The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-10-18

sons were allowed TO vote whose names were not
added TO the list and who did not comply with a
single requirement Of the law During the last
three hours 76 votes were pOlled. The fraudulent
votes were largely in excess Of the honest ballots
the poll can be saved.
Thus-the illegal votes proved amount to ...47
The contestants vote was ........1O
They have proved. ..................
Contestants vote improved. .....2 2
Balance to be charged to respondents As
AS TO the remaining divisions attacked by the
contestants, but a brief synopsis Of the evidence
can he given.
by the respondents, were discussed and those in
which the proof Of fraud was complete were thrown
out by the Court, and others, in which the proof
was incomplete, were not rejected, but were purged
OF the Illegal votes.
The Judge then resumed:-
siOns attacked by the defendants it may not be
out of place to notice several objections that
urged at par against the right OF the Court to re-
l. That this ought never to be DONE because it
leadS TO an unconstitutional distranchlSement OF u
2. That, at all events, polls could not be rejected
in this contest, because the facts were exactly pa
rallel with those developed I'm the election cases of
1861 q Brewster, 1872, in which we refuse to adopt
that remedy.
It is believed that both of these difficulties can
be settled in a few words.
As to the constitutional objections, it is a sum.
cient answer to say that we do not disfranChSe q
single voter. If he is so injured, it is not by our
act, but by the frauds and wrongs OF the servants
close the poll for hour, in the State of Ohio
vs. Bit. G Am. Law Reg SS), or two hours before
the time fixed by law as in the Penn District
hundreds of vQtes-in all these instances the legal
voter is dlslranchised The polls we have rejected
| supposed, save that instead OF placing the hun
dIcds OF fraudulent ballots in the boxes themselves,
the election officers suffered others to do so, which
| is in effect and consequence the same wrong.
That parties may be injured by the acts OF their
| servants is no new doctrine, and has been illus
| trated to the sad experience of many, as Is well
| attested in the frauds practiced upon the New
! New York and New Haven Railroad Company,
| AM Law Reg 2l0), and IN numerous other cases.
| The remedy of the legal voter is also very simple.
| Whenever there is a contest let him come forward
aiWays see TO il hat his fullest rights are secured
| 1t is not then to produce, but to guard against
| disfranchisement, that we reject these polls. In
every case of the hundreds of frauds and persona.
| tons which swarm in these divisions, some legal
! voters have been disfranchised. II the fraud Is
sanctioned by u.s. it has the victory and the honest
whelming frauds affect majOrities i'm other polls II
wereiectthe division we do some partial good for
teach fraud and force that they shall no longer tri
umph; that they cannot possibly gain and may
| lose. We take away the reward from crime, and
| make honesty not only the BEST but the sole
policy of the majority in every division, and when
we shall have done that we may reasonably hope
| to have recovered our city from the violence and
| wrong which have marked its polls for many years,
| and have made all good citizens wonder whether
| the day would ever come when we should enjoy an
In the face Of frequent contests by citizens and
Of repeated warnings from this Court, these frauds
have increased to an extent which may be said
without particle Of exaggeratlon, to endanger the
existence of the principle which underlies our go
vernment. When the majority can be repeatedly
| and successfully overcome by wrong, the conf
| dence of all i'll the prosperity OF our institu;
wRen Election 6cers in the light OF ii ali this truth
! and OF all past admOnition, increase and multiply
# hey oS O ~ the e1
atSque tandem dbutere Catalina pdtiettd noStrdI
dacta5. wv '''''"
We now pass to the consideration of the posi-
| tions assumed by the defense.
The respondents ask us to reject the returns
from the Second and Tenth Divisions of the
| teenth Ward, because Of alleged frauds and vlo'
Tie Second and Tenth Divisions of the First
| Ward may be considered together because OF their
vicinity to each other and the probable Identity OF
| the Wrong-dOeIS IN each precinct
1t is distinctly in proof that between l and p.
NJ. in one division, and an hour later i'll the other
| division there was great disorder at these polls
Several voters were murderOusly attacked and
| driven away. Many others were deferred from
voting and from challenging large number Of
| naturalization papers were rejected; squad OF
seven strangers were seen aJ one poll who appeared
to be acting in concert with the Judge; handsful
OF votes Were thrown into the window, though none
reached the ballot boxes; several voters standing
peaceably in the line were arrested by the police,
fined in the hail for two days.
Besides ali this there we're in one division seven
presentations, six OF which occurred after the hour
il is said in answer to these serious charges that
there some CONTRADICTIONS III the statements OF
the witnesses called by respondents, and that there
is conflicting testimony. 1t is also urged that the
returns show that the respondents vote was ut
one poll greater than il had ever been before or
since ana to the other division, that it reached
within four votes OF the highest number ever there
pOlled.
4 comparison of election returns would indicate
that the respondents had received bat little, If any
damage from the acts complained of. But we do
not regard this us the true test in such case The
question which specially concerns the public and
the law is the freedom and the purity OF an cleo
ton We find the fact to be that unOtfendng citi-
Zens were shot at, beaten and arrested at these
polls simply to prevent the exercise OF tnelr right
effect quote but few lines. Martin CaYenaugll
swears that he was dragged out of the lines and
handed over to policeman or special constable.
| there for two days to feed on water. No charge
was made against him. lie had been living in that
division thirteen years, and had been voter since
Charles Mcbride states that crowd threatened
| his life and that Alexander Mcbride was driven
This is corr0borated by Alexander Mcbride, James
| Ericsson. and others A few hours later the Oppo.
site party had full possession Of the poll and the
votes during that interval, between four and five
| o'clock, were l3, all on one side; This was in the
Second Division, but in the Tenth matters assumed
the same complexion the only difference being that
| the violence commenced later.
| Bernard DeYine saw no lighting but witnessed
| three arrests of persons i'll the line.
Earnest Steubng was cruelty beaten because he
attempted to VOuch for his son, and other persons
testify TO more or less OF violence and wrong.
We have no hesitation in cOndemning all these
| proceedings, and our reprObatiOn should be e5pe
cally marked OF the police who so shamefully vic
lated the law it was their duty to preserve.
The evidence establishes that after O'Clock in
the Second Division, and after two o'clock in the
OF violence which renders it Impossible for us to say
what the legal vote, and we therefore apply il
; favor of the respondents the same principle whcl
has been invoked against them elsewhere and W.
Tnpeiye61n these divisions