The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-12-02
THE RECOUNT BEGUN
NEW YORK BALLOT BOXES ARE
 OPENED.
Heated Argument Before Justice Amend Between Counsel for Hearst and McCleIlan-Questfcn
 ae to Procedure.

New York, Dec. 1.-The recount or
 ballots in five boxes used in New York's
 contested mayoralty election was or
 dered to be begun today by Justice
 Amend in the Supreme Court. Tne or
 der to open these five boxes was grant
 ed few days ago.
 Today Justice Amend, in ordering the recount to begin, modified his original
 order so as to limit the canvassing to the candidates for Mayor. Comptroller and President of the Board of Alder men, and also to eliminate from the count the bad and protested ballots. Before this modifying order was granted a motion to have the argument on the recount made in secret was made by Assistant Corporation Counsel , Butts who represented the Election Board. Mir. Butts, Alton B. Parker, counsel for Mayor Mcclellan. and MT. f4earst's lawyers conferred with Justice Amend on this motion and after the conference 1t was announced that the argument would be held in open court. Counsel for w. R. Hearst, Mayor George B. Mcclellan. and Assistant Cor poration Counsel Butts engaged in heated argument before the boxes were opened.
 Alton B. Parker for Mayor Mcclellan and MT. Butts contended that the court
 had no right to make a canvass of the votes or to reconsider the result but could compel the election inspec- tors to correctly state the result they
 reached on election night.
 You mean then" said A c. Fox. Mir
 Hearst's counsel that you do not want the true vote ascertained, and that if vote for Hearst has been counted for Mcclellan. you don't want it known?" q mean retorted MT. Butts, that want the true vote ascertained accord ing to law"
 And how may that be done" inquir- ed Mir. Fox
 By quo warranto proceedings" was the reply. And such proceedings can only be | undertaken after January l." comment ed MT. Fox. T see."
 MT. Parker claimed that the court had no right to throw out any ballot which had been counted by the election inspectors.
 Justice Amend ruled that be is stop ped from questioning the validity of the ballot and that they must be count ed as cast.
 The first ballot box was then opened | by inspectors in the court room and the recount was begun with the repre- sentatives of the newspapers occupying the seats intended for Iurymen. The opening of the four ballot boxes | and the recounting of the ballots was | finished tonight before Justice Amend. I The net result was gain of IT votes | in the four districts for Hearst. all of these being gained in three districts 1 One district was found correct as far as | the accredited votes for the three can | didates were concerned. The opening l of the fifth ballot box. that of the ! second election district of the Sixth l Assembly District, was put off by con I sent of the counsel for several days. | In this district a Jerome watcher
 has made affidavit that thirty-one pro- | tested ballots are in the box that were l counted for Mcclellan. Under Justice | Amsnd's amended order assigned today | these ballots cannot be passed upon by | a justice as to their validity so an ap- | peal will be taken next week to the | appellate division of the Supreme Court
 asking for a ruling as to the right of
 the Hearst counsel to protest these bal | lots on the recount.
 In the district that the count waas
 found correct, the Tenth Election Dis-
 trict of the Second Assembly District
 1t was claimed by the Heart attorneys that they found fifty-one void McClel- land ballots and several void Hearst
 ballots. Henry M. Yonge of counsel for Hearst, said tonight:
 The results thus far have shown that the inspectors miscounted the split ballots to the gain of Mcclellan and
 the loss of Hearst. We have reason
 to believe that the fraudulent count exists throughout the greater part of the city of New York. If 1t turns out in other districts as it has in these
 examined today, Hearst is elected on the recount"