The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-01-09
WHAT has REEN pEMossrRArED

Wllen the smoke and dust raised by
the petitioners for mandate and pro-
hfbition in the election cases is cleared
away, here is all that is tangible bv
way of evidence on which to found
the charge of fraud:
Some crosses on the returns and the
word voted" in a few instances are
declared by judges of election who
made UP the returns not to he in their
handwriting. AS to some of them they
are pretty positive, as ITO others rather
doubtful The utmost that can be
said about them is that they give color
10 suspicion of fraud.
1t is possible that they occurred by
error, like other blunders made in the
original canvass. It is possible that
some of them were made by persons
who helped the judges at the election.
The testimony, however, leans strongly
towards the direction of some inten-
tional tamperfng with the returns,
sufficient at any rate to make every
fair minded person feel either sorrow,
full, or angry, or both.
But There has not yet been a scintilla.
of evidence, to say nothing of proof.
as to the guilty person or persons, il
it is true there has been fraudulent
manipulation of the returns. AT pres,
ent that remains mystery. The tes-
timony of Mr.. Tatlock is not evidence
1t is mere surmise but made in such
a way as to cast suspicion, for a time,
upon a young man whose character
has been and is without reproach. We
need not say that his denial under
/ oath is worth more ITO those who know
MIN than a thousand suq'miseis of =
man like Tatlock.
1t will be seen on examining closely
the testimony of that willing witness
on one side and unwilling witness on
the other, that he was not frank o..
fair. From the beginning he sought to
suppress some things that might ap-
pear advantageous to the other side.
land was eager to advance even mis-
opinions as evidence to strengthen the
side of the petitioners. His attack on
George E. Blair-for it was nothing
! Short of that's pronounced Infamous
! by fair men of all parties. 1t was
/ based on a bare suspicion, according,
10 his own admission, and though
given as an opinion carried with it THE
| force of a positive statement.
| The theory of the counsel for the ne
titfoners has been that the majority of
the Utah Commission are resDonsihle
for the alleged patching up of the re.
turns. The accusation against Mr.
Blalr was necessary to fit in with the
scheme to raise suspicion against
those gentlemen. 1t has failed. utter
Iy. There is not a. shred or fibre of
proof that anything wrong has been
done with the returns since they were
received in this city. The only per
sons who have had a chance to doctor
them in any way, according to the
| evidence, are Mr. Sherman and his
private accountant Who had the re-
turns to themselves for two days. OF
course no one charges that they fixed
the ink or altered the crosses.
/ As to the ballot boxes there has been
no attempt to show any '9stufing" or
/ improper manipulation of any kind.
We find nothing in the proceedings to
give rise to the suspicious which have
been diligently fostered and fulminat,
ed by the Tribune, that the Utah Com
mission, or any member of that body.
or any one associated with it Off
cially, has tempered with the returns
and with the ballots. The implications.
inuendos and insinuations against
them are beyond the scope of common
decency, they are cowardly and brutal.
The cartoon to besmirch Commission
er Letcher in Tuesdays Tribune is vile
in the extreme. 1t is altogether unius,
tfffable and libellous. The terms fire.
quently used by that paper 'Letcher's
figures "Letdher's methods" and
''Letcher's system of calculation" are
falsehoods, shown to be so by the evI,
denoe in court. They are just as much
Sherman's as Letcher's, if not more
so, and it has not been shown that
there was anything in them improper.
The whole scheme of the petitioners
inspired by the Tribune, has been to
prevent the revelations of the ballots
cast at the election. We hope they
will fail in that as they have in the
determined attempt to blacken the
character of the Commissioners. There
IS nothing to show that the ballots
have been touched since they We're put
in the boxes except in the recount