Evening journal., 1897-01-18

Mr. ChealrS TO take the seat.
If Mr.. Dickey were TO resign and if
his resignation were accepted a special
election would have to be ordered in
New Castle county, and it might result
in the election of a Republican repre-
sentative.
WHAT JOHN L. SAID.
John f. Salisbury says that he did
not make the statement that four of
the boxes would be found empty. Il
was informed by a prominent Republi-
can whose word cannot be questioned,
that in four Of the election districts in
New Castle county the ballots were all
burned up" he said late on Saturday
afternoon, but they may be ali in the
boxes for all l know"
WORK OF THE COMMITTEE.
At 3 o'clock on Saturday afternoon
the committee was working on the
Ninth ward. Then a movement was
started for an adjournment of the COM
mittee from midnight until o'clock on
Monday morning. Representative Nc
Coy and Dempsey, two of the commit
teemen, declared that they must go
home, as they had some business to
attend to. No decision was reached on
the point, but Chairman HAZEL excused
them and also Robert r. Francis, of
Wilmington, one of the clerks, who had
received word that one OF his children
was sick
In one district of the Ninth ward
where the count was not questioned
Dickey ran behind two votes. The law
yers for Dickey Immediately made
protest because the cement seal on that
box was different in color from that used
on the other boxes. The protest was
not sustained, and the Dickey vote
fell off two.
Another dispute arose over one of the
districts of the Tenth ward. There
were more ballots than set forth on the
tally sheet but that can be accounted
for by the election officers.
When the proposition TO adjourn was
made, counsel for Cheairs objected
strenuously and urged the committee to
continue until the count was COM
pleted.
Mr.. Kurtz said that everything pro-
ceeded smoothly until the Ninth ward
was reached.
Mr.. Heisel stated between and 5
o'clock that it looked like a lead Of
seventeen votes for Cheairs, with the
Third district of the Tenth ward not
counted
Baldwin Springer slept most Of the
day and relieved Hopkins at 3.45 on
Saturday afternoon.
In one Of the districts the tally of
the clerks did not agree and the whole
thing had to be counted over again.
PONDER AND FIRST DESERT.
On Saturday night the Dickey defeat
turned into rout and James w. Pom
der, one of Dickey's attorneys. was
running across the Green with Herman
E. Frist's crumpled tally sheet in his
pos session.
The crisis came early in the evening
and was caused bv the dociiion of the
Committee on Elections to change the
method Of making The count despite
the protest of the Dickey men.
Early in the afternoon the PROPOSE
tion was made by the Cheairs men that,
to expedite the count. the straight
Democratic ballots be counted in bulk,
instead of the names of the seven men
on the legislative branch being read off
one by one. Dickey's counsel having
conceded the election of J. Frank Ella
son, Republican, the contest narrowed
down to determining which of the
seven Democrats was low man. The
committee decided that this knowledge
could be more easily and expeditiously
obtained by separating the straight
from the split ballots and counting the
straight ones in bulk.
When Ponder saw that the commit
tee was determined to pursue this
course he instructed his clerk, Herman
p. First, to stop keeping tally.
Chairman HAZEL ordered First to
proceed with his work, claiming that
he and not Ponder had authority over
him.
First ignored the chairmans order
crumpled up his sheet and made a
break for the door. Ponder was ahead
Of him. and threw the door wide open
Chairman Hazell got between First and
the door and caught him around the
waist. He demanded the tally sheet
/ Instead Of Obeying the command Frist
/ threw 1t over Mr.. Hazelis shoulder and
| Ponder caught it and fed Mr.. Hazel
released his hold upon First and dash.
| ed after Ponder. The chairman was
| Joined in the chase by T.. O. Raymond
and William f. Kurtz, the latter beine
one of Cheair's counsel. Ponder rar
across the Green and escaped in tn,
darkness. This was all shortly aftel
s o'clock in the evening, and in tn,
| absence of Committeeman Mccoy anC
Dempsey. Ponder reached the Capito
Hotel in safety, and after First hat
been given a severe reprimand he wal
permitted to depart, but further actor
may be taken against him.
The incident was exceedingly un
pleasant and aggravating, but it did no
stop the work of the committee. Johi
5. Hopkins and Baldwin Springer wer
put at the tally sheets. and at Il
o'clock at night all of the Wilmington
ballots had been counted. Counsel 70
Cheairs more than realized their expec
tations, for they not only unearthe'
fraud in the twelve districts alleged
but also discovered irregularities in tn
count made in ten other districts. Il
the Tenth ward the vote poll
ed had not been properly count
ed in any one OF the five dis
tricts In the Third district of whic
Michael T. Conway was inspector
Dickey's vote had been increased n
and his actual vote increased 252 in tn
: cifV Not only thof lnf Nho,fr- H.,