The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-07-29

across the street the Republican city
committee were voting that the Oakdale
caucus should stand, and therefore that
Clinton A. Woodbury. should be the can
didate for the Legislature.
The
Republican City Committee
met with ranks very nearly full. and with
Chairman Halves in the chair proceeded
to canvass the returns from the ward
caucus in the representatives contest.
The reports from all the wards were ac-
cepted until Ward 6, (Oakdale) was
reached. Mr.. Paul j. Lidback read the
report and the chairman asked if it
should be accepted. This was the de-
Gliding ward. In the other six Woodbury.
and Jos. Fl. Hutchins received los votes
each. Oakdale gave Woodbury. ID votes
and Hutchins 8, thus deciding the con-
test.
Mr.. Hutchins objected to the return
from Oakdale, on the ground that the
caucus was informal, having been called
in one place and held in another. Mr..
Hutchins thought this would invalidate
it. He said he did not expect to profit
himself by new caucus, as he thought
Mr.. Woodbury. would get the most votes
in new trial. But he thought it would
be bad precedent to allow the return
of the caucus to be received.
Committeeman Paul J. Lidback of
Ward replied. He said that the caucus
was perfectly fair expression of the
sentiment of the ward. Twenty-three
were present at the caucus, it being the
All but three of that number thought
they were at the right place, and those
three made no objection. The city COM
mittee did not know that the school
house was the proper place, but supposed
the caucus should be held in the hall as
the previous one had been. The real
question was whether anyone had been
DISTINGUISHED. He had heard of no one,
and believed that the result was fairer
expression than it would have been had
they met in the school house.
Committeeman Frohock of Ward 6,
corroborated this statement, saying that
he had seen large number of Oakdale
voters, and not one of them claimed he
had been DISTINGUISHED.
Committeeman Hanson of East Deer
ing, wanted to start right, and as the
caucus was informal it seemed to him
that a new one should be held.
Committeeman Lombard of Oakdale,
said he had been informed that the
school house was not in condition for a
caucus, even if they had gone there.
DIR. Foster of Ward 5, thought the
Oakdale caucus informal, and was of the
opinion that another should be held.
Mr. Lidback said he had examined the
legal aspects of the case; and had found
that whenever caucus is held in a
ward, and there is no complaint that
there is anyone DISTINGUISHED, the eau
Gus would not be invalidated by
an informality. MI. Lidback asked the
chairman if any complaint had been
made by Oakdale voters. against the way
the caucus was conducted.
"None at ALL"
replied Mr.. Halves.
Committeeman Dow of Ward asked
Mr.. Halves if he did not think caucus
should be held under the circumstances.
Mr.. Halves replied that the character
of public room had been given to the
Oakdale hall. The caucus had been held
there before. All but one voter went to
the hall rather than to the school house.
Even the alderman of the ward, who had
helped make the school house the ward
room, went to the hall. 1t had not been
asserted that any man had been de-
prived of his franchise by the mistake.
will of the ward, and it was the evident
will of the voters of the ward to do as the
returns indicated. Then should this ac-
ton of the ward be thrown out on a
technicality? Mr.. Halves then read the
Supreme Court decision in the famous
''count out" cases, wherein the principle
was laid down that technical error
should not override the expressed will of
the people. Like the state statutes re-
garding election returns, the call of the
caucuses had been directory merely, and
a failure to comply with certain specifi-
cations should not be fatal.
Nh. A. F. Berry thought new caucus
would take little time and trouble.
Col. Moore asked if any citizen of
Ward had protested. So far as he had
heard no one had protested. If any
voter in Ward had been DISTINGUISHED,
he was in favor of new trial. But if
there was no protest from the citizens of
Ward 6, he thought
The Caucus Should Stand.
Mr.. Hutchins said the point he made
was not for this case but for future
cases. If the ward caucuses could be
held in any place in the ward at the
option of the ward committee complica-