Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1891-05-21


before election day, under heavy penalty
The election officers comprise the in
spectors, judges and clerks, as now; but
the two principal political parties can each
place one person in each voting room, who
are to be known as voters assistants. Each
incapable voter may call on these assist
ants to help him or show him how to
mark his ticket; but both such assistants
must accompany hlm into the booth and
superintend the job, and neither must seek
to influence the voter or disclose how he
has voted. Any one falsely pretending to
be incapacitated to mark his own ticket
shall be liable to punishment. No voter
may occupy booth more than three min
utes. If he refuses to leave the booth or
room he may be forcibly elected.
Voters are to mark their ballots as pro-
vided in the Graham bill, except that the
marking is to be done by stamp instead
of with pencil. Any names not on the
tickets must be written with ink. Before
the election opens the inspector hands 25
ballots to the polling clerks, who write
their initials in a corner of each ballot.
For every ballot voted new one is
marked, SO they shall always be % ballots
ahead. When voter enters the room and
has given his name to the clerk, he re-
ceives his ballot and the stamp. He retires
to the booth with his ballot and stamp,
marks his ballot, folds it so that initials
coming out Of the booth, hands his ballot
to the inspector, returns the stamp and
walks out. If he spoils a ballot he NAV
obtain another. One of the clerks has
charge of the giving out of the ballots;
the other is custodian of the stamp. When
the polls close all the unvoted ballots are
at once destroyed. At Up. m. on election
day the clerks of the peace destroy all the
reserve ballots remaining in their possess
sion. The inspectors are to certify on the
tally lists the number of ballots they have
destroyed. Penalties are prescribed for
all violations of the law
The governor is authorized in the bill to
appoint three commissioners for each
county, one of whom shall be of different
politics from the others, who shall have
power to divide, as in their Judgment
deemed necessary, hundreds or election
districts (outside of Wilmington into dis
tricts that shall not contain more voters
than can conveniently vote at one polling
place. They are to make this apportion-
ment by March, 1892. IN the contempla-
ton of the authors of the bill, about 600
voters can vote in district.
THE S500,0O0 BILL.
The Citizens Committee S5OO,Ooo Loan
bill went through the Senate over
Donahoe's head this afternoon. It may be
remembered that the bill was originally
introduced i'll the Senate by Mr. Ross on
April Sth. In that body the speaker in
sisted on tacking certain "amendmentsu
to it Objectionable to and repudiated by
the citizens committee and the Street and
Sewer Department, both of which organi-
zations declared emphatcally that they
would prefer to have the bill killed than
TO accept it thus crippled The House
freed the bill from the Donahoe amend
ments and returned it to the Senate for
concurrence. Senate attended to this duty
this afternoon by vote of six to one,
Donahoe being the one. In opposing the
passage of the bill Donahoe made one Of
his usual speeches about looking after the
interests OF the people of Wilmington, &c.
THE KENTMERE BILL.
The Senate sat down still more heavily
on Donahoe when it passed the Kentmcre
bill by vote of to /. The Speakers
extravagant hostility to this measure led
him to make the hysterical statement that
it had been ''sneaked in" This, after the
bill had been before the Legislature in one
shape or another since the 18th of Febru-
ary, and had been exhaustively discussed
in committee, on the floor by that High
land chieftain, Spottswood Garland, and
by delegations pro, contra and otherwise.
1t came here originally as the Thirteenth
ward bill, !" but had gradually been pared
down until only Kentmere and slice of
Rockford Park were left. The bill had at
as to require the land speculators of that
suburb to foot the whole cost of opening
and grading streets. AS passed to-day,
however, this amendment had been peeled
down to provision that they should only
pay the costs of surveys connected with
opening and grading streets. The rate of
taxation in the annexed district, as passed,
is fixed at one-half the prevailing city rate
for the next ten years The Senate amend
ments were promptly concurred in by the
House.
POLICE COMMISSION PASSED.
The Police Commission bill came to
grief in the Senate this afternoon. The
bill being taken up for passage, Donahoe
made speech against it, to the effect that
to commissions and he, for his part, was
opposed to anything of the kind. The
roll call resulted:
Ayes -McNiullin, Moore, Pilling, Rich
ardson, Williams-5.
No-Donahoe.
Not voting-Hall, Houston, Ross.
So the bill failed for lack of two-thirds
vote, and as Donahoe had alone voted ON
the side that prevailed-and was therefore
the only member who could move to re-
consder--the bill looked as If it had been
killed beyond resusctation. Senator Hall
would have voted for the bill, making up
the necessary six, had not his attention
been distracted when the roll was called
The bill had powerful friends, however,
and such pressure was brought to bear
upon the recalcitrant speaker that he
finally gave in and during the evening ses-
sion got up and made the reconsideration
motion. In doing this he said that he had
been informed some senators who had re-
Trained from voting would have voted for
the bill had they understood it when on its
passage To relieve himself and them from
the imputation of being restrained from
voting by anything he might have said, he
would call the bill up again Having done
so, the bill went through by vote of 8 to
O, Donahoe himself refraining from vot-
ing this time. So that Wilmington gets this
much-needed reform without waiting two
years more.
THREE BILLS KILLED.
The Senate killed tonight the Local OPP
ton, the Taxation of Investments bill and
the Cigarette bill.
There was no debate on any of these
measures. The Local Option bill was in
definitely postponed by the following vote:
Ayes-Houston, Moore, Ross, Williams,
Donahoe-5.
Noes-Pilling, McMullin, Richardson
3.
Not voting-Hall.
The Ridgely bill taxing investment was
defeated by general vote without roll
call.
10 take the place of the defeated bill, the |
Senate passed and sent to the House q bill |
the governor to appoint six |
and judcous persons. two from |
each county, not more than four of whom |
shall belong to one political party, to in
vestigate and consider the whole question
of taxation and submit full report of
their investigation to the General Assembly
at its next session. These taxation com
lnissioners shall receive such compensation
as the General Assembly, at its next ses-
sion, shall consider proper.
. .