Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1903-02-05
SENATE.

SENATE.
After calling the Senate to order, i
President Allen in the chair. the u.s.
ual preliminaries being carried out.
the Senate resolved itself into a
Committee of the Whole. to further
consider the election contest of
Ernst VS.. Williams.
Judge Massey opened the argu-
ment. He dwealt on the points that
his deposition intended to show that
illegal registration had been indul-
ged in, and the importation of votes
to swell the majority fcS Senator
vas confined to facts in the case.
as he had the closing argument, he
did not elaborate.
At the conclusion, Mr.. Cooke, at
torney for Mr.. Williams, opened with
the reading of dispositions. The de-
positions were in effect to show that
the registration was legal, and that
the questioned voters were not i'm
ported, but came to Churchill coun-
~ VI IACll o"A Will oIu AACOHC. hdC
the registration had been carried on
as usual in the county, where nearly
every voter is personally known to
the registrar. The reading of the de-
positions took the best part of the
morning session and in the litter
lCon, he opened his argument
Mr Cooke inlv a loci
cal plea and made a very clear ar
5ument to defend his side of the con-
test He brought his argument to
such a phase. that for time there
seemed likely to be some exceeding
" hot times INDUCED in, as Mr.. Ernst
look personal objections to the re-
| marks In citing the law regarding
! irregular ballots. he quoted the two
| conflicting decisions of the Supreme
Court: namely. the Sweeney-Hjul
and Sadler-McMillan case He brought
out another fine point Of law; that
regarding the casting of votes for a
| dead man on ballot. w. c. Fer-
gerson, the Republican candidate for
the Assembly, died three days prior
| to the election, and the contestant,
Ernst, claims that votes cast for the
deceased candidate by parties know
ing Of the death, were cast with the
intent of designating them. Mr.. Cooke
claimed that no law had ever been
framed to cover such a case, and the
fine point of the law received quaint
and apparently just handling. The
facts seem to be that the votes cast
for the deceased Assemblyman is the
contested point in major. The re
partee between Mr.. Cooke and Mr.
Massey caused many laugh and
kept the rather uninteresting matter
from wearing out the audience. Al
the conclusion of his argument, Mr.
Cooke stated that he believed thai
the opposition had no case and sub
mitted the case to the committee.
Evening Session.
Judge Massey occupied the atten
ton of the Senate and the crowded
} chamber during the evening session
/ The Judge reviewed the case in full
He took the evidence offered by tn
; Williams attorneys and pulled it t.
. pieces as only lawyer of his wild
experience can. The condition of tn
registration received severe maui
, ing, especially that Of the precinct
: of White Rock and Fallon. He chare
). ed Dave Haley, an emplOye of MI
Williams, with voting twice on tn
= day of election, and further state
. that thirty-three per cent Of the vote
of White Rock should be thrown Out
as they showed fraud and wilful viola
, ton of the election law.
l. The Judge took the occasion to e.
= plain his action in the reversal {
o the Sweeney-Hjul case to tina
in favor of the Sadler- Mcmillan col
: test and cited the difference in tn
1.-TWO. Had the Sweeney-Hjul cas-
= been sustained. the entire vote {
!. Reno would have been thrown on
= thus DISTINGUISHING eleven hundre'
!. voters in that district: also the et
uity Of the case. rs Is
. He also went into the details Z
the registration Of the alleged d
. lega. v~4ers, and dug mp the histof
:. and family tree OF the Williams fau
/ lily. IN Churchill county, tending
4 now .hats Mr.. Williams, through b
s. family relatives. had it I'm slis pow,
e to contro; registration to I certa
extent. s.sa.. tf -,
:, shIn the matter of the deceased ca
,e didate, Furgerson, the Judge ma,
l. very logical talk He recited II
facts that in Failon Mr.. Williams I
IS ceived twenty-five votes with u
70 name Of the deceased on the ballot
r while Mr.. Ernst received but thru
As the fact was known that the q