Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1899-12-04
He Can Win Every Other Contest, and
Still Taylor Will Be Elected
Both Sides Express Great
est Confidence in the
Outcome.


predict with accuracy the decision which
will be arrived at by the board.
The certified returns from the county
boards, now on file with the secretary of
state. give Taylor a plurality of 2,4S5, but
the Democrats declare that enough Of
these votes will be thrown out to elect
Goebel. and that GoebeI will be awarded
the certificate. The Kentucky election law
is capable of divers constructions, and the
definite conclusion of the board will rest
very largely upon how its members con-
strue certain portions of the statute. That
part of the law upon which the Republicans
rely is as follows:
Section 9. After an election for governor, lieu
tenant other officer elective by the votes
Of the whole state. more than county. it
shall be the duty Of the board OF canyassers of the
returns for each county, Immediately after the ex-
animation of such returns, to make two or more
certificates in writing their signatures. of the
number Of votes given in the county for each of
the candidates for any of said Offices. One Of the
certificates shall be retained in the clerks office;
another the clerk shall send by the next mail under
cover to the secretary of state at the seat Of
ernment.
Section 10. The state board of election Of COM
rissioners shall be board for examining and can
vassng the returns Of election for of the offices
named In the last section Of this act. 1t shall be
the duty of said board when the returns all in
or on the fourth Monday after election, whether
they are in or not TO make out in the office Of
secretary Of state from the returns made duplicate
election Of those having the highest number of
votes. one certificate to be retained in the office
the other sent by mail TO the person elected. II all
the returns made the right contest an eec-
tion shall not be impaired. II
The Republicans assert that, inasmuch
as. according to the law, a certificate of
election is due to the person having the
largest number of votes, according to the
certificates of the county boards, 1t will
be impossible for the board to do other
wise than return certificate in favor Of
Taylor. he having majority of 2,435, ac-
cording to the certificates now on file with
the secretary of state. There is, however,
loophole in the very sections on which
the Republicans rely, which may work
against them. 1t is this:
The said state board shall be board for examining
and canyassing the returns.
How the board will construe the word
examining is matter of doubt, The
same words exactly are used in defining
the powers of the various county boards
Under this wording they have claimed
and used the power of rejecting votes
which they believed were Illegally cast
If the county boards have this power over
precinct returns, why, the Democrats ask.
has not the state board exactly similar
powers over county returns in a passage
of the law defining its powers In identical
language?
With the certificates of the commission
ers OF Jefferson county giving Taylor a
plurality of 3442 votes was filed a mass of
evidence that many of these votes were
Illegal, and it is not among the impossi-
billities that the state board may so con-
strue its powers under the word "exam-
inins' as to declare that it has the power
to reject these votes. If it does, Mr.. Goe-
bel gets the certificate. The main reliance
of Goebel is upon contesting Jefferson.
which means the city of Louisville. This
vote, according to the returns, showed a
plurality for Taylor of S.42e and IL the
Democrats succeed in having It thrown ont
it means the defeat of Taylor and of every
other candidate upon the Republican
ticket
The Democrats are contesting the Louis
vile vote chiefly because of Governor
Bradleys action in ordering the militia
under arms and the alleged presence at
the polls of deputy United States mar
shals. They also base their contest on the
fact that inspectors fer the Brown party
forced their way into the polling booth
and usurped the functions of officers Of
election. The Republicans will claim be-
fore the election commissioners that the
claims of intimidation by the militia and
of interference by the United States mar
shals was wholly inadmissable. for the rea-
son that the militia was held in the ar
mory until fully three hours after the
close. of the polls and that they were at
no time, until long after the polls had
closed, present at or near polling booth
AS to the marshals, it is asserted by the
Republicans that not only were they, too,
few in number, there being but fourteen
in Kentucky all told to be capable of any
interference, but that they actually did
not in any manner interfere with the
casting of any vote, either in the city of
Louisville elsewhere throughout the
state. They visited the polls as private
citizens only.
inspectors for the Brown party, the Re-
publicans claim that, If the claims of the
Democrats are correct, and no positive de-
nial is offered by the Republicans. the fault
lies with the Democratic officials who ad-
mitted them. If they did not want them
claim that the Democrats cannot allege
their own negligence of duty as reason
for throwing out Republican votes.
1t is admitted by both sides that the
Democrats have a stronger case in Jeffer-
son county than anywhere else throughout
the state. If they win there, the other
counties may be dropped, and II they lose
there, success in all the other contests Will
not make Goebel governor of Kentucky.
Next to the Jefferson county contest in
Importance comes that In Knox county.
which returned a plurality for Taylor of
1855. The contest there Is based upon the
allegation that the Republicans used tissue
paper ballots. by which the secrecy of the
ballot was destroyed. In Johnson county.
which returned plurality for Taylor OF
366, similar claim is made, also In Lewis
county, which gave $50 more votes for Tay-
lor than for Goebel. The Republicans as
sert that similar ballots were used by the
Democrats in the counties of Graves. Bal
lard and Bath, in which the aggregate plu-
rality for Goebel was far IN excess Of the
total Taylor plurality in the counties of
Knox, johnson and Lewis
At one time the Democrats announced
their intention of contesting the votes of
Nelson county, which gave plurality of
1,19S for Taylor. In making the returns
the county election commissioners certified
the vote for W. P. Taylor. There was no
was generally considered weak. The mat
ter has been adjusted. the vote of Nelson
county counted for w. S. Taylor and this
contest has been abandoned by the DEM
ocrats. In Pulaski, Mercer, Robertson and
one or two other counties. claims of Cen
ocracy, but the aggregate number of votes
involved in these contests is small and cam
not affect the general result when the vote
of Jefferson county has been counted for
either Goebel or Taylor.
( ALI of this, however, Is mere eon5ec-
ture Neither Democrats nor Repub-
licans know what the board will do, and all
of them decline to discuss the matter in
advance of the meeting of the board.
: Mr.. Goebel declined to say anything at
all and General Taylor contented himself
with the assertion II am confident the