Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-05-25
CONTESTING THE GROUND.
ANOTHER HEARING IN THE STAYToN-
WYMAN CASE

MIR. Ferguson Objects to the Evidence Ms
Irrelevant and Not the Best-Mr. Bren-
men WIN Ask the Court TO Deliver Up
Some of the Ballot Boxes-1,5OO Illegal
Votes Charged.
Commissioner John d. Shafer yesterday
afternoon heard further testimony in the
contested election case of I. R. Stayton
against Mayor Wyman, of Allegheny. j.
S. Ferguson, ESQ.,, made his appearance on
behalf of the defendant, and the line of de-
fense was the same as at the first hearing,
Mayor Wyman's counsel objecting at every
stage of the game.
All the election returns, papers, tally
sheets, registry lists and vouchers, every
record of every one of the 20 election dis
tricts of Allegheny, as asked for by Mr..
Bremen, were put in evidence. A. j. Nc
Guilty, chief clerk of the Prothonotary's s
office, testified that they were returned to
the Prothonotary according to law, by the
proper officers of the several election boards,
as the official returns. On cross-examina-
ton by Mr.. Ferguson he said he did no
know that they were the original papers,
but that those he offered were handed in as
the official returns, and that they were
the ones from Nhich the Court made
their count and decision. Mr.. Bremen
then offered the papers of the First dis
trict of the First ward to show q discrep-
ancy with list in his possession. Mr..
Ferguson objected to the offering of MIR.
Bremen, saying that the papers were not
the entire record. He averred that addl-
tional papers were in the hands Of the Pro-
thonotary and Judges, and every paper In
any way bearing on the election must be
produced, and finally he objected to the
matter in that it was not the best evidence.
By mutual agreement the entire volume of
records was taken up collectively, instead
of by districts, Mr.. Bremen offering the
whole as the official return, sworn to be cor
rect by the election officers, which he said he
could disprove.
ENTERED AN OBJECTION.
Mr.. Ferguson objected to them in part
and as a whole on the ground of the first
objection, and. further, said that the papers
did not prove anything. He said the regis
try lists and the vouchers only showed those
qualified to vote. If any names were on it
illegally the lists would not so show it.
Mr.. Bremen then offered full list of the
First district of the First ward, showing the
names of those who had voted, but whose
names do not appear on the registry list, and
who had not offered the proofs required by
law to entitle them to vote. Mr.. Bremen
had the lists of every district in the city
made by his direction, and asked that they be
accepted:as evidence. Mr.. Ferguson objected
to all as incompetent and irrelevant, and
that the papers already in evidence showed
the voters lists, and were the correct legal
documents. The question of what was ad-
hla nd wa
argued by Mr.. Bremen and Messrs. Fergu-
son and Bennett.
Mr.. Bremen said he could substantiate
his claim that the returns exhibited by the
Pronthonotary were not correct, by an in
spection of the return sealed up in the ballot
boxes He asked leave to present to Court
an order asking for the boxes of the First,
Second, Third and Fourth wards, by which
he could show that !, 900 illegal votes had
been cast in those wards. The master
signed his agreement to secure this evil
dence, and Monday at 10 o'clock was agreed
on for an argument on the question, Mr..
Ferguson saying that he wished to be pres
ent in court at the time to hear Mr.. Bren-
mems plea.
A CLAIM OF PRESUMPTION.
He said that Mr.. Bremen had not shown
BY any evidence that any illegal votes had
been cast, and it was only his presumption
that the returns as exhibited would not tally
with those in the boxes. Mr.. Bremen said,
hewever, that they would show that fact, and
until he got the boxes he could go no further.
The hearing was then adjourned.
Mr.. Ferguson holds that the returns ex-
hibited yesterday constitute the prima facie
right of the occupant to his seat, and that
the burden of proof is on the plaintiff to
show that the votes claimed to be illegal are
so. He professed to be confident that but a
very small portion of the alleged illegal
votes are as claimed, but Mr.. Bremen
smilingly stated that he knew what he was
talking about and would eventually show
it, but that he preferred to do it in the wav
he had indicated in order to facilitate the
work. The contest looks as though it would
be fought inch by inch, and take much
lime.