Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1903-03-12

in morals; but the fact that he has been
deprived of his rights without the small
est reference to law and honorable OBJ
servance is fact with which men. with
out regard to party feeling or alignment
may well concern themselves The house
has been made to declare that he was
defeated at the polls. not as the result of
proof or of judicial and dispassiona<e in
quiry, but by force of partisan rulings by
the chair and in the absence of the quo
rum required for the legitimate disposal
of such questions That the Democratic
minority resent this action with bitter
ness Is quite ineligible. That they should
let their resentment take the shape of in
discriminate obstruction is at least hu-
man. A fragrant wrong has been COM
mitted, and the Republicans cannot rea-
sonably object to a harvest of their own
sowing and cultivation.
De Almonds Sarcasm.
Judge David A. De Almond of Mis-
souri, voiced the sentiments of the mi
nority in the following bitter words:
The contestee was returned by nearly
$500 majority. In order to seat the con-
testant the committee recommends the
throwing out of precincts which gave him
over 5000 votes and gave the contestant
something like 1000 votes. The reason
given, so far as there is any reason given
for this action, is that it Is not possible to
ascertain what in these forty-one pre-
cincts was the honest and what the dis
honest vote. If that be true, it is strange
that the committee has not recommended
being unable to ascertain how many hon
est votes were cast for one candidate or
the other-it is strange that the committee
has not recommended that there be de-
clared no election. Instead of that, mas
much as the majority of Butler in these
precincts Is greater than $500 majority
returned for him. 1t is found convenient
to throw them all out and figure up 700
majority for Wagner.
1 submit. upon the theory of their own
contention, that nothing can be done hon
estly in case where you cannot deter
mine what are the honest votes beyond
declaring that there is no election, but
what reason is there for concluding that
you cannot determine the honest votes in
this case? There is no offer to show that
fraudulent votes were cast or that dis
honest voters were denied an opportunity
to vote. Discrepancies are found in these
various precincts In the number of votes
alleged to have been cast and the number
of votes returned for this candidate or
that candidate sometimes considerable
discrepancies, sometimes very small dis
crepancies, and in some instances a few
votes. Then instead of assuming or In
QulSlIlS Ill Tile HulIlduS SQApOSItlOtl lLdt
errors may have occurred through the
lack of skill or inadvertence or lack of
care of the clerks in any one of the thou
sand ways that might have occurred and
frequently do occur honestly the whole
precinct is disfranchised. Hundreds of
men. of whose honesty there is no ques-
ton. are disfranehsed, and the seat is
given to a man who comes here over 5000
votes short of his competitor.
This is a very Sirnnie proceeding If gen.
tlemen have any regard for the honesty
and deceney in the matter. OF course If
the only object is to take the seat and
throw the incumbent out because 1t is
supposed there are votes enough to throw
him out the proceeding is very well un-
derstood. but why should the committee,
II that be the case. go through the trav-
esty of an argument or talk about legal
principles or talk about the sacredness of
the ballot, about the committee trying to
ascertain who Is elected when every man
who knows a very little about the case
must know to a certainty that Wagner is
not elected? Wagner came on the Re-
publican ballot. and 1 defy any gentleman
to contradict it. when he had no right up
on 1t at all He had no right anywhere in
that election except upon a ticket by
himself, with not another candidate on
the ballot but he is put on the Repub-
lican ballot.
Mr. Olmsted-Will the gentleman yield?
Mr. De Armond-No; of course cannot
yield unless the gentleman gives me time.
The impertinence and assumption and as
surance and gall. the want of sense OF
justice in man trying to run roughshod
over gentlemen on this side and yet by
frivolous and childish questions taking the
time of man who has only nine minutes
Is utterly beyond the comprehension of
the gentleman from Pennsylvania, of
course Many things much palmer are
much beyond his intellect.
Now, here Is man who was not nom
mated, here is man whose party did not
put him forward. here is man who had
no place rightfully upon his party's tick
ct, and yet in spirit of fairness and JUS
tice in generosity that comes from being
decorous, he is put upon the Republican
ballot, where he gets the benefit of the
votes of the Republican party which cast
him out and repudiated him when they
came to the matter of nomination.
And now we have here the farce, the
shameful spectacle. of an attempt to put
that man into the house. to draw $4,000
salary, to draw two mileages. to draw
two allowances for stationery In all the
proceedings-not only in the United States
congress, but the wide world over-in the
history of election contests no other case
SO base, so low. so mean, showing such
utter want of decency and all pretense of
right, so thoroughly colorless of anything
except iniquity and wrong. can be found;
nothing in baseness and hypocrisy, moth
ing in meanness and deceit nothing in
bitter partisanship and cant, to match or
to be compared TO this case.
Take the seat If you choose to take 1t;
steal it If you choose to steal it; rob the
man who was elected IL you choose to rob
him. Throw upon the people of that dis
trict who twice have returned Mr.. Butler
to congress the representation of man
whom they have repudiated. Bring this
man in here; associate with him upon
terms of equality for the remaining days
of this session. Welcome him to your
bosoms as man not at all entitled to the
seat, but a man fully entitled to political
fellowship with those who would steal it
for him, the recipient of stolen goods
placed upon precise par with those who
stole the goods.
The gentleman on the other side sug-
gests that time has been frfttered away
Aye the time has been well employed
which has been used to delay the hour OF
the preparation. the completion, of this
iniQuity and let gentlemen understand
that until the 4th day of March, until the
speaker from the chair declares this house
adjourned sine die. there will be done on
this side whatever can be done decently
under the rules of the house, in accord
ance with appropriate legislative pro-
cedure to carry to the country the fact
to stamp upon the record, to show to fu-
ture generations that we are not going tc
tolerate or condone this kind of larceny.
Take the seat and pay for it, Take the
seat and be accountable for the wrong
that gives 1t to you! Gather all that you
can by what you get out of Wagner
gather all that you can by what you gel
out of this act, but pay the penalty, an
swer the responsibility If legislation
fails. If time which you think ought not
to be consumed is consumed in roll calls
recollect when you vote to steal Mr. But
ler's seat that you are voting to kill the
measures that will be killed In cofise.
quence of that act
There is not man upon the committee
who has read all the evidence in this case
The gentleman from Pennsylvania has
read "all that was material" All that
was material All that he deemed es-
sential to take the seat from Butler and
give it to Wagoner! Everything outside
of that Is ''immaterial." But whatever
evidence may show that Butler is entitled
to the seat, whatever evidence might CON
vince any one who is willing to be con
WINGED that Wagner is not entitled to il
that would be "immateriaf f'-immateria
to the purposes of the inQuirz presu--~,e