Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-11-21

y. L ~
REFUSED HIS NDO U B T E D
RIGHTS, AND THE COURT DE-
CLARED ITS ACTIONS WE'RE Elk
PARTE-ONLY RESCINDED THIS
RIDICULOUS STAND WHEN IT
WAS TOO LATE FOR DEMOCRATS
TO ACT-A PLAIN STATEMENT OF
AN OUTRAGEOUS PARTISAN PRO
CEEDING.
Melville D. Post, Esq, who has been
one of the legal representatives
of Hon. John T. McGraw, in
his Congressional contest in the
Second Congressional district OF
West Virginia, was seen by Regis
ter reporter yesterday in reference to
the alleged irregularities in Preston
county. Mr.. Post was known to have
been on the ground and to be familiar
with the exact facts. The reporter in
quired whether the proceedings OF the
Preston County Court had been any
less partisan than the Court Of Monon-
gala county, which had been sitting
with closed doors. Mr.. Post replied:
mo tribunal Of the Middle Ages ever
sat with more disregard of the rights
of its litigants than did the County
Court of Preston county. This Court
declared that all its proceedings as
Canvassing Board were ex parte, and
that Mr.. McGraw had no right to be
represented before it, and that it would
not, under any circumstances, permit
any objection or any exception to be
placed upon its record. From Monday
morning until Saturday at ten o'clock
it maintained this intolerable attitude
toward the Democratic Congressional
candidate. 1t deliberately proceeded to
patch up the grossest Irregularities in
the returns from at least twenty-three
precincts of Preston county. The bal
lots from these precincts, namely: NOS.
|, 2. 8. 5 and s, in Reno district; Nos.
l, 2, 4 and 5, in Grant district; Nos, l,
and 2, in Pleasant; Nos, /, 2, 4, and
6, in Portland district; Nos. 1 and 2, in
Kingwood district, and Nos. l, and 3
inLyon district, were in envelopes, upon
which the names of the election Com
missioners WEIRD NOT WRITTEN.
This was a gross violation of the posi-
tive requirements of the law. The
statute is rigid. 1t requires the names
of the election commissioners to be
written across the seal of the envelope
in which the ballots are placed IN or
der that it may not be opened without
displacing the letters of the names or
that another envelope may not be sub
stituted for it. If this safeguard OF
the law is deliberately disregarded, the
entire object of the whole law is de-
feated: since without it the envelope
may be easily opened, or another sub
stituted, and the fraud cannot be
detected. Six days after the election
envelopes of this illegal character were
laid before the County Court, contain
ing, as was alleged, the vote from these
precincts, but without the marks or
Identification required by the law, and
that Court, with an entire diregard
for the provisions of the law, brought
in the election commissioners, and had
them sign these envelopes, which were
then produced. Such proceeding was
grossly irregular. The Court might
quite as we'll have directed the election
commissioners to appear and seal en-
velopes presented to them open, al
most a week after they had passed
from the hands of the election commits
sioners into the possession Of persons
who could easily have opened them, or
substituted others in their stead
DO you mean to say" asked the re-
porter, that the Court would allow
no exception to these proceedings to
appear upon its record?'
absolutely none" replied Mr.. Post,
THE attorneys for Mr.. McGraw were
refused any recognition whatever. The
Court proceeded to take evidence for
four days, putting the same prepared
questions to every election commits
sioner in a feeble effort to identify
these twenty-three packs OF ballots,
which were entirely unmarked; but
after the first effort, it fatty refused to
permit any cross-eXamination of these
commissioners.
81 thought said the reporter, that
every Court permitted a cross-examina-
ton of Witnesses"
1T was never before denied, in any
tribunal in Christendom," replied Mr..
Post, except, perhaps, before the
Council Of Ten in Venice, and the
Bloody Assize of Jeffreys.'
"On Friday" continued Mr.. Post,
after the Court had declared the re-
suit of its absurdly irregular proceed
ing, | gave proper notice and demanded
a recount of the vote Of Preston county,
and requested permission to appear on
behalf of Mr. McGraw But the Court
promptly refused my right to appear
even in this preceding. 1t declared
that upon a recount its proceedings
were also OK Darte. that Mr.. McGraw