Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1884-11-20

ssEvery evening" n Pioneer in In. |
dependence Ehe Presidential |
steal of Isze-A Specimen OF Inger-
SOILS DeyilInhness.
special UoriespondeDce OF Gazette and journal.
New YoRK, Nov. Is The ofiuial count
drass along, but the people are losing
interest In II. The counties are nearly
all heard from, aud they make no cnanee
worth mentioning in the published
figures giving Cleveland plurality OF
somewhere between 1000 aud 1900. 1t
will take several days to complete the
returns In this city, but no well informed
person Ia at all worried about II. There
IRE some errors in them, but they will
nearly balance each other anu
will leave the total about where
IL has been. This is known, foI
these returns have already been oom
pletely csnvassed by Francis G Barlow
and others Of the Democratic oouGsel
They have been very retioent about the
result Of that CANVASS, except in rsspons.
TO the declarations Of one Of Johnny
o'Brien's henohmen that an error OF 45U
had been discovered. Mr.. Barlow says
the total difference from the police reports
will reach nothing like that figure, but
does mot say which side It ia on. There lie
not the shadow Of doubt amongst those
managing the Democratic CANVASS rs t.
the result Of the official count
There seems TO be great deal Of mis-
apprehension outside New York state q.
70 the nature Of this official count. Every
now and then one hears of some ruIsl
Republican vAporing to admiring ioolt
about private information he has con
corning the wonderful things that will be
discovered when the ballot boxes are
opened. Such people do not know, Of
course, that all the ballot boxes are
empty, the law Of this state requiring
that the ballots shall All be
destroyed as soon rs the first
count by the inspectors is completed.
Our law makers assume-probAbly very
prcperly-that there will never be
smother such chance Tor a fair count as
existed immediately after the polls closed
when none OF the men Of both parties
engaged In 1t had any idea Of what the
vote was In other districts than their
own. The final and decisive vote for the
city and county Of New York was made
last Tuesday night week and the only
question since that time has been what
that count was. 1t Ia q mere matter
Of arithmetic. Election officers added up
the tally Lists In their districts and re-
ported the rel ult. Did they add right is
the only question, and that ia one all the
enterprising newspapers that really
desired 70 know the truth answered to
their own satisfaction several days ago.
That is what the aldermen oil New York
City, assisted by trained accountants
and the various boards OF supervisors in
aha Al
for the last few days. They have dis
covered some errors, but surprisingly
few, and good many defective re-
turns. More Of the latter than OF the
former. The law requires that the
number Of votes received by each eandi-
date shall be written out and also be-
given In figures in the blanks provided
for returns. II also requires the in.
speotors TO state the whole number Of
votes cast in their district. One OF the
most frequent errors has arisen in
attempts 10 comply with this last require
ment, and notably in the electoral
ticket, where here and there an
eleotor runs behind the rest and the
tables show this, but the written report
Of the aggregate vote for electors
makes no allowance for this, The
boards now canvAssing the votes have
30 little power-differ so widely from q
returning board Of the carpet bag
southern kind-thAt they cannot CORRECT
SO obvious and unimportsnt an error as
this, but must send 1t back to the inspec
tors 10 correct. This ia the sort OF cor
reotion going on all over the state,
and II has not the slightest effect on the
returns. OF course men seeking to learn
the result for the newspapers did not
bother tier heads about this sort OF
thing, but they did look critically at the
essential thing, the figures, add them up
when opportunity offered for themselves
and get others having the power to do thia
for them, and hence there has been
serene confidence in such newspaper
Offices as the Timer, Herald and Sun, in
the accuracy Of their own figures. OF
course, people who had not thus verified
the accuracy Of the additions and cub,
Btrsotions for themselves were more
nervous, while outsiders who imagined
that all the ballots, which were burned
more than q week ago, we're now being
overhRuled, have been prepared Ia
believe that almost anything might
happen. But one thing has hap
pened and that happened last Tues
day. II was the election Of Grover
Cleveland to the Presidency Of the United
States and the defeat OF the Knight OF the
Soiled Plume. There has been no OppOr
tunity since 10 undo or alter this and the
Official count has merely demonstrated
what the unofficial count showed all wht
did not refuse to see by noon on Wednss
day, November 9th.
INDICATING BFPRcT OF THB IEDEPENpEE,
MOVEMENT ON THE INDEPENDENTS
The attitude assumed By the indie
pendent Republicans during the recen
CANVASS WAS productive Of other good re
suits besides the election Il Cleveland
They were compelled by the necessity o
the case to look At the good side Of til
Democratic party and to recognize th
fact that 1t is simply an organization o
American citizens differing in yiews from
ths opposing organization, but not differ
ing for the worse in character, aims O.
composition. And from this new stand poin
they showed some disposition to review
history In spirit Of greater Justice
The Rev. James Freeman Clarke in on,
OF bis speeches or letters pretty broadl,
intimated his opinion that the Re
publicans on the electoral commission
had by ga vote OF s to ~ ratif I'd tn
theft Of the Presidency, and none hav
during the recent confusion, bsen m r.
emphatic in their declarations that "the,
can't do '76 over again." than some o
the very men who gave an sotiy
approval to the operations OF tn
sooundrels who "did '76. Probably tn
most remarkable Of all the utterances Q
the kind, however ia to be found in a
editorial in the Eusning EoH Of yesterdR
"wednesday which. In commenting n,
the desperate hopes Of the Tribune an
Elkins gang which have led 10 thei
efforts to create doubt concerning tn
result this year after rsciting sewers
reasons bluntly said:
"But back Of all these ressons is al
other which we have no doubt is tn
most potent Of all. In 1876 the Presi
denoy was stolen by precisely thes
methods. Mr.. Tilden Was elected, an
his success was conceded by nearly ever
Republican journal in the country on Lh
morning after election day Then til
order was sent out by Zach Chandler I
claim several southern states, and I
say that the election was In doubt. TIL
claiming was kept up until February an
was 80 we'll done that, with the aid
scoundrelly returning boards Of the sout
Mr.. Tilden was deprived OF his ofio,
This success has been the real oause
the Blain claim this year. He suppose
that what had been done once could /
done again, but the fAtAl erFC
in his calculation was mi
conception of the election Law