The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-12-22
The Use of Tissue Ballots the
Greatest Fraud.
WAS DIRECT VIOLATION OF LAW
Judge Toney and Governor Bradley
Severely Scored for the Action
They Took on Election Day
in the City of Louisville

Frankfort, KY, December 1.-The address
to the democracy of the state indorsing the
contest instituted by William Goebel and
other candidates on the democratic ticket,
was issued today. 1t is signed by former
Senator Blackburn, chairman of the state
campaign committee; Chairman Young Of
the state central and executive committees,
and all of the members of those committees.
1t says in part:
1.-THE democratic party of Kentucky,
through its several committees, has unani-
mously declraed that the best interests of
the party, as well justice, demand that
contests shall be made by all the candidates
on the democratic ticket for the respective
offices for which they were nominated.
1.-THE committee feel that 1t is proper that
they should in a concise form state the
grounds upon which they base their action.
1.-The state board of election commission
ers at its recent session issued certificates
of election to all of the republican candi-
dates for the state offices, but the board
expressly declared in the opinion it render
ed, that it acted simply as "a canvassing
board without power or authority, as 1t
construed the law, to inquire into the legal
ity or validity of any contested votes The
DOarQ expressed the OplnlOn, tnaI IL ClOlHSu
with the authority to go behind the returns
and determine the matters in contention,
the certificates of election would not nave
been issued to the parties who received
them. We feel that in the light of the ac-
tion of this board the democratic party
can not do less than to carry it's contention
to the tribunals, created by law for Its de-
termination
The Ground for Contest
sThe grounds upon which this contest is
based consist of the protest against the
use of tissue ballots in many of the over
whelmingly republican counties or the
state The use of these ballots is not only
in violation of the letter of the law, but is
utter and open defiance of the spirit of the
Jaw and the use of these ballots furnishes
not only prima facie, but also conclusive,
evidence of purposed fraud.
another ground of contest is the plain
violation and defiance of law by the late
republican governor of the state, who,
whilst actively engaged in the making OF
stump speeches and the prosecution of Il
partisan political canvass, ordered out the
militia, and in violation of both law and
precedent assumed personal command or
troops in the metropolis of the state, pa
rading the streets of Louisville on the day
of election with his soldiers and Gating
guns, invading the voting booths, which
later judicial acts have been declared by
the supreme judicial tribunal of the state
to have been unlawful.
"Another ground is the use of the interest
by the republican party of an immense cor
ruption fund contributed by the most pow
erful railroad corporation of the common
wealth, whereby many thousands of votes
were bought against the democratic party
and its candidates, because the party, in
the platform adopted in its state conven-
tion dared to advocate measures of relief
demanded by the people of the common
wealth.
'Attention is called to the fact that al
though the most heated political campaign
that ever occurred in the commonwealth
preceded the recent election, yet over 10000
legally registered democratic voters failed
to vote in the city of Louisville alone This
fact can only be accounted for by the
lawful use of the military power of the
commonwealth by the republican governor,
and by the unlawful use of the judicial
power and by partisan jury whereby
wholesale intimidation was effected.
Were Not Secret Ballots
''TVnese are the principal grounds upon
which the democracy of Kentucky rests
the contests that it has declared shall be
Instituted If the law, requiring all cleo
tions in this state to be held by secret bal
lots. is to be openly and fagrantly defed
an republican counties and republican dis
tricts, and If elections are to be determined
by the counting of votes so given, then we
have reached the end of free and fair cleo
tions in Kentucky.
''If the future of our people is to be de-
termined with the military arm of the
state dominating the citizens in the deposit
of their ballots, then elections have become
worse than farce and made simply the
prelude to a tragedy in which the last
semblance of individual liberty and pop
ular government Is to be sacrificed.
<'There can be no greater menace to pop
uNar rights and the freedom of the eiti-
Zens than the employment of the military
arm of the government for the furtherance
of partisan purposes, unless 1t be the more
insiduous and cowardly practices implied
ip the recent election by state judges at the
dictation Of one of the parties to the con-
test.
upon conceivable ground can a fed
eral judge either justify, excuse or pa1liate
his interference in election for state
officers only; whilst the action Of Judge
Toney, by decision of the court of appeals.
is stripped of every semblance of excuse
and left in its native deformity to be con-
demned, rebuked and denounced by the
people who were Its victims
No more important question confronts
the people of the commonwealth than the
question whether great corporation, own
ed not IN Kentucky, nor in the United
States, but in Europe, can buy election
and thus control the making, construction
and execution of the laws.
Even now the hirelings of this corpora
tfon boasts it will buy control of the gen.