New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-02-22

|
iotegonc conclusion. No enc else was thought Of
Until the day before the meeting of the Rcpubli-
! can Senatorial Convention the possibility of Mr.
| Sherwoods being Ineligible TO the Office of State
Senator by reason of his position IA a park com
missioner OF llOrncllsvc. had not been suggested.
! Somebody however mentioned it at that late
| date, and Immediately there was en- examination
OF the statutes. 1t would have been both n diff
| cult and delicate task to have set Mr. Sherwood
aside lightly at that time. The convention was
for him unanimously, and lie greatly desired TO be
It's candidate. IT the opinion Of each cf four
lawyers who examined the question, hastily of
/ course, that the park commissioner not
provided for by the charter of !Iornellsvillc, but
was a separate Office, created by special statute
which neither amended nor repealed the charter.
Mr.. Sherwoods local place could not embarraSS his
! title 10 seat in the Senate. II WAS therefore
decided 10 nominate him: but at his suggestion
n committee was appointed from among the men,
bers of the convention to submit the pure question
Of law to Judge Danforth, lately member Of the
! Court Of Appeals, and the committee empow-
cred TO withdraw Mr.. Sherwood and to nominate
some else if the Judge should regard him as
ineligible. Judge Danforth eXamnsd the q'es-
ton critically and carefully and came to the same
opinion held by the other lawyers Meanwhile
the Democrats had got up great hue and cry
waiting until the time had passed within which 1t
was possible under the ballot Reform Act Tor
the Republicans TO have made new nomina-
ton. their opponents secured from Az
| tOrneyAeneral Tabor an opinion In wr'lhg
declaring that there could be no doubt that Mr..
Sherwood was not eligible. 1t had been heio
by the Court of Appeals that the electors who cast
their votes for an ineligible candidate could not
| be DISTINGUISHED unless it could be shown that
they had voted knowing that their candidate
was ineligible and intending thereby to throw
away their votes Ii was held that votes in
nocently cast could not he nullilied, and consc-
quently that the minority candidate could not
be considered as elected simply because the ma
jorty candidate was ineligible. Perceiving that
this decision left them little hope of seating their
candidate, Mr. Walker, in case Mr.. Sherwood
should receive a majority of the votes. the Demo
Gratis sought to meet it by placardlng the dlS
trict with Attorney Genera. Tabors opinion, but
wherever they put up that opinion the RepuDh-
cans put up Judge Danforth's, that it would
J be impossible for the Democrats TO allese that
any Republican knew that his candidate was in
eligible and had thereafter cast his vote intending
TO throw il away.
Mr.. Sherwood received in the district majority
of ICE votes, but on the Friday after election,
when Hills plan to stea! the four seats necessary
70 make a Democratic majority in the Senate had
been fully developed, his agents IN Chemung and
Steuben, noisy declared that Sherwood would
not get a certificate emitting him to participate
in the organization Of the Senate
OF course, if it was possible TO
throw out his vote anywhere it was as proper
to do it in Chemung in Steuben. The Board
of Canvassers in both counties was Democratic,
but the Chemung canvasscrs had already been
taught lesson; they had been compelled in the
.l,o.r .l,,, ,l..pn and
undo the wrong they had done by certifying 10
Rockwes election. They therefore objected to
Hills order that they should throw out Sher-
woods vote; and the burden Of whatever was to
bc done fell OH the canvasses in Steuben The
Board there contained twenty Que Democrats and
seventeen Republicans, and was under the direc-
ton of Frank Campbell, the present Controller or
the State, whose residence Is in Bath. Mr..
| Campbell is the Democratic boss OF the county,
a Hill man. and was nominated last iall to sue
coed Controller Nempe as HIS personal can
Giddte. lie also tine Democratic state fCom-
mttcemal from that district, and had long been
recognized as liils agent IN all political ai,nirs
was Labor Commissioner Peck, OF lornclsvillc,
person under numerous and large obligations 10
the Governor, on whose devotion lie could always
The plans Of the Democrats were at first kept
secret but it presently Leaked 0t V Rep b~an
vote of Stcuben County blank for the
Senatorial ticket klein mis- tremendous b ceaGs
known and some of the supervisors were
frightened. When Campbell and Peek made
count Of noses, they found II impossible to carry
| with them a ma jorlty in the execution OF CON
spiracy so agrantly dishonest. One Democratic
supervisor said that he was prepared to do
good deal for David b. Hill, but he did not IN
! tend 10 20 10 lail for him. II soon became PLAIN
that that scheme would have TO be abandoned, ana
when the Supervisors first met none OF them knew
precisely what the bosses were going TO cal upon
| them to do. That morning, however, Peek APP
| peared with a set Of typewriter resolutions III
his pocket. 1t has been admitted by the Demo
Gratis that this paper cane directly from from the
| Executive Chamber az Albany, and Hills con-
nection with the outrage is further exposed Dy
a Telegram sent by him TO the Democratic can
didatc, Charles f.. Walker, two days after cleo
ton in substantially these words You are
| Senator. Come TO Albany at once" A caucus Of
the Democratic supervisors was hastily called III
| Campbeli'S Office and the resolutions were pro
duccd Campbell insisted that they must be
passed without a moments delay, and certified
copies OF them promptly dispatched to Secretary
| Rice There objection, but II was quickly
horne down. and finally every man present agreed
to support the resolutions. They were adopted by
partisan vote, twcnty-onc Democrats being re-
corded III favor Of them ana seventeen Rcpnbn-
cans in opposition. The resolutions were most
artfully drawn, and. although they enabled the
county canvasscrs 10 make return IN accordance
with the vote cast, they also enabled the state
canvassers that return to give Walker n Ger
tilcate They declared that Sherwood at the
time Of the election was holding a municipal
Office under the City Government OF liOrnelHNllle
and that the fact Of his holding such an Office
was brought home TO every clcctOr of TIL county
voting for the said Sherwood: that the votes
cast for Sherwood void and Intellectual for
any purpos,, just rs if they had in fact been
| blank ballots ard they made these resolutions
a part Of the return declaring that they sent them
TO the State Board Of Canvassers. for such actlon
thereon as they may deem lawful, ana proper;
Under these resolutions il was easily possible
for the State Board to assume that the county
Board had made statutory return OF only snch
votes as cast for the Democratic cAnnd't';
This person a yonng man of the name of
Walker is chiefly distinguished among his neigh
horn as a graduate from one Of Keclcys blchlorde
of gold establishments. He is son OF the la'e
loy Congrcs,,Dan Walker who was in his day man
y t--4..n nnL nhili1,. Roth of flnec nnaliti 8