The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-07-12
BALLOT BOX
SENSATIONS.
Ar ~.significant Letter
,.cd " Robert Davis"
Slartles the Court.
SCRIBBLED ON A BALLOT.
The Accused Bell Tower Gang
Badly Rattled-Winfeld's
Hard Hits.
HUDsPETH ON PUBLIC OPINION.
His Speech Was Virtually an Ar
raignment of the Bench
and Former Juries.

ana F0rmer JurleSs
District Attorney Winfield had genu-
fne sensation prepared for the crowd of
friends of the ballot box suffers in the
Court House today. He did not make it
known until it could do the most good,
and when he did spring it. consrern alton
possessed Senator Hudspeth and Judge
DAILY. The bomb she'll was a letter writ
ten on the back of one of the ballots that
had been voted. The letter read;-
Tom, this man is all right. He is work.
ing our way.
Yours. &c,
ROBERT DAVIS
Tell Tom Kelly also.
When this short letter was read, the
Prosecutor intimating it b ad been writ
ten to the missing Thomas Reiddy, one
of the inspectors, Fowler shook hike an
aspen, and Jordan and Reen turned pale.
They seemed to feel that the latter was a
fatal link in the chain of evidence.
The attendance at Court was large but
there were but few prominent politicians
there. John Whiskers McPhillips and
Justice Davis were not present, and
Lawyer Rowe was at home Ill. Charles
J. Peshan was also absent and his tech
nicalities were gratefully missed.
YESTERDAYS SENSATION.
The sensational feature of the trial of
the ballot-box suffers yesterday was SEN
ator Hudspeth's uuwarranted attack by
lnuuendoes upon Judge Liprincott when
he declared that the ballot-box suffers
in prison had been sacrificed because pub
lie opinion demanded it. The Senator's
speech was at times very eloquent and his
sarcasm bitter, but it did not benefit his
cause when he attacked the splendid ad-
miuistration of justice given by Judge
Lippincott in all of these ballot-box cases,
an administration that the Supreme Court
and the Court of Errors and Appeals have
sustained in every particular. Never in
the history of this State has the course Of
Judge of an inferior court been so en-
phatically sustained by the higher courts
as has that of Judge Lippincott during
the past two years, and the jurors who lis
tened to Senator Hudspetn knew this as
well as any one, for the jnry is one of re-
markable intelligence.
While the Senator was making his
opening address, q dozen broken down
barteDders, clerks for the city and poll
ticfans, listened with delight, but this joy
was short lived.
HARMED EACH OTHER.
It was killed by the three ballot box
suffers themselves when they testified In
their own behalf. While Jordan was on
the stand he told tale full of simplicity
and innocence which had much weight
with the jury until his alleged partners
in crime testified, and then the sweet tale
of innocence related by Jordan met with
contradictions Fowler, who was an ex-
perienced election officer and who acted
as Judge in 1889. was beyond doubt the
riugleader and ruling spirit of the Board.
If fraud was committed Fowler without
doubt was the controlling element in it.
His evil countenance yesterday when he
was on the stand bore the imprint of all
the essential qualifications of ballot box
stuffer and ranked him as worthy asso-
ciate of the sceundrel Tom Trotter, who
is now in State Prison. The fellow Reen
is both fool ana knave, and he testified to
this fact when called as a witness, to the
great disgust of Senator Hudspeth. What
ever chance there had been for an acouit-
tai, Reen, in the opinion of many, ruined
it.
PROSECUTION CLOSES.
After recess, ,StenogIapher John Nugent
testified that he had received the ballots
of the Fifth precinct of the First district
from Colonel Sharp, and he had turned
them over to Prosecutor Winfield intact,
The Prosecutor became witness and
swore that the ballots had never left his
possession since he received them.
Mary E. Stonham of No. 1898 Barrow
street testified that Richard Corbliss and
Charles A. Walter did not live at that
number on November 5, 1889. The Prose-
cutor said they were realstered on the
poll book as voting from that number,
and were recorded as Nos. 1874 and 80 re-
spectively.
Mark Roux of No. 1877 Railroad avenue
testified that Stephen Knapp, on the poll
book as number 48, did not live atNo. 1877
Railroad avenue, Election Day.
nue., testified that II. Girls. Williams lived
at his house election day and his vote was
legal.
Daniel Moriarity, of Mullins & Co., tes-
titled that his firm owned No. 105 Railroad
Avenue, which on November S, 1889, was
used as store house. and that William
H. Mason did not live there. The Prose
cutor said Mason was recorded rs voting
from there aud was numbered on the poll
book 119.
Mary Looney, of No. IS Railroad ave-
nue., testified that James e. Grenig did
lot live at her house Election Day He
was recorded as voting there aud was
numbered So on the poll book.
James Mcbride. detective. testified
that he moved from No. 611S Wayne street
TO NO. ~ GregOry SIF20C In 1855. he was
recorded as voting from Wayne street.
Mcbride testified that he did not vote in
{ 1889 at all.
The Prosecutor here read a list of names
on the poll book that did not appear on
the register, and also some names that
were on the register. checked that did
not appear on the poll book. When this
was done, p. McGurk was called. He tes-
iiHed that he and Leuis Ball were ReDub-
Ican watchers at the Bell Tower on the
day In question. and that they kept tally
of fthe votes. McGurk said that when the
polls closed the Election Board had twen-
ty-three or fwenty-four more names on
the poll book than he and Ball had re-
corded. He mentioned this fact to the
Board. and was told that he had made a
mistake. During the day he frequently
compared the book with the clerks and
found no discrepancy until about three
o'clocs.
Louis Ball corroborated McGurk, and
said that soon after TWO O'Clock, Reen, the