The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-10-31
THEY NUMBER THOUSANDS.
No One Investigates-Only Good
Citizens Respond.
THE BUREAU is AN ORNAMENT.
The Election Commission Sits and
Is Ashamed of Itself, but
Can Do Nothing.

Mayor Ellert was somewhat under the
weather yesterday and did not occupy his
usual place in The councils of the Election
Commission.
Mr.. Block presided and the session lasted
not over fifteen minutes and was adjourned
over until this morning.
j. b. Pryor, tns capitalist, who has been
a prominent figure in the life of San Fran
cisco for the pas tiforty years, stepped up to
the bar after the minutes bad been read
and stated that he had been cited to APP
pear and show cause why he should not be
stricken off the register.
OF course 10 one knew anything about it
either who had done the citing or why he
had done it. The commission could only re-
greet the lack of system that ermitted such
WORK.
George Bates. the attorney. who has lived
here all his life, was also among the sus-
poets, but only brought more confusion TO
the commission.
Reports were called for from the inves-
;igating bureau as to the names that bad
been placed in their hands for investiga-
ton, and they reported the people in every
case entitled to vote. Most of them were
laboring men who could not spare the
time to come before the commission. Two
were employed on boats and were not in
the city, but were properly registered and
| entitled to vote.
The great crowds of people who we're
promised by Evans TO fill the rooms in re-
| Spouse to the thousands of citations sent
! out do not materialiZe. With this small
| showing the commission was left without
| business to employ it yesterday morning.
and adjourned. Those who do put in an
appearance are all people having a right
| to vote.
The question now arises: What is to
| become OF the great number OF those who
| have been cited and who do not respond
Are they suffers, or are they laborers like
these few whose cards came back to the
Registrars office and were placed iu the
! hands of the investigating ten?
The five days limit OF the first batch OF
citations expired yesterday - Tuesday
morning. OF The total Dumber-which the
Registrar places at 500 rer day-less than
! 100 have responded.
What is to be done with them? Every
day until election day another batch viii
| have passed its limit, and il will be i'm pos
sibe for the Investigating bureau 10 look
them all up, more especially as they have
no copies of the list, and practically dc
nothing OF the work for which they were
employed.
What is to be done with them-the sus.
pects-that is, not the Investigators, WHIT
seemed t. be only designed to ornamen
the payroll. IL there ere such numbers o.
| real suffers in the city as is reported-i
half he sus poets are stuffers-or if all the
sus ects are left To be met and challenged
at the polls, il will be a task practically i'm
possible of handling.
The cards that come back to the office O.
the Registrar are those, Inspector
Sweeney explained, for whom the letter
carriers cannot find a claimant. They ar,
not allowed TO deliver letters by proxy il
lodging houses, and the person to whom i
is directed may be at work or otherw Isl
absent from the house. and il Is returned
to the sender for no better reason, as wa
shown in the case referred to. Now, viii
no investigation going oD, the investi
gators appointed by the commission. ant
VINO are drawing salary. being idle da,
after day by absolute direction of tn
Registrar-or B b Fitzgerald. the mai
whom he appointed, which is the sa M
thing. what is the natural conclusion t
be drawn, and what is to be don
| about ii