The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-11-19
THE SITUATION IN KENTUCKY.
fFrom the Atlanta constitutlon.)

THE result Is in doubt. There Is abso-
lutely no basis for the claims made by
the republicans that they have carried the
State by several thousand. These claims,
like those they put out Immediately attes
the election, are made SIMPLY wi h TIE
idea OF beclouding the situation ana Gre
ating the impression that the demo rats
are trying to steal the STATE AS a ma Ter
Of fact, with total vote of over four hln-
dred thousand, there Is a difference OF not
more than $50 votes either way, and 1t 10
certain that the legislature wiz In the ena
be called upon to settle the dispute.
In this way does Jack j. spalding sum
UP the situation in Kentucky. Mr., Spald-
ing has just returned TO the city, after
couple of weeks spent in his native STATE.
He was there on election day and since
then has spent some time in Louisville,
which is the center of the political eS-
citement. While there he made care
tul study of the situation.
at is true that the excitement over
the election is intense" said Mr.. Soald-
ing. But there have been very few sur
face indications of that fact While the
Kontuckians will fight when the time
comes, 1t is a fact that they are cool ana
collected, as a rule So much hal been
said In advance about tbs probability of
trouble on election day that all the gooi
citizens of the State did everything In
their power to prevent trouble. and the
result was that there has never been, With
in my recollection, an election freer from
casualties or trouble Of anv kind. Tn
most notable event on the outside was the
republican governors comic opera dis
play of troops in Louisville the NIGHT OF
the election That was a bit of child s
olay entirely uncalled for. There g.
however, a good deal of extravagant talk
about what may or may not he done. The
democrats are naturally very greatly in
censed at the evident determination OF
their opponents to put Taylor in the gov
ernors chair at any cost, and they are
Just as determined that justice shall be
done.
''T was in Union county. my old home,
the day Of the election. 1 never saw
more peaceful or quiet election or one
bearing more certainly all the marks of
fairness. That is good democratic county
and gave a plurality OF over fourtoel hun
dred for Goebe. The polls closed there,
as throughout the State, at 4 o'clock and
by about 10 o'clock we had all the returns
from all the precincts In the county. The
returns that have been held out are from
the mountain counties of the Eleventh
district, which is strongly republican, and
from which come stories of all sorts OF in
timidation practiced upon the election
commissioners TO make them certify re-
suits not borne out by the returns. That
there has been some Intimidation there
is no doubt. How much, or how much
fraud has entered into the more than six
teen thousand plurality reported for TAYLOR
from that district, a c-ntest can alone
determine
II spent some time in Henderson and
two or three days in Louisville, and I
Sound that the best informed men honestly
believe that Goebel has resolved a plur
ality of the vote cast in the election, aud
that the claim OF victory on the par, o,
the republicans and their allies is stop
theft cry to hide their own rasca ity. !
Men in whose opinion | have every con-
tdence and who l know would give me
their honest opinion, have told me thai
Goehel has undoubtedly won and that it
is the republican crowd which is doing the I
stealing. Now there would be no obeat
in those men saying that to me, ualesi
they believed 1t 10 lie true, ami / have
no doubt they do believe it.
THE whole power of the State and the
Federal administration is being used in
his effort TO intimldate and bulldoze the
democrats and cheat them out of their /
rights. The courts are being used in the .
same way just as far as they can be
Nothing is being left undone by the re-
publicans and their allies to steal the
State, ana all their talk to the contrary
Is, as l have said, merely an effort 10
cover UP what they are doing.
~
The campaign against Goebel has been
an intensely bitter one. The influences
back Of the opposition to him have been
merciless in their misrepresentation.
From their descriptions one would think
Goebe man with hoofs and horns and
without single redseming trait in his
makeup. Second TO him as a target for
the vituperation and Misrepresentation of
the enemies of democracy has been the
election law bearing his name That has
been pictured as the height of infamy
Now the weight OF testimony on all sides
Is that the election commissioners Sc
ected under the Goebel law are men OF
nigh class / know 1t is so in those coun
lies ! visited, for | investigated particu-
ary The effect of The law Is to secure
20 the minority representation upoa thu
election boards, something they did n t
nave before. 1t is known to everybody
! an familiar with the situation in Ken.
lucky that the republicans and their Pal
ner- Buekner allies sole the Stale from
. yam IN 1926, Under the then existiny
'lec'lcn laws, The republicans had abso-
ute control Of the election officers in the ,,
mountain counties and the city of Louis.
me and they stole the State from the
democrats. It. was TO prevent this state
u AFFAIRS that the Goebel law was passed .
" me legislature. Under its provisions /,
state board is elected by ths legislature /.
ia county boards are In turn chosen bv i,
nat state board. The law p DIVIDES tina, :,
y le3si che Of the election commissioners i
n eaeh precinct shall be a member OF the :
minority party Al the head of the State
'u8ra is Judge Pryor, at ore time chief
ue'lce al the State 1t has been charged
= INC republicans that this election ma /
,nlNefy built up great big 20 1T cal rny.
10" absurd this charge is can b. II u5- v
,aten py surprising The law In effe In II
ms state ami Chief Justi Rleclsley at /
we mead OF the Stale board. Judge Pryo- j
.ahuS Just as high as Judge Bleckley d