The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-01-26

was taken up 1t was the reports OF
the majority and minority of the Con-
tested Elections Committee in the case
of
JONES VS.. WARDELL-
The majority report which awards
the seat to the incumbent, Justus S.
Warden, Democrat. of the Thirty-ninth
District. San Francisco, was signed
by Wade (acting Chairman), Pierce,
Dale. Crowley, Henry and Cowan. The
dissenting voice was that of CospeT
(Chairman), who, by reason of his en-
crossing duties as Chairman OF the
Investigation Committee, has been
present at one meeting only of the Con-
tested Elections Committee.
Cosper's minority report, claiming
that Jones had four more legal votes
than Wardell, was based upon tech
meal differences as to the markings
upon the ballots. After the reading
of the reports by the Clerk, Wade was
ready with a motion to adopt the ma
jority report, when Cosper cut In with
a resolution that both reports should
be referred to the Committee on Judi
ciary.
Wade moved as an amendment the
adoption of the majority report, and
spoke in support of it, giving an ac-
count of the iabors of the committee,
their unanimity of opinion with the
exception. of Cosper, the fairness and
Justice of the count, and explaining
the rules under which they had worked
Cosper however, attacked the ma
iority report, and claimed that the COM
mittee had exercised undue latitude He
believed that it had exceeded proper
limits. and that it's methods had been
irregular as compared with more
strictly legal methods of the courts.
Wade defended the report ably, and
said if it was, necessary that the report
should go to the Judiciary Committee,
WHY had the Contested Elections Com
mittee had the case at all? For mis-
part. he would be glad to be excused
from further attendance on that COM
mittee; he had spent his whole time
over it. and so had the other members.
He believed their work good ana wor-
thy of acceptance by the House. If it
must be revised there was no necessity
of it's having been' done
Dibble commended that it should go
through the Judiciary Copmittee, the
only committee that could get the seal
of legality upon theSreport- Then Dbl
BILE threw in little politics, and de-
clared that all the Democrats would
vote for the majority report. In his
experience they had always voted to
seat a Democrat as against a Repub-
lican, no matter what the record.
Caminetti called his attention to an
instance in 1888 when the Democrats
seated a Republican, but l)ibble
couldn't remember it because his po-
litical experience only went back to
1884.
Wade. becoming heated, said he OBJ
jected to the introduction of boss meth
DDS into the matter. Wardell though
al Democrat, had been, so the committee
believed. honestly elected; and he pro-
posed to stand on that ground. He OBJ
jected to having their report subjected
to the Judiciary when the bills recon-
mended by that committee two years
ago. and afterward enacted, had, many
of them. failed to stand the test of the
Supreme Court.
Cowan supported Wade; he was a
minority member of the committee, but
their work had been fairly and hon
estly done. Jones, the contestant,
himself had told him (Cowan) that he
believed the verdict right, only that.
in his opinion, Wardell was entitled to
one more vote than they had awarded
him
Pierce Of Yolo, member of the COM
mittee, supported Wade. If. after the
Elections Committee had done all the
work. the report must still be acted
upon by the judiciary he thought it
looked as If. the House had no conf
dence in the Contested Elections Com
mittee.
| Dibble rose in some wrath to dispute
Wade's assertion concerning the work
of the Judiciary Committee of 81 He
disputed it, and claimed that not one
statute recommended BY that commit