The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-11-05

HANNA'S HARD FIGHT
Republican Majority in Ohio
Getting Down to a
Narrow Margin.
DOUBTFUL WOOD COUNTY
Appeal to the Courts Contemplated
Queer Developments
Ahead.
DOUBTFUL WOOD COUNTY

COLUMBUS, O., Nov. s. 1897-The con-
test for control of the Legislature will
likely be carried into the courts. The
official returns of about one-fourth OF
eighty-eight, counties have been received
by the Secretary of State. To the re-
turns of close counties protests have been
made. It is proposed now to prevent
the issue of certificates of election to
certain legislative candidates If the
courts will SO order
Today interest centres in the official
counting at Bowling Green of the vote of
Wood county. The Republican plurality
in that county for Representative was
reduced yesterday to % and today 1t IS
announced as 25. The Democrats claim
the Representative by plurality OF ..
Including Wood county's representative,
the Republicans claim the Legislature by
rs to TO- If Wood county should hnaliy
be nut in the Democratic list by the offi-
ciaI figures the Legislature would stano
74 Republicans to II Democrats. Wnlle
this is a mathematical majority of 3, 1t
is a constitutional surplus of only one.
1t REQUIRES 73 votes, or a majority OF all
the 145 members, to elect Senator on
Joint ballot. With only IA Republicans IN
the LEGISLATURE, the death OF Repuph-
can member or q Republican vacancy
from any cause, would leave bare ma
jority, and if Wood County should elect
Democratic representative, there, no
doubt. would be startling developments
at once in at least two other counties.
The proposed legal proceedings are be-
lieved to be in statu quo, awaiting the
Rnio
vote in Wood County.
There are ten counties in the State that
give a plurality each of less than 100 on
their respective legislative candidates, ana
of these close counties both parties are
almost equally the beneficiaries. The Re
publicans claim the following pluralltles
in three counties that have been most
hotly contested
Delaware 90, Noble S5, Wood 25.
This is a total of 139 plurality for rep
resentatives in the three counties. A
change of 70 votes properly distributed,
would have changed the Ohio Legislature
to 70 Democrats and q Repu9nG;anls' al,1 ame
pleXion of the United states senate. Ii
is what is at stake as we'll as the close
shave that causes the managers OF potn
parties to fight it out with every posslpie
effort that can be made.
There were over one million votes cast
in Ohio last year and 1t was estimated
that there were 100000 votes cast last
| tuesday, of which the deciding seventy
votes is an infinitesimal per cent. In
Hooking and Vinton counties the Demo
Gratis elect their representative by plu-
rality of rs and by about the Same plu-
rality in Van Vert county, while in Sum
nit county the Democrats elect two
representatives on pluralities that are saio
to be as close as those of Wood and Della
ware counties. The Republicans claim
that change of less than 200 votes woulo
give them four more representatives in
the counties of Summit, Van Vert, Hook
| ing and Vinton.
The only trouble reported from the
boards making the official counts yester-
| day were in Noble and Wood counties
and those were simply animated discus
sions These official counts are proceed
ing in the counties again today, No dis,
| turbances are apprehended anywhere, but
both sides will fight to a finish before the
returning boards, then in the courts and
finally in the organization of the Legisla-
ture.
Since the Republican plurality on the
State ticket has approached $4,000 no in
terest is taken in those returns.