Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1894-12-26
A Tale of Two Counties.

If the Republican Sheriff of the Re.
publican county of Roane had destroy.
ed the tally sheets of the recent elec.
ton in his county, instead of sending
them to Nashville, there would have
been the very devil to pay in Secretary
OF State Morgan 3 Office. The Secretary
and the State Board of Inspectors have
declared that the elections returns of
no county could be regarded as com.
plete and official unless the tally sheets
OF every district and voting precinct in
the county we're placed in the awful
mystery box of the board, and then,
and not till then, could the people be
given official information concerning
the election held on November 8. The
board adopted formal and elaborate
policy of secrecy and delay, and obsti.
nately refused to proceed with the can.
vass of the votes or give the press any
information in regard to the face of the
returns for Governor until every single
tally sheet from the County of Roane
was safely in the hands of the Demo
cratic Inspecting Board. And so the
board waited and the helpless people
waited until the Roane tally sheets
came in one night, when suddenly the
Secretary unlocked the mystery box
and gave scoop of the Governors vote
to three daily papers that had under
taken to defend the indefensible course
Of the board. .'.
But all this time the tally sheets from
the Democratic County of Shelby had
been missing and the able Board of
Secrecy did not for single moment
indicate any anxiety or sleeplessness
about it. oh" said the board, sub
stantilly, 1--WE learn that the tally sheets
were destroyed in Shelby County, and
of course they can't be sent, and that
ends the matter. No use of worrying
about that. But we are bound to have
the missing tally sheets from the Re.
publican County of Roane or hold on
until doomsday." But suppose the
Republican Sheriff of Roane had done
as the Democratic Sheriff in Shelby
and destroyed the tally sheets2 What
q horrible business it would have been,
to be sure. And if the tally sheets
from Shelby had been sent in, and
those of Roane had been destroyed,
what a cry the McCorry Publication
Bureaunwould have raised about the
Republican fraud and the diabolical
means adopted to destroy the eviden-
ces of fraud. We feel quite sure that
in that event the able State Inspecting
Board would have held secret session
and resolved that things were looking
overwhelmingly suspicious.
While the Inspecting Board has not
been the least bit shocked by the de.
struction of the tally sheets in Shelby
County and while the partisan news
papers, that have been vainly attempt
ing to justify the unjustifable secrecy
and mystery of the board, have not
thought it worth while to give any sig
nificance to the fact of the missing
Shelby tally sheets, there is one phase
of the matter which may be worth
noting. Since, according to Secro-
tary Morgan, the returns from Shelby
are not in, those returns can not, ac-
cording to the precedents set in this
State, be counted in the publication of
votes for Governor by the Speaker of
the Senate. Unless, therefore, the
Legislature repudiates the ruling of
Secretary Morgan and his board, by all
precedent in the official promulgation
of the vote for Governor in the Legis.
lature, the plurality for Evans will
have to be increased despite the long
drawn out mystery of the board
Nashville Banner. ...4.