The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1880-11-10


electoral votes Is Democratic In both
and . presnming willingness on
iis part to count out Garfield, II q plausible
pretext can be invented for doing so. II
the electoral votes OF New York could, by
any kind OF desperate hocus pocus, be
cou nled Tor Hancock, he might, after
all, be the next President. Even II pre-.
tense could be found for re ecting the New
York votes as illegal the election OF Han.
cock might still be looked upon as posi-
BILE, since the choice would then devolve
upon the Democratic House Of Represent
tatiyes. The artinlness Of Kelly consists
in getting Barpum To cooperate With him
in holding out this deceitful prospect to
the Democratic party, and, by exciting
false hopes, put of the day Of reckoning
with himself Even Irving Hall and the
World, seem in danger Of being inveigled
into this trap. But the more wary and
cleer.sighted Brooklyn Eagle detects and
denounees the snare, and exposes Il as q
scheme to project the recreant bcsses.
What are the prelexts on which It Is
eousht TO nulliiy Mr.. Gatfield's msjority
In New York; They are two In number,
and both OF them futile aud ridiculous
The one first invented Ia charge OF whole
sale Republican colonization from other
States. The local Democratic committees
are put upon this false scent and asked TO
be busy ia following 1t. Thisis like draw.
ing red herring across the trail In log
hunt to bsff1e The pursuing hounds. Kelly
and bis cosdjators hope by this means 70
divert the avepging chase while they run
10 cover. s,.,. y fFt--iLi Z % rai t"l
Bat within the last day or two new
mares neat" has been discovered to
amuse Mr. Kelly's Democratic enemies
and engage their attention. Il has come
TO light that in one election precinct IN
Oswego the Garfield tickets were not
printed as recent Law, Of the State directs,
and II Ia assumed that similar tickets have
been widely used. in Western New York.
II Is claimed that these irregular ballots
will upset aud reverse the majority for Dir.
Garfield in, this State, and that when they
are thrown out The Hancock ticket will be
found 10 have been elected. Should II 30
turn out Hancock may be the next PIesi'
dent. so 1.,Tuk 'sE.t t'.'
An election law passed by the last Leg
islature requires that the "caption" -pre'
sumed to mean The outside wold+-ot bal
lots be printed as q single line, In q pre-
Scribed kind oil type, without any distin'
gushing marx or device, in order to make
Il impossible for persons hansing around
the polls 10 tell for which party electors
Lave voted. The protested design Of this
enactment was to project the secrecy Of
the ballot and shield the yoters against In.
limitation. Il Ia now alleged that the Re.
publican party has violated Its own law.
and that Ia the western part OF the Stste
/ large share Of the Garfield ballots did
have distinguishing caption, which Is
forbidden by the recent law. 1t Is con.
tended that al snch ballots are il egal and
must be rejected IN the dual count, and
that when this is done the Hancock ticket
will be found to have been chosen In New
York, the State which turns the scale and
decides the election. The Democrats who
clay this catering unction to their souls"
RELY on the third section OF the act passed
at the last session. which 10 as follows;
ercTios 5 1t Ghall b unlIUiul foTAny person 10
rrnI or 6idrbute. or % cast any ba LOT Pris,sI or
pa ~ pstpsd contrary % the provision OF ibis ae',
ar 10 mark the ba 10, o. suy yotrVf odeli er 20 any
voter .ueH max "a LOT tot tbs pErPSs Of aSe.r-
tAiLiI how hethaii TSts Al aey ehc'iop.
Now, while it. Is declared unlawful to
print, distribute, or cast ballots which are
not in the prescribed form, the. act does
not forbid the inspectors to receive and
count such ballots. The law Is very sttin-
gent against their preparation but It's pro-
hibitions cssGs from the moment they are
deposited In the boxes i has not word
nor 3 syllable which pIecludes the inepec.
tors from receiving or the cAnyassers from
counting them II It had goneto this ex.
tent the Judiciary would no doubt hsVe
declared the law unconstitutional, as con.
tiictipg with rights OF voters established
by an authority superior 10 The, Legislg.
Iure. The DRIFT Of judicial decisiuns in
this and other States on similar points is
that the substance OF the suffrage must
not be yielded TO mere points OF form and
that laws must not be strained against the
New, York law there Ia NO room Tor
conflicting interpretations. Il does not
declare ballots void II they deviate from
the prescribed form ;eit-does not say they
shall not be received by the inspectors,
does not say they shall not be counted |;
but only thdtth persons preparing, dis.
tributing or casting them shall be liable
to punishment. This Is precisely analo-
gous to the law gainst bribiuR voters. II
q citizen is bribel 10 vote In, o particular
way both he and the briber are subject to
penalties, but bis vote Is counted all the
same as 1t had been cast from honest
motives. There can be no imputRtion OF
bad motives when a citizen, Intending 10
vote for Garfield, offers q Garfield ballot
which has two lines printed on the out
side instead OF one line. He would have
used ticket In the legal form II one had
been put into his hands, and the law re.
spec,s his intentions and his unconstitutional
right to vote. The fact that thelaw does
mot for bid such votes to be counted Is con.
elusive against the new pretension. No
court can enforce rule which the LegiE-
lature has not enacted. There Is probably
great exaggerstion as TO the number Of
such ballots which have been cast. Most
OF the Republican electoral ballots were
printed under direction OF the Republican
State Committee, and were strictly regu.
lar In form. They were distributed
in abundance throughout the State, and
there was no reason why any local
committee should set In the matter at all.
Suppose It should turn out that the
irrI gular ballot were Burreptitiously
printed by The Democrats with view to
have them flung QUIT What motive
could the Republicans in any county have
for mourning the expense when they had
only TO send TO the State Committee q sc.
all the electoral ballots they needed for
warded to them grRtis7 II looks too much
like q Democratic trick for smuggling into
the ballot boxes, through the hSnds Of nm.
suspecling Republicans, irregular Garfield
votes in the hope that they might be re.
jec;ed by the canvasssrs. II such fraud
has been attempted no honest Democrat
will lend himself as an accomplish after
the fact. ID sc hj3aJ
In the Board Of State Canvassers there
Ia one Democrat; but be Is gentleman Of
such high and sterling honor that he will
not make protests sRSinst the counting Of
any part Of the Garfield vote which has
been honestly given. His written protests
would amount 10 nothing II made, except
re furnish pIetexta for counting out Gar.
field by Congress. Neither young Mr..
Seymour nor the venerRted adviser whom