Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1892-10-27
A SCHEME OF FRAUD EXPOSED.
An Alleged Attempt at Democratic
RaSCality.


The Republicans Nave Been Nursing the
Exposure for Several Days, Waiting for
a Good Chance to spring the rrap--Iiere
IL is in all its GlarinE Wickcdncss.
The local Republican managers have had
OH hand for several days a great scheme
for springing upon the public information
Of a gigantic attempt at fraud on the part
OF the Democrats in their efforts to carry
New Castle county.
The publication was to have been made
Monday, but for some reason or other
those in charge decided to hold off another
day, The old Republican, however, III its
cagerness to spring the NINE came near
giving the scheme away prenlaturely Mon
dav by a mysterious alusion TO desire
on the part of certain Democrats to obtain
"a patent for erasing red ink marks with
out leaving marks OF erasure behind.
THE SCHEME EXPOSED.
The grave charge which the Republicans
are thinking about making is that certain
Democrats have traudulcntly mutllated
the official records in the office OF the
clerk OF the peace, by erasing, in n number
of Instances, the red marks that are placed
before the names of delinquent tnXables
in order to distinguish them from those
who paid their taxes
And the object efthis mu.iiation? Why,
to make the names thus changed in char
acter appear as bona tidc taXables who
paid their tax and We're not returned as
errors. Then to hunt up the men thus
| illegally transpused into honest tax payers,
| provide them with genuine tax receipts,
and get them to register and vote the
\ Democratic ticket at the election.
This is the great Democratic scheme of
fraud that the Republicans have been
thinking about suddenly springng upon
an unsuspecting public.
WHY THE HESITATION
II may be asked why, with such good
| thing in their possession, the Republicans
hesitated moment about making it
! public?
Well, the truth of the matter is. that
1 some ono with more sense than the old
| RpHbiirtm suggested that the blamed thing
might be loaded at both ends and shoot in
| both directions There are some facts con-
nectel with these delinquent records that
would make charges Of mutilatiUn reflect
more strongly upon Republicans than
Democrats.
IN REPuBIIcAE HANDS.
For instance, q Republican committee Of
the Levy Court. for nearly Il month"; took
these delinquent records day after day
INTO private room, locked the door
against all intruiers, and examined the
records at their leisure. Charges uf mt
tilation would not reflect very creditably
upon the members Of tins committee,
Again; During the entire campaign,
Francis NJ. Walker, Philip q. rhurchman
and other eminent Republicans have
handled these records, day after day, cx-
amincd them critically and made copies Of
them at will. 1t would be cruel ior the
Republican machine, even BY intinutiuh,
TO charge these gentlemen with mutilatinG
the books.
And then, it may be remembered that
the Republicans, after buying lot Of tax
receipts from Messrs. Dongherty and
Mckee, We're amazed to hnd that these
honest gentlemen had returned as errors
men whose taxes had been paid in good
Republican money. The Republicans in
the Levy Court attempted to remove these
names from the error lists, but We're
stopped by iii injunction
As far rs the Democrats are concerned,
the officials III the office Of the clerk of the
peace declare that not single Democrat
has even asked to look ut the delinquent
records during the campaign. The Demo-
cratic county committee has made no al
tempt to sccire copy OF them
Under these circumstances it is doubtful
II the Republicans will spring the great
exposure They are hard pressed for some
apparent Justification of their outrageous
interference With the work of registration
and PROBABLY thought for awhile that the
iAutllatl9n racket would answer.