Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-11-16
CROOKED WORN WILL NOT WIN.

CROOKED WORK WILL NOT WIN.
Every days additional figures serve
to clinch the Registers former esti
mate of the complexion of the next
Legislature On joint ballot. The only
changes have shown Democratic gains
over previous estimates as the wild
claims of the desperate State bosses
are gradually figured down to nothing
and then into a Democratic majority.
AS these gains have chiefly been made
in counties where the election machin-
cry is controlled by the tools of these
INSCRIPTIONS bosses the object of their
unfounded claims is apparent But
these claims are growing small and
beautifully less as the fndisputable fig
ures come in showing beyond question
a safe Democratic majority in the next
Legislature on joint ballot. AS a SAM
pie of how the schemers have had to
come down off their high horse: their
organ, the Intelligencer, first started Off
with the modest claim that the Legis-
lature was Republican on joint ballot
by about 10. These figures were sud-
denly revised and this claim fell to IA
in one slump. These figures were
maintained until the thing got to be
a farce and then they dropped to ten;
then to seven. Yesterday Pecksniff ad-
mitted what had been plain to other
people on the face Of the returns for
some time, having been granted several
days ago by Gov. Atkinson, namely,
that the Democrats had a majority of
the lower house. Pecksniff at present
will only admit that it is a majority
of one, but the face of the returns now
at hand show that it will be at least
ten and probably twelve.
In the Senate the bosses desperate
claims have dwindled down to eight.
To get this majority they are COM
PEELED to include both Getzendanner
and Pierson, whose seats, constitution
ally vacated because of their accept
ance of commissions in the army, have
been filled at the special election by
Democrats, and also a Republican in
the Marshall Wetzel-Marion district, in
spite Of the fact that such gross fraud
and glazing irregularities have been
discovered in Marshall as to give the
district undoubtedly to the Democrat
on the throwing out of vitiated re-
turns. These are samples of the dis
honest claims the beaten bosses make
to figure out majority of eight in the
Senate. These three cases alone reduce
the claim of eight majority to two
sample of the work done and the
kind of men selected to do it is found
in the crookedness and irregularities
that have come to light in Marshall on
the official canvass and in the fact that
of the three members of the Republican
canvassing board in that county one
was compelled to resign because OF
charges of malfeasance, misfeasance
and nonfeasance in Office while the
other two may be compelled to stand
trial on similar charges.
Ballot-boxes, ballots, pOll-books anC
all dumped into flour sack and thu
sack tied with a string That is ;
sample of the prevailing loose methods
and violations Of the plain provision
of the law covering the handling of tn
ballots, while the entrance of a SAT
vault and the breaking of the seal Of
a ballot-boX would seem to be prim
facia evidence of crooked work done
or attempted.
How far these methods have bee
used in the State no man can yet tel
but almost wherever investigation ha
been made a similar outrageous stat
of affairs is disclosed, as In the Secon
district where Mr.. McGraw has swor
evidence of the rOttenest kind c
crooked work by which he was de
frauded of votes. This sort of thin
evidently prevailed wherever the des
perate politicians in power, who sa'
defeat staring them in the face, coul
find sufficiently INSCRIPTIONS tools t
do their work.
In the face Of this situation it is