Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1898-12-15
thursday, December is, 1898.

Auditor elect Pitsor has been served
ith a notice Of contest by A. Smith. X.
". Small Is surety for costs, and Sears &
IcCoy and E. w. Taylor are attorneys
Or the contestant. An effort will be
4ade to throw out all Silver Republican
otes on the ground that no convention
as held to nominate the said ticket.
Iutley, Granville and Kosciusco pre-
incts are to be thrown but because of
LEGGED ignorance and drunkenness on
le part Of the voters, who, II Is claimed
ould not vote without assistance. The
eople of these townships bitterly resent
ais charge, which Is wholly untrue SO
ar as Nutley and Granville are con-
erned. In Kosclusco there wal more
+ less drinking. As there was a regular
" held Silver Republican ~conventi0n,t the
ontestants can do nothing more than
lrow out the Kosciusco vote, and per-
APPS not that. Contests which have been
prang In different parts of the state are
III being abandoned, but IL this n Is
ushed Auditor Pitsor need entertain no
sars Of being unseated.--Webster
World.
In order that the public may judge
nst how much truth Is contained In the
bove %articel, we reproduce that section
4 Mr.. Smiths notice of contest which
elates to the townships named.
Section 81
That in each of the towns and election
precincts of Kosciusko, Granville and
Nutley in said Day county, the said cleo
ion held therein on SAIL 9Th day of
November 1898 was illegal, for the rea-
on that the judges of such election per-
nitted persons not judges or clerks of
UGH election, to go into the voting
booths and assist voters in marking their
BALLOTS and also, permitted e~lectioneer-
ng and betting In the booths by such
persons when so assisting such voters in
marking their ballots; that no disability
affidavits were made or required to be
made by any voters who had assistance
n marking their ballots in said towns
md that about fifty per cent of the cleo
ors of said towns are unable to read the
english language and required and were
assisted In marking their ballots as
above stated, and that the judges of cleo
Jon in said precincts assisted voters in
marking their ballots, without requiring
the voter assisted,to make disability aft
davits as required by law and the whole
vote as returned by said towns should be
vacated and set aside, and that u large
humber of the votes polled In said cleo
lion precincts at said election were
counted for you for said Office Of County
Auditor.
Not n word regarding ignorance or
drunkennessl AS for the people bitterly
r~esenting this charge(made in the World
only it is safe to assert that at the time
the article was penned, not one voter in
fifty in these townships knew that a con
test was commenced. Certainly from the
evidence now being taken in the contest
inaugurated by a defeated populist can
didate, elections as conducted in some of
these townships are far from being the
secret and uninfluenced affairs contem-
plated by the Australian ballot law. If
Mr.. Smith feels that he has been wrong
ed,i is his priyilege(as it is Mr.. Denton's)
to institute a contest and he should
NC UiAbW1a w tAOA0AoO thut RllfAitS0
without charges being credited to him
which he never made and which are
published solely for the purpose of stir
ring up resentment against him. As for
the Silver Republican County Conven-
ton, it seems to be enshrouded in my
stery. Now that it has been officially
admitted that no Silver Republican Sen
atorial Convention was ever held, will
not Bro. Slovenian enlighten the public
by telling when and where the Silver
Republican County Convention was held?
How many delegates were present? AT
what hour they organized and who were
the officers? Who were the committees?
And who nominated the candidates?
1t might be. If he answered these ques-
that Mr.. Smith would decide TO go
further in the matter Of contest.