The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-09-13
Use The Mastlc

know how 1t will be- They are bad eggs"
 He quoted from the general election law which provided that no candidate should assist an elector in the prep aration of his haiiot. He asked if the action of Judge Leslie was not assist inr the electors in making out their ballots and if 1t was not therefore Q violation of the law.
 Now, the question before you. gen. tlemen." said Judge Richardson. "is will you set . precedent for honesty. Q precedent that will endure for all time"
 Mir. smlth's Argument.
 John V. Smith read at length the statutes in reference to contests and which defined where contests might lie. There was no possible ground for complaint unless 1t was in the allega- tion that illegal ballots had been cast. The complaint failed to show that MT. Crawford had been deprived of any legal rights. It was not provided in the election law that the managers should mark the ballots. It was not provided that candidates should not issue marked ballots for the guidance of the voters. The contest failed to show that any voter had been de- prived of an opportunity to register his will.''
 Under the contention of the contest ants attorney" said Mir. Smith, If any voter should have by chance marked his bailot with an indelible pencil, 1t should have been thrown out. rather fancy that my eloquent young friend felt that he was addressing a mass meeting in Fillmore County. Judge Les lie received a majority of 297 votes over Mir. Crawford, and 1t has not been shown that one of those votes was ille- gal.
 Former Governor W. c. Oates said that the authority to prepare and dis tribute the ballots for use in the pri- mary was conferred upon the County Committee by the StateExec utive Com been done by Judge Leslie in printing and distributing ballots similar to the official ballots.
 But" he said. "he had no authority to mark them. Who gave him any au- thority to mark them. The supreme effort of the Democratic party has been to eradicate fraud in elections. All the Legislature has done and all the committee has done has been done with a view of eradicating fraud in elections The ballots sent out by the committed were official ballots. and no other bal lots were official. The ballots sent ouI may have been legal ballots. but they were not Democratic ballots. No act by | which one man in an official position takes an unfair advantage of another man is Democratic action. An Unfair Action. The law, Governor Oates argued, ex' pressly foEbid any candidate from as sisting an elector in preparing his bal lot How is a ballot prepared? The cnly preparation Is the marking of Il | with a cross.
 Now. gentlemen" said General oates twas 1t not unfair. was 1t not done to influence voters, to assist them in pre- pairing their ballots. when Judge LeSlie sent out these marked ballots? If this committee sustains this action of Judge Leslie. 1t will be bad precedent, @ bad precedent"
 John c. Eyster of Morgan then offer ed the following resolution:
 That the demurrer of George Leslie filed against the contest of A. c. Craw- ford. be sustained and, the contest be dismissed"
 Tipton Mullins wanted to know If the contest had been filed before the State Committee as fully as 1t had been fl Id before the County Committee of Hous- ton County.
 MT. Crawford's attorneys replied that an answer to the demurrer had been filed before the committee, but that it had been dismissed without a hearing.
 Judge Moore asked if MT. Crawford had sent out tickets marked as Judg 6 Leslie had done. MT. Crawford's at- torneys replied that he had not, ai- though assertions had been made to the contrary.
 The resolution of Mir. Eyster was adopted without a dissenting vote ,and Judge Leslie had won his case.
 Chairman Mallory said that he de- sired to call the committees attention to . regulation which the committee should adopt for the future. He said that no ballots should be sent out by a candidate. During the State primary he had been asked by a candidate for c State office for permission to send out marked ballots. but he had refused It. There should have been a regulation forbidding this thing in the past, aLd 1t ought to oe adopted for the future.
 The Committee then took another breathing spell of five minutes. A Double Barrelled Contest.
 The contest from Perry County wal Q double barreled affair. The two of- flces at stake were Tax Assessor and Circuit Clerk.
 The nominations of E., p Howell for Assessor and W. E. Harris were con tested by A. 1T. Givhan and R. H. Evins. The contestants pooled theil issue and made their fight together Tho nomineeAsnd the contestees stood together in 8etual defence. The complaint and information of the contestants. Messrs. Givhan and Evins was read by E. A. de Graffenreid.. .theil Vs AL Nc election had been held in Radsfordville beat because the ballots had mot beer numbered. the inspectors did not re. main in continuous session. but ad. journed until the next morning, and tho