The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1874-09-24
Town Meeting In Camden.
From the Rockland Free Press.

! 1890 >~AooSA06 ~ O020U04s
From the Rockland Free Press
Camden threw one of its largest votes OF
| Monday. The whole number of votes for Gov
ernor was 30. The Republicans gain "a from
last year on the Governor vote and in a larger
proportion on some Of the rest of the tickets
| Hale ran ahead of his ticket as he did in mos
OF the towns. Albert johnson, the candidate
Tor representative, made good run. getting
two votes more than Gov. Dingley, but wa,
| defeated.
| Near the close of the meeting the town clerk
T.. IL. sherman, and one O.. the seectmen, j. w
Ihorndlke, democrats, were caught in the yer,
act OF stufiing the ballot box. A man applied
on the check list His vote was challenged, and
| WINE the matter was being examined the voter
| laid his ticket down on the stand side of the
ballot box: 1t was picked up by the clerk and
put upon the box and the cover was drawn out
| allowing the vote to go in. Sec. "a OF chap T.
Of Revised Statutes provides that the slide il,
| the ballot box ''shall not be opened till the
name OF person offering his vote, is found on
the check list;' and if the presiding officer or
o1ncers DO not comply with this requirement they
snail forfeit not less than fifty nor more than
I'VE hundred dollars and be imprisoned in Jail
not more than nine nor less than three months, y
us provided In Sec. 81, of same chapter. This
oHense having been committed in the presence
OF several witnesses, Mr.. Simonton very
properly asked that committee be named to
zone IN that town for the past ten years. The
request was voted, or rather hoacled down by Il
drunken mob, who hooted, Missed, and shook
iisls, Ill a manner more suitable in ku-kluX
community Two OF the selectmen, j. +. Stet-
son and Ezekiel Vinal, conducted themselves as
gentlemen and honest men throughout the
election and did what they could for fair play
The officers who thus violated plain provision
OF the law, should be punished agreeably to
statute, and the purity of the ballot box MAIN
will ct ma
Dailot INTO the box, who can know that during
the day nifty were not put in in the same way?
A person who would put in one unlawful Vote
would throw III handful if the chance offered
Comments on the above.
The above article was written by II. h.
Smonton, and appeared in the Rockland
Free Press OF September 10th Our
town hitherto having borne Il good
reputation we deem it proper to make
the following statement He (Simon-
tom bases the above upon nothing but
4 vote presented and challenged few
minutes before the closing Of the polls,
and if wrongly allowed to 60 into the box,
It was from mlsapprehension of Mr.
Thorndike and the Town Clerk, and con-
sequently could have been only an illegal
vote, to be counted out AS tor the dis
graceful scene, the writer (Simonton) who
for long time has been the originator of
more disturbances at our annual town,
district and corporation meetings than any
other citizen, proposed a committee to
bn ct tbo
This was well enough, and would have
been we'll received and as usual conceded.
had he not followed his proposition with
a Scandalous speech, peculiar to himself
and himself only, and SO disgraceful that
some of the most respectable men in his
own party Joined with the Democrats in
square and honest vote, and voted it down
1t was vote, and nothing else. When
Simonton states that it was "howled
down" he tells a lie. But all this occurred
after the polls We're closed Earlier in the
day he had grossly insulted one of the
selectmen for receiving the vote of his (the
Selectman 81 own son, ard whose age he
was presumed to know.
And next the drunken mob. During
the day there was no disturbance in the
streets, and Simonton failed to organize
an atfray in the hall
L. L. Simonton's scurrilous speech was
resented and replied to at the time by men
who hold the good reputation of the town
in too high esteem to listen quietly and
hear it slandered We respectfully ask
the public to believe us to be, what we
think we always have been. peaceabla
wablding citizas, endeayoring always
to advance the interests of our town, and
claiming the right to exercise, within the
law, our own judgment in reference to
town, county, state and national politics
and while granting to our opponents the
same rights we hope never to find our
selves organizing ku-klux bands and
mobbing our neighbors in the streets or
libelling them in the public press, either
in the town or beyond its borders.
CITIZENS OF CAMDEN.