Yesler did not believe this claim could be
justified, since Pelton and Harley were already negotiating with him for
the delivery of the votes belonging to the cattlemen's contingent.
He had held off for some time with hints that it would take a lot of money
to swing the votes of such men as Roper and Landor, but he had finally come
to an agreement that the eight votes should be given to Warner for a
consideration of $300,000. This was to be paid to Yesler in the presence of
the other seven members on the night before the election, and was to be
held in escrow by him and Roper until the pact was fulfilled, the money to
be kept in a safety deposit vault with a key in possession of each of the
two.
On the third day of the session, before the voting had begun, Stephen
Eaton, who was a State senator from Mesa, moved that a committee be
appointed to investigate the rumors of bribery that were so common. The
motion caught the Consolidated leaders napping, for this was the last man
they had expected to propose such a course, and it went through with little
opposition, as a similar motion did in the House at the same time.
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