The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-09-10
CITY INTELLIG EN q n.
THE ELECTION CONTESTS.
TO-Dny.s Procee dings -.
The Argument of Mr.. Hirst = More
Logic for the Incumbents-The
Democracy Still Under
Cloud.
Court of Common PIeas-Allison, p. y, and
,iutaes Ludlow, Peirce, and Brewster.

,he arguments in these interesting and highly i'm
nOrtant cases were resumed Mr. Hirst followed for
he respondents advancing these following points:
has been many years, your Honors, since argued
a case founded upon the election returns OF TINS city;
that argument was in the case OF Mr.. Robert Ewing,
who was undoubtedly elected sherln by the votes OF
soldiers whoSere in the field lighting for their coun-
trv THE patriots at home contested this election
the soldier votes were cast, their reward was OBJ
tained and Mr.. Ewing went TO his grave. lie was
mantton this as a reply to what has been
said on the other side ABOUT paorlousu;
Pshaw! nothing Dut IN, tle onSve mop9v and telous @
contest will not mention other cases Oi ule paSI,
but will confne myself to the ruling OF t,s % c9ofG i, III
the last contest and apply it to this one that uecued
this aud think that by referring to II VIII con-
vince your Honors that the present lncumoehCs were
duly elected. Now, what is the duty OF tHe canulr
dates who were returned as elected? Each one of
them has answered this by entering upon Ihc uuIlGs
of their Office where they have been daily ana duy
engaged They could attend personally to this ln-
yestieation; they not individually responsipe Ior
the frauds that may have been brS m ordeai
Of examination at the polls shall be produced mere
and explain himself? why there were numbers OF
unassessed voters who were sworn by the election
officers and who yet could not he brought before Cc
Examiners by either side. To require TINS, your
HOnors would be to disable yourselves Tor 1T would
he a rule which could not be complied with. In none
of these divisions except the Seventh OF the Inlrd
vouchers entered in book There are hundreds
and hundreds OF qualified and legal votes taken
upOn vouchers and are not explained 10y tne returns rs
Of the election officers. The great mistakes maue III
names are innocent errors; bOth clerks
have the names alike, and yet write
them wrongly and unless these lists
are made out in clerically correct manner, they
give us reliable information upon the certainty Oh
names A great deal has been said also OF rapid
voting but you will find that the evidence to this
point relates only to the first hour, and in one IN
stance to the second. During this hrst hour you
know the well-known voters of the nei%nOOrnoOd
had assembled to cast their ballots early IN the morn
ing and go about their work. and the election oihcers
having perfect knowledge OF Their quauncatlonS
these votes are every one right. This is not the
hour when presentations occur, and the complain,
ants only attack the vote because 1t IS 80 rapid ANA
you will notice that in the Democratic precincts,
with one or two individual exceptions of no mo-
ment, quiet regned. II party of men said to be
New Workers assembled at the poll, the leader
OF them is photographed, his weight IS
given, even his hat is commented
HpOn, and he is spoken of as gentemanly fellow;
al least all was quiet. There was by them no drag
gng Of voters out of the line beating OF them no
Imprisonment of honest we-meaning citizens. on
the other hand, what do we see in the Republican
precincts? Firearms were used violence offered aud
administered, blood flowed, and murder was at
tempted; whole scores of voters being ntmldated
from exercising their franchise. These prevailed in
the First ward, did they not? Look also at the con-
duct of policemen and election officers, casting out
me NATURALIZATION papers issued Oy uheIr honors
Justice SharswOOd and Chief Justice Thompson,
doing that which Judge Brewster decided this Court
had no poweYto do; and son who goes to vote upon
his therspapers is seen to come out of the crowd
all bleeding suppose the matter had come before
your Honors, would you have permitted the mean
and miserable attack to have been made
upon the character OF that honorable
Coils stays in the Nisi Prus room three-quarters of
hour or So and sees no Judge, and somebody else
goes there while the Judge is at dinner, ana upon
these fimsy preteXts the character of Judge Shars-
wood Is attempted to be brought before TINS Court
Tor trial.
