Los Angeles herald., 1890-12-25
ROWAN KNOCKED OUT.
TOMMY MAKE ROOM FOR FORRES-
TER, THAT'S A LITTLE MAN.
Judge Mckinley Decides in Favor of the
Republican Candidate For Supervisor.
The Points of the Decision.


is very lengthy one. The main fea
lures of it are herewith given:
This is special proceeding contesting
the election of respondent to the office
of supervisor of the county OF Los An
geles. According to the official returns
as canvassed by the board of supervisors
the respondent, Forester, received
majority of seventy-nine over contest
ant, and was declared elected. The bal
lots introduced in evidence and re-
counted by the court, showed majority
for contestant OF seventeen.
In this case the question of the iden
tity of the ballots is practically the only
one to be determined by the court in
order to reach a determination of the
main issue.
The rule is we'll settled throughout the
United States, and the great difficulty
always is to apply it to the particular
facts, and the modes of handling and
keeping ballots are subject to almost in
finite variations; and, as a result, the
cases are very dissimilar, and this one
varies in considerable degree from any
which have been able to find in the re-
ports.
The rule with regard to identity has
been, however, made very strict, and
clear proof required that they have not
been tampered with or exposed to the
handling of unauthorized persons, or
alteration. The necessity for
the preservation of the purity of the
elective franchise and fair counting of
the votes when cast has filled our statute
books with enactments for that purpose,
but the best genius of our lawmakers
has heretofore been unable to devise
safeguards as rapidly as the ingenuity of
persons interested has found means for
their evasion and violation.
Another reason for very stringent
rule as to the preservation of the bal
lots uneXposed to danger of alteration
is that in very rare cases can the evil
dence 90 further on the part of those
claiming that the ballots are not iden-
tical, than to the point OF showing that
they have been exposed to opportunity
for change.
1t is, therefore, clear that the burden
rests upon the contestant to prove the
identity OF the ballots offered in evil
dence and recounted, that they have
not been tampered with, and have not
been kept in a manner or place which
would expose them to the handling of
unauthorized parties, or 10 danger of
alteration. The exact degree of care
which UluSU DS SHOW IL WILL, Ol COURSE,
depend upon the circumstances of each
particular case, and their weight as evil
dence upon the showing made by the
opposing party tending to prove that
they have been changed.
The evidence shows that upon receipt
OF the ballots on the evening of the cleo
tion they were first placed in what is
known as the criminal room, to the door
of which there are but five keys, four
in the hands OF the clerk and his depu
ties, and one in those of the district at
torney, and it is very clear that the
ballots were not tampered with while
they remained in that room.
But day or two after the election the
ballots were removed to cupboard in
room known as the registration room,
situated on the upper floor of the court
house building, and not in actual use
by the clerk or other persons during the
time that the ballots remained there-a
period of more than a month-except
that it was occupied on few occasions
by experts employed by the grand jury.
This room was infrequently visited by
the clerk and his deputies, there being
no occasion to go there except for refer
ence, rather infrequently required, to the
original registration certificates; and the
only deputy who testities that he visited
it during the time the ballots were kept
there was able to recall but three or four
specific instances. From the evidence
it would appear that the door was un-
locked during the day time, and it does
not appear to have been locked by the
clerk at night, but it seems to have been
the custom of the janitor and watchman
to lock the inside doors at night. The
lock upon this door was an ordinary lock,
of the kind commonly called Yale lock,
having fiat KEY. Upon one side the
room is separated from those adjacent
by board partition running to the cell
ing; upon the other side by partition
about nine feet in height, leaving an
open space above it of six feet or more,
and separating this room from what is
known as the copying room of the re-
corder's office; which, in turn, is sepa-
rated from the street by two doors, one
an outside stair door. which the watch
man testified he was in the habit of
locking at 0 or 10 O'Clock in the evening,
if deputies remained in the building un-
til that late an hour. The evidence does
not disclose the number of persons car
rying keys to the other door, opening
directly into the copying room, but one
key seems to have hung in another
small room called the comparing room.
And the record is entirely silent as to
how many persons had keys to the COM
pairing room. 1t seems, however, from
the evidence that all Of the deputies in
the offices about the courthouse had
keys, enabling them to enter into some
portion of the building if the outside
stair doors were not locked.
The evidence shows that the cup
board in which the ballots were placed
was common redwood case, having
upon it a Yale lock with small, flat
key, and that no person had keys in.
tended for that lock except the deputy
who had charge of the ballots; but the
lock was Of character that might
easily be picked by person having any
skill in that sort of work, or be opened
by key which would happen to fit it
1t further appears that there were two
doors to the portion of the cupboard il
which the ballots were kept, closing
together, the bolt OF the lock passing a
very short distance into the other NOR
tised door, and that the mortised door
is fastened by spring catch; and the
doors might be pushed to, close enough
to lock, and if the catch did not drop ir
place the doors could be pulled open
and afterwards pushed to tightly
and would appaar IN ha sacIlrn Z