El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-09-18
IF 4" RING" MAN,
VOTES WILL STAND
Ballots For Harper as the
Ring" Candidate May
Not Be Thrown Out

If Judge J. r. Harper is a ring man
and was voted for as such, the ballot
in that instance will not be thrown out.
This was/intimated Wednesday morning
by Judge W. c. Douglas, before whom
Judge F. G. Morris is prosecuting a suit
contesting the nomination of Judge Har-
per as chief justice of the eighth court
of civil appeals.
IF in the trial of the case, said judge
Douglas, 1T is developed that judge
Harper was ring man, I will not
throw out the ballot because the voter
declared that he wanted to vote the
ring ticket and his vote was thereby
counted for JUDGE Harper. Unless L
change my mind, that will be my
ruling
Judge w. NJ Coldwell Tuesday after
noon, in his argument before Judge
Douglas, stated that Judge Harper was
ring man, that he had been taken
into the folds, into the gOodfellOwship
of the ring The time when he was
taken in, said Judge Coldwell, was i'm
material. He was taken in. He was a
ring" man. he declared. and if a voter
cast his vote for the ring" it was
good vote for judge Harper.
The contention of Judge Morris, as eX-
pressed in his petition, IS to the effect
that the name of judge Harper did not
appear on the list of candidates circu
lated by the "ring" prior to the pri-
maries, and he was not known as a
ring candidate. Judge Morris also
contends that a few DAYS before the
primaries, in pursuance to a conspiracy,
the name of Judge Harper was placed on
model ticket containing the names
of the ring" candidates. That fact, he
said. left out of consideration the voter.
Judge Leigh Clark, one of the attOr
neys for Judge Morris. is cOntending
that there is no recognized ticket in a
primary. The ring" and the anti
ring" tickets are unknown as official
ballots, he said. In that case, he said,
the duty of the election officer was to
read off the name of each and every
on the ticket to the voter. In
the general election, he stated that the
Democratic or the Republican tickets
were recognized as official ballots, and
in that case if a man said he wanted to
vote either ticket, that would be suffi-
cient without announcing the names of
the candidates.
May Not Sustain General Demurrer.
Judge Douglas Wednesday morning in
timated that he would not sustain the
81 uCAAuAANA ~ Null ID pCJA-
ton. In that event the trial of the case
will be gone into. Judge Morris an
nounced that he would amend his petit
ton so as to correspond with the views
of Judge Douglas. It is thought the
trial of the case will be gone into Thurs
lay morning.
1t was proposed that the witnesses
used in the contest cases still pending be
introduced in the MOrris-Harper case,
but to that w. H. Burgess, attorney
for judge Harper, stated that he would |
inter strenuous objections. The sugges-
lion was made from a standpoint of |
saving time, as the witnesses in the |
majority of instances would testify to |
he same facts that will be brought cut |
1t the trial of the other cases.
The hearing of the argument in the /
contest case, which was before the sub 1
committee, has been set down for 1
,elock Wednesday afternoon. In this /
.ase the argument viii be confined sole |
Y TO the question of jurisdiction as |
Urged by the contestees in the case. !
That was the matter on which it is re
led to defeat the contest. Jadge 7. A. /
falvey, representing the cOEtestess
leaded by J. A. Escajeda, uFged the
.Oint that the notice of contest had not
zen filed within the time specified by
aw, and for that reason the court did
lot have jurisdiction That point viii
low play an important art in the dis
rict court