The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1879-04-03
The Curtin Contest.
from williamsport Gazette and Bulletin.

consistent defense of its largest stock
holder, Ex-Governor Curtin, in his con-
test for the seat in Congress now occu-
pied by Hon. Seth H. Yocum, The
facts developed, rs the contest pro-
crosses, are so damaging to the eX-
Governors case that they afford the
widest field for the display of the
Times EDITORS chief talent--that of
turning The damning and damaging
proofs against the stranded Curtin,
into argument in his favor.
In Saturdays Times appeared an
article on the now notorious Benner
township election fraud, in Centre
county, which we have before referred
to in these columns, which censures
Colonel Hastings and Messrs. Furst
and Love, of Mr.. Yocum's counsel, for
offering in evidence the ballots cast at
that election by the voters of Benner
township. The specific charges made
by the Times is that the ballots were
obtained in surreptitious manner,
that they were privately examined by
Mr.. Yocum's counsel and afterwards
offered in evidence in the contest case.
This the Times alleges was a great
fraud on the voters of Benner town
ship, and crime against the sanctity
of the ballot. AS this is the one soli
tary election poll in the entire Con-
gressional district where any actual
| fraud has been proved we have been
careful to inform ourselves fully Of the
facts in the case as they have been
proven. These facts not only vindi-
cate the gentlemen above named as
Mr.. Yocum's counsel, but they show
| that Ex-Governor Curtin, himself and
his immediate followers, are the per-
sons who should purge themselves Of
the taint of crime and corruption
which this Benner township case has
fastened upon them. Before the
spring election Mr. IoCum's counsel
presented o petition to the court of
Centre county, asking that a decree be
made to preserve all the ballots cast at
the November election. This parti-
san court refu5d to do. That the court
had power to preserve the ballots is
well settled by precedents established
by the courts of Philadelphia, Allie
gheny, Luzerne and other counties.
The courts of all the other counties in
the Twentieth congressional district,
where petitions were presented,
promptly made the order preserving
the ballots. 1t could hardly be eX-
pected that Governor Curtin's self
acknowledged counsel, sitting on the
bench of the Centre district, would be
foolish enough to damage his own
case, by making an order that would
expose the frauds practiced by his
clients. Mr.. Curtin, in his notice Of
contest, alleged gross frauds in Benner;
that the ballot box had been stuffed,
the count Irregular, the officers not
sworn, etc. The court having refused
to preserve the ballots 50 as 20 permit
Mr.. Yocum's friends to investigate the
charges, the latter's attorneys caused
u subpoena ducGs tccun2 to be served on
the officers of the election board, re-
quiring them 10 produce the ballots
before the commissioner. In obedience
to this subpoena the election officers on
the day of the spripg election (Febru-
AIRY lSth) preserved the ballots and
afterwards produced them before the
commissioner, and were offered in evil
dence by Colonel Hastings and his as
sociates. This is the great crime and
indccenCy on the part of Tocum's
counsel complained of by the Times.
But the true cause Of the Times indig-
nation may be gathered from the
! proofs furnished by these same ballots,
and the two Democratic members of
the board, who swore that they took
| them from the sealed box in exactly
! the same condition they were when
deposited there on the night of No
vember 5, 1878; that when offered in
evidence they were exactly the same
as when taken from the ballot box;
that one hundred aud twenty persons
! had voted at that election for Mr.. YO-
cum that seven ballots counted and
! returned for Andrew G. Curtin had
never been polled by legally qualified
voters, but had been placed in the
ballot box after the polls closed by
paid Curtin Democrat; that they
were found in the box on the evening
of the election, after the polls closed.
| Thirteen other tickets with Andrew
G. Curtin's name printed thereon for
congress, that had never been voted,
numbered, counted or returned by the
| board, but had been stuffed into the
box by a Curtin hireling at the time
several members of the board Were
! temporarily out of the room when the
counting was being done. These facts
have all been proved more fully than
we have stated them, by two Demo-
cratic members OF the election board.
More than this, the one hundred and
| twenty persons who voted for Mr..
Yocum have been severally called be-
fore the commissioner, and have sworn
to their legal qualifications as voters,
and that they voted for Yocum. These
facts established by the highest proof
known to the law, make Mr.. YOcum's
l. l.. 4