Los Angeles herald., 1906-12-06
Democratic Nominee
Will Demand
Recount
Does Not Expect to Profit
Personally, but Show
Van Degrift Won
Non-Partisans viii Thoroughly In
vestigate Charges Z Unfairness
in Reported Election Of
Clampitt

VI lIG llOSI lidSldilI uSSCIlp-
ton is said to have occurred in Tues
days election in the Second ward.
Charges are made with great posi-
tiveness that the ward was stolen by
friends of E. A. Clampitt, the Republic
can nominee.
A. S. Van Degrift, it is said, had a
pluralityof five votes, even after much
fraud was practiced in several pre-
cincts, but that the returns were SO
juggled when IL became known that
Van Degrift was elected that the final
figures give Clampitt the election by a
small plurality.
George Keym, the Democratic nom
inee, declared yesterday that he was
positive that the rankest kind of fraud
had been practiced in the interest of
Clampitt. Mr.. Keym said he realized
that he was not robbed of the election,
but that in the interest of decency
and good city government he was de-
termined to demand a searching inves-
tigation of the balloting and counting
in the Second ward, with the expecta-
tion that the result would show the
eltCllOll VI "A. .. ali DS6lllI, lLO
partisan nominee.
Praises Van Degrift
Mr.. Keym paid a h sh tribute to the
character of his nom jartisan opponent
ana declared he wal entitled to a seat
Z, In the council.
In speaking of the affair yesterday
\ MIR Keyii said; Sery ss,f
Il am positive that Mr.. Van Degrift
was counted out, and L shall demand a
searching investigation. Mr. Van De-
grift is a gentleman in every sense of
the word. have no complaint to make
because L was defeated, but l like a
square deal for everyone. When 1 am
defeated in a fair fight 1 congratulate
my opponent upon his success; but 1
do not want anyone to practice fraud
upon me and 1 don't like to see it prac-
ticed upon anyone else.
while 1 realize that the result of
the election cannot change my defeat
into a victory, although an honest
count may place me second still want
to see the man whom / am sure was
elected secure the office"
e. A. Weiss, who was Mr.. Keym S
campaign manager, voiced his candi-
dates sentiments, and went into details
showing their suspicion of fraud. He
said that at 10 o'clock his precinct man
at one of the precincts telephoned him
that Keym had carried the precinct by
eighteen votes, yet the return gave
Clampitt a plurality of more than
eighteen.
Other Suspicious Incidents
In precinct is there were 235 votes
cast, yet there were only 228 counted
for the office of mayor and 224
for the councilmen. In precinct IL
there were cast 1893 votes, but the total
for mayor is only 367 and that for
Councilmen S56. In precinct 15 the to-
tai vote was 179, but only 164 were cast
for mayor and 100 for councilmen.
There are similar discrepancies in 9TH
er precincts.
The twelfth precinct did not report
the total vote, but for mayor the total
was 164. while for councilmen the total
was 100.
Mr.. Keym said that he entered the
polling place in precinct IL and found
the ballots scattered all about the
room. He said he demonstrated with
the election officials over what he de-
clared was fragrant disregard of the
election laws. whereupon he said the
election officers threatened him with
arrest on the charge of interfering with
the election. Mr. Keym said that he
found similar conditions at another
polling place, and when he told the
election officers that their action was
a violation of the election laws they
said, with oaths, that they cared
nothing for the law. However, he said
he compelled the officials to return the
ballots to the box.
Mr.. Keym said that he was given the
name of a Clampitt push man who be-
came enraged when he found that the
precinct had gone against Clampitt
and tore down the ballot posted on the
outside of the polling place The at
tention of the district attorney, it is
said, viii be called to the case.
Will Demand Official Count
M. Lissner. secretary of the non-par-
tisan committee, said last night that
the committee had hear' frequent ru-
mors of fraud in the Second ward and
that as result the committee would
demand an official count I'm that ward
in the interest of Mr. Van Degrift
The charges of fraud also will be in
vestigated and If SUFFICIENT evidence
can be procured the perpetrators will be
prosecuted. Mr.. Lissner said that the
committee now was investigating re-
ports of fraud I'm other wards.
but he said that the inquiry had not
progressed far enough to justify maxi
ing the affair public.
AS to report that the non-partisan
committee would ask for a recount I'm
the Sixth ward in The interest of j. V.
Akey, who was defeated by a close
margin by IL, H. Younkin the Repub-
lican candidate, Mr.. Lissner said
Llssner Praises Younkln
The committee has discussed the
question. but Il has notNreached a de-
'cislon. 1t is possible that merely the
official canvass of the vote will be suf-
ficient to settle the contest In the Sixth
dcontinued ON Page iwo.)