The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-03-28
Letters to The Editor
Chairman Arrinston's statement.

Chairman Arrington's Statement, Editor The Advertiser;
 The following card appeared in your issue of this morning.
 Editor The Advertiser:
 'As an eIeetor, attended the meeting of the County Executive Committee recently held. for the purpose of de- claring the result of the primary, as an marks of MT. Fuller and of MT. Mastin, and heard the law as pronounced by the Chairman. Mr. A. H. Arlington, and agreed with him that the votes were not to be compared with the tally sheets to see how a man voted; nor did l imagine for a moment that Captain Mastin or his lawyer asked anything of the kind. If I am not misinformed, Captain Mastin only asked that the figures to be oanvassed, tabulated or compiled by the committee be verified, that is, "to prove true" the returns as sent up by the different beat managers. It was never asked or desired, as un- derstood it, that any comparison of the votes be made with any tally sheet, or otherwise, but 1t was only desired that the figures. as received by the commit tee and announced by them, be verified or proved to be true and to do this 1t would only have required the going over of the returns as the committee was required to do in the first instance to ascertain the result of the election, to be able to declare and make certi- hcate of the nominations. After this was denied Captain Mastin, I expected every moment that the returns from the different beats would be produced and the figures gone over by the com mittee, in the presence of each other, and the result ascertained and an nounced; but I never saw any such papers. All that I did see was a paper in typewriting, that had evidently been prepared outside the committee meet ing, giving the vote received for the different candidates and declaring who had received majorities for the respec- tive positions. What wish to know Is, how was this result obtained? Where were the figures tabulated or counted and canvassed? Did the Chairman open and count the returns in his pri- vate office? If he did so. did he not violate the law, according to his own opened and canvassed in the office of the Chairman, how many of the com mittee were present, and why the neces- at all? I ask for information and think every voter has the right to know this much. Voter" writer of this card the information not take the trouble to inform himself little more about the facts and law governing the matter he seeks to dis euss, before attempting to publicly ar ralgn the Committee or its Chairman.
 Had Voter" read Captain Mastin's card, which was published in the daily papers or listened attentively to its reading before the Committee, he would not have been so misinformed about its contents. He says: Tt was never asked or desired, as I understood it, that any comparison of the vote be made. with any tally sheet or other wise, etc. Captain Mastin's communi- cation demands that all ballots cast in the several beats of said county at said election be produced, opened counted and compared with the several tally sheets" etc If "Voter" will ex- anime the primary election law, he will readily see, no matter what his de- gree of intelligence, that Captain Mas tins communication invited the Com mittee to commit crime, Captain Mastin hmself stated before the Com mttee that, at the time the communi- cation was written, he did not know the law; that he now appreciated the Committees position and that 1t was poWerless to give him recount of the ballots, except upon a contest.
 The law requires the inspectors at each polling place to make and sign two copies of the result of the count in the respective beats, one to be post to be forwarded to the Committee. The copy forwarded to the Committee is called the returns. The law reads: "It shall be the duty of the Committee or other governing authority, upon re- ceipt of such returns, to canvass the same and declare the result of the election. according to the rules and regulations of the party holding the primary" It has been the rule and custom of the party in this county, from time immemorial for the Chair mal of the Committee upon receipt of the returns, to at once open and make the same public, that every one may know the result. Had the cret the returns until he was able to get the Committee together, he would have violated the spirit. if not the let ter of the law, and have indeed given tacks of heart failure to candidates and friends. Voter emphasizes the fact that the returns were opened in the Chairman's private" office Neither vided the Chairman with any hallowed ediflce, sanctuary or office in which to receive returns, and he of necessity used the only office he had. and which was in every sense public, being thrown open to the public,-and a hundred or more aVailed themselves of the oppor- tuntty to see the returns and of hear ing them read as they were opened, Captain Mastin and his friends, as well as MT. Maner and his friends, have throughout had free access to all the returns, and have worn them almost to a frdZzl9, and no objection has been raised to the same by them, or either of them./
 I would especially like to inform Voter" and call his attention to the fact that there Is absolutely no partic- ular mode of procedure required by law for the canvassing of returns. In the late primary, the Chairman and Sec retary of the Committee tabulated the returns, gave them to the papers, and the same were presented to the Com mittee in the form of a resolution by Mir c. P. Anderson, who stated by whom they were tabulated. The re- trrns themselves, as well as the tab ulated statement, lay open upon the table for the inspection of the Commit tee, or any one else who desired to do so. No one has as yet, nor can they successfully challenge the correctness of the tabulated statement.
 On yesterday Mir. T. B. Mastin insti- tuted a contest in the mode prescribed by law, and have no doubt the Com mittee, upon the hearing, will thor oughIy investigate the matter in con tTOVersy.
 For myself, it will give me pleasure to open the contested boxes, in order that the truth or sAlsity of the charges may be proven.
 Yours truly.