The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1890-03-07
FRAUD IN NEW JERSEY.
Denocrasic Msjorities swelled By stulang
the Ballot Boxes.

0enocrase Msjorities swelled by stumng
the Dallot-Box
Once more the attention Of the coun-
try is called to Democratic frauds at the
hallot-box by the investigation which
the committee of the Republican State
Senate of New Jersey is making of the
returns from Hudson County. Up to
date the committee has finished exam
lining the boxes in nine precincts Of one
assembly district, and has nine more to
look over. The result thus far has been
the finding OF 524 bogus Democratic
ballots and of 9s legitimate Republican
ballots which were not counted at all.
II the frauds continue in the same pro-
portion in the other nine precincts they
will vitiate the claim Of Senator Nc
Donald to his seat
The scheme by which these frauds
were perpetrated was carefully elab-
grated before election. The first move
was to pack the registration lists, and
this was done SO thoroughly that on
election day the registry books showed
1865 names in the eight precincts OF
Jersey City, as compared with 80, 291 at
the Presidential election the year be-
FORE Then came the work Of preparing
what are known as ''the little jokers."
The Jersey boxes stamp and perforate
the ballots as they are cast This made
the work of the suffers very simple, as
all they had to do was to run the ballots
through another box or prepare them by
hakd, and then stuff as many into the
legitimate box as they desired to make
majority or overcome returns from
-tner parts of the State. Villains near
Y always leave some tell-tale evidence
behind them, however, and this was
true of the Jersey ballot-box-stuffing
democrats. They neglected to have the
ballots of the same size, and the work
was donc SO bunglingly or hurriedly
that the stampings and perforatings Of
the stuffed ballots do not compare with
those of the legal ballots.
Hudson County and Jersey City have
always been the nest of the New Jersey
frauds by which hitherto that State has
been carried by the Democracy. 1t is
rot necessary to resort to fraud to
carry the county, as it undoubtedly has
legitimate Democratic majority, but
it has been a convenient place to re-
ceive reports from any weak spots in
the State and manufacture majority
to suit. How well they have done this
work few figures will show. Last
fall in that district Albeit (Dem.), can
didate for the Governorship, had 1882
votes. and Grub (Rep.) IA, S96. showing
. majority Of 1926 for Albeit. In
1855 Cleveland had $1,000 and Harrison
10, 4sO-majority for Cleveland, 7,169.
The falling off of the Republican vote
in Hudson County as shown by the
Democratic officials as compared with
the returns of 1883 was oyer 5000 votes,
while the Democratic vote was in
creased more than 200 over the Cleve-
land vote. In the whole State the
total vote of IS was $685. IA, that of
1889 was 900, 1O3, and yet in total vote
which fell off "a, 6SS Albeit received
IA, 253 majority as against Cleveland's
T,149. What has occasioned this para
doxicsi business the investigation of
the Senate committee clearly enough
shows.
II SICn nauIS as tHeSC NSic CoHi-
mitted il district which is 1egiti-
mately Democratic what may not have
been done in weak districts? Unfort-
unately the Senate committee can not
challenge the result so far as the State
or National results are concerned. 1t
is due 10 Senator Mcdonald to say that
he comedies the fraud and denounces it
in unmeasured terms and offers to re-
sign his seat, but this does not involve
any penalty, since even if he resigned
he would probably be reelected.
What is needed now IS a sample of the
much-tslked-of Jersey justice for the
Democratic officials of Hudson County,
and after that some method should be
devised by the Republican State and
National committees to prevent these
frauds IL the future, for there is little
doubt that Governor Albeit himself is
the beneficiary of frauds. and that they
were sufficient also to swell very con-
siderably the vote of New Jersey fol-
| that eminent reformer, Grover Cleve-
| land.-Chicago Tribune.