New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-05-07
WHOLESALE FRAUDULENT vERIFICATIoNS

WHOLESALE FRAUDULENT VERlFICATloNS'
None OF the wrongdoing yet discovered, however,
is comparable with the forced and fraudulent " ver-
incationsT resorted TO the night Of April 20, in
order TO enable Rice to send in his report TO the
legislature the next day, SO as TO facilitate the
plans of the Democrats for an extra session. The
work of tho Bureau was at all times hurried, and
from the time when it was decided to falsify the
enumcrators returns by going all over them again
for the purpose Of converting aliens into citizens
the rush was altogether Inconsistent with the pos
sbility of obtaining accurate Results Much Of the
work, substantially all Of it, that had been done
heretofore WAS by this proceeding vltated and
lost.
In order to complete the work in accordance
with the Democratic plans. 1t was necessary 10
compel the computcrs to do great deal OF over
time and their condition during the last week
OF their labor was anything but what IL should
have been. Ordinarily their hours were from .
o'clock until 3. but toward the latter part OF
the work tile whole force was called upon to re-
main until 8. and finally in the last week SUD
stantally all worked until 9. 10 and even /?
o'clock at night, On Tuesday they AL worked
far into the night, and on "Wednesday II was
well known among members OF the Legislature
that the work Of the enumeration was stu far
from complete. Republican Senators and AS
semblymcn who sought information OF Sheehan,
Cantor and the Bushes to when the extra
session would he called were conndentlaiiy In.
formed that the census work was way behind
do the date Of the extra session could not be
fixed.
ADMISSIONS THAT THE TABLES WERE NOT READY
They said. too that he was hurying things up
and that it was hoped that the Governor would
bc enabled to call the extra session for Monday
night. But. although everything was done that
could he To force the work along, when the
clerks assembled after supper on the night OF
April 20 the election district cards from many
counties were still unyeriicd, and the township
and county totals for those counties were con-
sequcn;ly uncomputed. That night al l o'clock
Mr.. Waterbury, Wa. summoned 10 return To his
home at Blston spa, OH account OF the illness
o. his wife. Almost immediately after he
lett the room Bcnedics appeared II. AMI
and Church seyerally 10 his desk and told them
that the work must be completed that night that
there could he no such word a. can't there now
that the report must 20 10 the Legislature before
IL adjourned at noon the next day, and everything
must BE- finished up before the sun rose.
III we 90 on AZ we have been doing" he said.
1--WE cannot possibly finish tonight. IL il sheer
nonsense when there is IA difference Of only three
four, five or SIX, between the totals given and
the totals called for. 10 waste time going through
the cnumcrators returns We must assume that
the whole number Of inhabitants totals are right.
and must then make the citizen totals and the
alien totals for an election district correspond 10
the whole number of inhabitants totals" This
required of course. that some false work should
cards Where their sum combined did not equal
the sum of the whole number of inhabitants
car S one the othcr-that is either the citizens
or the aliens carlsbad 10 he increased or de-
creased TO produce the necessary equality. Mr..
Benedict asked which side should he favored.
the citizens the aliens. but he said =" IL didn't
mattcr-onc about as much the other"
IRUSIY ONES WERE PUT on GUARD.
Accordingly, the work Of making the false veriil-
cations proceeded. County after county was
taken up. and the inaccurate sets Of cards We're.
without consulting the original returns altered TO
make them correspond. Iawlor and Walsh. who
acted, in some sense, as the chiefs OF the TWO
rooms in which this work was going on,
suggested 10 Mr.. Benedict that there
were some clerks there who were hardly
trustworthy for that kind OF work, and VINO
might do it unskilfully. They thought 1t would
he better 10 choose IA few men To remain VINO
could be depcndcd upon and TO dismiss the rest
Mr.. Benedict fell in with this suggestion ana
Lawcr and Walsh selected the men who should
stay, and at about midnight the rest went NOME
Benedict had mentioned four or five, or SIX OF
seven, the number of the difference for whcn
returns. Accordingly, at first, when there wcie
greater differences, the clerks consulted MN, anu
asked what they should do.
lie invariably told them TO make the carus
agree, and Lawlor has said that ne recei Vi;
orders not TO stop at anything short OF u az
ference of 80. In the inner room Lawlor, Wals'i'
Lamont, Church and others were engaged IN maN-
ing these false and forced Notifications. In the
outer room there another table OF verlncrS
who did similar work. In the two rooms tnere
were about eighteen or twenty thus occupieu
and they continued that kind of work from ABOUT