Q. Do you remember how many tickets you distributed in that time?— A. I do not, exactly. I distributed, I should think, 25 or 30, possibly

more.

Q. Any more than that?-A. I do not think I did, not a great many, because there were others still farther out than I was, who were outside the building, distributing tickets.

Q. You say that the voters generally took tickets from anybody who offered them and put them in their hands, that a man coming to vote generally had a handful; and that, although he may have had two or . three in his hands, you still hauded him another?-A. Yes; that is the rule with us.

Q. About what time did the factory hands come in to vote?-A. They came in all through the day.

Q. When did the largest number of them come ?-A. I should think after noon. Our voting place is two miles from our works. A great many of our workmen work until noon, and after dinner go up and vote. I think a majority come in after noon.

Q. You remember to have seen quite a number come in while you were standing there?—A. I do not remember any number, but I think I did. I presume I did.

Q. You took an unusual interest in the election last fall, did you not?-A. No, I don't think I did. I generally take an interest in elections, but don't think I did take any unusual interest last fall.

Q. Was it not a pretty heated election ?—A. Yes; still it passed off as smoothly with us as any election we ever had.

Q. You were very much in favor of the election of Talbot and very much opposed to the election of Butler?-A. Well, not very much. I was in favor of the election of Talbot.

Q. You were not very decided ?—A. O, yes; I am always decided.

Q. You think that there might have been a little more political feeling ?-A. I do not think I was as much interested as I have been some years. Some years I have been a good deal interested.

Q. How many of those connected with the establishment are salaried men of the corporation?-A. There are six, I think.

Q. What are their politics?-A. I believe they are all Republicans, every one.

Q. Each one of these salaried men has some particular department to some extent under his control, has he not?-A. No, sir; I am one of the salaried men, but then I have three clerks-bookkeeper, shipping clerk-yes, there are four of us in the office, and there are two in the shops.

Q. The two in the shops are those who come in direct contact with the men at their work?—A. One of them does, the other does not. I will correct my answer as to the number of salaried men, as I now remember another, our machinist, who is a salaried man. There are therefore seven, instead of six.

Q. He is a Republican, too?—A. I am not sure. I do not think he always votes Republican; sometimes, I think, he may vote the Democratic ticket.

Mr. PLATT. What is his name?

The WITNESS. That is Mr. Brown, our head machinist.

By Mr. McDONALD:

Q. Sometimes he does not vote at all, sometimes he votes the Repub lican ticket, and sometimes he may possible vote the Democratic ticket? -A. I would not be sure about his voting the Republican ticket, particularly in town matters. It is rather my impression, though, that is, I heard so, that he was rather inclined to vote for Butler last fall. He was inclined to vote for him, whether he did or not I don't know. I never asked him.

Q. You do not know how he voted?-A. No, sir.

Q. You said you had conversations with the employés there long before the election upon the subject of politics?-A. I do not remember. I say I may have had, but I do not remember having had any particular conversation with them in regard to the matter.

Q. Were you not pretty active in talking politics last fall ?—A. I was not. I am not much of a talker in politics.

Q. Did you not attend the Republican political meetings?-A. Yes, sir; we did not have more than one or two, I think; I always attended them when we had them.

Q. Did you take an active part in the meetings?-A. No, sir; I did not take an active part, I did not make any speeches or do anything of that kind.

Q. Was Mr. John D. Washburne down at the factory during the canvass?-A. I did not see him there.

Q. You do not know of his being there to make speeches ?-A. I have no recollection of his being there to make speeches.

Q. You know him?-A. I know him by reputation.

Q. You know him?-A. Yes, sir.

Q. You know of his being chairman of the Worcester City committee? —A. I have no recollection of his ever coming to Douglass. I do not think he did.

Q. You had no interview with Governor Talbot on the subject of the canvass, had you?-A. I never saw him.

Q. Nor with the chairman of the State committee, Mr. Thayer ?—A. No, sir; I never saw him.

Q. Mr. Thayer never made one of his speeches to you?-A. No, sir. Q. You know him?-A. I am not personally acquainted with him. Q. Are you acquainted with Senator Hoar?-A. I am.

Q. Did you have any interviews with him on the subject of defeating Butler?-A. My impression is that Senator Hoar was at our place and gave us an address, one evening, last fall.

Q. You think that he was there and addressed your people ?—A. I think he did.

Q. Was there a pretty full turnout of your establishment on that occasion ?-A. There was, of a pretty good number; yes, sir.

Q. What effort was made, if any, to get the employés out to the meeting there for Senator Hoar to address them?-A. No effort was made, to my knowledge. We have a town committee whose duty it always is to make arrangements for the fall meeting, and, in the spring, for the annual town meeting, and, as they put up their notices, people went. I don't know of any in particular who went.

Q. Who formed the town committee?-A. Mr. Stilman Russell and Thomas H. Meek. I think there were only two members of the committee.

By Mr. PLATT:

Q. Albert Butler is one of your salaried men?-A. Yes, sir.
Q. Is he a Republican ?—A. I think there is no doubt of it.
Q. Every time?-A. Every time.'

Q. Do you make any distinction between a Republican and a Prohibition man?-A. Yes, sir; we have some Prohibitionists with us who do not vote the straight Republican ticket, so we call them "Prohibitionists."

Q. Had Mr. Butler acted with that party sometimes?-A. I don't think he has ever voted with them. He is a very strong temperance man,

but he believes in working for the cause of temperance inside the Republican lines.

Q. Rather than out of them?—A. Yes, sir.

Q. Were there other vote distributers than yourself that day on the Republican side?-A. Yes, sir; there were several; I think there were half a dozen. There might have been more.

Q. Were there as many on the Democratic side as on the Republican side? A. Yes, sir; there are usually.

Q. Was there any concert between Mr. Butler and yourself on that day as to the respective duties which you and he should perform at the polls-A. None at all.

Q. I think that some one has testified that the Talbot vote was largely increased through the efforts of the Douglass Axe Company at that time. Can you give any reason for the increase of the vote there at that time, if there was any increase?-A. Yes, sir; I think I can. I know that there was quite a good number of the Democrats, and they were leading Democrats in the town, who were strongly opposed to Butler and who voted the Abbott (the straight Democratic) ticket. I know some of the leading Democrats who voted the Talbot (Republican) ticket.

Q. Have you reference now to people who worked in your establishment, or to other citizens of the town?-A. There were some of both, inside and outside.

By Mr. McDONALD:

Q. Was Mr. Albert Butler in favor of the prohibitory law and opposed to its execution?—A. He can answer that better than I can perhaps.

By the CHAIRMAN:

Q. Was any one of the salaried men of the mill or of any of the establishments distributing Democratic tickets there that day?-A. There were employés who were.

Q. But salaried men ?-A. As I said, we have seven. Yes, I think that one of the clerks in the office distributed votes to Republicans. Q. The question I ask is whether any of the salaried men of the mill, who were there that day and distributed votes, were Democrats ?—A. No, sir.

By Mr. PLATT:

Q. Draper was distributing Democratic tickets and he was employed there?-A. O, yes, sir. He distributed the Butler ticket.

Q. Were there other Democratic employés who were distributing Butler tickets there, or do you not remember?-A. I do not remember who were their distributers.

ALBERT BUTLER Sworn and examined.

By Mr. PLATT:

Question. What is your age?-Auswer. Sixty-four years, last month. Q. Are you in the employ of the Douglass Axe Factory -A. I am. Q. How long have you been in their employ?-A. Ever since the company was organized.

Q. How long is that?-A. Some thirty-five or thirty-seven years.
Q. In what capacity are you employed?-A. I have been employed