New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-05-09
DENIALS THAT DON'T DENY
THE OFFICIALS IN CHARGE OF THE STATE
CENSUS ADMIT MUCH AND DENY FEEBLY.

PROVE ALL THE TRIBUNE'S CHARGES,
IF THE CHARGES ARE FALSE
THE TROUBLE is. THE
CHARGES ARE TRUE.
| frRoaa srArr CORRESPONDENT OF THE rRrBuSE.I
Albany, May s.-The officials Of the Enumeration
Bureau are attempting TO conceal their fear OF
punishment for the audacous frauds they have
committed in their computations from the census
rolls by feeble and incoherent explanations, denals
| and expressions OF unconcern. The Secretary Of
| State is not in Albany to-day. After his tre-
mendous eXertions, first to steal majority in
the present Legislature and then to steal citizen
| population enough in New-York and Brooklyn to
| give Tammany Hall and the Hill machine full con-
troll Of the next one, he has gone home for rest.
In his absence, Thomas Z. Benedict, the Assistant
| Secretary runs the office. All day Saturday Beno-
| dict was busy denying The Tribune's charges. lie
saw number of reporters and correspondents and
urged them not to believe word The Tribune
| had printed So far as their reports show, how
ever, he did not take them down into the Enumera-
| ton Bureau and exhibit 10 them the rolls and
cards which, If his denias were true, would have
| completely disposed of every allegation Inc
] Tribune has made four distinct, unequivocal and
easily understood charges against the integrity
| Of the Rice census The first charge is that the
|
enumerators throughout the State were SO altered
| as TO make it appear that hundreds OF thousands
| of persons were returned by the enumerators 40
| citizens whereas they were, in fact, returned as
| aliens That is to say, the clerks in the bureau
were instructed to change the A which the
enumerators had written after the names OF those
persons TO indicate that they were aliens, into
| "Cn to indicate that they were citizens. Ihls
was done by erasing the A" generally with
knife, and by writing the "C' in the place where
the Al had been. Certainly there were as many
as $4,000 Of these changes. Two OF the clerKs
engaged in making them have told me that they
belieye that not less than $4,000 were made.
Three fourths Of the changes, probably four-ifths
| occurred in the lists from New-iork Crty anu
BROOKLYN, and by means Of the changes TWO oeii~'
tors and at least six Assembymen were stolen
! for the Democratic party
| Now. il this charge is not true. MI. Behedlc'
| can nrove it in five minutes. All lie mas 10 do ~
70 take the Albany corps Of correspondents oowh'
stairs from his office into the large room on the
ground floor Of the northwest end Oh the oapi'oi'
wber those lists are still filed away In thelr
| niCcon holes, as easy of access at tins minute rs
| they were while the computations were DelnS
| m,Je Let him give the correspondents privilege
IN eyamine all these rolls at least any OF them
| n;cLed ont by the correspondents themselves a1
will and at random. II the AS have not been
changed to "Cs," as l say they have, the CORE
spondents will see that the charge Is baseiess ana
will say So Mr. Benedict knew this yesterday
when the newspaper men called. lie knew tna'
he had the best proof in the world that Inc It'd
unes charge false, If 1t was false, right tnero
az his elbow. But did he offer to exhibit the
nroofp Not at all lie told The Herald cor
| RESPONDENT that as soon us the lists could be
| bound they would he turned over to the State
Library. and anybody could then inspect them
Inst at present. he added, with the caution OF
a man who knows more than his prayers, just
at present, don't think the public interests de-
mand that these hundreds of documents should
be thrown open TO everybody. Some OF the papers
or cards might get lost" Might get lost! Who
was going 70 lose them, the correspondent or MI.
! Benedict? II suspicious either OF himself OF OK
the correspondent, Mr. Benedict might have taken
| a policeman along Any precaution would have
been better than not to have shown the lists, when
ten-minute examination of them would have
settled the whole matter. The truth is that all
records of the bureau have been guarded since
| the night of April 30 if they were Treasury
| bank notes No one has been allowed TO see them.
The cards on whose face is told the story or
forced and fraudulent verifcations in twenty-five
counties were taken under Mr.. Benedicts per-
sonal care. The room in which the lists were
kept has been locked up and watchman PAGES
| in front OF the door night and day. Several
efforts were made in The Tribune's interest last
week 10 catch glimpse of these rolls. gentle
man called on Mr. Benedict personally and asked
permission 10 see the original return from (he
First Election District of the Ist Assembly Dis
trict of the city of New-York. Mr.. Benedict re-
piled, You can see it at the County Clerks Office
| in New-YorlI City
8" But | don't want the trouble and expense OF
going down to New-lorll to see duplicate when
the original document is right here. 1t is a pub
lie document on file in public office
. But it is not here now for the purpose of in
spection," Mr. Benedict replied. I'VE have no
appropriation that enables to exhibit these
returns. In few days they will he stored away
in boxes sent TO the binders and bound and then
they will be placed in the State Library, where
anybody can inspect them
But want to inspect this now, was tho
answer. and | understand il 70 be my right TO
do SO. They are downstairs, easily accessible,
and watchman is taking care of them. All you
need 70 do is to give him orders to let me see the
particular roll | ask for. If you have appro-
priation enough to keep him there guarding them,
certainly you have enough TO keep him standing
by while look over the return
NO." said Mr.. Benedict, they are not now on
inspection"
Then do | understand that you refuse to allow
me TO see the return from the First Election Dis
trict of the Ist Assembly District of NewYork? ?"
81 do refuse to allow you to see IL, Mr. Bene-
diet replied, decisvely. Refusals in similar words
were made 10 other similar requests Everybody
can put his own construction on such an atti-
tudc When men guarding public documents
as these are being guarded when repeated I'M
portunitics to see them are tenied, when. even
after an allegation has been made that they con-
tain evidences of monumental fraud the refusaI
to allow their inspection continues. it must be
plain that an attempt is being made TO hide some
thing until the interest in it shall have died ouss
In his further conversations with the corre-
spondcnts Mr. Benedict made substantial admls-
-. IL s.il 70 ronortor of LIhc EXcninO