Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1885-12-31

ial mandamus cases does not find lodg-
ment among the people of either party.
Disappointed editors and politicians
who expected personal benefits from q
judicial opinion in favor Of the Repub-
lican candidates are the persons who are
trying to keep up the fuss.
| The people are satisfied A dispute
which had no ground In the first place
has run through the whole line Of Judi
clal examination, and q logical, lawful
conclusion has been reached In the
Court of last resort. The opinion of the
court is q remarkable clear and conclu-
sive one. Or rather, a majority of the
Judges have stated the only tenable
ground with convincing clearness and
force.
To state the decision as briefly as may
be, the Circuit erred when II attempted
to take away from the Canvassing Board
its rights and duties, and when it un-
dertook to deprive the Legislature OF
its constitutional right to be the Judge
of the election, returns and qualifica-
tiOn of its own members.
IL was decided by the Supreme Court
that "When the canvass of the returns
for county is nearly completed, and a
writ of fmandamusisa is applied for to COM
mand the Canvassers to omit certain
specified returns and votes for a candi-
date to the General Assembly from the
abstracts, the Court whose action is in
voked has no power to proceed to make
q complete canvass of the returns from
all the precincts of the county, make an
abstract thereof, decide which candi-
dates are elected, and issue writ of
mandamus commanding the Canvassers
to adopt such result as their own, and
commanding the Clerk to issue certifi-
Gates to the candidates so decided to be
elected"
This is what the Circuit Court pro-
posed to do. 1t assumed to make the
count, declare the result, and issue the
certificates, and to anticipate the right
of each branch of the General Assembly
to be the judge of the election and
qualification of its own members. The
question of fraud did not really enter
into the matter. The fraud yell is the
vapor of editors and politicians justly
overthrown. Even the decision of the
Circuit Court was not founded on the
allegations of fraud, and there has been
at no time proof of fraud, though the
Pdl OiCo buC O<toO III thO Niituio
Court had the largest latitude.
preme Court sustains perjury is simply
silly. The decision of the Court simply
relegates the contests, if there are to be
contests, to where they belong, under
the direct provision of the constitution.
If there have been frauds in the election
of Senators and Representatives to the
General Assembly, each branch must
investigate for itself. The persistent al
legations of partisan newspapers that
there have been fraud and perjury go
for naught. The diurnal parade in
print of fac-simile figures alleged to
have been raised on the election returns
does not constitute proof.
The constant iteration of the change
of figures in the returns from one of the
precincts in Franklin county illustrates
the desperate straits to which the
critics of the Supreme Court are re-
duced. 1t is persistently stated that the
Supreme Court indOrsed the Franklin
county fraud, though the added figures
were not counted by the Clerk, and
never entered even remotely into the
case considered by the court.
The Supreme Court never gave a
more intelligent, upright decision than
it did in the mandamus cases. Every
candid lawyer of ability who has fol-
lowed the case will say that no other
decision could have been justly given.
The people are satisfied, and tired of
acrimonious discussion of the subject. |
1t is the politicians who have been long
in the trade of politics, and who have
been in the habit of debating to Courts
as well as to State and local legislative
bodies and party conventions, who do
not want to give up. This has been
one of the occasions-all too few
where the Democrats have persisted in
fighting for their rights to the end and
gaining them.
Some of the Republican leaders in
this State, and especially in this city,
who have had the advantage Of being |
on the majority side for twenty-five
years, and who have been all that time |
in training as professional politicians,
expected to bluster the Democrats out |
of Court as usual, and they are dread
fully incensed because they have failed.
The result of the Presidential election
last year may not have brought forth
all the fruit the Democracy expected,
but it has at least had the effect OF cul-
tivating Democratic nerve.
The Democrats have carried the coun-
try. They have discovered that it does
not belong exclusively to the Republic
cans. They have been convinced that it
is worth their efforts to fight an enemy
trained by long occupation Of the forti-
fications. They have learned to fight the
4. L, flan sod