Omaha daily bee., 1896-12-02
SOUTH DAKOTA'S ELECTION
Official Canvass of the Vote Begins at
Pierre Today,
PROMISES MANY STUBBORN CONTESTS
Republicans Gather Evidence of
Gross Irrcpulnritics In Many Not-
ing Districts where the Pops
Got Their Big Mnjuritics.


gram)-The leading state politicians OF both
parties are coming in Tor the official count
which will be made tomorrow and next day.
Congressman Gamble and Secretary Persons
of the state committee are the republicans
who have arrived aud among the populjsts
are Grigsby, candidate for attorney general;
Crothers candidate for lieutenant governor,
and Coyin. the leading candidate for speaker
of the house whatever move they expect to
mako will develop as soon as the count is
completed.
Everything points to the fact that another
election will have come and gone before the
result of the recent election in South pa
kota is definitely determined. This is in
dicated by the announcement that the see
retary of the republican state committee Is
engaged In collecting testimony to prove
Illegal voting ana that the testimony will
very likely be used in contests for the state
Offices which the face OF the returns show 10
have been captured by the populists. The
vote cast for congressman and electors will
be canvassed ON the I'd inst, and the state
ticket on the Sd.
A review of the controversy which mas
arisen over the election shows an inter
estng and complicated state Of AFFAIRS and
the courts will doubtless be kept busy for
months in Strengthening out the legal tan
bleS WHICH tAiSl III many VI lut 'puhSAtS'
Soon after the election the popuists with
apparently one voice cried that the repub-
Leans were trying to steal the state, ana
the republican managers made counter
charges to the effect that the populists had
COlonized voters in Lawrence, Union and
other counties In support of this they
pointed to the fact that in Lawrence county,
which is in the extreme western part OF
the state the vote of this year exceeded
that of two years ago by 1900. although no
claimed inrrpnSp In the DODulatiOu.
Three consecutive and carefully compiled
polls of the county by the republican com
mittce showed only 400 voters. The re
pull leans further allcge that a careful
census of the precincts in which the col
onization is charged, made since the cleo
tiOu, finds only i.40O legal voters.
SAMPLES OF REMISSNESS.
There are said to be instances where GER
tain precincts had not to exceed fity male
residents OF the age q, yet the vote returned
was three times great
In Union county notably in the town Of
Elk Point great many men who were un-
known to the election judges, who were
usually old residents Of the county, appeared
at the polls late in the afternoon of election
day and SwOre in their votes. Since clCC-
tlon. it is said, these men have not been
seen, nor can their whereabouts be ascer-
tanned. In q least one precinct in Minnehaha
county, the election judges left the polling
booth during the voting, with the result that
the ballots largely outnumbered the residents
of the precinct. In another one of the
candidates sat close to the polling place and
marked ballots for the voters against the
clear provisions of the Australian ballot law.
In still another. two threshing crews COM
posed of men who had not been in the state
two months. when the law requires a resi-
denCe Of six months before a person can
vote, swore in their votes.
In number Of the election precincts In
Meade county the judges were not sworn
did thpV sign the returns in OthprS
one of the judges was sworn and only one
signed the returns. In Brown county the
judges of two of the country precincts failed
to make complete returns to the county can
Vassing board, neglecting not only to fill
out the summary of the vote, but to sign
their names and fill in other data prescribed
by law The board, by a vote of . to l.
voted to omit the TWO townships from the
official canvass, and the populists immedi-
atey set up the cry of fraud, claiming the
vote should be counted. The republicans
maintain that there was nothing of which
the board could take CogniZance, as its
powers were purely clerical. not judicial.
In another county the election judges did
not like the place designated by the county
commissioners for holding the election and
took the ballot boxes to place more suited
to their minds. four miles distant Voters
came to the official voting place and went
! home without voting. About o'clock In
the afternoon the judges began to question
the legality Of the vote they were receiving
and finally took the ballot boxes back to
the place designated by the county COM
mssioners.
GRANT A SPECIAL PRIVILEGE.
At another polling place, while the ballots
were being counted, ballot was found with
only one of the proposed amendments
marked. This brought on a discussion and
one of the bystanders recognized it as his
ballot, but declared he had forgotten to
mark the state ticket. He said he intended
to vote the p0pulist ticket, and the judges
permitted him to mark II, after which l.
was counted. From six other precincts re
turns of the official count were received un-
signed by the clerks and judges of election.
All of these returns will undoubtedly be
taken into court for adjustment
These instances could be multiplied in
definitely and the republicans promise that
at the proper time the complete evidence
will be produced. They say there Is no
question that tho vote in various precincts
was heavily and suspiciously swelled, and
in practically all of them the populists won
by large majoritles.
In reply to charges OF colonization Sena-
tor Pettigrew. who assumes TO be general
in-chief of the free silver forces has is
sued two signed letters of denial In the
first he declares that many persons not
voters were brought into the state by the
railroads and voted for the republican
ticket. By this and other means the repub
liCan managers were charged with striving
deliberately TO deleht the VIII OF the people
by stealing the state. One of the principal
protests was against what is believed by
the populists to have been an organized
effort TO throw out votes In precincts where
populist candidates have a majority, for
pretended informaities, and thus count In
candidates who have not been elected.
In the second letter Senator Pettgrew
takes up and seeks to answer the repub-
lican charges OF colonization in Lawrence
Union and other counties. The Lawrence
county vote instead of showing an in
crease, he declares was 1,179 less than the
voting population and in Union county 1856
less than the voting population. Sena-
tor Pettigrew proposes thar sort
Of an election commission OF three
reputable South Dakota attorneys be Sc
leCted to investigate the charges made by
both sides of colonization: the commission
to have free access to all the papers secret
and otherwise, Of the various state commit
tees, The expense of the proposed investiga-
tion, which 1t Is intended shall be made
regardless of what is developed by the count
OF the state canVassng board, shall
be borne by the party against which charges
OF colonization are substantiated; If II shall
be found that both parties have been guilty
of bribery or colonization the expense shall
be borne equally by each party. The sen
ator thinks the good name of the state is