Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-11-22
VERY COSTLY SPORT.
Pittsburg Must Pay a Big Bill for
the Carr-Pfeiffer Contest.
THEY DIDN'T VOTE IN A sToREBOX,
But It Was Only Because They Didn't
Think of It in That Ward.
sTENoGRAPHERS WILL NOT BE PAID

The echo of an old election contest wa.
heard in the Quarter Sessions yesterday
and it was one calculated to arouse sus.
picion in the minds of some citizens who
have been in the habit of placidIy regarding
their liberties as perfectly assured and Sc.
cure behind the bulwark of free and un.
trammeled elections by sovereign voters.
Attorney Stillwagen, on behalf of P. NJ
Carr, and ex-Judge Fetterman for Henry
Pfeifer contestants for seat in Common
Council from the Twenty-seventh ward,
asked that the Court pass on the matter OF
costs arising out of the contest and which
costs the taxpayers of the city must pay,
through long, tedious and expensive con-
test failed to determine who was elected.
Mr.. Stillwagen read a statement of the
finding of the commissioner, J. s. Robb,
Jr., which showed that in the First district
of the ward there were 16 votes thrown out,
the voters of IA of which had not registered
and had made no attempt to get registered.
Two had made defective afidavits and one
had not paid taxes within the time required
by law to make voter eligible.
In the Second district were found 115
illegal votes, 81 voters not having regis
tered, 81 had made no attempt to get
registered, 30 had filed defective afidavits,
8 had not been naturalized, 16 had not paid
the necessary taxes, had voted on bogus
tax receipts, which they neither paid, nor
authorized any one else to pay; 9 voted on
age without making the required afidavits,
the names of were added to the registry
off &c fo "a
addition, and had not been assessed either
in 1888 or 1885,
Couldn't Tell Good From Bad
In this district, the Second, it was i'm
possible, on account of Irregularities, to dis
tinguish legal from illegal votes. The list
kept by the clerk shows that there were All
votes cast, and the name of Patrick Wilson is
not on the list, though he swore he voted long
before the time to close the polls. One
clerk skipped the numbers from 270 to 2S1,
and continued before he discovered his error
until he had reached 500. One clerk has
voter numbered 325, while the other has
him 326. 1t is claimed that the
fact that seven witnesses testified that they
had voted fo- Henry Pfeiffer, but who were
shown bv the record found in the box to
have voted for p. NJ Carr, is held to prove
that the inspectors had not been attending
to their business. The grand result in the
Second district is that lis votes are thrown
out, as it cannot be. shown for whom they
voted, as the clerks lists do not tally.
No End to Irregularities.
In the Third district 79 votes were ad-
Judged illegal by the commissioner on ac-
count of defective affidavits as to- their
right to do SO.
The list of Irregularities might be ex-
tended to column in length, but the above
will suffice to show the general condition of
affairs that prevailed in the ward on that
Pfeiffer gave up the contest long ago, Mr.
Carr could not see his way clear to claim
the seat, and Pfeiffer has continued to oc-
cupy it, and will probably to the end of the
term.
The question yesterday was one of COSTS
and they are considerable. Judge Ewing
thought $3.50 would be enough for the COM
missioner, but Mr. Fetterman contended it
should be $500. After some COIL
s4Oo, but refused to allow pay for steno-
graphic services. Messrs Donnellv and
Mead have both filed claims for this service,
and now controversy is supposed to be in
sight which they will, under order of court,
be obliged to fight with the commissioner
who employed them. Judge Ewing con- |
tended that stenographer was not a neces- |
sity in such cases, and accordingly refused to
grant allowance for the work. There were
200 witnesses in the case and their fees,
added to the constable's fees amounting to |
500 for subpenaing them, will make nice |
little bill for the city to pay, and emphasizes |
the necessity of electing election officers |
who are competent to perform their duties,
but whether it will have the desired effect |
is exceedingly doubtful.