Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-12-24
TOO MANY GOVERNORS
Three Persons Who Claim the High
est Office in Connecticut.
THE LEGISLATURES MAY DEADLOCK,
In Which Case tie Present Incumbent Will
Continue to Serve.
BOLD CLAIMS OF THE RIVAL PARTIES

HARTFORD, Dec. 23.-The muddle re-
sulting from the closeness OF the recent
election for State officers promises to de-
velop one of the most peculiar phases that
the peculiar political history of Connecticut
has yet shown; that is, that Morgan j.
Bulkeley, the present Governor of the State
who was not a candidate for election, may
continue to hold office for two years to come
without having received a vote for the Of
fee from anyone.
1t will be strange outcome indeed should
Bulkeley be compelled to hold over, and so
have thrust upon him the honors of an Of
flee which the Republican party refused to
give him when he went before its convention
seeking a denomination. He was then most
emphatically rejected by his party, and now
! there seems to be very much more than
chance that Mr.. Bulkeley will continue to
be Governor in spite OF his party. The Re-
publicans have plainly got to accept him or
else put into office Judge LuZou B. Morris,
of New Haven, the Democratic candidate.
The Claims of the Parties.
On the face of the returns recently can
vassed by the three Republican Office
the Secretary, the Treasurer and the Con-
troller-Morris was found to have clear
majority, although a very small one, over
| all the other candidates. The possible hold
ing over by Governor Bulkeley, which
will be very distasteful to the Republican
politicians, is due to the fact that the Cen
eraI Assembly, which meets on January Z,
| consists of Senate with Democratic ma
| .iority of 10 and House of Representatives
with a Republican majority of H. The
Democratic Senators have agreed in caucus
that Mr.. Morris shall take the seat to which
the Republican Board Of Canvassers ac-
knowledge he was elected.
The Republican managers assert with
equal emphasis that they will find some
way to seat General S. E. Merwin, their
candidate, whom no one claims was elected
to the office. The only claim the Republi-
cans have on which to seat their candidate
is that Democratic moderator in one ward
in Bridgeport threw out 128 ballots as de-
fective ard marked for Identification which
should have been counted for General Mer-
| win. Had these been so counted Judge
Morris would have lacked by over 100 votes
the necessary number to have made a con-
stltutional majority. These facts are in the
nature of ancient history, but are necessary
to complete understanding OF the situation.
The Law in the Case.
Now the method of procedure in Con-
necticut when the Legislature assemblies in
two weeks will be this: The State Board of
Canvassers will send to the Legislature its
| finding as to the total vote cast which will
| show that every officer nominated on the
! Democratic State ticket has been elected.
These reports will be submitted to the joint
special committee on canvass OF votes for
| State officers, to be named Immediately after
| the officers of the two Houses have been
| chosen. A Democratic Senator will be
| Chairman of tine Senate Committee, but the
Republicans will have a majority of the
| Representatives.
Then tine clash will come. for the Sena-
| tors will report the election of the Demo-
| cratic State officers, while the Republicans
| will report to the lower House that there
was no election by the people, and claim
the necessity OF going behind the returns in
the Bridgeport case if they can find a way
to do it. The Democrats will hold this re-
count to be impossible under the Constitu-
| tion, as no court can order a recount in the
Bridgeport or any other case, the Legisla-
ture being the sole and final judge of elec-
| tions under the Constitution. Then the
deadlock between the two branches of the
General Assembly will be produced, and
under the Constitution Mr.. Bulkeley will
be required to hold the Office of Governor
'uptil his successor be duly qualified"
All the Other Officials Affected.
When that will be no one can say lust
now. but the Democratic Senators, backed
by the Democratic State Committee, who
have considered the subject, say he will
| have to hold Office until the Republican
House of Representatives comedies the cleo
tion of Judge Morris and duly inaugurates
him as Governor. Until the fight over the
| Governorship is settled, the other State Off
GERS now in office will also hold over, as the
Republican House is not expected to con-
| sent to the Inauguration of the other State
officers, about whose election there is, how
| ever, no question.
Governor Bulkeley's position in the mat
| ter is passivity itself. He would not raise
| finger to help seat General Merwin as his
successor, as he considers that the latter's
| friends cheated him out of the nomination
he wanted so badly at tine eleventh hour.
Nor will he probably try to assist Judge
Morris into Office. He is simply letting
others shake the tree, and il any plums fall
near him he is ready to pick them up.
The Republican managers, who are anx-
ious to avoid both the necessity of seating
Judge Morris or the continuance OF Cover
nor Bulkeley in Office, will propose to the
| Democrats to submit the whole matter to
four judges of the State courts, two of which
shall be Democrats and two Republicans,
No Sign of Compromise.
! This proposition the Democrats Will refuse
to accept, and will insist upon Judge Nor
ris' right to the seat under the constitutional
provision by which he is entitled to it, as he
had "a majority of all the votes cast" A
number of the Republican members of the
House are unfriendiy to Governor Bulkeley,
and rather than see him hold Office for an
other term it is believed they would vote to
seat Judge Morris. Personal spite NAV,
therefore, result in giving to the Democratic
Governor-elect the seat of which the body of
the Republicans would deprive him if they
could, notwithstanding the fact that the
official returns sent to the Secretary of State
and canvassed in accordance with the law
show him to be entitled to it.
The Executive Committee in charge of
the arrangements for counting out Judge
Morris held a three hours conference in
this city tonight, ex-Speaker Case, counsel
for the State Central Committee, being pres
ent. Judge William B. Glover, of Fair
field; james P. Platt. of Meriden; Herbert
E. Benton, of New Haven, and Eugene S.
Boss, of Willimantic, took part in the con-
ference. Every Republican lawyer in the
House will have part assigned him in the
| contest.