The daily gazette., 1877-02-06
SECOND EDITION
GREAT FRAUDSIN VOTIYG.
Eighteen thousand Votes Hlega ~ Cast in
San Francisco Last November.

Eighteen Thousand Votes Hlega y Cast il,
San Francisco Last November.
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 25.-According
TO our Directory, San Francisco has a
population of $4,000. OF this number
$4,000 are Cinnamon. At the election
last November AZ, ,423 votes were polled.
being less than one vote for every six in
habitants. And it is an open Question
whether we have $4,000 people in this
city exclusive of the Chinese.
The highest vote previously polled was
less than % 900, and the highest number
of registrations was less than SO 900: vet
last November A., ,423 votes were polied.
The registration list closed thirty days be-
fore the election. After that time appli-
cancs made an oath of their citizenship
| and place of residence, and were given a
| certificate of registration. During the
thirty days Immediately preceding the
| election about eighteen thousand of these
| certificates were issued. The certificates
were simply vouchers from the County
| CLERK that the mans name was on the
Great Register and that he was entitled
to vote.
| The law plainly provides that if mans
name was not enrolled on the Great Reg
lister he was not entitled to vote. The
County Clerk did not enroll those names
on supplemental register, but after the
election, he took these $1,000 affidayits,
upon which he granted those voting Ger
| tihcates, ana made out register from
the affidavits. These $4,000 names not
being on the Register on election day,
there was no opportunity to challenge
them or prevent fraud. AS guard
against fraud the law requires that every
mans name shall be on the Register and
exposed to the public at the polling
place. Het. here were $4,000 voters who
came up at the last moment like an am
buscaded army, a clear violation of
| law.
The Central Pacific Railroad Company
wanted to seud pliable man to Congress.
Piper, the present Representative from
this district, besides being a hard-shell
Demorcrat, is a strong railroad man. He
is worth about S2,000,000. and cannot be
influenced by this monopoly. Therefore
it was necessary to defeat him. And it
was done by false registration and voting
early and often. OF course, q majority of
the $4,000 who voted on certificates were
really voters, being newly made citizens
tranfers, and those who put off everything
until the last moment. 1t is claimed that
between 1000 and 5000 were repeaters.
But the County Clerk, in his desire to
register these repeaters as well as the
other applicants, was so pressed fer time
that he was unable to enroll the names
| IN ono .FSiSG1r anu nave ~ PIlneeu lor
inspection. Hence the entire 18, 900 votes
were illegal.
The matter is now being Investigated
by the Board of Supervisors. The attor-
ney for the people has assumed the posi-
ton that these entire $4,000 votes were
illegally cast, and that no legal election
was held in San Francisco. So the rail-
road Republican Congressman from this
city is not out of the woods yet. Repre-
sentative Piper will undoubtedly contest
the seat, but neither of the contestants
will get it ifit is shown that the election
was illegal.