Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-01-26
INTELLIGENCER's ATTACKS

INTELLIGENCER'S ATTACKS
Upon the County Court of Monroe
County, Ably Resented by Hon. A.
s. johnston.
Below is a copy of a communication
mailed to the Intelligencer. January
20:
UNION. w. Va. January 20, 1900.
10 the Editor OF the Intelligencer,
Wheeling, ". Va:
Dear Sir:-After some delay | have
come into possession of a copy of the
Intelligencer OF January IL. / am
grateful for your publication of my
letter in regard to your charges OF
"atrocious corruption in the Monroe
county legislative matter, although
perplexed by your hardness, l should
have considered, perhaps, the necessity
you were. under of awaiting instruc-
tions before you undertook to reply.
/ note with interest your refusal to
withdraw the charge of "atrocious cor
ruption." So be it. | was wrong no
doubt to have expected from you that
much of a concession to the truth. l
wish to be courteous and will try to
believe that were you free from your
obligations to conduct the organ of
the Republican machine, you would
have readily admitted what respect
able Republicans acquainted with the
facts have already assented to, lame
~, that there was no evidence of cor
ruption whatever. l have at least dis
closed from our voluminous reply
that it, is still the purpose of those
whom you represent to asperse the
good name of my county and to foully
SANDER the honorable gentlemen who
comprise it's County Court.
/ ask you for proof. You give me
nor Your introduce no witnesses
But you reiterate the unsupported
charges which you seek, at great
length, to make credible by mere as
sertions, the most of which are plain
~ untrue.
Your loudest yociferation is that
the County Court changed the rule"
hand you aver that "the Court recount
ed a part az the disputed ballots one
advantageous to the
emocd candidate, and another
ray when the system would work
gainst the Republican candidate
That is untrue. They did no such
thing. There is not a more honest
County Court in West Virginia than
that Of Monroe county. It's members
are all upright Christian gentlemen of
-unimpeachable integrity. No men
would have been more s%crupulous TO
count the exceedingly close vote of
this county with strict impartiality,
in exact conformity of the law and in
ahndfnpaa IN fhnir nafhu Pnnno4nd1u
they over-ruled the contentious of the
Democratic attorneys and decided
point after point in favor of the Re-
publican candidate.
There was a Court which changed
the rule in the count of these ballots,
but it happens that it was the Circuit
Court, not the County Court. You are
simply mistaken in the Court. Your
/. statement that the judge of the Cir
euit Court counted the ballots "by n
fxed rule is untrue. On the recount
" His Honor, Judge McWhorter, be-
tbre whom the case was brought by
the Republican counsel, when the last
district was reached. he distinctly
changed the rule which he had follow
ed up to that time and counted for the
Republican candidate a number of bal
Nlots upon which the voter had attempt
ed to DO his voting on two tickets in
stead of one And this was the meth
cd whereby the Circuit Court was en-
ahied to figure out a bare plurality OF
four for the Republican candidate.
But while this is SO. no Democrat
has charged Judge McWhorter with
corruption. We think he erred in
Judgment, but we have not impugned
his integrity nor averred that he was
improperly Influenced. But you and
those whom you represent have not
ceased to hound with the infamous
charge of "atrocious corruption the
members of the County Court, whose
rectitude is certainly equal to that of
Judge McWhorter and whose charact-
ers are every whit as deserving of re-
epect and protection. And in so doing
you injure the good name OF this
county, which they represent and
which is sponsor for them.
You seek, by cunningly devised ia
bles, to convince the public that the
Democratic County Court is compos-
ed of partisan scoundrels and robbers,
while the Judge of the Circuit Court
is an angel of purity. but there be
those whom you find it difficult to de-
ceive.
In regard to the returns of the cleo
ton commissioners, Whose honesty Of
purpose is not assailed) If they were
correct why did the Republican Judge
of the Circuit Court throw out a
number Of ballots as illegal or Illegal
1y marked, which he did? The re-
count Of the County Court showed five
plurality for the Democrat and the re-
count of the Circuit Court showed four
plurality for the Republican. A bare
statement of the facts and the close
ness of the vote and the count show
the improbability of corruption.
AS to the proceedings in the SUI
prerne Court, the Republican attorneys
deliberately avoided the mandamus
proceeding whereby the case could
have been brought up directly from
the County Court and a final decision
reached within five days in the Court
Of last resort. They instead insisted
upon bringing it into the Circuit
Court. presided over by one Of their
own party, on a writ of %certiorari.
When at last the case was brought in
to the SupSeme Court on a writ of
error an eupersedeas they made
great pre- of wanting it tried and
came ella g for the help of the
Democrat 5idate to assist them
lont Of Il INTO Hs ch they had