The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-02-21
James &. BaiIey'S Plurality Over
CeiOncl Z. II. Ripple Is 100.
MANY DEFECTIVE AFFIDAVITS
Slight Changes in Vote for City Assessor
hut Not Enough TO Affect tho Result.
O'NeiIi Elected Mayor OF Car.
bOndale Wins by IA Votes.

rality over Colonel 4. II. Ripple is 1876
votes, and Treasurer-elect G. q. BO-
lands is 1,5& over Daniel Williams.
This il from the official count made yes
terday and last evening by the court.
The footincs for the office Of city con-
tr"ller and assessor have not been made
by the clerks and will not be until this
morning, but the plurality OF Edmund
j. Robinson over +. J. Widmayer will
not vary much from the figures given in
yesterdays Tribune.
In computing the returns the court
found that there was a little disparity
between the figures on the open returns
and those OF the sealed retvrnS Tor Can
didates Fowler, Fickus and la tile The
vote for Fickus was increased slightly.
and Battles was diminished. Here and
there Fowler lost and gained Il vote,
but at the end he was about where the
open returns credited him with being
Judge ARCHIBALD was on the bench and
he appointed Attorneys j. Elliot Ross
and W. w. Baylor reading clerks; Al
torneIs III. c. Butler, Nathan Nidaver
andJ. NJ. Walker. recording clerks. anu
Attorneys John VI. Bonner and G.. &.
Ballentine, file clerks. City Solicitor },
II. TOrrey, \. j. Colborn. jr.. Senator ].
G. Vaughan and W. K. Lewis. as 'attor-
neys in the interest Of Colonel Ripple
and the Republican candidates, sat
around a table in the enclosure near the
bench; Attorneys John =. Kelly. Joseph
O'Brien, NJ. +. Sando and John NJ. Cor
bett acted in similar capacity for Mr..
Bailey.
Lists Made OF the Afridavits.
These attorneys were busy during the
count making 4 close inspection Of the
tally lists, return sheets and atildaVits
3 t,.,
Each side took a record of the name Of
each voter compelled to make affidavit
to establish his right to vote. and. as
stated in the beginning % this story, it
was found that nearly 600 of them were
bad. This Is fruitful ground for con-
test: IL makes no difference whether the
bad affidavit was the result of the ignor-
anCe of election officers who made them
out, the law prescribes that no matter
the voter possesses the right
to vote or not. the affidavit. If it he de-
fective. is the thing to act on. ana it
cannot be amended by any subsequent
action.
For instance, if man goes to the
poll to vote and is not registered. he
must swear i'm his vote. If he Is Chal-
lenged for taxes he must produce his
receipt or in the affidavit state when he
paid his taxes and when he was as
sessed for the said taxes. He may have
paid his taxes all right. but if the afl-
davit. from either the neglect or ignOr-
ance of the election officer who made it
out. does not specify when the taxes
We're paid and when the assessment
they were levied ON was made. still his
vote will he thrown out in contest.
Watching Progress Of the Count
Attorney &. G. Donovan watched the
count in the interest of his client,
Charles $. Fowler. and Attorney NJ. J.
Donahoe kept n lookout for the inter
rstS of John II. O'Malley. defeated can
,lidate for alderman in the Twentieth
ward. While the count was going on
Il number of prominent Democrats
dropped in and stayed awhile. Messrs.
Boland and Robinson sat in the jury
box for an hour and had u convcrsa-
ton with Chairman George s. Horn.
As the count was progressing it was
discovered In the papers sent in from
the Second district of the Second ward
that Colonel Ripple was entitled to one
more vote than was recorded for him.
The Eighteenth ward count showed
there was credit given on the return
sheet for one vote less than the tally
list figured out. Mr.. Bailey gained one
vote in the Second district of the Fif-
teenth ward through d similar mad
vertent error of the election clerk.
Mr. Bailey's total vote i'm the city Is
: S65; Colonel Ripples is 1863; j. w.
10. The vote for treasurer
was Boand. S.163: Williams, G,5I9;
Minor G. Carr, Prohibition, i2l.
Re cnnnt Was Asked for.
Just before the Twenty-first wards
vote was about to be counted. Mr..
Torrey stepped before the court and
lsked to have Il recount made in one
district of the ward. He read an afli-
lavit subscribed by f. W. Berge. who
was Independent candidate for select
council. setting forth that he verify be-
licved that the count was fraudulent
IN the ground that one of the election
officers when the count was made came
out on the porch and announced that
J ohm j. McAndrew's vote in the district
was los votes and when the statement
was hung out it gave McAndrcw us
votes McAndrew led Berge by Il small
majority Judge Archibald said that
this was not enough to warrant a re-
count: at any rate if McAndrew's vote
were l0S instead of IFS he would still
be'ahead of Berge and a recount on the
of this appeal would not
change matters.
The vote in Scranton and that i'm Car
bondale are all that the court deals with
in spring elections. The returns from
townships and boroughs are counted by
the clerk of the courts.
UNciii'S Majority Is Fourteen.
The official vote of Carbondale showed
that James j. O'Neill received 1.434
votes for mayor and Robert Carter re-
'eived l.420. O'Neills majority is four
.een. While the count was being made
Hon C. y. O'Mallry. Clerk of the Courts