New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-04-03

the Democratic party of the district determined TO
promote him to fill the vacancy. Ever since the
present contest has been pending in the committee,
Mr.. Dibble has shown himself fertile in expednts
to gain delay and has been diigent in efforts to pre-
serve by chicanery the fruits of a victory won for
O'Connor by unblushing fraud and crime.
careful reading of the testimony and arguments
in the case leads to the conclusion that the COM
mittee will brush away entirely the legal quibbles
raised by Samuel Dibble. and his protest that the
contest of Mackey against O'COnnor absted on the
death of the latter The committee will be Likely
to call attention to the language used by
Governor Hagood in his proclamation. cali
Ing a special election to fill the vacancy" "
caused by OCOnnor's death, in which the Gov
ernor used the language "to serve for the
remainder of the term for which the said Michael i.
O'Connor was elected" In his demurrer to the pro-
ceedings Dibble also set up the plea that if OCOn-
nor had resigned and not died the contest would
have abated. The committee might very properly
point out as a sufficient to this remarkable
proposition, that any cOntcstec hnding his case
hopeless might end by resigning and then try the
matter over at the polls. The committee IL ls
believed Will critcise severely as they certainly
ought TO do the allegations made by Dibble that
Msckey had tampcrcd with and perverted the
record in the case.
BY an examination of the testimony presented by
Mackey IN denial of those allegations, the COM
mittce will be irrcssibly led TO the conclusion that
the testimony as printed in the record, IS the very
testimony given by the witnesses, and that all the
matters alleged by Dbbe in regard to it are false
or immateral. As to the number of votes cast for
Mackey and O'Connor respectively, the committee
will find that the State Board of Canvassers re-
ported that Mackey had received 1927 and
~ = -cD lint wi
also find that had the county canvassers counted
the votes as returned to them by the election
managers of the different prccmcts-evcn after all
the frauds that were committcd-tbey wOuld have
been compelled to declare Mackcy elected by a
majority of $40 votes They Will find, moreover,
that all the election managers at every Doll
in the district partsans OF OConnor and mem
bers OF the Democratic rariy. The committee VIII
also find that the pretended majority OF J,2I2 re-
turned for O'Connor was deliberately manufactured
by the Boards of County Canvassers-in other words
that It was pe1jured and false majority in every
respect
But the committee will be justified in going much
further than this, and in reporting that by
systematic stuling Of the ballot-boxes, and
like systematic cheating Of the
Republicans in the process of drawing out the bal
lots in excess Mac!ey was deprived of thousands of
thousands Of fictitious, false and fraudulent ballots
were counted for OConnOr. If thorough Invcst-
cation OF all of the facts proved beyond dispute III
the record shall be made by the committee, 1t VIII
not be able TO escape from the conclusion that
Mackev was honestly and fairly elected by
majority of nearly 10000 votes. The
extent of ballot box suitng by means
of tissue ballots in that election by the
Democrats seems almost incredible, yet the proof,
undSputcd and indisputablc shows that INTO + rty-
five ballotboxes 6 247 illegal ballots were stuffed
Then began the drawing out OF of the excess" 1t
was easy enough for a Democratic clerk of election
although blind-fOlded, 10 tell Republican from
Democratic ballot. At q great many of the boxes
not single Democratic ballot was drawn: and on
the average about nne-tenthS of the ballots thus
drawn ont were Republican ballots.
The Democrats found that the chief United
States Supervisor had instructed the Supervisors at
he several precincts to report the excess OF ballots
if apv' and also to report how many Republican and
how many Democratic ballots were drawn
0uC and destroyed in the process of
removing the excess A circular was therefore
Immediately issued October 27. 1SsO,l from
mittee0 by the chairman OF that committee.
copy of the circular was sent to the chairman OF
every Democratic County Committee III the state,
incllding Chairman Dibblc, of Orangcburg County.
This precious document concludes as follows, the
italics being the committees own:
You viii therefore instruct the Managers of Election
throughout your county at once soe tnat Iney
any ballots drawn from the box i'll excess Of the
number Of names the poll list. in order TO ascertain
for whom such ballots have been cast The ballots must
he drawn ,citou being and must be Immediately
destroyed, as the laws direct
JOHN BRATTOS, Chairman.
If there were no other proof 10 show that the
Managers of Election Were blind partisans and
completely under the control of the DemOcTltic
State Committee, this circular, " instTucting"
them to do certain things in order to prevent dis
covery Of frauds which had been predetermined
on, would be sufficient