The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1892-11-04
A FLORIDA FIX.
Possibility of Its Presidential vote
Being Thrown Out
GOVERNOR FLEMlNG'S ACTION.
He suspeads ~ County Tax Collector and
l1ay have TO suspend Thirty-eizht
More The FCpuIIsr hair
man FaILH.
GOVERNOR
IIIG'S ACTION.

TALLAHAssE. Fla, Nov. IA seusa-
ti0u has been produced throughout the
state 10y the action of GOV. Fleming in
su-peudiug from office the county tax
collector of DuVal county, James p.
johnson, OF Jacksonville 1t viii lead,
IL the governor follows this precedent,
TO a suspension of fully thirtv-five OF
the forty-ive county tax collectors and
to the filing of "a protest with congress
against the counting of the electoral
vote of Florida, and it may end In the
loss of Elorida's four votes for Clevs-
land
Under the poll-ta-z prerequisite law
the taxes for the two years preceding
the one of the election must be paid at
least thirty days prior to the day of
election or the voter is thereby disquat-
ihed. The law permits the collectors
of taxes 20 make their own business
hours provided only these are reasoua-
bic and convenient Collector Johnson
of Duval county, of which Jacksonville
is the county seat, advertised his office
TO close for the receipt OF poll taxes on
September at IL o'clock noon A few
minutes past noon leaders in the ANTI
Cali faction of the democratic party
there rushed up to the Office and teu-
dered about $1,000 in payment of the
taxes of 1000 voters. johnson refused
to accept f.
frauchi~ed 2.030 of their voters and lost
them the election iu Oetober. They
have worked on the governor, who is ia
sympathy with them till they have
persuaded him TO remove johnson from
office. The removal papers We're
signed Saturday. johnson VIII fight
the matter i'm the courts and when it
gets mp to the supreme court that
trlhuaul Will probably sustain Gov.
Fleming action
.-Iais,~ says Chairman 5. s. Harvey
of tine peoples party state committee
''ls just what we want If the governor
suspeuds johnson for refusing to take
poil-taE money after hours he must, to
/ be consistent remove at least thirty
2 eight ont of the Torty-fve county COLI
leators IN Florida, for nearly every one
- of them did just what johnson did I
. have ahiIaviLs to that effect and "a heap
of other testimony, and I'm going 10
ask the governor TO remove every last
one Of them who refused the money!
but that isn't the end of it. Qualid-a-
tion for the October election is also
B on November S, and I believe that at
least 30 600 voters will be disfrau-hised
. by the action of the tax collectors last
September, so I am going before COM
gress when 1T meets TO count the elect
oral vote and I shall prove that the
Florida election was not an expression
of the popular viii, that voters were
disfranchised in sufficient numbers to
invalidatc the whole election. Mitch
ellis mu jority for Eove ruor was %, gJ1
ol the democratic count Cleveland
viii not call out the full vote but viii
probably get majority of $1,000 oE
10000 votes.
''I can easiIy show that enough votes
were dlzfrlnehiaed To- wipe out that
majority completely. I shall be backed,
you see, by the action OF the democrats
governor and % decision of the Florida
supreme court, and can make out a
strong ease, especially before the rcpuo-
Lean senate The vote in the electoral
college is going to be close. and Florl-
da's four votes may turu it one way OF
the other. The democratic leaders are
already getting frightened at what
Fleming has done, for the consequence
are likely 30 lose the state TO Cleveland
In 0beviuE the wishes OF his faction
leaders he has practically arrayed him
self against his whole party"
Fleming, it viii be recalled, is the
same governor who refused 90 sign SEN
utur Calls certificate of election after
the legislature had elected him by a
majority OF the votes, and the supreme
court at that time Us3D sustained him
but the United States seuate sat down
very hard on both of them 10y declaring
that Call was duly elected and that the
action OF the governor and the Court
was entirely irrelevant.