The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-10-06
REGISTRARS END THEIR WORK.
ONLY "a PERSONS DISQUALIFIED
DURING THE WEEK.

OF This Number, 25 Were Put on the
disqualified List by the Registrars
Last Night, Being DefauIters Who
Had Failed to Answer summons to
Appear Before the BOnrd-A Lively
Little Scrap-The Registrars EN-
DIain why They Were Unable TO
Accomplish More Than They Did.
The registrars closed up their work on
the First district and turned the list over
TO printers at a late hour last night. The
only work done by them to-day will DE
10 read and correct proofs of the lists.
Enough lists will be printed to furnish
one to each manager, and probably also
to the chaIlengers on each side. AS the
factions already have complete lists of
fhe registrat ton there is no advantage to
ne Ct ined in Withholding the printed lists
from them.
The registrars spent yesterday in hear
ing default cases and rehearing cases of
voters who had been disqualified. OF the
% voters who had been disqualified 20
proved that their disqualification had been
removed and were restored to the list. All
of the defaulters who appeared proved
that they had right to be on the list and
we're qualified. A number of defaulters
did not show up and their names were
passed upon by the registrars last night.
Each case was decided upon
its merits and as result
the names of twenty-five defaulters were
placed on the disqualified list, making the
total number of person disqualified in
the first district, thirty-four. The major
ity of these were disqualified on charges
brought by the registrars.
There would have been a great many
more voters disqualified, but for the de-
cision to allow persons who could do so,
to remove their disqualihcations before
the final decision was made by the reg
istrars.
Things were made Lively in the court
room shortly before u o'clock yesterday
bv a scrap between A. A. Lawrence, Esq,
the attorney of the Citizens Club and NJ.
A. Buttimer, one of the representatives or
the Liberal Club. Most of the evidence
for the Liberal Club in these cases was
gathered by Mr.. Buttimer, and he has
been very aggressive throughout. Sew.
eral times a difficulty has been imminent,
and there was no surprise when it came.
Mr. Buttimer made some aside remark,
which was offensive to Mr. Lawrence,
who called the attention of the registrars
to it, Buttiner was making
vehement reply when Lawrence lost
his patience and struck Buttimer in the
face. The two men clinched and struggled
towards the door to the left of the regis
trars The crowd rushed at them and
swarmed around so closely that is was not
possible to do any fighting. deputy
sheriff met the combatans at the door and
separated them. The excitement was
soon over and the registrars proceeded
with their work. Neither man was hurt.
After finishing their work last night,
the registrars prepared statement of
their work, with they thought due them
selves, and due the public in view of the
fact that they have been unable to &C
complish the work anticipated of them,
and that many people have been incon-
venienced by their investigation. The
statement is of interest.
To the Voters of Chatham County:
When at the request of the judge of the
superior court and of the various parties
or factions. we undertook to be regis
trars for this county for the coming cleo
ton and to purge the lists, as required
by law, we were all ignorant of the duties
required and Of the practical workings OF
the law, except in a general way.
When we began the task it became APP
parent that the time allowed by law for
the required purging of the lists was in
adequate for that task there were over
5000 names on the list and a much larger
number of names on the lists of defaults
ers prepared by the tax collector, the or
binary and the clerk of the superior court.
The law is mandatory in it's provisions
that defaulters lists shall be compared
with the voters lists and those whose
names appear on defaulterS' lists should
be dropped from the voters lists unless
the respective disqualifcations have been
removed. This would have been a com.
paratively simple work and of short du-
ration, but for the fact that the law Re
CURED that no name should be dropped
from the voters lists without one days
houce to him and a hearing of the ques.
uon. Beginning with the First district
we found that nearly 40 per cent of tho
voters IN that district had their right to
vote questioned and after holding court a
day or two it was evident with the nee.
esSary slowness of such a tribunal that
the time would be barely sufficient to near
me cases in the First district.
we mad previously summoned the ques-
uohed voters in the Second district but
as soon as 1t was positive that their cases
would not be heard they were dismissed
Inc law allowed us no other alternative
man to send the lists of the other dis
t[lcts 10 the printer without any dropping
OF names from the lists for no name
could be dropped without notice and there
was no use in giving notice when the
vases could not be heard; to give notice
was 10 cause the county useless expense.
AFTER completing the work of purging
,he FIRST district, only about "a names
nave Deen stricken from the list and IL
would seem that it was useless expense
10 the county, as well as a nuisance to
large number of our citizens, who were
compelled to remain away from their work
IN attendance upon the court
but this is superficial view as the law
allowed any disqualification existing at
me time of registration to be removed,
many citizens, probably over 200, have
laken the opportunity of paying taxes
Whlch they owed and many, as they stat
ed' nave paid taxes they claimed not to
owe.
So that we trust the work may not be
fruitless.
rev words more by way. of personal
explanation. Many citizens have seemed
aggrleved that they were summoned and
lhelr right to vote questioned; to these we
would say that we issued no summons ex-
cept such as the law required Of u.s. Many
others complained that we granted no re-
quests, either to advance or postpone a
case, but only called it in it's position on
the docket; this was forced upon us by
aEuaA e..