The San Francisco call., 1899-05-13
GROSS ERRORS
IN A PRECINCT
At PIEDMONT 7
Miller Gaining in the
Recount.
MAY HAVE BEEN ELECTED
HAS OVERCOME HALF OF HIS
MINORITY.
MAY HAVE BEEN ELECTED
HAS OVERCOME HALF OF HIS
MINORITY.
All the Patronage of the City Gov
ernment Depends Upon the Re
suit of the Contest, Which
Is Getting Closer.
Oakland Office San Francisco Call,
Q0S Proo duau Nov 10

9OS broadway, May II.
All the politicians, office holders and
placehunters became suddenly interested
to-day in the Miller-Clement election con-
test During the progress of the recount
in the Second Ward a very grave error
II not worse-was discovered. In this one
precinct, which only contains 130 votes,
Mr.. Miller gained twenty-nine. In the
Pledmont Precinct, which is the sixteenth
in the Second Ward and one of the quiet
est and most respectable districts In the
city of Oakland. no one expected to find
any crookedness. In the Fourth and
Sixth wards Mr.. Miller had alleged that
gross derelictions of duty had occurred,
but he was very modest in his claims of
miScounted votes in the conservative
Piedmont district. The discovery was like
a thunderclap in Judge Halls courtroom.
The election officers had tailed the votes
correctly and the tally sheets agreed with
the recount; but on the return slip the
figures had been so changed that instead
of leading by twenty-five votes Miller was
represented as being four behind. When
matters were Strengthened out Miller had
overcome at one clip three-eighths of his
entire minority. Another error-if it be
error-such as this will probably elect Mr..
Miller.
When the court closed last night there
were siXty-five ballots in the Sixth Ward
held out owing to the fact that they had
been numbered in lead pencil. This morn
ing the election officers proved to the sat-
isfaction of the court that these marks
counting, and the ballots were admitted
The election officers of the Piedmont
district who are responsible for the pecu-
liarity of the returns are: Inspectors w.
T. Harris and Z. r. Hill, Judges w.
O'Connor and J. H. Mochler, Clerks w.
Blair and S. ]. Agnew, Ballot Clerks w.
B. Sanford and c. A. Surphlis.
They may be Subpenaed to appear be-
fore the court and explain the wide dis
crepancy.
Should Mr.. Miller be elected there will
be more excitement than over the whole
of the recent city election, for with Mr..
Dow he would at once proceed upon such
wholesale cleaning-out process that
there would hardly be anybody left at the
City Hall to tell the tale of what had
been All through the campaign the cry
was 'Dow and Miller conveying the i'm
preston that Mayor Snow would be more
conservative and less likely to make a
combination than the other two Republi-
cans When Miller was defeated there
was big disappointment, and since the
new government took office and the
Mayor has shown no desire to turn things
upside down there has been much disap-
pointment among the politicians. The
progress of the Miller-Clement contest is
being hourly watched with great anxiety
When the recount closed tonight Miller
had gained Al votes out of So There are
only the Seventh and Fifth wards to be
counted. About 200 ballots are held In re-
serve, but they are about equally dis
tributed.