The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-12-04
Meets To-Day to Canvass Returns.
The Result Hinges on the Word
.tEEaminoo and the
VOTE OF JEFFERSON COUNTY,
Including Louisville Gov. Bradley
will Not Cross the Bridges Till
BE Comes to Them.

commissioners Of Kentucky Will meet
to canvass the returns from the late
state election and to decide whether
Goebel or Taylor is entitled to the GER
tihcate OF election as governor.
There IS not much probability that
the matter will be settled tomorrow,
and 1t may be Wednesday or later be-
fore a certificate Is issued. Both sides
express themselveu as confident, but
no one can 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 plu-
rality Of 2,4S5, but the Democrats de-
clare that enough Of these votes win
be thrown out and that Goebel will be
awarded the certlfcaEN The Kentucky
election law is capaBk of divers con-
structions, and the dehnlte conclusion
Of the board will rest very largely upon
how It's members decide to construe
certain portions OF the statute.
The Republicans assert that, inas-
much as, according to the law, a cer-
tlicate of election Is due to the person
having the largest number of votes &C.
cording to the certificates Of the county
boards, 1t viii be impossible for the
board of canvassers to do otherwise
than return certificate In favor of
Taylor, he having a majority Of 2.4S5,
according to the certificates now on file
with the secretary Of state. There is
a loop hole in the very sections upon
which the Republicans rely, which may
work against them. It is this:
"The state board shall be a board for
examining and cRnvassIng the re-
turns"
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. and under this wording they
have claimed and used the power Of
rejecting votes which they believed
were Illegally cast. II 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 pas
sage OF the law defining Its powers
over county returns in a passage Of
the law defining Its powers in identical
language? With the certificates Of the
commissioners Of Jefferson county Civ
ing Taylor pl:'.lity of S,442 votes,
was filed mass Of evidence that many
OF these votes were illegal, and 1t is not
among the imposslbIlltles that the state
board may so construe It's powers un-
der the word examining" as to declare
that 1t has the power to reject these
votes. II 1t does Mr.. Goebel gets the
certificate. The main reliance Of Goe-
bel is upon contestlng Jefferson, which
means the city OF Louisville. This vote,
according 70 the returns, showed
plurality for Taylor Of 1922, and Il the
democrats succeed in having 1t thrown
out 1t means the defeat Of Taylor and
OF every other candidate upon the Re-
publican ticket. The Democrats are
contestlng the Louisville vote chiefly
because OF Governor BTadley's action
in ordering the militia under arms and
the presence at the polls Of deputy mar
shals. They also base their contest on
the fact that inspectors for the Brown
party forced their way into the polling
booth and usurped the function Of Of
flcers OF election. The Republicans will
claim before the election commissioners
that the claims Of intimidation by the
militia and Of interference by ths
United States marshals Rfe wholly In
admissible. for the reason that the mill
itia was held in the armory 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 mar
shals 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 or elsewhere through
out the state. They visited the polls
as private citizens only, To Offset the
claim OF Intrusion by the inspectors for
the Brown party the Republicans claim
that II the claims OF the Democrats are
correct, and no positive denial is Of
fered by the Republicans, the fault lies
with the Democratic officials who ad-
mItted them.
It is admitted by both sides that the
Democrats have q stronger case In JEFF
terson county than anywhere else
throughout the state. II they win there
the other contests may be dropped, and
II they lose success in all the other con-
tests will not make Goebel governor OF
Kentucky.
Next to the Jefferson county contest
in Importance comes that in Knox
county, which returned q plurality for
Taylor of 1855 The contest there is
based upon the allegation that the Re.
rublicRns used tissue paper ballots, By
which the secrecy Of the ballot was de-
s,royed. The Republicans assert that
similar ballots were used by the Dem
ocrats In the counties OF Graves, Bal
lard and Bath. In which the aggregate
plurality for GoGbel was far In excess