The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1904-12-13
BALLOT NOT UNDERSTOOD
Voters Made Cross Opposite First
Name on List Of Eiectors-In
tended to Vote for All.

more careful in marking their ballots
that state would have been counted
with Missouri in the Roosevelt col.
! umn. The official canvass of the re
turns shows that one of the eight
electors is a republican and the rest
democratic.
The republican elector won by a
few hundred ballots, which were cred
tied to him because on each a cross
was marked opposite his name. Now,
it happens that his name was at the
head Of the list of electors, and the
evident idea of the voter was not to
vote for Mr.. B%onaparte in preference
to his seven fellow electors, but to
vote for the list of republican cleo
tors. But ignorance of the proper way
TO mark the ballot led the voters to
SshelieYe that this cross opposite Mr..
Bonaparte's name was like a cross at
the head of the republican column.
AS a matter of fact, they simply lost
their votes for the other seven elec-
tors.
Had these voters known how to
mark a scratched ticket, the result
would have returned a solid republi-
can delegation of electors from Mary.
land. For purposes of political calcu.
lataion, Maryland must be classed as
"a close Roosevelt state.
Cortelyou to Resign.
Within a few weeks Chairman Cor
Stelyou will resign from his position as
head of the republican national com.
mittee. But before his resignation he
will name a vice chairman of the com
/ mittee who will succeed to the duties
of the Craftsmanship and will practical
lily become chairman of the committee.
Harry S. New of Indiana is most likely
to be chosen as vice chairman. Incl
dentally, this may become a matter OF
Importance to the Fairbanks presiden-
tial aspirations Of 1908.
Mr.. Cortelyou does not care to take
the duties Of the national chairman
ship into the cabinet with him. He
will enter the cabinet soon as post
master general. The Chicago canven-
ton gave authority to the national
chairman to fill any cavancy in the
committee organization, and Mr.. Cor
telyou can name Mr.. New, or some
other man, without consulting the rest
of the committee.
The work of the chairman during
the next few years will not be heavy.
! All the roNtine will be looked after by
/ Secretary Dover, who has opened per.
manent headquarters in Washington.
The duties of the chairman will not
become important until the time for
arranging the preliminaries of the
next republican national convention.
Payne's Place Rremains Vacant.
4 The vacancy in the republican ma
tional committee caused by the death
of Henry C. Payne of Wisconsin will
not be filed at present, and may not
be filed for three years. This is the
determination of Chairman Cortelyou
There are a number of mor or less
active candidates for the position, but
| Mr.. Cortelyou takes the ground tina,
there are no rights lost by the delay.
and nc duties being neglected and
that time may show a way of filling
the vacancy with less ottense to gooo
men in the party who are nov arrayed
against one another in factional feud
corteIyou Takes a Rest.
Last Thursday Mr.. Cortelyou wounc
up his business in Washington anC
went for a vacation-the first real res
for Is years. tle set aside a week tol
this purpose and went first to Vir
ginia with Surgeon General Rixey. He
was told that he would be initiated
into the mysteries of squirrel shooting
and that he might catch a ribbit.
After his hunting experiences Mr.
/ Cortelyou will visit the school il
Pennsylvania where he has a son..
Postmasters in the South.
Considerable interest will attach t.
the policy to be pursued by Presiden1
Roosevelt in the matter OF appointing
| southern postmasters. He will not be
confronted with this problem until al
ter March 4, but soon after that data
the terms will begin to expire, and
several thousand postmasters viii
have to be reappointed or replaced.
It has always been the custim fol
these Offices to be filed on recommen
dalton OF the chairman OF the repub
lican national committee. This prac
tice has placed at the disposal OF this