The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1911-03-30
ONE BALLOT STILL MISSING
Count, SHowever, Shows that the DEM
ocrats of the Ward Were in Favor
of denomination of stemm by Ma
Jority of Two.


c. Fred Stemm the present alderman
of the sixth ward will be a candidate
for reelection on the democratic tick
ct as the contest started by ]. Frank
Hams his opponent at the recent pri-
mary election petered out on Mon
day afternoon when the members of
the election board of the ward reopen
ed the ballot bags and counted the ball
lots again. Wnue the recount did not
show that the ballots counted agreed
with the number of names on the poll
list it showed without doubt that
Stemm had received the majority of
two votes as shown in the returns made
to the canvassing board on the morn
ing after the primary The opening up
of the bags came only after long dis
cussion of the merit of the writ of
mandamus issued by Judge Randall.
Hams was represented by Attorney
Robert Verne Baker and he was there
in person to see just what TRANSFERRED.
Alderman Stemm was not "JOhnny on
the spot but Attorney John G. Slater
who represented him was there and
there all the time. Attorney Slater in
sisted that the court had no jurisdiction
to demand the recomting of the ball
OTIS and he insisted that he would object
to the ballots being reopened. The
members of the election board were a
unit in regard to the recounting of the
ballots but they insisted that they be
shown that they had legal right to
open up. the ballots and count them
again. Just after five O'Clock the re-
count was decided upon but then the
board hit another snag when County
Clerk Jones declined to turn over the
ballots without an order from the
court. This was Forthcoming and just
before six clock the recount started.
The count of the ballots in the bag
showed a total of 179 or one less than
the number shown on the poll list but
the total number Of democratic ballots
seemed to be on hand and members of
the board declared that there were
eleven republican ballots cast while the
number in the bag was but ten. As
there was no contest in regard to the
republican candidate, who by the way
was shown to have eleven votes in the
report of the board to the City Clerk.
the count went on. 1t was watched
closely by the representatives of the
two candidates and when completed it
showed seventy-two for Stemm and
seventy for Hams. The board did not
go into an examination of the ballots
alleged to be defective as these had
been passed on by the board on the
night of the election.
The question naturally arose as to
whence came the four ballots found
under the table by the janitor on the
morning after the election. It is al
legged that at least two of these ballots
Idu Uotn SlSuou III the name OF the
election clerk and that at least two of
them had been marked as if for vot-
ing. 1t was alleged that man could
be produced who could make ar afi-
davit as to the signing of the ballots
but this point was not gone into by
the attorneys as after the recount
showed 179 ballots accounted for At.
torney Baker who represented the con-
testing candidate declared that he was
satisfied of the nomination of Stemm.
1t still seems little strange as to
what became of the one missing ballot
and it is just possible that this might
open the way to throw out the whole
primary election so far as the ward
was concerned. City Clerk Harrington
has certified Stemm as the candidate
in the official notice Of the election and
on the ballots and there will be no
change made unless court process
forces the clerk to make the change,
The members of the election board had
fully complied with the order of the
court and the case was dropped this
morning.
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