The Marshall republican., 1912-01-04
Marshall Decision Protect
ing Democrats Revers-
ed by Supreme
Court.
Special Correspondence /:

JellerSOn tlty, DecemDer oO.-
The Supreme Court presented the
honest voters OF Missouri a substan
tial Christmas gift last Wednesday
in the form of n decision that bal
lot boxes and poll books must give
up whatever evidence they may
contain to prove fraudulent and
illegal voting. For years past, un
der Democratic authority, the
courts have been denied access to
ballot boxes for comparing bal
lots with poll books 20 determine
charges OF fraud in connection
with specified ballots cast and
counted. Ballot boxes have hid
den away proofs of fraud and
made honest elections almost i'm
possible. The secrecy OF the bal
lot has been made paramount. TO
its honesty.
This condition was brought about
by an opinion OF the Supreme
court rendered ten years ago in
the now celebrated Funkhouser
case. tried before Hon. Selden p.
Spencer, then a Judge OF the Cir
cult Court OF st. Louis. IL became
necessary to compare certain bal
lots with the poll books to deter
! mine the issues in that case. Ju lge
Spencer ordered the Board OF Elec-
+, ton Commissioners; (Democrats) to
produce in his court the poll books
aud ballot boxes. The order was
refused and reached the Supreme
Court, then composed OF six Demo-
lcrats and ono Republican. Judge
VIM. c. Marshall, OF st. Louis, a
/ Democrat, wrote the decision of
the court, sustaining the Election
4 Commissioners and prohibiting
! Judge Spencer from enforcing his
order. In the decision II was held
that tho books and ballots could
not be examined to disclose how
/ any voter cast his ballot. That
de. lsion effectively closed the poll
books ana ballots to the courts and
, made II impossible 10 successfully
soonest elections In ST. Louis.
! When Judge Culver, Special Com
missioner OF the Supreme Court,
~ ointed to take testimony in In"
Hnding contest cases OF CAN'T,
| Timmands and Gass, Democrats,
ac lirs. Brown, Kennish AMI Evans
Republicans, was asked by Judge
Marshall, attorney for the Demo-
cratic contestants, to order the
production Of the poll books and
ballots OF the election OF 1910 in St.
! Louis that he might prove from
them how about 5000 naturalized
citizens had voted, the commits
sioner refused the request, being
governed by the Marshall decision
in the Funkhouser case. Marshall
went to the Supreme court with
the matter. That was in Septem-
Der. Last Wednesday Judge Grav-
es Democrat) of that court, hand
ed down an opinion, concurred In
by Woodson, Democrat, and by
Ferris and Lamm, Republicans, in
which the observation-disclosures de
cision Is emphatically repudiated
and the doctrine proclaimed that
courts may 60 into ballot boxes
and poll books to seek evidence
bearing upon any charge OF fraud
made in good faith. The commits
sioner was authorized to hunt for
evidence of fraud wherever he a
find 1t. Thus Judge Marshall has
despoiled the protection which his
W opinion threw around fraudu-
lent ballots and Judge Spencer has
been indicated in the position he
took in the Funkhouser case-a po-
sition always held by Republicans,
who have steadfastly maintained
!: that the honesty of the ballot is
paramount to it's secrecy, and that
the poll books and ballot boxes are
not to be sealed against any hon
; est effort to discover suspected
! fraud In elections. This late de-
!; cision Is regarded as a great VIC
!. tory for Republican,, therefore, az
1t establishes principle or pro-
] position for which they have al
ways commended.
/, The decision opens wide the
doors and may lead to the exami-
nation OF thousands Of ballots and
OF q multitude OF witnesses. II
was to determine for whom sever
al thousand foreign born citizens
voted that MarsAall asked for TIL