Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-11-19


umns, it is briefly this: The machin-
cry was altogether In the hands Of the
Republicans. The county court, how
ever, stood one Republican and one
Democrat, there being vacancy. On
the first count the ballots having been
gone over hurriedly many scratches
were not taken accc int of. Then the
ballots were returned to the boxes
each box being fastened by two locks
each lock having separate key, all
being given into the custody of the
clerk of the County Court, Republi-
can, who deposited them in his safe
For the official count the ballots were
brought out again by the same Repub-
lican clerk and the whole gone over
carefully. On this official count the
errors were discovered that had been
made in the first hurried count.
AS we have already shown, similar
errors occur almost everywhere on the
first hurried count, although only in q
close vote, as in this Taylor county
case, is it likely to affect the result OF
the election.
The Intelligencer and those behind II
in their sudden renewal of the stop
thief cry know this as well as any one
They know that no fraud is chargable
to the Democratic member of the coun-
ty court of Taylor, that he had abso-
lutely no opportunity for fraudulent
work if he had wanted to do any and
that if any was done it could have been
done only by Republican, for all the
machinery of the election and the bal
lots were in the hands of Republicans
Why then is this cry of stop thief
so suddenly revived after having been
once abandoned as useless and ridicu-
lous?
1t cannot operate to keep Mr.. Dent
out of the seat to which the people of
Taylor county elected him, because the
next House of Delegates will be Dem
ocratic and it will see thao justice is
done. What then is the meaning of
it? We have the explanation in the
following from the Intelligencer's edi-
torial howl of stop thief:
If a United States Senator is to be
elected as the result of such effOr S IS are
now in progress. the United States Senate
itself has the power to investigate a title
to seat gained in such a manner, and 1t
will be done
There is the explanation of this
baseless post-election cry of fraud
against the Democrats. 1t will &C
cOmplish nothing in this State, but the
hope is that it will reach the ears of a
partisan majority of the United States
Senate which the tricksterS rely on to
refuse to seat the Democrat whom the
next Legislature will elect to succeed
Mr.. Faulkner.
But, as we have already shown, this
is a forlorn hope. There is absolutely
no proof, or even ground of suspicion
of fraud and none is specifically charg-
ed against the Democrats anywhere,
for the simple reason that Democratic
gains have been made where the cleo
ton machinery was entirely in the
hands of Republicans and it is motor
ious that if the Democrats got out of
the election even what legitimately be-
longed to them they did well. In view
of these plain facts, known to all, the
United States Senate, as we have said,
even if a majority of it's members
wished to engage in such bare-faced
steal, would not think of doing so in
the face of a countrywide publicity.
Would it be possible to get major
ity of the Republican Senators to do a
thing that would forever damn the Re-
publican party of the United States in
the eyes of the world? The stake is
not large enough.
Meanwhile, the Intelligencer and the
INSCRIPTIONS gang of political thieves
behind it by their tactics but offend
and disgust the honest, decent people
of the State.