The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-09-07
ALLEGED FRAUDS THE ISSUE
COMBINATIONS THAT MAY NOT
MATERIALIZE.
County Clerk Jordan Makes a State
ment and Claims That His
Enemies Are After His
Scalp.
Oakland Office San Francisco Call,


sos Broadway, Iept 6.
The decision of County Clerk Jordan to
have the Grand Jury investigate the mat
ter Of the blank signed certificates of reg
istration bearing his official stamp, and
which were very much in evidence at the
Congressional primary. will no doubt
bring out much interesting testimony.
The issuance of the certificates, al
though the basis, is really the least i'm
portant incident of the present scandal.
1t is the effect the controversy may have
on the coming county primary that Is in
teresting the politicians.
There is no doubt that the political fate
of Frank Jordan hangs to a great extent
on the outcome of the investigation. In
the Seventh Ward there are two COM
binations-one embraces Frank Jordan for
County Clerk, Harry Melvin for District
Attorney, and the other Robert. Leckie for
Assessor, James Webster for County
Clerk, and DR.. Derrick for Coroner. This
ward is the strongest Hilborn ward in
Oakland, and 1t is the Hilborn men who
are making the campaign regarding blank
certificates against Frank Jordan. In
their efforts they are very naturally being
ably supported by the combination op-
posed to that in which Mr.. jordan figures
The Leckie combination is very conf
dent and declares that 1t can carry the
Seventh Ward by a vote of three to one
Frank Jordan is more than confident and
declares that no one can touch his COM
bination in his home ward. Apart from
these two combinations, every other can
didate seeking office on the county ticket
is perforce interested. Should Jordan win
out, the various combinations he has
made with candidates in other wards and
townships will go through. Should Leckie
win. the Jordan programme will be
broken and things will be considerably
disturbed all along the line.
AS there will be only one day between
the result of the primary being known
and the opening of the county convention.
any disarrangement of the programme
would leave to the convention rather than
the candidates the task of naming the
nominees.
When the Grand Jury convened this af-
ternoon many witnesses were waiting
outside some of them to testify regard
ing the case of young Mahoney of San
Francisco, who, 1t Is alleged, voted an
other name at the Congressional prima-
ries. Rey. Father Lane of ST. Patrick S
! Oakland, was summoned for the purpose
of stating the age Of Mahoney.
County Clerk Jordan and several 9TH
ers were witnesses in regard to the GER
before that body by the District Attor-
ney at the request of the County Clerk.
statement regarding his position in this
matter:
II am now more firmly convinced than
ever that there is an organized effort on
foot to down me by the use of the worst
kind of politics. No blank certificates
have ever been issued from my office,
either signed or unsigned, with the seal
of my office upon them. I employed dur
ing the recent registration between 200
and 300 special deputies in various parts
of the county in order to facilitate the
work and make it easier for those who
desired to register. No blank stationery
was Issued to these men, nor were they
permitted to use the seal of my office
The seal is firmly attached to a desk adj
Joining that Of the judgment clerk, in
side of the railing in the general office.
ut is used many hundred times a day
on legal documents and no one is per-
mitted to use 1t except the regularly au-
thorized clerks. 1t Is possible to obtain
access to the office, to take out the blank
stationery and to place the seal on it.,
but only after the office is closed and
then 1t is supposed to be guarded by a
special Waterman.
In order that no repetition of this out
rage shall occur at the coming county
primary, and In the interests of fair play
L am. at my own expense, sending out
certificates of registration and transfer to
every one of the voters whose names APP
pear ON the register. There are, to be
| accurate, 623s new registrations, and vot-
ers thus enrolled will each receive
through the mail a certificate in full,
bearing my official stamp. About 5000
voters have been transferred since the
transferred shall receive a certificate
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