The Elbert County tribune., 1905-02-09

III 1tuftI anu 10 prevent the Consui1
nation Of the theft of the recent cleo
ton by the ballot crooks is still vigor.
ousiy pushed by one side and yigor-
ously opposed by the other.
The Democratic press has carefully
avoided testimony damaging to the
Adams side, and emphasized and mag
nified to the fullest extent the evil
dence showing errors on the part of
the experts. The truth has not been
good enough and therefore it has been
stretched and distorted and shaped up
to please those who are opposed to Mr..
Peabody, and 1t must also be con-
fessed the leading Democratic papers
have done their utmost to fire the
minds OF the lawless element and to
bring on disorder If not violence. They
have not openly urged 1t but they have
Indirectly done so, but the good sense
OF the people will prevail and whoever
is seated the verdict will be accepted
in good faith, except By the radical
and fire-eating element which 1t is of
course impossible TO please at any
time.
The Republican experts classified
certain ballots as written by one or
two persona and others as doubtful.
The Democratic attorneys took some
of the names and sent canvassers to
various precincts and where they could
find person whose ballot had been
enormously included in the lot CLASH
fled as written by one or two persons,
they would put him on the stand. In
doing SO they have so far found some
thing like forty mistakes of this kind.
This can doubtless be increased to 200
or 300 by the time the contest closes.
This was of course to be expected.
The Democrats have, however. under
taken to stir up public sentiment In
their favor by claiming that these were
not errors but a plain conspiracy on
the part of the Peabody experts to in
jure Mr.. Adams chances.
They also are trying their best to
make every voter whose name is in
the list of ballots written by one or
two hands. believe the; the placing of
their ballots in this list was direct
and personal insult. that it charges
each with a desire to defraud. This
is of course absurd, but everything
seems to be regarded as fair in an
election contest by these attorneys.
The experts did not charge that these
people were guilty of any wrong. They
reported what they found. The bogus
ballot writer of the Big Mitt used the
names of both real and imaginary peo-
pie. mostly real.
This was proven in the eighth pre-
cinct of the Seventh ward, the Demo
cratic officials OF which have lately
been sent to jail. In this precinct the
lights were blown out and all the Re
publican ballots but twenty-one taken
out and prepared Democratic ballots
put In their place. Sixty-two out of
perhaps $50 Republican voters swore
in court that they voted the Republi-
can ticket at this precinct. This with
the positive evidence of witnesses who
saw the exchange made convicted the
guilty Democratic official who was sent
to Jail.
Another instance was disclosed by
the Supreme Court, where Demo
cratic Judge was caught taking ballots
from his pocket and adding to the pile.
The ballots were found when the box
was opened.
These two instances prove conclus-
lively that a system of prepared bal
lots was used. This has been sup
ported by the testimony of the hand
writing experts. 1t was done In some
way or another in nearly every pre-
cinct in town. and the fact that some
experts made mistakes occasionally
will not destroy or set aside this es-
tablished fact.
A large proportion of the witnesses
have failed to identify their ballots.
The Adams witnesses have proven that
there were large numbers of ballots
written by Democratic judges. Most
of them under the pretense of being
for illiterate voters, but the books in
such instances invariably fail toashow
that illiterates were assisted. In one
instance an alleged Republican
watcher was placed upon the stand
and testified that she had canyassed
the precinct and found all the voters
were there as per the poll book. She
was positive there was no fraudulent
ballots in the box. Upon cross examina-
ton she admitted that she was a
Democrat and had hired out to the
Republicans as Republican watcher,
and thus added another link to the