The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1875-11-04
\ yMcD0NALD COUNTED OUT.

The action of the Wood county pipe
layers" aided by indecent haste by the
Republican Clerk of this county, defraud-
ing Clark W. Mcdonald of the certificate
fhis election to the Senate by the peo-
lie of this district, is a fitting conclusion
f the bribery and fraud with which the
Republican party carried Ohio in the late
election. They have done everything
necessary to secure success, without scru-
pie, upon the ground that the "end JUS
tilted the means" and after perpetrating
frauds equaling the carpet-bag villainies
of Louisiana and South Carolina, with
brazen impudence charge intended dis
honesty upon Democrats. They did
everything they intended to do, and their
intention fromthe beginning of the cam
paign was to stop at nothing requisite
to success. The Wood county poll in the
recent election indicates an imported vote
in that county of absut $500, and it is
claimed that 900 of these votes were il
legally cast in Perrysburg, and suppose
for the sake of the argument we admit
this to be true, what became of the re-
naming 1900 votes? They were cast of
course in the interest Of Bowling Green,
but were distributed in all the townships
opposed to the removal of the county
seat. The arbitrary, unprecedented and
unuuestionably illegal action of the Wood
county canvassers and clerk, was for a
double purpose-to defeat Mcdonald for
the Senate and possibly to swell the ma
iority of Hayes over 5000 to win large
amount of money staked on that figure,
1t is not at all improbable that the clerks
of Wood and Lucas counties have quite
sum wagered that Hayes will have 5000
majority, for we are informed that sew
eral of the friends and cronies of Mr.
Enright have quite a pile bet on that
figure. We have always believed If a
man bet at all, he was in honor bound to
give up his money when he lost fairly,
but when fraud is detected in reaching
the result upon which the wager is laid,
as is the case in this Wood county usur-
patton, there is no more obligation to sur
render his money than if it were won
from him at "three card monte" We
say to our friends who have staked money
that Hayes's majority would not reach
5000, not to give up any bet on that
figure; it requires the vote Of Wood
county to win their money. No such
power is vested by law in any canvassing
board for if it were our elections like
those held under the carpet-bag rule in
the South would be a mere farce and the
ballot-box might as we'll be dispensed
with and let boards decide who shall
have office. If a board of canvassers can
reject the vote of one township, they can
throw out any number necessary to
change the result of any election held by
the people, and render voting a mere
idle mockry. This arbitrary exercise o.
poweris the compound extract of all the
schemes that have ever been devised tC
defeat the decision of the ballot-box, and
is the introduction into Ohio of the in
famous system of counting out" after
election practiced by the carpet. .bagger'
of the South and the Republican leaders
in Philadelphia. While we know tha
the exercise of arbitrary power by off
cials during the war, accustomed the peo
pie to submission to wrong, we canno
believe that the voters of Ohio viii
quietly consent to surrender the election
of their Senators and Representatives Il
canvassing boards and county clerks
The country made rapid strides during
the war period from selfgovernment Il
Capitalization, but for the last three year
the people have been slowly returning t
their ante beIlum ideas of free government
and we doubt very much whether the.
will consent to take sufficiently lon
step backward to endorse the outrage
+ counting Clark w. Mcdonald out of
. seat in the Senate, to which he was lie
gally elected by the people--Norther
Ohio Democrat.