Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1897-02-10
#iseetlanepus &eadimg.
4 BIG POLITICAL SCHEME.
South Carolina's Electoral Vote to Be
Challenged.

South Carolina's Electoral Vote TO be
Challenged.
Correspondence Of The News and Courier.
WASHINGTON, February 5.-South
Carolina is prepared to spring sensa.
tion at the counting of the electoral
vote in the house of representatives
next Wednesday. The counting OF
the vote of that state for Bryan and
Sewall will be presented. Represen-
tative Murray has just returned from
South Carolina, where he was in con-
sultation with the leading Republicans
of the Palmetto state. He is armed
with a monster petition, signed by
thousands of Republicans of that
state, protesting against the counting
of the electoral vote, and asking for
an investigation of the election laws
and the state constitution. The claim
is made that the election laws and the
state constitution upon which they are
based are not in accord with the Fed
eral constitution.
The petition set forth Is in three Sec
tions, the first and third. of which
read az follows:
/. A vast majority of the legally
qualified voters of this state was pre-
vented from expressing their choice
for Presidential electors by the enforce
ment on the part of managers of cleo.
ton of illegal and unconstitutional
barriers.
8. Your memorialists further de.
clare that a republican form of gov
ernment does not exist in South Caro-
lima that the will of the people has
been overthrown that military des-
potism is in control of the state gov
ernment, and that the people of South
Carolina appeal to congress for the full
fillment to the state of South Carolina
of the United States constitutional
guarantee of a republican form OF
government. Your petitioners aver
that the late election, in which more
than 100000 electors were denied
their right to express their choice at
the ballot box, while in all less than
10000 voters were counted, was ille-
gally and fraudulently conducted.
The second paragraph of the peti.
tion deals exclusively with the alleged
unconstitutionality of the state con-
stitution, and the charge is made that
the convention which framed the con.
stitution refused to take the oath to
support the constitution of the United
States that a vast majority of the
electors of the state were deprived of
participation in the election of dele
gates to the convention, and that the
clauses of the constitution are framed
with the purpose of disfranchising a
large majority of the electors of the
state. The entire petition is drawn
with much care and formality.
Representative Murray is now con-
sulting with leading Republicans here
as to the course of procedure. There
are two methods by which this petition
may be presented to the joint session
of both houses of congress while en-
gagged in counting the electoral vote.
1t may be forwarded to the vice presi-
dent to be delivered to. the tellers when
South Carolina is reached on the call
of states, or Representative Murray
may rise in his place in the house and
enter a verbal protest and then submit
the petition.
While the dispute over the vote of
South Carolina cannot in any way
affect the result, it may give rise to
complications of a serious nature.
The best authorities agree that the
petition cannot be ignored, and the
investigation of the precedents shows
that when such a protest is entered
the count must Immediately stop until
the question is settled.
Nearly all of the South Carolina
congressional elections for the next
congress are to be contested on the
very grounds set forth in the petition,
so that if the house should decide
that the protest against the electo'
raj vote has no foundation it will pre-
clude the next Republican house from
unseating the Democratic congressman
who hold the prima facie certificates
of election. The debate, therefore, is
likely to be prolonged and exciting,