The Indianapolis journal., 1884-11-10
THE PROPOSED INVESTIGATION.
The New York Returns win Be Subjected
to Close Legal Scrutiny.


to Close Legal Scrutiny.
New York Special in Philadelphia Press.
Still mindful of contests in the past no sane,
impartial candid man will pronounce the State
safe for either party. Both sides claim it, and
by the same plurality-about 1,40O Neither
dare submit their reports from a single county,
their footngs or their plurality, to the PRECISION
al scrutiny of a friendly correspondent. This is
true of Democratic and Republican alike, of the
canvass in Mr.. Smiths hands, at the Hoffman
House, and Mr.. Warren's, at the Gilsey. Each
party is warily watching the other and stripping
for the great legal fight of Tuesday-tke official
count by counties whose issue and outcome will
decide the presidency, and ought to prevent the
delay to business of dispute& election
Into this Gght the Republican party enters
prepared to prove fraud, Irregularities and mis-
counts, which will increase the Republican vote
by figure more than large enough to Offset the
narrow Democratic plurality. Small as it is
upon Democratic claims, not One-third of it
stands unquestioned In Amsterdam, 81 votes;
in Richmond township, a disputed figure which
stands for difference of 60 votes; in this city
an error of serious character reaching more
than 100 votes; in Essex a missing town
ship; in Queens and Westchester sus-
picious alterations in Ulster a charge of
collusion in an election poll-these and other
challenged returns reduce the Democratic claim
L
the exact figure, and on this brittle and doubtful
bridge Grover Cleveland is preparing to pass to
the presidency. There is not so far as can be as
certained any wide and sweeping fraud apparent
There are reports of ,, 900 3 900 votes counted
in this city and serious sufhng in counties about
here, but all this seems rather indefinite The
fact is that the poll leaves the count close and
the appearances of doubtful returns are so clear
that the managers of the Republican canvass
address themselves to day to the last and most
m n a
count. By nothing less ought an American Pres
dent to be elected, and no man can object TO the
closest scrunity of every return on which the
presidency is to be decided. This scrutiny be-
gins to-day. The legal machinery has been set
in full operation. Counsel have been retained in
every county seat, and instructions have been
addressed to them by mail and telegraph Blank
forms leave to night for their use i'll the struggle
which will begin to morrow, and be fought out
over every return, The law of New York
through precedents of thirty years makes the
election inspectors judges of the fact and the
result of the election. They pass on the
count and decide it, and their report consists
not of the ballots as in Pennsylvania, but of a
report in which the number of ballots is speci
fed, with one of each sort filed by way of exhb
it. When this is done the ballots are burned
If the law has been followed the ballots of last
Tuesday have already been burned; and nothing
remains but for each board of supervisors to
meet at each county seat and colate in minis
terial capacity these returns This duty the
courts can interfere by mandamus to forbid or
to require the count of certain ballots. How far
the character of ballots the evidence of mis-
count, or the proof of fraud can be opened in
these proceedings is disputed.
There is no question that a clerical error,
false footings or the like, can becorrected Be
yond this, the exact facts must be known before
it can be said whether the courts interfere
at this point to correct errors, whether the
certificates of election must go its course and the
whole matter wait until it can be reopened by
nT1n Tua MT Annn fTa in ut
tempting to reverse the vote of Florida by such
proceedings will probably be remembered by ali
In that case legal delays interposed until it
was too late. The electors had cast their vote
for Mr. Hayes 1t is hard to see how it could be
done more rapidly in this State. The title of the
electors who vote on the first Tuesday in De
cember could not be decided before the February
tern and the writ must be returnable before q
Democratic court in Albany In view of all this
the real struggle comes between now and next
Tuesday. In the interval the blanket iursdic
tion of the Supreme Court in this State-a con
stant puzzle to laymen-will have been invoked
wherever through this State a false faulty,
fraudulent or an irregular return adds to the
total upon which Clevelands plurality stands.
For this suppose blank madamuses and other
papers leave tonight ready for use at every
doubtful point The Republicans are not alone
in this work. The Democrats are as busy
lamenting as they have at every stage of this
canvass the poverty of a committee which has
more millionaires, twice the wealth of the Re
publican national committee. 1t is scarcely
necessary to say that in acanvass where neither
party looked forward to a close vote, the irregu
larities are not confined to either. You printed
ON the eve of the election lamentable blunder
in printing Republican ballots. 1t was not the
only one.
1t is not necessary here and now to specify
errors certain to be public property before the
contest is over; but they make dreary cata
logue and exist in more counties than one. In
a word the election has passed without closing
the contest, Unless the face of the returns as
presented next Tuesday is accepted the country
enters on contest in the courts over the vote
of New York State. Democrats in the conf