The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1877-01-29
GhsgnteIligenrer.
Ii the City Council n Returning
board?

port Of Council proceedings, Major Jim
Sweeney enters a protest against the inu,
ance Of certificate Of election to Stephen
Ripley, the Republican candidate for City
Sergeant, who Ia returned by the commits,
aioners Of election as elected. This the
Major asks on his own assertion that
here wss fraud and great Irregularities
In the election, without however indica.
ting wherein the Irregularities consisted,
which he proposes to prove, II an oppOr.
tunlLy is afforded him. Whether the
Major succeeds in securing hearing or
or not, one thing is certain, he has sue.
ceeded in raising question Of some im.
portance even now, and onewhich might
in the future become vastly more impor.
tant. II is - to the powers Of the
City Council in relation to determining
the validity Of the election Of officers
chosen by the people. Has the City
Council the power to go behind the re.
turns Of the properly constituted officers
Of election, tie officers authorized by law
TO supervise elections, to count the votes
and make returns to the Mayor This
was the question which caused the city
fathers tnew and old), on Saturday after
noon, to knit their brow, in cnuienpla.
tion Of very novel and knolty issue.
Considering the seriousness. Of the
question the predicalnent Of the Council
was really amusing they found them.
selves as a ship without compass. Fl.
nally, as will be seen, it was agreed to
submitthe question to The City Solicitor
for an opinion.
We may, without liability 10 charge
Of attempting to foreslall the opinion Of
the Solicitor, assume that, unle,s
under some general law Of the
State having bearing ON the
settlement OF disputed elections,
the Council will get no solution of the
difficulty from the Solicitor. Indeed, II
We understood His Honor, the Mayor
who had asked the Solicitor for an opin,
ion, that officer had no oil in his lamr
that would throw light on the subject.
We have ourselves made an examina
ton OF the printed ordinances with :
view Of laying before our readers al
points bearing on the subject Of city elec
tiOns and the powers OF Council in rela
tion thereto as we find them enumerated
therein.
Section S Of the Act Of incorporation
Of 1886, page 10, says: The Council shall
be the judge Of the election and qualili.a.
ton OF the members Of their own body"
At that date all city officers we're III,
creatures Of the Council.
The Act Of 1856, page 81 provides fo
the election by the people OF Wheeling
annually, Of a Mayor, Councilman, Treas
urer, Aldermen, Sergeant, Wharimaster
Superintendent OF Water Works ana
Street Commissioner, but provides IL,
additional powers 10 be vested in the Cit,
Council ia relation TO the election Of mi,
officers.
The act Of 1868, page 40, declares "tha
the Council Of the city of Wheeling shall
consist Of separate and distinct board, to
be known as the First and Second Branch.
e'of the Council OF said city" 1t ia also
provided, shat each branch shall be the
judge Of the election and qualification oil
its own members." We do not find in thi.
act any power lodged in the Council 10
judge Of the election or qualification of
any city officer elected by the people.
The act OF 1868, p. Il, provides "That
all officers which now are or may hereat.
ter be required to be elected by the City
COuncil shall be elecIed by jnintballot Of
the FIRST and second branches Of said
Council" -e @
On page los Is an act amending the
charter Of the city of Wheeling, making
the elections biennial instead of annual,
reiterating that the Mayor, City Clerk
City Sergeant, Superintendent Of Water
Works, Street Commissioner and Wharf.
master shah be elected by the qualified
voters Of the city.
On page lG5 the city ordinance in re
lation to elections provides, Sec. 8: "Nc
vote shall be rejected unless both tho
superintendents conducting tue election
at the place where the same is Offered
concur in its rejection, but cacl
superintendent may cause his objection,
to any vote received, to be entered on tn,
poll books"
Strangely enough, while providing By
ordinance as above, in relation to the re
lection Of vote by both superintendent
or the record Of The objection o
one Of them, the ordinance fail. To pro
vide tribunal TO decide whether III,
objection Of the one superintendent i
we'll taken. So that the section so far 4
regards the single objection is withou
force; is nullily.
Section 7 Of the ordinance provide