Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1902-10-10
LOUISIANA RETURNING
BOARD METHODS,
AND EVEN WORSE, ADOPTED IN OUR
LEGISLATURE LAST WEEK.

cility Combined Brought About-Now Hav-
ing Laughed at the Exhibition, 1t Is Time to
See the Serious Aspect Of. It-Mr. Davenport
Reviews and Analyses 1t and Points Out the
Remedy, Which Is Chiefly to Vote the DEM
ocratic Ticket
The utter collapse of Clementism
and the victory of the regular Repub-
licans, astonishing even themselves in
| its ease and extent, at the assembling
/ of the Legislature last week, has its
! humorous aspects, undoubtedly. But it
also has some very serious ones that
/ call for the candid and earnest atten-
tion of thoughtful voters.
| In the first place the high handed
course taken by the Republican ma
chine to insure its success, defying the
plain command of the constitution, in
volving all the wrong of Louisiana re-
turning board methods, and atfording
sufficient cover for unlimited rascality,
is not matter to laugh at If Gen.
Mccullough had not had 1000 votes he
might have been declared Governor by
means of the machinery provided and
refusal to permit stoppage or even in
spection at any point. All that would be
needed would be secretary of state
who would falsify returns. a hold over
Lieutenant Governor who would obey
the bosses orders as readily as Mart
Allen did with his cherubic grin, and
a Speaker partisan enough to do his
share in appointing the right" men
on the joint canvasSing committee. In
times of high political excitement and
close elections, such as We are liable to
in the future, it would not be very diff
ticult to realize all these conditions
with their divided responsibility
Then, no matter how glazing the fraud,
there would not be a particle of diff
ticulty in putting it through under the
rulings of last week One Of the basic
ideas of free government is that the 7
minority shall have the right to resist
sufficiently to expose wrong, and il was /
just that basic right that the Repub- .
lican machine strangled in lis fear
absurd though it proyed-that by some
possibility it might fall short of a ma
jority.
The procedure only needs to be stated
to make plain the infamy Of it. Eng
lish language cannot be palmer than
that of the Constitution Art 9
Amend, when it says the votes
shall be sorted and counted" by the
joint canvassing committee That Is
Just what the Joint committee, by
partisan vote refused to do. and in eff
feet kicked Clement and his counsel
out of doors when they appeared to ask
it. How long could civilized govern
ment endure if legislative committees
everywhere refused to hear argument
as to their duties: II would have been
entirely possible, and no more contrary
to decent usage than some of the meth
DDS adopted, for the Lieutenant Gov
ernor and Speaker to have appointed I
none but representatives. of the major.
lty on this canvassing committee what I
security then for honest work with the :
candidate and his counsel ex- /
GUIDED: But this was not all or the {
worst. Joint resolutions calling for I
such a count as the Constitution pro. (
tides were promptly tabled in both
houses, evidently by a preconcerted 5
plan to shut Oft debate. They called {
attention to the fact that errors were Y
50 patent in the returns of votes for 4
Governor in some towns {
hat the Secretary of State had had to r
END them back for correction and the /
esult was change of coo votes E,vi- y
iently such condition of affairs called :
or consideration to the end at least of 5
recting guards for the future; but y
10Th houses. voting under the order of $
he bosses bound not to risk the slight o
st chance for defeat. refused it. When a
he joint committee met instead of
sorting and counting" any votes it
imply took sheet of figures from the -.
secretary Of State. without the slight -
st knowledge or any means of obtain ~
NJ any, and adopted them as its re- ~ y,
ort. When Mr.. Clement and his coun >.
Ell appeared to make objections, and "
SIX for such counting as the Consti- ',
ution commands, the committee re "
Used to hear them and excluded them -
rom the room. Then it refused even -
} allow one of its own members, Mel VI
N of Rutland to read the section of
le Constitution prescribing its du- y,
es! When the committee reported to ~
ne Joint Assembly Ellis of Middle u
ury for the Clement side offered =
inoIity report-out of the usual time "a
, be sure; but that was not "A fatal de- VI
'ct, nor was the decision based on ~
lat commissioning that the commit "l
,e had had no votes before it to sort ~
i'd count and so had been unable to t ,'
erform its constitutional duty Lieut. ~ ~
ov. Allen refused TO receive the re- .e'
ort on the ground that there was no ~. .s
DIVISION for minority report. " In VI
lat preposterous ruling, that simply =.
axes nothing of committee work and -,
the job of making a perfect w w
rec of the legislatures duty to can s ~,
IS the election and provides a secure ue'
ay of making a farce of elections NV
emselves, it is only fair to suppose az,
at Allen bat parroted the orders of no
e bosses, without any comprehension az
mself of what it all meant, and that i iit
csc same bosses themselves would sih
.ver have taken such a responsibility -;
they had been in his place. a.i
But while the conduct of the Repub-
cans was outrageous, the imbecility TO
hibited by the Clement gang was, fre
table. They seemed to be utterly va
laware of their rights and their OPP tn;
rtunity by appeal from such ruling tn,
Aliens to expose the Republican al,
in all its nakedness. There mr.,
are plenty of brainy Democrats in FL,
It'll houses that saw the chance but nj,
It having been consulted by the
amenities, and supposing that the II
tier had intelligence enough among III,
EN- to have prepared some plan, did he
It interfere, and it is we'll that they oft
keep their seats while such an OBJ We;
ct lesson was being afforded the state at
usurpa'ioh Oh one sue anu inca pu
city on the other. | predict that ito
L