Sharp County record., 1891-06-25
The County Seat.
THE INVESTIGATION BEFORE
THE COURTS.
ILLEGAL VOTING BEATS THE az
MOVALISTS.
Center Comedies the Victory,

>
voting on the proposition to change
the county seat of Sharp county
from Evening Shade to Center. The
poll books and tickets from the sev>
eral townships IN the county we're
filed IN the clerks Office and an ab-
stract was made by the clerk and two
justices of the peace of the county,
and and duly af certified TO, and submitted
by the clerk to the county court at
the April term, 1891, In accordance
with law. The court not being sat-
lsfed with said abstract, examined
the poll books as returned, and
found as follow:
For removal, -. ..........,.....lO lOS Yates
For removal Co. seat to Center 967 Votes
FOR Center. r..................... 459 putes
Against mOval............... votes
For Evening Shade.......... 7votes
And as majority of the qualified
voters of the county had not voted
both for change and for Center, the
court ruled that the proposition had
failed of election, to which finding
of the court the petitioners. by at
torney, agreed, and confessed that
the returns upon the poll>books
showed that the proposition to
change had failed, but alleged that
the ballots of the several townships,
ii opened and counted, would show
that 1912 votes had been cast for
removal, and that lo72 votes had
been cast for Certer, and moved
the court to open the
several envelopes containing said
ballots and count the same, which
motion by the court was overuled,
for the reason that the court did not
bslieye that, under the law, the ball
lots of any election could be opened
except in case of contested elec>
tion. To this ruling petitioners took
an appeal to the circuit court.
IN CIRCUIT COURT.
The circuit court held that con-,
test had been inaugurated and grant.
ed the motion to open and canvass
the ballots. Then came the respon.
dents and challenged certain votes
as being illegally cast, and claimed
that a majority of the legal voters
of the county were opposed to res
moval. Hereupon the court took
recess of ten days to allow both
parties time to prepare testimony to
prove their allegations. Court re-
convened and the ballots of the sew
eral townships, as returned by the
election judges, were opened and
canvassed with this result:
Whole number of votes cast. ...... 1884
For removal Of Co. seat to Center. 1869
For removal to Center............. 10
For county seat Center. 1
For removal for Center. ............ 4
Against removal. l................ 12
For Evening Shade. Il
(s9 majority for removal and for c, nter,
After three days investigation,
and before half Of the names select,
cd for challenge had been exhausted,
some fifty illegal votes were fouud
to have been cast, and petitioners,
by attorney, conceded that more
than enough had been discovered to
defeat their proposition,
Over forty illegal votes were found
to have been cast by persons not ems
titled to vote. and by persons who
wlllfully and knowingly voted out Of
their own township. These were
more than enough to bring the nun.
Der below the required 1881 votes,
to say nothing Of those who voted
illegally, but who thought they were
voting in their own township.
Here Col. Baber, one Of tho at
torneys for petitioners, addressed
the court substantially as follows:
"We have been afforded every op.
portunity to make thorough inves.
tigation Of this matter; the court
has been leniont and made every
ruling asked for; the officers of the
court have done their dnty; the elec.
tion was duly advertised IN accord.
ance with law, and the respondents
have treated our side of the case
with fairness and courtesy. We
have no complaint to make, but con.
reSs that the proposition to remove
the county seat has failed of election
for want of sufficient number of
legal votes being cast in its favor"
Judge Butler responded as fol-
lows:
at is a rare thing for an attorney
to concede that his cause has failed,
but it is right. 1t is oommendable
for an attorney to make this conces-
sion. The court has given the
widest possible scope for thorough
investigation Of this matter Moth.
ing has been covered up. II has
been completely investigated in open
daylight. We haye sifted it from
top to bottom and looked into every
thing that would possibly throw any
light on the subject; no undue ad.
vantage has been taken by either
side. and I'm proud TO SEQ The altors