Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-08-25
Action Should Be Taken When Neces-
iary Affidavits Are Filed.
RECOUNT FIGURES ARE LEGAL
1T is Duty Of Board to Certi. 2
to State Board.
COUNTY ATTORNEYS DIsAG.
Lancaster Officials Hold that n
count Can he Made OnIy by Or \
der of COuTt--MOrs Let
ters and TelsnrRms.

Attorney General Thompson in reply TO an
Inquiry from Gage county, held yesterday
morning that It is proper and legal for the
canvassing boards to open the ballot boxes
and recount the ballots when a recount Is
demanded and the proper affidaHts are
filed. Several county attorneys have held
that the county oanvasBing boards have
no authority to open the ballot boxes and
count the ballots until ordered to do 30
by the court The attorney general holds
further that after the recount is made It
The duty OF the canvassing boards TO
transmit TO the state canvassing board the
figures as shown by the recount.
The opinion Of Attorney General Thomp-
son declaring that II an affidavit Is filed
demanding IT, a recount must be made in
any or all counties, will probably cause a
complete recanvass Of the votes cast in the
last primary.
Mayor Jim. sure Of his nomination as It
stands, after hearing Of the attorney gen
oral's opinion, said he would not push the
matter unless he was forced to, but II Gov
ernor Spallenberger insists upon his recount
in a fey counties Mayor Jim will come
back with his former demand for q com
piets reoanyass. Ninety-two affidavits
man headquarters, one TO each county in
the state. asking that tho vote be gone
over again and II the attorney general is
followed the county boards will all have
90 turn In new or verified figures
Few Changes SO Far
Though somewhat abated owing to the
first news received from Butler and Cass
counties, interest In the recount of the
primary ballots instituted by Governor
shellsnberger. was reported intense around
the eecxutive office at LAncoln. During
the day the governor received word that
the recount In Butler county had resulted
in a net gain for Dahlman Of one vote.
while Shallenberger gained three votes In
Cass county.
To quiet the fears Of local candidates
that tta rsoonnt might ,ln5uro their aheneea
OF nomination or change Iesults, several
attorneys, friendly 10 the governor have
declared that no votes will be changed ex-
cept on governor. Dahlman and shallen-
berger.
Because numerous county attorneys held
that county canvassing boards had no
right to open the ballots and count them
the governor asked the attorney general
for an opinion on the question. The st
torney general had already received let
Ter from the county clerk Of Gage county
on the same matter, so he transmitted 9
eony Of the letter TO the clerk to the
governor
Attorney General Thompson. In answer to
an INQUIRY from the county attorney OF
,Otoe county, has held that parties writing
IN the name on a ballot. when the name
Ialrsady appears on another ballot does not
IUitiate the entire ballot. The oSnvassine
hoard. he says, should simply not count
Shs name written in.
Can Mayor Demand RecOuntf
Governor Shallenharger received letter
aant by Mayor Dahlman notifying him OF
the counties In which he has started pro-
sceedinKs for recount OF the primary bal
,leA The mayor served the notice on the
lkd,hrnor so that he could have repre-
Issitative present at the time Of the recount
No look after his interests. Following are
nhe counties named; Phelps. Holt, Boone
Brown. Dixon. Dundy, Box Butte, Dawson
Cluster, Cherry, Hamilton, Johnson Buf'
aaio Clay. Lincoln. Knox kearney' Har'
Ian, Sioux. Hitchcock Polk Webster
Yhuraton. Franklin, Furnas, Antelope. JEFF
Ssrnon. York. scotts Bluff. Richardson
Red Willow, Greeley, valley, Gosper
Wheeler. Burt Frontier. Sheridan. Ne
~.
In view OF the action OF the mayor n
demanding reoounts following the aotior
Ut the governor the question has beer
raised as to the right OF the mayor to de
menA a recount. some hold that In view
OF the fact the mayor seems to have the
uonnation on the nsss OF the returns thsr'
l., no coed reason why he should AJAX for I
Ittuut ot the ballots aa he cannot set "
lax he has been defrauded out Of tn
domination by reason ~ errors In th'
marking Of the ballots,
Considerable talk was caused around thu
Dahlman quarters BY the report that
representative OF Shsllenbsrgoz In Omaha
Lee Herdman, had warned ore OF the Dahl
man men that Attorney General ThOmp
son would soon make his official declara
tion Why Shallenberger's men shoul'
know beforehand what the attorney genera
was going 10 say caused some indignation
among the DahlmanItss.
Before word came from Lincoln statinI
what the attorney general thinks about II
Mayor Jim had been persuaded by confer
Rnces with several Omaha lawyers tha
hothiuE could be done TO force . rseoun
enleSs the question Is taken into court
~ the same time he was assured tina
there wns no legal method OF stopping TN
various county boards II they desired 4
80 on. AZ q result OF this apparent help
tessness the mayor decided TO wait unit
Nhe governor made a move and do his bes
10 watch all the reeountS that tho GovOrno
succeeded In getting made.
The mayors supporters very confidently
expect an Increased majority In case OF new
counts with many repeutons OF the situa
Hion in Nemaha where they say half hun
ared populst votes had been counted 70
Bhnllenbsrger.
POpultAta for ShaileRbePWcr.
NEBRASKA CITY, Aug. A-(special Ell
egram THE anvassng board completes
the recount OF otoe county on democrat u
n. Candidates for governor this evening. The
fourd a number of errors in favor OF bot
candidates. but they came out even saw
five popullss votes credited TO shAusn