The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-11-17

| upOu do SuluCieuLly COTT0CC 10 DC counted,
were in no material way different from
those which were rejected. The pretense
that they were the only ones correctly
sealed-the sealing wax being exactly over :
the keyholes of the boxes-being mani
fest subterfuge to screen the adroit selec-
ton of small Peoples precinct and the
second largest Of the Liberal party, from
which to declare returns that would insure
them the continued control of the county
BY this count, the Liberal candidates were
declared to be elected, the total vote of
the two precincts being 'dS, and the Liberal
maiorities running from eighteen to
twenty-five votes.
There were in the precincts, composed
mostly of members of the Peoples party at
this time, G5S taxpayers, who paid 81, 1881
taxes; S97 registered voters, of whom 7S3
voted at the election. In the Liberal pre-
cincts there were but 321 taxpayers, who
paid S2,S45.S9 taxes, and Gil registered
voters of whom 424 voted. In addition to
these, however, the Liberals admitted 121
votes of persons not registered.
Notice of contest was promptly given by
the officers elect, who hal been counted out,
and proceedings again taken before the dis
trict court to compel an honest count of the
returns.
The Liberal returning board evaded and
postponed as long as possible orders of the
district court to perform the duty required
of them, even at the risk of being held in
contempt of court; but finally, in obedience
to peremptory writ of mandamus requir-
ing them to open and count the returns and
i tf1 +l,a Of tha olA 4ba,
on March 80, 1879, did so, and the Peoples
candidates were found to have been elected
by the maiorities above stated. y
When the Liberal members of the court
and the clerk found the only way they
could purge themselves of contempt of the
district court was to count the returns
and honestly declare the Peoples candi-
dates elected, and to certify the same TO
each officer, it was the bitterness of gall
and NORWOOD to them, and they did it
with exceeding bad grace. After the can
vass, we were obliged to compel the judge
to declare the result, by quoting to him
from the mandamus. 1t required the same
effort to persuade the CLERK to issue the GER
tiScates under the seal. When the
election certificates were delivered the
bond of Treasurer Thomas Atkin, Jr.,
was approved by Judge Schuyler and
filed by Clerk Martin. They then
left US abruptly and would not deliver an
article belonging to the office or recOrls of
the court They should have turned over
the records and other property and taken
receipts Tor them. But they insolently re-
fused even to give the combination of the
vault lock.
The new officers filed their bonds and en-
tered upon the duties of their offices at
once The annual financial reports re-
quired by law to be kept posted up, were
not found among the papers of the office.
An auditing committee of three, viz, F. N. n
Lyman, Richard Warburton and H. J. y
Hammerlund was appointed, April Sd, to
audit the accounts of Tooele county, and
report its financial condition to the court.
| Gu April 2Sth the committee reported fully
and satisfactorily.
The county once more returned to the
keeping of d solid, reliable and economical
party; the court addressed itself to curtail-
ing expenses and paying off the debt. In
about eight years the county was redeemed
from it's low estate, and placed once more
] W
free from debt At this writing, the war
rants of Tooele county are cashed on de-
mand as readily as the drafts of any bank
in Utah.
We have seen how, by dishonest means,
the county was captured by Liberals; how
in four years they spent the revenue of
five years, and $4,000 more. Their asses
sor and collector and his deputy received
taxes upon transient herds of sheep
amounting to over one thousand two hun
bred dollars, which was never accounted
| for on the assessment roll, or in any other
way for the benefit of the county. We
j have seen how they did fraudulent regis
/ tering in Jacob city. Where there were
not more than seventy-fve legal veters,
! they registered over two hundred and sew
! enty and voted three hundred and twenty
nine. The Liberal judges, o, election a.
! lowed unregistered Liberals to vote in other
precincts than Jacob city. w. B. Schuyler,
their probate judge, was the first unregfs
tered Liberal who voted in Stockton. Their
representative would not serve the county
in the legislature when his seat was not
contested. We have observed their dis
turns of all the precincts of the county but
two, taking a large one of theirs and
small one of ours, and then from these re
turns declaring falsely that each of their
own candidates was elected with majority
of from eighteen to twenty-five. No holder
falsehood could be told, when the Peoples
candidates had from two hundred and
sixty eight to three hundred and forty
three majority each To such falsehoods
did the clerk certify knowingly. It rel
quired the mandate of the district COURT
and the fear of punishment for contempt,
tasteful to them.
Hon. VIM c. Rydalch, member of the
court and of the Peoples party, protested
invariably against their dishonesty. The
Liberals used over fifty-one thousand dol
lars in four years and left the county four
teen thousand dollars in debt. Since their
day the Peoples party have had revenue
for eight years of $40, 000 out of which they
have borne the expense of the county, and
paid off all Indebtedness. The lessons of
Tooele county under Liberal rule should
prove profitable to the Peoples party
throughout Utah.
The impression has prevailed extensivelSs
that the people of Tooele county were di-
vided or careless and consequently lost the
election. This no doubt came about by the
small vote cast in 1876, two years after the
county fell into the hands Of the Liberals.
Inn