Those divisions where the rapid voting is at
tackled are known as largely Democratic, and hence
the gross injustice OF this attempt To throw them
cat. But upon examination hnd that during that
hOur OF fast voting the proportion OF Republican
was larger than that of the Democratic vote in
the Republican precincts.
9 The decision of your Honors last year, as have
already said, must rule this case, and that decision
was that where the good votes can he separated
from the bad the latter shall be eXpunged and the
CORNER preserved for the honest voter aud the
honest candidate should not be punished for the
wrong deeds OF men over whom they mad no control.
Here the returns are per correct and must stand.
The corrected majOrities stand thus:-
Fox .................lI3S Getz...... i24
Sheppard ......... .l4TO Fletcher. ............ $40
Weaver..... ....... 9I3 MelOy. sos
Barger. ................ S92
Now, allowing everything that cOmplainants
claim they receive only 565 more votes, which upon
their own showing bring this monster cause down
TO the simple little point as to whether Mr.. MeOy
is elected. Can you be asked to cast out the vote
that has not been attacked We have, to the
six frst-named officers granted all the contestants
claim; and can they ask you to give them more Z?
The majOrities of these officers are beyond the
nothing else left FOR dscIssion than MIR. Melloys
case. Upon looking at the testimony, You will find
that great many votes attacked by the contestants
as unassessed and therefore illegal, proved to
have been Republican.
From this sum total OF 565 for the contestant for
the office Of Receiver are to be deducted the Seventh
division Of the Third ward and the Sixth division OF
the Fourth ward in which Mr. Sellers has proven to
you the election was conducted with the greatest
prOprety, but which were nevertheless attacked by
the contestants. Also, l furnish to your HOnorS a
list of6l Illegal Republican votes that were not men
TONED by Mr. Sellers; and in the Soldiers Home we
have showed that two or three persons vOuChed for
nearly 200 voters who were but soldiers stopping
there temporarily in their change from various parts
OF the country.
Then we turn to the wholesale acknowledgements OF
our foreignborn citizens by the rejection of their
NATURALIZATION papers. No greater outrage upon a
cass OF cltlzens than this preconcerted exclusion of
their votes has ever been perpetrated In tins com
munity. 1t will live long in history many wears will
nave passed ere 1t is forgotten; forgiven, il never
can be- and in spite of this Mr.. Mann has the resO
luton TO talk and prate of the sanctity OF elections
and the duties of election officers! In this country
Wnere Tree and equal election lies at the very bot
tom OF our institutions where every man who has
the right TO vote should be allowed TO- ana every
one VINO tnnks he has that right permitted to onei
~ and nave 1t Investigated, isn't 1t atrocious thai a
set OF onlcers should deliberately and unapimously
dlslranGhlse hundreds and thousands?
Inc Ientn division Of Tile Nineteenth ward will
ask your llohors TO throw out at all express
ing the sense OF the people, OF which | think ca,
easily % convince you In the first place all the elec
ton oncers were Republicans: on which point Won
llonors have so frequently passed that need no
dwell longer upon j.. Again none OF them wer
resident in the division. They went TO the no
armed with pistols, which in the course of the de-
were drawn. Look at the conduct of the other side
Hooper, who had been appointed hy Adds as inSo
OF this division, but was elected because OF a c6anS
of political opinion appealed TO the law, and delft
cred TO Addis aud his cOntederates the message thf
the President Judge OF this Court drectq
him To deliver, and he is received with blows an
other violence. Ahu u hgures can appeal TO justc
look at the hourly return Of this pJll;-lst hour
Republican, Democrats I'd hour, "a Republican
Democrat; Sd hour, 81 Republican, l Democrat: al
40 on out. Is this the sense Of the people? Aud v
,Io not believe that these minority votes We're ca
by Democrats, because they were afraid 10 go to h
poll.
the Court room atthis unCturc. and the Court, u
able to hear the speaker because ol lhe music, a