Middletown transcript., 1896-02-08
cHICKENs COMING HOME.

Inc -IRANSCRlPT Will nOC upHOiu
wrong doing in.its political friends.
Just at the present time there is a
great hue and cry being made over the
returns ofthe assessor Of the Third
District in Wilmington, a Republican.
1t is claimed that the return of the
colored men assessed is out Of all pro-
portion to the vote cast in that district.
This is not conclusive proof Of The in
accuracy Of the assessment. We all
know that colored men in Delaware
are deprived of their votes whenever
the election machinery can be operated
| to do so, and not only colored men but
| all Republicans. And it is stated that
this assessment is not out Of pro-
portion to the votes cast when COM
pared with previous Democratic assess
ments. Were they wrong? Then why
were they acce pied? The assessments
should be fair and impartial, but have
they been, and which party has been
The greatest sufferer from them?
1t appears that this isa case of the
Democratic chickens coming home to
roost. Some years ago the Democratic
Assessors padded their lists and Re-
publican Levy Court attempted to
purge the list. The Democrats carried
the matter into The Court of Chancery,
Mr.. Bayard was one of the leading
counsel for the Dem ocIats. and it is
said that he wrote the Chancellor's
opinion which decided that the Levy
Court could not change the lists, that
the work of the Assessor was final and
must ID astt be accepted We should like to
see Assessor Whann's lists stand for
two reasons.
The assessment of man can do
no harm as he is compelled to register
before he can vote. He must have a
residence and prove it and, as the
TRANSCRIPT pointed out last week in
the matter of the Every Evenings"
dummies, the registration and voting
districts are SO very small that every
man is known personally. Then no
great harm can be done by them.
9. We should like to see what new
crook the Democratic machine will
take to override the solemn decision of
the Chancellor and of Ambassador
Bayard. If an injunction will hold
against Republican Levy Court 10
prevent it from purging the assess-
ment of Democratic frauds, why will
it not hold if the conditions are the
same, only the parties being reversed?
The Democratic politicians have
boasted for years that they have the
Courts with them and here is an op-
portunity to test the matter. AS we
have said We can see no opportunity
for harm in letting the assessment
stand as We now have registration,
which We did not have when the Dem
ocrats padded the assessment, and the
opportunity for our Court to show
that it is not so partisan as the Demo-
cratic politicians have b)asted could
be used to prove that matter.
These Democratic chickens are very
annoying birds and it is amusing to
hear the ''Shool ShooI' of the Demo-
cratic press to keep them off their
home roosts. The "Every Evening"
weeps about it and between its ''shoos"
and tears, takes courage thusly: Fl
at has been decided by the courts
of this State, that the Levy Court has
no power to purge the assessment lists
after they. have been duly prepared. but
it is question whether the Levy
Court has not right to refuse to ac-,
cept such an assessment as that sui
mitted by Assessor Whann. y Y Ks
With these names once upon the
books as prepared by the clerk of the
peace, the Levy Court would have no
right to strike off single one, accord
ing to the last judicial decision upon
the question, but there may be no dis
pute as to its right to refuse absolutely
to accept an assessment so manifestly
wrong as the one Submitted for the
Third district by Assessor Whann."
Undoubtedly the Levy Court, being
Democratic, will try to find some way
to over ride the law, their own laws,
made by them, practiced by them, and
upheld by their Courts. They have
postponed consideration of the matter
until next Tuesday.
If these assessments are padded it is
a shame that the law upholds them.
Our elections and the qualifications of
an elector, should be free from all re-
straints and even the shadow of fraud.
There should be no unwelcoms chic K.
ems to come home to rocst. Why not
have it COP