The daily gazette., 1882-10-26
MR.. STEW WO0DFORD
He GETS A BLACK EYE FROM
JOHN o,BYRNE,
AND IS IN NO ENyIABLE POSITION
Prating About Southern Frsul, While His
Own District is Carried by His Ballot
Box-stuffing Friends.

| box->tuntng Friends.
| There Is quite an interesting controversy
| between General Stewart /. Woodford and
John O'Byrne, Esq, which promises 70
throw light on certain dark political trans
actions. Woodford, it will be remembered,
in his recent speech in Wilmington drew at
| tention to alleged ballot hox stuillng in the
South by means of tissue paper ballots.
On the 18th inst. Mr. O'Byrne, upon the
invitation of the Delaware State Ceniais
| Committee, delivered political speech ia
the Opera House here ou the purity of clcc-
tions and the judiciury, In the course of
which he quoted passage Of q speech de-
lvered In New York 10y Civil Justice Alfred
Stecklcr, which was the occasion OF the fol-
lowing correspondence:
UNITED STATES DISTRICT ATToRNEY,s
| OFFICE, Oct. 2i 1SS2.-Dea, Sir III the
report published Of yonr speech delivered
ar Wilmington, Del, Wednesday October
IL inst, the following paragraph occurs /:
| with this preface Mr.. o. Byrne proceeded
to. tell how matters were managed IN Mr.
| WoodfortPs district In New York city before
1t became Democratic, where they voted the
tissue ballots 50 much talked of us a South
ern fraud, where the inspectors put in more
ballots than were recorded and put out the
| lights to count in their candidates The
l
warm political friends of Mr.. Woodford.''
May ask you whether this report /, es-
| sentially II correct statement of what you
saids Will you also tell me to what district
In New York city and when the matters oc-
Cured about which you are reported tohaye
spokens Very resp dtfully
STEWART L. WooDPoRr.
Hon. JoHs O'BYRxE, "
To which Mr.. O'Byrnc forwarded the fol-
lowing reply yesterday:
DISTRICT ATToRNEy's OFFICE, Oct. 25.--
| Dear Sir: | find in referring TO my notes
| that | read from printed report from a
speech Of Justice Stecklrr made Iii this city
about three weeks ago. The report APP
peared in the daily papers, viz "Judge
| Alfred Steckler said that the district WAS one
IN which, ut election after election ballots
cast had been DESTROYED aud tissue bal
| lots issued, and in which inspectors Of
election had deposited more ballots than
were recorded, and had put out the lights
to count the candidates in. For 10 years
there has not been an honest election in the
| district. The men who owned the inspectors,
body and soul, were responsible. These
men were John j. O'Bricn and Jacob M.
| Patterson, Jr.
You as u speaker at political meetings
| must be aware how frequently speakers
statements are taken from newspaper re-
| ports. l referred to the report of Judge
Stecklcr's speech, and was careful 10 read it
at the meeting. have seen this morning
Judge Stcckler and called his attention to
your letter to me and he stated he was
ready tosubstaHtate all he said upon that
| occasion. / did say it was your district,
meaning that the Assembly district referred
| to was within the Southern District of New
| York, of which you are the United States
District Attorney. Messrs. Patterson and
O'Brien are certainly reputed political
| frfends-at least you are all active members
| of the same party. Yours, very truly,
JOHN O'BYRNE.
PROOF IN ABUNDANCE. .
Assistant District Attorney Allen of New
York said yesterday that he had "a stacll''
of afiidavits to prove every statement con-
tanned In the extract of Judge Steckler's
speech. Taking from pigeon hole file
OF documents Mr.. Allen looked them over,
and in doing so made brief mention of
their contents, as follows ''I.ast year
in the Second Election district of the Eighth
Assembly district fify-ive lnoIc ballots
were found in the judicial box than the
actual count of the votes cast called for.
These superlluous votes had to be excluded,
and of course the benefit Of the doubt was
given to the candidates who were friends of
the Il publican bosses of the district.
IL was from here also that the four in
dicted inspectors of election hail They
are charged with violation of the Election
law In preventing Is legal voters from exer-
cising their right 10 the franchise, on the
ground that Others had voted IN their names.
Here also are aill1avits showing that in this
Assembly (Eighth) district, where Mcssrs..
O'Brien and Patterson arc the local Repub-
lican leaders, the tissue ballot fraud had
been practiced When tissue ballots could
not bs safely used double sets were subs,i-
tuted.
Other similar ailidavits arc in our hands.
These things are all going to be made the
subject of u Judicial inquiry"
''What has all this got To do with the con-
troversy between General Woodlord and
Colonel O'Byrnc" asked the reporter
''Simply and conclusvcly to show that
the tactics which Mr.. Woodford charges
upon Democrats in the South are practiced
by his political friends and social chums In
the heart OF this city, right under his ofli-
cial nose, and done in such an open manner
as to he known OF all men,"
1t is thought that the controversy will
have AN amicable ending, or at most that is
will be settled in the courts.