Evening journal., 1904-10-03
CANDIDATES
WILL CONTEST
Claims That No Quorum Was
Present at County Com
mittee Meeting
Law ON subject QUOTED

of the county committee who were
present at the meeting on Saturday
declare that all business transacted
was in accordance with the law gov
erning the actions OF said committee
and also that according to a rule Of the
committee a quorum was present when
such business was transacted, friends
of several of the defeated candidates
are determined to sift the matter to
the bottom.
1t is claimed by them that when the
motion to accept the vote as tabulated
by the official tabulators, thereby shut
ting off any possible chance Of con-
test, that there was not q quorum pres
ent and that as a consequence the ac-
tion was null and void. At a meeting
of the committee on Wednesday next
this subject will be brought up and
sifted to the bottom.
With this end in view an especial
effort will be made to have as large a
number of the committee present as
possible and an appeal viii be made
probably to every member urgently re-
questing his presence. In speaking of
the actions of the committee at the
meeting attention is called by those
twhO are opposed to the policy pursued
to the fact that there was no roll call.
and as a result there is no official rec
ord Of those who were present at the
gathering. In speaking on the sub
ject this morning Joseph c. Jolls. sec
lretary of the committee, quoted the law
as appears in the statutes:
The law relative to and governing the
actions Of the county committee in
cases Of primary elections is found in
Vol. Xxx. Chap S93. Sect SS. pp 39S,
Laws Of Delaware and is entitled an
act 10 provide for the purity Of cleo
tions in New Castle county. Section
IS reads in part as follows. omissions
being made only in words or phrases
not bearing directly on the point in
question:
''The regularly organized and con-
stituted county committee or govern
ling authority of the political party
holding any primary election is
hereby empowered to calculate the ag.
gregate number of all the votes that
shall have been cast I'm all the hun.
dreds of the county or any subdivision
thereof for any person voted for 10
; and to declare the candidate. or candi
dates i'm cases where more than on
Office is to be nominated. receiving tn
highest number of votes the ndmine'
or nominees for such political part,
for the Office for which he wai
voted for at such primary election. IT
, all cases of a tie vote or of contests
the regularly organized county com
mittee or governing authority of tho
political party holding al
such primary election shall have tn,
power to hear and determine such con-
tests and to decide who shall be en-
; titled to the nomination"
The remainder of the section applies
2 TO the qualification and duties of tn,
J committee prior to hearing contests il
disputed districts.
Quorum Was Present.
The question of A. quorum at thu
! meeting on Saturday When much bust.
! moss was transacted bearing on thl
primary election Mr.. Jolls stated thii
morning that a quorum was undoubt
edly present at the opening of thl
/ meeting and continued to be presen
, until just prior to its adjournmen
hHoIAig dlleI the noOn nouIs IHt tuuu
! ty committee. according to its rules
when sitting to canvass election re
, turns relative to primary elections mus
consist of one member of the commit
tee from Wilmington and one membe
! from a majority Of the outside dis
= tricts. Although there may be presen
several members from one district
after a quorum has been found to b
present all members in attendance ar
empowered to a voice in any bushes
: that comes before the committee.
When the motion was put to ac
b cept the vote as tabulated a call o
the members showed thirty eight a
voting 1t is said that many. believing
the matter Of contests closed and tina
: there was no need of their further at
s tendance in the room. In consequence
= of this action it is claimed that whe
e the motion was made to read Off tn
candidates and their tabulated vot
Charles H. Megginson OF New Castl
hundred discovered that no quorum O
the committee was present and as
result there was no vote taken.