Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1882-01-12
WHAT ELECTED WAGNER.
Some Facts Concerning the Vote at
the Last Election.

are claiming the election OF
Hon. David Wagner to the Legislature
as victory for the Removal ticket, and
Mr.. Wagener is using his election as an
argument in the Legislature to show
that the votes that elected him are in
favor Of Removal, We invite their at
tention to few hard facts taken from
the official vote of the county at the last
election:
There were 9,Se5 votes polled, Of
which, taking the vote of Mr.. Arm
strong, on the Removal ticket for Treas
urer as basis, the Removalists polled
1,514 votes, less than one-sixth of the
entire vote. Yet this is more than they
polled, for in Washington tp, where
Mr.. Armstrong received 1913 votes, the
remainder of his ticket received less
than 100, showing that the popularity of
the candidate and not the movement
drew over ene-half Mr.. Armstrong; vote
here. In Bellaire and Pultney town
ship Mr.. Armstrong received 1OOe votes
leaving for the remaining fifteen town.
ships the magnificent sum Of sos votes,
which townships polled 1901 Of the
9,395 votes or about eight-ninths of the
total vote. That is out of 1901 votes
polled outside of Pultney township the
Removal ticket polled only sos, about
one-sixteenth of the vote.
To get at the exact vote polled for. the
Removal ticket as an issue, we have but
to deduct the total vote for Infirmary
Director from the total vote polied, as
the Removalists had no candidate on
their ticket for that position. The total
vote 1896 less s,332 polled for Infirmary
Director leaves 1,063 as the grand total
of the vote polled for the Removal tick
ct. So much for the vote they pOlled.
Now, as to the claims that this frac-
tion of the vote of Belmont county elect
ed Mr.. Wagner. In the first place his
majority was less thar either that of
Feeley, Thompson or Jones, whose
names were on the Democratic ticket and
not on the Removal ticket, which shows
that his being on that ticket cut him
more votes than the increase by the Re-
moval vote amounted to. Nine town
ships and precincts, namely, Colerain,
Belmont Ridge precinct in Flushing,
both precincts of Kirkwood, Martins
Ferry precinct in Pease, st. Clairsville
precinct in Richland, Somerset, Union
and Wheeling townships, which did not
poll a single Removal vote and had COM
paratively few signers TO the petition
for Removal. gave Hon. David WAGNER
LII votes for Representative on the
Democratic ticket. His total majority
was 24s, and yet this claim that he was
elected in the interest of Removal. Why,
in Martins Ferry precinct alone Wag-
ener got 342 votes where the Removal
ticket got not one; and even in Bellaire
and Pultney, tip. Wagner got 1865 votes
while the Removal candidate for Treas
urer got but 1,006, showing that Mr..
Wagner got 600 votes here that were
not polled for the Removal ticket. In
st. Clairsville precinct Hon. Mr.. Wagon
er received 50 votes, and this shows an
other absurdity to the claim, as there is
no one who will for one moment suppose
there are that many voters here Gn fact
there is not one) who are in favor of
moving the Court House to Bellaire.
Further, in Bellaire and Pultney town
ship Mr.. Wagner received 1895 votes,
over one-half of which it is safe to say
he would have received on the Demo-
cratic ticket alone. Outside of Pultney
township Mr.. Wagner received S.OS9
votes while Mr.. Armstrong on the Re
moval ticket received but sos, showing
his Democratic vote here to be over 800
supposing him to have received every
vote Mr.. Armstrong did, but which he
did not as we have shown in Washington
township where Armstrong run 100
votes ahead of his ticket. To sum up,
it is surely plain to be seen that if Nh.
Wagner had not been on the Democratic
ticket his vote would then have been in
the neighborhood Of 1908, which we
have shown to have been the strength
of the Removal ticket.
But if these facts are not considered
proof enough, by his own words shall
we condemn him. The following is an
extract from letter written by Mr..
WAGNER from Wheeling to a Democrat
in Union township, after the Removal
and Republican conventions had been
held and prior to the Democratic con-
vention:
Dear Sir: Lern that you are one
of the Leading Democrats of your Place
and have been forced on the Bellaire
Ticket and now the only thing Left for
me is to ask the Democrats of Belmont
County to endorse me and that will
make the Democrat Ticket a Shure
Sucksess, if the Democrats fails to nom-
mate Me, Linn Will be the next Repre-
sentative of this county. Never
have scrached one Democrat ticket.
l. Will abide the desition of the
convention, ="
According to this the Hon. David
had not much faith in his election on
the Removal ticket, and aOoatld not hare
uoted for himself had he not been nonai,s-
Gted 6y the Democrats, which was, as
has been shown, how 1922 of the voters
who cast their ballots for him felt. This
elected him and not the comparatively
few votes he received on the Removal
ticket.
THE dissatisfaction caused among
members of the House of Representa-