The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-12-04

=,
according to the law. certificate of cleo
tion is due to the person having the largest
number of votes according TO the certif-
Gates of the county boards, it will be i'm
possible for the board to do otherwise than
return a certificate in favor of Taylor, he
having a majority of 2.435, according to the
certificates now on file with the secretary
of state There is a loophole in the very
sections upon which the Republicans rely
that may work against them. 1t is this: "The
said state board shall be board for ex-
amining and canvassing the returns" How
the board will construe the word "examin-
ing" is a matter of doubt. The same words
exactly are used in defining the powers of
the various county boards, and under this
wording they have claimed and used the
power of rejecting votes which they be-
lieved were Illegally cast. If the county
boards have this power over precinct re-
turns, why, the Democrats ask, has not the
state board exactly similar powers over
county returns in passage of the law de-
fining it's powers in identical language
With the certificates of the commission
ers of Jefferson county giving Taylor a
purality of 3442 votes was filed mass Of
gal, and 1t is not among the impossibilities
that the state board may so construe its
powers under the word examining as TO
declare that it has the power to reject these
votes. If it does Mr.. Goebel will get the GER
tificate. The main reliance of Goebel is on
contesting jefferson county. which means
the city of Louisville. This vote, according
to the returns. showed plurality for Taylor
Of nd ha
having it thrown out it means the defeat
of Taylor and of every other candidate on
the Republican ticket.
The Democrats are contesting the Louis
Vile vote chiefly because of Governor Brad
ley's action in ordering the militia under
arms and the alleged presence at the polls
Of deputy United States marshals. They
also base their contest on the fact that in
spectors for the Brown party forced their
way into the polling booths and usurped
the function of officers of election. The
Republicans will claim before the election
commissioners that the claims of intimida-
ton by the militia and of officers interfer-
ence by the United States marshals are
wholly inadmissable, for the reason that
the militia was held in the armory until
fully three hours after the close of the
polls, and they were at no time until long
after the polls had closed present at or
near polling booth.
DID NOT INTERFERE.
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 in
reference, but that they actually did not
in any manner interfere with the casting of
any vote either in the city of Louisville or
~, vie
tied the polls as private citizens only. To
offset the claim of intrusion by the in
spectors for the Brown party the Repub-
licans assert that If the claims of the
Democrats are correct and no positive
denial is offered by the Republicans the
fault lies with the Democratic officials who
admitted them. If they did not want them
in they should have kept them out. They
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 stronger case in Jefferson county
than anywhere else throughout the State
If they win there the other contests may
be dropped. And If they lose. success in
all the other contests will not make Goebel
Governor of Kentucky.
Next to the jefferson county contest in
Importance comes that of Knox county,
which returned plurality for Taylor of
1855 The contest there is based the
allegation that the Republicans used tissue
paper ballots by which the secrecy Of the
ballot was destroyed. In Johnson county
which returned a plurality for Taylor Of
$50, a similar claim is made; also in Lewis
county, which gave $50 more votes for Tay-
lor than for Goebel The Republicans
sert that similar ballots were used by the
Democrats in the counties of Graves, Bal
lard and Bath. in which the aggregate
plurality 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 such
candidate and the Democratic contest was
generally con5idered weak The matter has
been adjusted, the vote of Nelson county
counted for w. S. Taylor and this contest
has been abandoned by the Democrats. In
Pulaski, Mercer, Robertson and one or two
other counties claims of general irregulari-
ties are made by the Democrats, but the
aggregate number of votes involved in these
contests is small and cannot affect the gen.
eral result when the vote of Jefferson coun-
ty has been counted for either Goebel or
Taylor.
MERE CONJECTURE.
All of this Is, however, merely conjecture
Neither Democrats nor Republicans 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 asser-
ton: Il am confident the board will do it's
duty" And that ended his preliminary sur
vey of the situation. Governor Bradley
would express no opinion regarding the
probable outcome of the work of the board.
Il don't think there will be any trouble"
he said. II really expect none. There is no
need of looking ahead for trouble. We will
cross bridges when We come TO them"
The legal advisers of the Republican can
didates claim that there can be nothing in
the point which it is said the Democrats
may claim-that a construction of the word
examine may give the board the right TO
consider anything else than the .ifca-
ton of returns made by the different coun-
ty boards. Attorney Bruce said on this
point: THE question of the power of the
State Canvassing Board TO hear evidence
and decide contests over county votes has
been practically settled by the Court of
Appeals. The language of the statute as