The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-03-01

8. That each County Board shall an
aoya. sas,so POWDER CO., new yoak.

3. That each County Board shall an
nually appoint for each election pre-
cinct in the county two Judges, one
Clerk and one Sheriff; one Judge q re-
publican and the other a democrat, the
Clerk and Sheriff. to be democrat and q
republican. lin addition, each Of the
two principal political parties is allowed
an Inspector, selected by the party
authorities to witness the count.
4. That when the election Of a
Governor or Lieutenant Governor is con-
tested the contest shall be considered by
board of three Senators and eight
Representatives, selected by lot, and
that the report Of this board must be
presented to the General Assembly for
final action. (Under the old law the
report Of the contest board was tinal.)
s.. That the State Board of Elections
sitting as Board of Contest, ,suall finally
determine all contests for state Offices
other than those of Governor and Lieu.
tenant Governor.
The final clause Of the Goetjel law is as
follows:
Because of the frauds that are now
perpetuated in elections ia this common
wealth there is an emergency that this
act take immediate effect, and this act
shall take effect upon its approval by
the Governor on its passage"
The bill passed the Senate and the
House on March IL, 1898. over the veto
of Governor Bradley.
The following are extracts from the
May6eld speech Of the dead leader, de.
liyered on August l2, the opening Of his
campaign:
'This statute was rendered necessary
by the frauds ~ which the vote Of Ken.
lucky was in 1895 taken from Bryan and
given to Mckinley. By what means
were frauds in the election Of 1896 COM
mitted? By the deliberate and system.
attic violation of the most important
provision Of the secret ballot election
law, designed to prevent frauds, namely,
that provision which directed that at
each voting precinct there shall be a
idivision of the election officers among
| the political parties contesting in the
election. There never was secret bal.
lot election Law enacted anywhere that
did not contain that safeguard against
fraud. Why is that provision 80 i'm
portant? Because by other provisions
Of the Law il is directed that immediate.
ly upon the closing Of the polls the bal
lots shall be counted, and Immediately
upon the conclusion of the counting the
ballots shall be destroyed, and then the
voter is prohibited from testifying in
any proceeding, civil or criminal. how
he voted. 1t is obvious that under such
asystem, if election officers act corrupt
ly they can with impunity make the
result of an election what they choose
without reference.to how the votes are
cast. The ballots being destroyed, and
the voter prohibited from testifying
how he voted it, it is impossible to
prove the fraud. When the officers are
divided among the political parties, the
represe enta.ives Of each party can see to
5|it-and if they are honest they will see
to it-that no false count in the ballots
is made. and they will refuse to join in
certif. ing any other than the honest
result
| FRAUDS OF '96.
From the time that the bill for the
election law WAS offered in the Senate,
every time have publicly said anything
about the law have stated this fact.
In the election Of 1896 the election
officers Of the city of Louisville were so
appointed that at over 40 precincts
there was not single election officer for
Bryan. This statement has never been
questioned by any one. Under these
circumstances a majority of 1900 was
turned out in Jefferson county for Nc
Kinley. 1t would have been quite as
easy to have made this majority %, 600,
and there can be no doubt that if the
Democratic majority in the First and
Second Congressional Districts had not
been underestimated by the Republican
party leaders and their allies in that
contest the Mckinley majority in Louis
\ vile and Jefferson county would have
been much larger thanit was.
tThere is nothing better known than
4 the fact that in 1895 no definite knowl
edge could be had as to what was the
Republican majority in the Eleventh
Congressional District for = week aftel
the election. The report as to what
that majority was were changed every
day, and the Republican party grew
with every change. 1t is reasonably
certain that If the returns of the elec.
tion in 1896 from the other parts Of the
state had not yet reached Frankfort the
i returns from the Eleventh COMPRESSION,
al District would still be held back.
..In only one way could indefinite repe.
/ tition of these frauds be prevented.
\ That way was by changing the appoint
ing power SO as to render it certain thai
at every voting precinct in the common,
wealth the Democratic party would 3bt
4 - ~. j