The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-09-28

| Thomas A Bowen, John COusens, ".
| r. Foss. Protest after protest was read
from respectable residents and electors OF
| the ward, complaining that the warden
| was not following the statutes, but they
all fell unheeded on the deaf ears of the
presiding officer He hardly noticed some
| of them, and contemptuously treated
others. And my reason for call
| ing attention to this point
1T es saafP a ,v IS Tor fra tns
Of mind with which the respondent pre-
sided at the meeting throughout the day,
and the spirit of unfairness he ex-
hibited and mark the evident bias of the
| respondent in favor. of the party to which
he belonged. And when we consider the
facts which follow, the spirit to which
| have referred shines out clearly, and
his conduct during the hours of election
throws a bright light on every clrcum-
stance connected with the count.
1t is now five O'Clock in the afternoon
of election day, and the polls are closed.
The time has come now for the respond
emit to engage actively in the work on
which his mind is bent, and he orders
every person TO leave the rallied enclosure
and states that he and his clerk will
count the votes alone. That is the act of
an honest man who means to do right,
is it not? To deliberately remove him
self from all restraint and refuse party
representation at the count. Tell me
gentlemen, this: If the respondent had
intended to do what we charge him with
having done in this Indictment, would
he have acted any differently from the
way he did act at that moment? But
this outrage was not to be endured with
out protest. Men were there who knew
their rights and who determined to make
an effort to enforce them. And Mr.. Y.
r. Foss offered the following motion.
xryac nffarpd in ward meeting
by gentleman, and is written in ARE
spectacle way. Before hearing it--mark
what say gentlemen Of the jury.befoTe
knowing what the motion was, this little
ward ruler saidl No motions enter
tanned" refused to- put it to vote, and
when it was forced into his hands glanced
over it, and placing it in his pocket pro-
ceeded with his infamous scheme How
long has it been, ask you, since man
had no right to make motion IN town
meeting, and when was the law framed,
and what are the provisions which allow
the person presiding without knowing
what a motion is to say it shall not be
are independent they know their rights,
and they resent such an arbitrary as
sumption of power; and | assert. and
deny the successful contradiction of my
assertion, that such an act was uncalled
for, was unfair, illegal and unjust, and is
of the utmost moment on the question OF
Thomas r. Harper's intent. 1t was wrong
on two grounds; first, under the charter
of this city the meeting had right to
have one from each side selected to assist
in counting the votes. The latter part
of this section can be construed in entire
accord with the new ballot act; at the
close of the polls guard rail is no longer
sacred, and unless his presence will IN
terfere with the proper count OF the votes
every citizen of that ward in Portland
has right to insist that this provision
of our charter shall be observed. But be-
yond this and infinitely above it. the
refusal of this guilty man to have both
parties represented at the count was
wrong on moral grounds.
When we speak of justice and fairness
we stand on no narrow ground. Fairness
is something greater than the mere word
ing of statute, justice and decency are
not bounded by merely written law. You
and I gentlemen, know, and Thomas K.
Harper knew that afternoon in March,
that to deprive both parties of an oppor-
tunity to witness the count was both
indecent and unfair, and unless his, pur
pose had been formed, and unless his
mind had been bent on mischief he never
would have dared to refuse to count the
votes, that count, which he knew in all
probability, would decide who had been
chosen mayor in one of the most exciting
muQ1ClDdl tlcCUlUllS CtCI iuCl0 LII uAO tlOy
of Portland. But his mind was fixed,
"Fata1ly Bent ON Mischief"
as the old books say, and he fairly
trembled with eagerness to carry out the
part hewas to play. Oh, how they sickle
about law, and spin fine threads of the
distinction between thou shalt" and
athou shalt mott / say to you that
when for the entire day but one man
from each party assisted officers in check
ing the list it was in direct defiance of
the provisions of the statutes, which
keeps all persons, save election officers
and men voting, with officers to preseve
order, outside the guard rail; and yet,
when he had acted illegally for nine
mortal hours, he refused to act legally
for two or three by allowing party repre-
sentation at the count, and threw to the
winds every consideration of fairness and
decency when he made that refu sal. He
could afford to have men inside to check
the list, while the voting was going on,
but it was another matter when it came
to counting
Advance with me a STEP Ali men are
outside now, save the guilty warden,
nerved up for his work and the clerk.
The ballots are in the box,
About Three Feet from the Rail.
If counted there, sTnen outside the rail
could witness the count. So Harper re-
moves the ballots, and takes them to the
table in the rear of the ward room,
eight, ten, even twelve feet away, and
where it is impossible to distinguish the
marks on the ballots or to observe in any
manner the count. Police in force were
there. The crowd were orderly One
electric light hung over the table to
which he had removed the ballots; two
were hanging over the table from. which
the ballots came Why did he do it?
Did he want more light? No he wanted
less light, and an untrammeled oppor-
tunity to manipulate the votes. How is
it. gentlemen, do not such acts as these
disclose the true intent of the respondent?
From ten to fifteen minutes were occu-
pied by the ballot clerks in getting the
unused and cancelled ballots together
and sealing the lists. Remember this as
it is of the utmost Importance, as shall
try to show little later. Now the ballot
box is emptied on this table in the rear,
far removed from the sight of curious and
honest eyes, and the farce proceeds
Again / urge the attention of the jury 10
the ballots themselves. The ballot for
the municipal election in Portland is
~, IN,