The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1909-11-09
George Ingram Declines to Accept
Certificate in the Aldermanic Race;
Contest Certain For Magistrate
Every Indication That Some.
body Tempered With Re.
turns on Stub Book in Mas.
sac Precinct.

Active preparations are being made
TO contest the result in the alder
manic race between George Oehl-
schlaeger, Republican, and George
Ingram, Democrat, which was award
ed to Ingram on the face of the re-
turns, and the race between ]. B.
Waltmon, Republican, and Green
Bennett, Democrat, for magistrate In
the Seventh district.
Mr.. Ingram came to the Office of
The Evening Sun today and an
nounced that he will not accept the
certificate under the circumstances;
but. while approaching the spirit
which actuated Mr.. Ingram, the Re
publloans will insist on a contest, as
Mr.. Ingr3m's withdrawal would sim
ply insure an appointment to the
vacancy by Mayor Smith for one year.
while the contest will settle the mat
ter for two years. There seems to be
no doubt that in Young's precinct by
an error the returns gave Mr.. Ingram
79 votes, when he should have re-
ceived 30. Allowing him 10 votes
would give a total vote for aldermen
greatly exceeding the number of
votes cast.
Returns Tempered With.
In -Massac precinct. in the Sixth
magisterial district, there is every in
dication of tampering with the stub
book. The election officers certified
returns show So voted for Green Ben
nett, but some one took the tally
sheet pasted in the back of the poll
book, dug out the dash after the
five and spread the body of the
figure into a crude six. Sheriff Ogil-
vie says the figure looks suspicious
and he telephoned to election officers
of that precinct. who assured him
they made the returns So for Ben
nett instead of 65.
These stub books, behind which the
election board cannot go. are not
like the ballot boxes:
but are carried by the sheriff of cleo
ton frcm each precinct to the county
court clerk, and are not even neces-
sarily delivered at once. There is
every opportunity for most anyone
to do a hurried job of tampering with
them.
Sheriff Brown, of Massac precinct,
said he nad possession of the book
until II was delivered at the court
house and the returns gave Bennett
only SIS votes.
Whoever tempered with the figures
in Massac was not smart: for he
raised Benefits vote ten without re-
ducing Waltmcn's, thus increasing
the total vote cast for magistrate to
two more than there were votes cast
in the precinct and a great many
more than any other candidate re-
celved.
The people of the district are in
dignant. The fact that this close dis
trict was selected for such a discrep-
aney, when Waltmon's election would
insure a Republican ma jority, and his
defeat would give the county Judge
the deciding vote in the fiscal court,
IS accepted as another indication that
the county ring is afraid of losing
control Of the fiscal court.
II will likely be necessary to open
only the one ballot box in Massac
precinct and make the count over.
There is no question of the result.
once the matter is taken to court.
Gallman's precinct will be contest
ed to ascertain the right to throw out
ballots, because an election officer
failed to detach stubs from them.