Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-03-09
AN EXPOSURE.
Queer Methods in the County
Clerks Office.
THEY COME OUT IN COURT.
The Cohn Case of Illegal Voting
Before Justice Savage.
Held to Answer.

An important and highly entertaining
fact, showing the way business is done
in the County Clerks office, was brought
out yesterday in the examination of AL
bert Cohn, charged with illegal voting.
W. D. Rogers, deputy of the office, was
placed on the stand to testify to the cir
cumstances of the registration of Cohn's
name on the 21st of February.
Rogers produced a copy of what he
called an affidavit" document signed
by Cohn, declaring that he had complied
with all the requirements of the law and
was ready to be admitted to citizenship.
On being asked if Cohn swore to this
statement, Rogers answered, much to
the surprise of the District Attorney, by
whom the testimony had been intro
duced, that he could not say that he did
swear to it.
"How is that?" said the District
Attorney, "Didn't he swear to ?"
"Well, no,o answered the witness.
"The fact is, merely asked him if he
was willing to swear to the facts he had
stated, and he said yes, certainly he
would and l told him if that was the
case, to sign that paper, which he did.
Q.-And you administered no oath to
him?
A.-No oath.
At this point Justice Savage began to
feel an interest in the testimony, which
did not grow out of its direct bearing on
the case, and the following dialogue took
place:
Q.-[By the Court. Is that the man.
ner in which you usually perform your
duty in the Clerks office?
Alt was, that day. There was a
great rush. l did not take time to ad-
minister the oath.
Q.-Don't you understand that it is
your duty to administer the oath?
A.-Well, we registered great many
that day. 1t was a great rush. We had
no time.
No further questions were asked on the
subject, but the affidavit" which, with
out an oath, was nothing more nor less
than signed statement, was thrown out
and not used as evidence. Mr.. Rogers
left the stand, looking very much as
though he was conscious of the fact OF
having put bis foot in it.
When the County Clerk goes into Office
he takes an oath to fulfill all the obliga-
tions imposed on him by the Constitution
and laws of the State. The State laws on
the subject of elections and voting priv
ileges provide that the registration of a
voter must be accompanied by an oath.
This neglect on the part OF the deputy,
admitted by him on oath, is more seri-
Gus matter than may at first appear.
Its exposure is likely to cause something
of an upsetting in the Clerks office.
Rogers is the man who was taken be-
fore Justice Austin short time ago to be
examined on the charge of embezzle-
ment. He was acquitted.
The result of the Cohn case was that
he was held to answer. 1t was shown
that he had taken out his first papers,
those Of declaration of intention, but that
the requisite length of time had not ex-
pired for the completion of his citizen
ship. Nevertheless, he went to the
Clerks office, registered, and procured
card on which he voted at the last mu-
nicipal election.
The defense offered was that the man
was ignorant of the requirements of the
law and that he had supposed it was
possible to vote in municipal elections
on declaration OF intention instead of
full naturalization. The mans general
good character was proved by number
of substantial witnesses.
The court held that the presumption
of ignorance of the law could not be
made to excuse the man, and that there
was too much evidence to justify him in
dismiseing the charge.
The way that the State law ia framed,
any man who registers illegally also
commits perjury. This would have been
the case with Cohn had the deputy in
the Clerks Office done his duty and re-
quired the oath of him before giving him
a card. If Cohn was really ignorant of
the law when he went to the Clerks
Office to register he could not have re-
mained SO when he came to swear to the
facts relative to time ofresidence, and so
forth, which ought to have been re-
quired of him. The case presents some
features which might be looked into by