Potosi journal. (Potosi, Mo.) 1894-1929, 1911-09-06
DESPERATE DEMOCRATS.

| 81. Louis. sept. "a mOf'
| detestible effort to diScredit tht
suffrage of honest voters wa:
never made in this country thai
the Democratic contestants fO1
state offices are now making il
St. Louis. Their procedure is
not onl Y suspicious and Surpris
ing, but is extremely Unfair. un
precedenteu and without the
warrant OF common honesty.
In St. Louis no citizen can vote
without having been registered
as a voter in the registration
books kept BY the Board Of Elec
tion Commissioners. IN these
books the names. addresses. oc.
cupation. race and nationality OF
voters are recorded in separate
columns. II foreign born that
fact is noted and if naturaiized
notation is entered showing that
the naturalization papers have
been examined and approved,
because no foreign horn citizen
can be registered until Ire has
proven his mai uraIlZation. In
making up these books on regis
tration days these several col
| umnS are not always tiled out
correctly and sometimes are not
filed Out at all. 4 clerical error
in that work. however. does not
inyalidata the vote OF The citizen.
| for his name IS transferred to
the poll books as that Of a quail
tied voter. and ii the Judges have
any doubt Of his right to vote be
can be challenged and compelled
to show his registration papers.
The attorneys for the Demo
cratic contestants for state Off
ces brought about contests on
the part Of the defeated Demo
cratic candidates for Congress
in ST. Louis and thus got d
chance to examine and copy the
poll books, getting the names Of
all voters and their ballot mum
berS. Then, under an order Of
| the supreme court, they made d
recount of ballots. By taking
note of the numbers on Repub-
lican ballots as they We're count
ed they easily determined from
the poll books who cast each
b lot. BY examining the
registration books they easily
discovered any and all defects in
the registration of these Repub-
lican voters, many of whom had
always voted the Democratic
ticket previous to 1910. Having
made up in that way a list OF
Republican voters whose regis
tration is not correctly shown on
the books they are now getting
their names into the record to be
submitted to the supreme court,
and will ask that their votes be
thrown out. If two thirds of the
voters on their list be thus dis
franchised Judges Brown and
kennish and Prof. Evans will be
defeated.
Hundreds of voters on the list
are old citizens who have voted
in ST. Louis for thirty to fifty
years. Many OF them are we'll
known and prominent citizen.
Many are old soldiers 4 thous-
and or more are foreign born citi-
zens naturdllzed in the last ten
years. The Democrats contend
that any imperfection in the reg
istration of a voter inyalidates
his vote. They are only showing
errors in the registration of vOt-
ers who cast Republican ballots.
Errors and defects IN the regis
tration Of voters who cast
Democratic ballots must be
shown by the Republicans if
| they are permitted to show them
and have the time and money for
the investigation. The Republic
can attorneys have no copies of
| the poll books. In order 10 make
their record legal the Democrats
] will try. 20 have the regular poll
! books and ballots produced be-
! fore ths Commissioner to show
officially how, the voters OF their
list voted.
Of experience and Il man Of oh