Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1880-01-09
The Democratic Fraud in Maine.

prove successful. There seems to be
in Democratic circles an apprehension
that the fraud will break down of its
own weight, and that the safest way is
TO denounce what is certain to prove an
abortion. Conspicuous among these
Picksniffs of the Democratic press is
the New York Nation, which is nothing
unless it is Pecksniflian. 1t scents the
disastrous failure of the Maine fraud,
and hastens to denounce the bungling
weakness of the actors. Here is its state
ment:
To characterize. adequately the perform
ances of the Democratic Governor and Coun-
Gil ia Maine, in exercising the functions OF
Returning Board would require very strong
language. The whole defense they make
that the law obliges them to exact rigid con-
formity to certain rules In examining the
election returns-is demolished by two facts.
One is that the errors and omissions which
they have discovered and used occur only in
towns and districts in which the Republicans
have majority, and it passes belief that none
should have been discovered or discoverable
in towns and districts in which the Demo-
Gratis had majority. The other is that law
of 1877 permits the Governor and Council,
when convassiug the returns, to correct such
errors aud omissions by comparison with
the record, and they refuse to avail them
SELVES Oh IUlS DbIlulsslDH, Ou lnt klOuuh
that the law is unconstitutional. But it is
a wellsettled and necessary principle of
American iurs prudence that every law is to
be deemed constitutional until a competent
tribunal decides otherwise, and on this point
the Governor and Council refuse to take the
opinion Of the Court, thus raising presump.
ton of bad faith of the strongest kind. They
have no more right to declare law unconsti.
tutional than any other man in the State;
and, IL they can refuse to avail themselves OF
permissive act on this ground, they can re-
fuse to obey mandatory one. In short,
there is a high degree Of probability that they
have been guilty of fraud in examining and
correcting the returns, and there is absolute
certainty that they have been guilty OF gross
abuse of discretion in their manner OF cor
recting them. The Indignation their per-
formance excites in Maine and throughout
the country is not surprising, and 1t Is by no
means confined to Republicans. The affair is
calling forth also hearty denunciationi in lead
ing Democratic papers. We do not need TO
point out the effect 1t is likely to have on
Democratic fortunes next year.
Here is frank confession that the
majority have been counted out, not
because of any suspicion or even pre-
tense of fraud or illegal voting or ille-
gal returns, but because of informali-
ties in returns. 1t has been the prac-
tice in Maine for half century for the
State authorities, whenever there are
errors or imperfections in the returns,
to notify all concerned, and have these
informalities corrected. This has been
the invariable practice of both parties
In 1877 the Legislature passed u special
law cenferring this power upon the
| State authorities to have these errors
corrected. The arbitrary action in count
ing out the entire representation of
several of the large cities and towns
upon the pretext of informalities in the
returns, and the refusal by the State
authorities to exercise the power given
| them by law to have these errors cor
rected by the returning officers, make
out case of predetermined fraud, and
a deliberate attempt to seize a State
Government beyond all question. The
shortcut proceeding of declaring the
law of 1877 unconstitutional, and thus
disposing of it, is but confirmation OF
the evidence that the whole proceeding
was deliberately planned and all the
preliminaries leading up to the result
carefully prepared.
1t will be remembered that most OF
the errors and omissions on which
the majority candidates were counted
out were that the returns were signeC
by two persons when there should have
been three and that the number of vote!
given were returned in figures, wher
they should have been returned
written out in words, and other de
fects of this kind. 1t now appear,
that in most of these cases the errors
and omissions resulted from the return
ing officers following the defective
blank returns furnished them. Thes,
defective blank returns were gotten VI
by the State officers, and by them sen
to the various returning officers in tn,
counties. That this was a trap de
liberately set for the purpose Of leading
to defective and imperfect returns, an
thus laying the groundwork for the ex
clusion of the returns, can no longer b
doubted. All the defective returns ol
which persons elected have beel
counted out have been made in district
electing Republican members, and n
such defective returns were found il
Democratic districts. This raised tn
additional presumption that blank
} were prepared purposely in a defectiv
manner, and that, while Democrat
districts were furnished with complet
and correct blanks, Republican district
we're furnished with blank return
} which, when filed up, were certain t
be erroneous.
Mr.. Sproul, one of the Fusion cand
dates returned as elected, has write
an indignant letter declaring that h
will not be a party to the fraud. Hi
, testimony as to the fact that the error
| in the returns were due to defectiv
/. blanks furnished by the State author
t ties, in order to have the mistake
? made on which the returns have bee
/ excluded, is very clear. Here is whs
0 he says on this point:
4 Though | was elected on an Oppositio
Q ticket, and intended to support the regula
i nominee of my party, yet, when the memoer
elect are counted out on pretenses which al
3 totally false, or exist only in the malicioI
e ignorance of the pei petrators; when such a.
v vantages were taken of defective blanks sci
out for this very purpose by the constitute
authorities, SO that returns we're cast ol
h from this very cause; when some laws we
% strongly enforced and Others on the san
# subject were nullided, by which these trivi
n errors could have been readily correcte'
- when five of our largest cities containiI
~ one-seventh of our inhabitants and one,four
of our wealth, were DISTINGUISHED, and mal
smaller tONnb lfehleu even WOisci DN boll
Il compelled to be represented by those who
= they had once repudiated at the polls,-th'
Y no longer can man, with one drop of Rev
u lutionary blood in his veins, lend his fave
d and much less his influence, In aid OF SUI
It systematic yillainy.
Al The Nation, while giving up Il
,e Maine Job because it is failure, al
,t therefore doubly wrong and doub
scandalous,. whines considerably to d
n effect that the case of Garcelon is
st worse than that of the Louisiana r
ie turning Board. With truly Pecksnitti'
unction, it thinks Garcelon, of Main
m is purer and better man than Mac
le son Wells, of New Orleans. OF cour
or any attempt to establish a parallel
x tween the Maine and Louisiana cas-
he must be fearfully strained. To esta
IN lish such parallel, there must be eN
IN dence that the Republicans of Mai
sd si had by the shotgun and the lash, a.
a. by general force and inJimidatio
q Il sal