The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1908-07-04

bIy. though they would be none the
less inexcusab1e and illegal, and none
the less severely to be condemned, but
ii is fact, well known, that outside
the black belt the law has been very
much more rigidly followed than IN
such belt.
,Howeyer scornfulIy you may have
regarded my solieitude for the prl-
mary law, | am conscious of my own
sincerity, and know that the integr1-
ty of the law and its peTpetUation de-
pend upon the observation OF its man.
dates. No law were better than a Ia"
treated with disregard.
I regret that you can see no rem
edy'' for | had hoped that if you found
IL impossible TO accede to my propo-
sition you might at least express
willingness to eliminate illegal votes,
which could readily be detected, and
suggest some course for so DONG
Your objection to my second PROPOSE
ton seems to be predicated upon a
fear that acting on it would possibly
affect a change in the vote of some
qualified elector. You overlook the
fact, or Intentionally ignore it Cyou
are the better judge which,. that the
reception of such illegal votes as we
ASSUMES, have been cast has already
affected the force of the votes of some
qualified electors, by offsetung ana
nuIlifying them.
From your view it would be
"crfme" to reject the vote of a pre-
cinct in toto where there was indis-
eliminate illegal voting. whether II
be committed with your consent, and
with my consent, by the inspectors or
committee, clandestinely or openly,
even though the qualified electors at
such precinct had every opportunity
/ for challenging such Illegal votes ana
! otherwise protesting against such IL
Illegal conduct, but it is no crime from
Evour standpoint for these Illegal votes
| to nuIlify an equal number of votes
cast by qualified electors in other sec
tons. who had no opportunity 10 cnal-
lenge a single vote at the precinct
where such illegal voting was carried
on. or in any manner to protest
against such Illegal conduct. For the
reason indicated and for other reas-
ons. the courts have arrayed them
selves against you on this proposition
lone eminent authority has used the
following language: where legal
and illegal votes have been counted
Unfortunately, and a majority mas
resulted in various districts embrac-
ing the general return, whether for
lone candidate or the other, the only
means whereby even approximate
Justice can be reached is to require
him for whose advantage such ma
iority districts inure To lift the curse
which the law has imposed upon the
illegal ballots, otherwise they will be
deducted from his count" Another
en13loved the following language:
THE vote of a precinct containing a
large number of ballots cast by dis
qualified persons must be rejected
when it is impossible to ascertain the
I l hfs-ii zfTguage: Tt Is a serious thing
to cast out the votes of innocent cleo
tors for acts done by others, and it
is the province of courts to see that
every legal vote cast is counted when
the possibility exists. But the rule
obtains in elections, as in other af-
fairs, that man shall not profit by
his own wrong, nor by that of others
done TO allow him to reap the benefit
| The only means by which approx
mate Justice may be reached when
the Illegal acts render the result
doubtful, is TO require the party to
whose benefit they inure, to purge the
| poll or their effect, or to suffer the
penalty of having its majority exclud-
ed from his count of votes" Still an
other: The return of the whole cleo
| ton district may be stricken out on
showing an entire disregard of con-
fornlity to the law in holding the cleo
ton either by design or ignorance"
And again: when the result in any
precinct has been shown to be so
tainted with fraud that the true can
not be deducible therefrom,' it should
never be permitted to form a part of
the canvass. The presidents. as well
as the evident requirements of the
truth, not only sanction, but call for.
the rejection of the entire poll, when
stamped with the characteristics here
shown"
My proposition to apportion the IL
legal votes where fraud is not dis
covered, was more liberal than some
OF the authorities authorized, it;
number of them declare this to be
the proper rule, one said: In the alb
sence of proof that the illegal votes
cast at an election were given for the
contestee, it was not error to appor-
ton them among the several candi-
dates, and deduct them pro rata from
their respective scores" Another au-
thority says: I'VE now come to the
other portion of the charge, where,
in substance, the jury were directed
that thtey should take the illegal
votes from the total vote proportion
ately, according to the entire vote re-
turned for each candidate in that dis
trict. In this we think the court. un-
der well settled rules. was entirely
correct 1t is a fair way to arrive at
results. The rule is based upon the
proposition that the illegal votes have
gone into the boxes without the fault
or either candidate. If these illegal |
"a tel