The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1894-08-10
RATHER OF A GRIND

On Windhaln County Democrats, Gale.
DOMAIN County Republicans and state
ProhibitiOns-They DO Not File thei,
Nominations fn Season "A Case for the
Courts under the Ballot Law.
Our local Republicans are indulging in ,
loud and general guflaw. Especially the law
yerS among them.
On the whole we can't say that we blame
them.'
The Brattleboro Democrats claim to have
had the paternity of the Australian ballot law
among them; and Windham county Demo.
Gratis have been praised highly and widely
for their organization and efficiency; they
have never been bashful in pointing to what
experience has demonstrated to he solemn
fact that 1t Is mainly among Republicans that
there Is insufficient intelligence to mark the
ballots straight, and that it has been the cause
of considerable Republican losses.
Now after all this self-satisfaction and alti.
tudidnOus cOndescensiOn to Republican neigh.
bors, these same Democrats find themselves
stuck In the mud under the Australian ballot
law. It was discovered Tuesday night as a re.
suit of the Ominous winks and chuckles OF
Republicans about Crosby block and the
Brooks House. that no certificate of nOmina-
tiOns by last weeks county convention, which
the law requires to be filed by the chairman
and secretary of such convention at the county
clerks office at least 80 days before the date
Of election, had made their appearance. The
States attorney in .futurO laid in n winters
stock of cigars by proposing to bet
boxes of them at the close
of his heated arguments that the
Republican county ticket would have the
largest majority this year that it had had for
ten years.
What makes the joke even more abdomen
shaking for the Republican lawyers, is the
fact that the chairman of the Democratic
convention was lawyer, one of the brightest
in the county, the most strenuous of all of
them in his practice in insisting
upon just such details and in matters of
holding his antagonist right down to the last
moment, and ordinarily most painstaking in
looking after such points for his side. That
is not only huge joke. but it is problem in
psychology. The truth is that he got the time
mixed with the 10 and 20 days requirement
for local and town elections and supposed
there was ample time. AS to the mass of the
party they We're of course perfectly oblvous
of the whole thing. The blame rests of course
primarily on the chairman and secretary
whose duty it was to make out the certificate,
then on the county committee whose duty it
is to look after such things and see that they
are done and who never thought of such
thing, and finally OH the whole Democratic
party because it has got so into the habit of
trusting to Walter Chids to look after every
detail that it don't know what to do now that
he isn't at the head of its committees.
There has been some industrious head
and consulting among the Demo-
cratic leaders to find some way out of the
scrape. They hustled to get the certificate
made out and filed Tuesday night, but it was
three days too late. las it should have been filed
night. Col Haskins and G C Fits
filed written protest against it being received
and they argued against it at sort of 'hear-
n ri Ill II
port argued for it. Judge Tyler as the county
clerk held that he couldn't accept it. Then it
was proposed that he print the names on the
official ballot, stating when the certificate was
filed and leaving it to the boards of civil au-
thority and legislature to decide whether the
that he had no right to do that and the Repub-
licans refused to withdraw their objection to
anything being done:.
mus proceeding before the courts to get an
order for the printing of their ticket on the
official ballot. 1t is needless to say that the
success of this move is dubious. III it fails,
nothing will be left to do hut for each voter
@ write in the names Of the candidates on the
icket. No one of course IL disfranchised,
because blank space is left for this purpose
With reference to every office. IL II comes to
his, every Democratic voter will be supplied
With the list of names and full instructions.
1t is a bad scrape, but there is some COM
ort in knowing that the Democrats here are
lOt alone i'm it. The PrOhibtiOnsts failed to
lie their state ticket until Tuesday night and |
o they are shut out from the official ballot all
vcr the state.
The Caledonia county Republicans made
he same mess, though having all the machin-
ry and offices they are trying to cheek the
hing through. They discovered Monday
hat no certificate had been filed and hustled
ound st. Johnsbury and got signatures
nough, per cent. of the whole number of
otes cast, to make n nomination by petition.
,ut that does not help it a bit and they Of
curse know it. The statute fixes the same
me for filing nomination by either method
0 days before the election and that 80 days
xpired Sunday night.
This makes it absolutely necessary for the
Democrats to bring their mdnddBus. if they
re not to have an Electorate Commission
ouisiana-OregO operation which will eX-
ude Democrats and admit Republicans I'M
er the same law and circumstances.
The two cases are precisely alike in all ma
rial points, one being a day behind the 9TH
:, but both behind the statutory time. The
My possibility of claiming a distinction
ould be that as the 30 days expired with
lnday, Monday should be construed to an
ver, rs with notes falling due. But the Ver-
ont rule with the serving of all legal papers
that when the time expires Sunday it must
, done Saturday, so this is too flimSy an eX-
lse.
What the Caledonia county clerk ought to
} is what Judge Tyler has very properly
)ne here. refuse to certify and let the Re
lblicans take the case to the courts. But
ey may depend on its going there Just the