The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1910-03-03
A CLOUDED TITLE.
Secretary of State Roach Gives
Gmelich Some ''Hot Stuff"

Jefferson City, Mo-, February IL, 10
Hon. Jacob F. Gmelich,
Jefferson City, Missouri
Dear Sir:-Yours of February Is,
assuring me that you had no desire to
institute newspaper controversy,
has been received. AS | read your
letter of February 18th in the metro
politan press before the original
reached me, you are thoughtful in
giving that kind of assurance, if news
paper notoriety were not your object.
1t affords me pleasure to have you
agree with me in this conviction that
the election records on file in this Of
flee should not be changed to suit the
whims and ambitions of any candi-
date. However, you now state, "All
| ask is that the vote upon this office
lieutenant governor) be reported as
made by the county clerks
of the various counties" Had these
figure been used in the Manual, the
totals would have shown the election
of Mr.. Painter by a plurality of 204,
These election abstracts are on file in
this office, are public, and you are
cordially invited to come and inspect
them for yourself. Allow me to cor
rect for you the false impression you
must entertain since you allege that
my predecessors compilation giving
you plurality of thirty votes was a
compilation which included only origi-
nal returns. He made a compilation
which gave you a plurality Of thirty,
but that compilation included part
original and part amended returns,
such parts of each having been chosen
as were necessary to make such claim
in your behalf.
Boiled down, the records here make
this indisputable showing: Compil-
ing original returns only, as certified
by county clerks and election COM
missioners, your opponent, Mr. Paint
er, had a plurality of 204; compiling
all amended returns, gives him a
plurality of %. That to which you
refer as the Swanger compilation
which gave you a plurality Of thirty
was compilation with some original
returns and some amended returns, a
mixed" compilation-not one made
up purely Of either all the original, or
of all the amended returns. To con-
vince you of the correctness of my
statements, | invite your personal in
spection of the figures arranged by
counties in columns side by side so
that you or any one else may see at a
glance that the declarations | make
are based on the certified records.
In all candor and kindness, my
dear sir, permit me to inform you
that you are deluded when you say
that the figures | published in the
blue Book" are obtained "by &C
cepting amended returns from GER
tain counties and by not accepting
them from others" In my first let
ter to you on this subject, said the
figures used included all the amend
ed returns. rejected none of them,
for believe they Were honestly GER
titled, are founded on good law, and
entitled to credance as the official
figures.
Your suggestion that should have
substituted for precinct and ward re-
turns, in the table of figures, the fig
ures adopted as correct by the legis-
lative recount committee, in the wards
where recount was made, was i'm
practicable and impossible, because
there is no official report to my
knowledge which gives such figures.
| invite your inspection of the report
of said committee, on pages 81, 80
and SO of the House Journal of the
last General Assembly. That report,
so far as know, is the only official
report on the subject. You will
observe the report does not give your
vote in detail by precincts, wards and
counties, but concludes that you had
a plurality Of III. The foot note l
inserted in the Manual conveys this
same information. The finding of
the Legislative committee, having
been adopted by the joint session, ac-
counts for the Manuals presenting
you as lieutenant governor.
Trusting you will pardon a person.
al observation, allow me to add that |
am not surprised to learn YOU do not
feel altogether comfortable over the
.sls a..