Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-11-08
THE ELECTION.
Talk of Recounting-Distant Hopes of
Radical Changes-Charges of Fraud.


Radical Changes-Charges of Fraud.
The San Francisco Examiners figures !
claim Mr.. Bartlett to be elected by 500, |
with 80 counties marked incomplete re-
turns The San Francisco Chronicles
figures give Mr.. Bartlett plurality of 314. |
rality of 900 for Bartlett over Mr.. Swift |
The Call calculates Mr.. Bartletts plurality
| to be 526.
| Our own figures are wholly unsatis-
factory, and give Mr.. Bartlett so small a
plurality on newspaper returns, that we are
unwilling to present any further table of
figures until the official count shall have
been reported to the Secretary of State, or
otherwise ascertained with some evidence
of official authority. 1t is probable that
Mr.. Bartlett is elected Governor by a /
slender plurality. 1t is not beyond posi-
! bility that official count may elect Mr..
Swift. Stranger things have resulted in
comparing official and irregular returns
of elections, than the reversal of
supposed plurality. The chief
| interest now centers about the returns from
San Francisco. Claims of fraud are made
on both sides, but they come chiefly from
Republicans, some OF whom insist upon a
recount. A portion of the Republican
State Central Committee, we learn, favor a
contest, but to this Mr.. Swift is much op-
posed The idea is entertained by many
| that if any frauds were perpetrated to de-
feat the Republican ticket, that a recount
will show the schemers to have been so
sharp that recount will only increase the
vote claimed for Mr.. Bartlett. A good
many stories are told of outrages in San
Francisco concerning the election. Siebe,
| lot n, ca.
says he was counted out, and he will de-
mand a recount. He charges that in one
precinct where he had watchers he was
at A. NJ. Thursday opposed by candidate
with 10 votes, and but 16 ballots remained
| in the box to count; that the returns were
made up to show the 122 to have grown to
! III on the nourishment of the Is ballots,
while his own vote of II grew to H. One
of the Election Board denies the truth of
this charge. A messenger carrying returns
| to the Registrar was assaulted by strange
men, and package of ballots and an en-
| velope containing returns wrested from
him. Saturday part of the ballots, rolled
up and mutilated, were found in a vacant
| lot. One arrest was made for the assault,
and the prisoner released on bail. Charges
are made that in some precincts the cleo
| ton officers were drunk, and that in at
least one all hands in the polling-room had
Touchdown fight. Charges are made by
the Chronicle that returns have been doc
tored and Mr.. Swift counted out Reporters
say that they found election officers drunk
on duty, and witnessed efforts to miscall
and wrongly tally votes. In one
precinct the election officers en-
gagged in scrimmage, and the police
burst in the door and arrested three
of the election officials. One of the charges
is that in the Ninth Precinct of the Thirty
| fifth District Mr.. Swift had IS at one time
while the count progressed, but the returns
were sent to the Registrar showing but 81
for Mr.. Swift. Pearson, Republican candi- |
date for Sheriff, claims to have proofs of
| fraud sufficient to warrant a demand for |
recount. A citizen charges that in the Sec
ond Precinct of the Thirty-seventh Assem- |
bly, District fraudulent TALES were checked |
up against Siebe. In another precinct it is |
charged that Mr.. Bartlett's vote was tailed |
81 in a count of 40 ballots.
The law provides that a recount of the |
vote for Governor or Lieutenant-G Governor |
may be demanded by any elector who, |
within twenty days after the result of the |
election has been announced, delivers to |
the presiding officer of each house of the |
Legislature a verified specification OF the |
grounds of contest. The recount is held |
| before committee composed of seven |
members of the Senate and seven |
of the House. This committee is |
chosen by lot, the first seven |
names in each house drawn from box |
containing all the names of the members, |
being made members of the committee |
| This committee then proceeds to try the |
contest, and its decision is final and con-
elusive. The constitution of the committee |
is thus by lot supposed to be made non
| partisan, but it may also be wholly Demo- |
cratic or wholly Republican.
Senator Williams, of the Republican |
State Central Committee. said on Saturday |
to Call reporter, regarding charges of |
fraud, that charges of this character were
rife at that moment, but whether or not |
they had any foundation in fact, no one |
could assert with authority. 1t was, how |
ever, the duty of the Executive Commit |
tee of the State Central Committee to ascer-
tain as far as possible what foundation !
there was for these reports, and for that |
purpose they would meet from time to |
time their APPOINTMENTS being made sub |
ject TO the call of the Chair. AT the meet !
ing of yesterday nothing was done except |
to decide TO keep a strict guard over the |
ballots until the official canvass, and 10 dis
cuss the proper means of procedure in the
matter of the alleged election frauds
The Cali also says: John f. Swift was
seen on the street during the forenoon, and,
IN reply 10 question, stated 1t as his belief |
that he had been counted out in this city
1t was only a matter of opinion, however,
as he had not kept a single figure of the
vote. and really knew nothing about what
the latest estimates were; STILL he held to
the belief that he was defrauded of the
Governorship, and had always expected
such a result if his vote fell less than 900
in excess of Bartletts.'
ADDITIONAL RETURNS.
Additional election returns have been
received by the RECORD UNION from two
precincts in Modoc county as follows:
Adm Precinct-Bartlett A. Swift 80, Wig
ginton 3.
Lookout Precinct-Bartlett SO, Swift 49,
TIE LEGISLATURE.
From such returns as were received at
the RECORD UNION Office up to 1 A. NJ. to-
day, we collate the following, showing the
political complexion of the coming Legis-
lature: THE number indicates the dis
trict1