The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1907-11-26
Doubt in Council Race at
Polls Will Be Removed
Tonight.
LEADS MASKER TO DATE
Elections Board Tally So Far
Bears Out Nugent's CIaim-.Re.
fer Some Masker Ballots to
Gummere. Depends on Two
First Ward Districts.

when the County Board of EIec-
lions completed its work of counting
the votes of the third and fourth dis
tricts of the First Ward last night in
the Wright-Masker recount. it was
found that Alderman Joseph A.. Wright
was in the lead by twenty-three. ac-
cording to the tickets allowed by the
board for the four districts.
Iwenty-one of the Masker ballots
nave been referred to Chief Justice
Gummere for decision as to whether
tney are marked or not, and thirteen
OF Alderman Wright's were sent to the
courts for the same reason.
N brightness of the chances of
Wright again beating Masker. his Re-
publican opponent, appears from this
fact. Assuming that the twenty-one
Masker votes for the foul districts are
allowed to stand by the chief justice,
the Democratic contender would still
have a lead of two votes, ever though
not one of his thirteen referred BAL
lots We're passed on favorably by the
courts.
The fight has narrowed down to the
result in the fifth md sixth districts,
which will be decided tonight in the
motion room of the Supreme Court.
Masker is at a disadvantage in these
districts, which were both carried by
Wright.
The official figures compiled by the
city clerks office gives the fifth dis
trict to the Democratic contestant by
z votes, n the sixth to him by log
votes. The figures as they stand now
for these districts are:
: District. Wright. Masker.
Fifth 236 229
sixth $50 ia
In h recount of the third districts
ballots Wright gained eleven and Mas
lSer lost three, a net gain for Wright of
fourteen. In the fourth district Wright
lost three and Masker lost five, a net
gain of two for Wright. That increased
Wright's lead for the nights work by
sixteen. Three Wright ballots were re-
ferred to the Chief Justice and one
Masker, so that there is little lilkeli-
hood of any further change in the fig
ures in the third and fourth districts.
In the first and second districts on the
votes accepted by the board without
question last week Wright lost nine
and Masker eighteen, so that for four
districts Masker loses a total of twenty
six, while Wright suffers a loss of but
one.
The recount in the third district in
dictated that there had been an error in
the official tally sheet, as had beer
charged by City Counsel James r.
Nugent, Mr.. Wright's lawyer, right
after election. The sheet indicated that
there We're six Wright debts In the
ward, while the recount showed that
there had been but one.
The election board of the third dis
trict had rejected 36 ballots. On the
recount II of those were, in the opinion
of the county board, valid and were
either counted or referred, resulting IL
another gain for Wright. OF the bal
lots that had beer counted by the dis
trict board, six Masker and five Wrighi
We're rejected by the county authorities
The recount of the third distric'
consumed more han three hours. Al
sorts of complex problems presented
themselves. Argument after argumen
used up time and wore on the nerves
of the officials. AS on the other occa
sions, Chairman Enos Runyon sat a
the head of the table that had beer
arranged and opened the envelopes on
by one as they were taken from tn
string. He first serutinized the ballots
and his decision. Beside
him sat Mr.. Nugent, who looked at TIN
ballots as they were passed to Samue
G. Martin, the senior Republican mem
Der of the county board. They passed
from him under the eyes of forme
Assemblyman William Pennington
counsel for Masker, and so to Harr!
Kalisch. Republican, and Edwart
HART, Democrat.
There were some hair-splitting de
cisions made. Marks that were YER,
faint were examined by Mr.. RunyoI
through a formidable-looking reading
glass. Mr.. Kalisch refused for severa
minutes to concede that there was an.
ground for rejecting ballot 2S2. A mari
was visible on the back of 1t near wher
the election officer had written tn
number in lead pencil. He wanted |
referred, maintaining that the mari
was tbs result of the slurring of tn
election officers pencil. On advice o
Mr.. Pennington he consented finally t
rejection.