Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1906-12-01
Com.ina the Ballots.

SVAutht5 tttO DGffotcs
The fact ..iistt no returns either Of
fieiaEor jilts .iicisti We're received from
Grant coti * for a week after the
election !i-sl i-een held shows that our
present ss~:s-Ii of holding elections
and of seitiinr i'll tile returns is pref
ty defective. T!,iS delay in the case
of Grant county reminds us of old
times dowu III Barber county. There
used to 0e y citizen there, Judge
Bird Lacy. row dead. The judge was
IAN Indiana Democrat but a man in
whose honesty and fair dealing every
body had the most implicit conf
dence. This was shown by the fact
that although Medicine Lodge was
the Republican stronghold of the
county Judge Lacy could be elected
to any township office he might as
pre- to aud lie was always agreed upon
as one OF the judges of election.
Everybody understood that no mat
ter what his politics any candidate
would get an absolutely fair count
from Judge Lacy, who by the way,
got his title as ledge from serving
first as police Judge and afterward as
Judge, however. was the living en-
bodiment of elaboration. There
was no hurrying him. when the
ballot boxes were opened and the
votes began to be recorded the Judge
would take up each ballot, examine
it carefully and deliberately, read
each name on the ballot and if there
happened to be any marks on the
ballot he would audibly speculate on
the reasons that actuated the voter
in scratching his ticket. "Now." the
Judge would say, there is Il Teller who
voted against the candidate for sher-
if. / wonder what IN the world he
had against that man. Maybe 1t was
some old grudge between 'em and he
Just concluded that he would take
this chance to play even. Now that
isn't quite the thing. Oughtn,t to
vote against candidate just to vent
a personal spite" When he had run
over a number of possible reasons and
finally concluded that you never can
tell what voter viii do when lie
comes to put in his ballot, he would
deliberately count over the names,
hand the bailos over to the other
judges and take up another ballot.
He would scan this as deliberately as
he had the other and find probably
shat this voter had put IN vote for
the sheriff all right but had taken "a
fall out of some other candidate on
ticket. 'sNow if this doesn't beat the
world he would say. This Teller
has different idea from that other
Teller. He seemed to think the cam
dldate for sheriff was all right but he
d0esen'b seem to like the candidate
for county clerk. / wonder what all
ed him? / would just like to know
for curiosity's sake who cast that ba,-
lot and what he had against the car
didate for clerk / always thought
that candidate for clerk was a right
nice sort of man and so far as
know he is competent to hold the of
fee I suppose that the Teller who
put in this ballot had some reason or
other-maybe he was just friend, of
the candidate on the other side Men
will do that You can't hold a man
right down to party lines all the. time
when he has a personal friend on the
other SIDE / am a pretty strong
Democrat but / will vote for Re-
publican once in whlle.n And SO it
went with ballot after ballot. The
night would wear on, the clerks