Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1883-02-28
CORRESPONDENCE.

Ter CITIZEN and Democratic Herald,
and also in two of the most widely
circulating neutral papers 10 the coun-
ty, the Grove City Telephone and the
| Petrolia Record, an article in regard
to the counting out of the Prohibition
] party vote, by a number of the election
boards in this county last fall. In that
article they were requested to give the
people reason why they done so, and
as sufficient time has elapsed an
they have not done so We are compell-
ed to believe that in many cases it was
/ intentional.
Some one or two have published a
snorl. that they may deem sufficient
answer, but is not satisfactory to the
intelligence OF the people of to-day
"W," of Mercer township. seems to be
the only one honest enough to try to
give a reason, (and the Doc. certainly
knows better than he would have US
believe) which in substance is that the
Prohibition tickets were not printed as
were the tickets of the old parties.
They had the Office of CoDgressmanat-
Large on the county ticket, and the
Prohibition tickets had that office on
the State ticket, therefore illegal and to
be thrown out O. Now while it may
be true that the cheirmen Of some OF
the parties agreed to put the office of
| Congressman-at-La Large on the county
ticket. il does not follow that it was
legal; anyone knows that chairmen
can't make law nor repeat one, and III
the absence of defining law as to
place and no decision of the Supreme
Court in regard to the matter-custem
would make the law-and 1t has been
the custom for the last twenty years to
have Congressman at-Large Cd the
State ticket as the Prohibition had.
The law In substance says, that the
names of all persons for State Offices
shall be placed on ticket labeled
State" and those for county offices on
u iicket labeled County"
Now, is the Office of Congressman-at-
Large county office? Does it belong
to this county or even to the counties
composing this Congressional district ?
If not, and it is State Office, it should
have been on the State ticket, Gas was
the Prohibition.) Therefore the old
parties county tickets were illegal, and
the only legal and duly elected ticket
was the Prohibition ticket. If our
election officers were in doubt as to the
law in the case, (they not being Law
Judges) their course was plain. namely
to apply to the Law Judge who counts
| the returns.
Our State Constitution says, "thst
every male citizen of the age OF 2l
years, &c, shall not be deprived OF
the right of suffrage except for certain
crimes. Were not many OF our best
citizens disfranchised Although quail
fled electors, their ballots being taken
and afterwards thrown out, as we be-
lieve at the dictation of the BOSSES"
We appeal to the good citizens of
this county, is this thing to be con-
tinued? Cannot we depend on you for
belp +? so that the SCANDAL of unjust
and party decisions Of such eases shall
be prevented hereafter.
And should you deem US unworthy
your notice, we ask your consideration
of Gamalel's advice, foundin Acts 9Th,
verses 38th and 39th.
Very Respectfully &c,
| JAMES ". ORR,
County Chairman p II P. Party.
Bruin, Butler Co., Pa, Feb. %, 'o3.
WE have never learned the particu-
lars of any of the cases in this county
1
to which the above communication
refers. But complaints were made,
Immediately after the election last No
VEN ber, that Prohibition tickets were
thrown out, or not counted, at certain
districts of this county. IF this was
so. we agree with Mr. Orr that an ex-
planation of the matter should have
been made by those boards long before
this time. The right of suffrage is too
sacred and important to be treated in
that way Before the election last year
there was quite diversity of opinions
as to what place the Office of Congress
man-at- Large should occupy on the
tickets to be voted. Some were OF
opinion it should be printed and placed
on the ticket headed State" as the
whole State voted for that office.
Others thought it should go upon the
ticket headed County as Congress
men were voted for upon that ticket by
the law. In order to have similarity
az to that office, the chairmen OF the
two Republican and of the Democratic
State Committees, by agreement, ar
ranged to print the names OF their re-
spective candidates on the ticket head
ed County - In this action it seems
the chairman Of the State Prohibition
Committee did not participate and per-
haps had no notice of But it was a
mere party agreement, binding only
upon the parties to it. There was no
law about it. and, therefore, until a
legal decision no board of election
officers had a right to say or assume
which ticket was the proper one fer
Large to he voted
upon. As Mr.. Orr well says, that was
question that could have come up
properly before the Law Judge can
vassing the whole vote of the county.
1t was, therefore, great error to reject
or refuse to count any man vote for
that office, merely because the name Of
the candidate for Congressman-at-
Large was not printed or written in
the same place all the time All those
votes should have been counted, and it
is not too late yet for the officers ofany
election rejecting them to explain the