Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-11-14

entered as second CAaSo ~
October II, 1908, at the poston1ce' ~
tumwa. Iowa, under the ACT " w"
Eress Of March 8, 1879.
Foreign representatives: Gone, Lor-
enxen & Woodman, Steger builainE
! Chicago: 325 Fifth Ave-. New 1ofa
City.
COUNTING THE VOTE.
The delay in counting the ballots al
last Tuesdays election has called at
tention to the fact that we have out
grown our election machinery. Ot
tumwa was not the only city in the
state where the ballots were not al
counted until Friday. In Council BLUFFS
the election board in one city ware
went on strike after working until
midnight Wednesday without making
much progress with the count. These
Council Bluffs men did not show the
fortitude of the Ottumwa election off1
Gals, but perhaps they did not realize
as the Ottumwans did just what they
were up against when they agreed TO
serve on the election board. or the
seven city wards only the fifth com
pleted its count Wednesday. The sec.
ond. third, fourth and sixth ward cleo
ton boards were not through counting
ballots until Thursday and the first
ward judges and clerks we're hard at u
until Friday afternoon. Such a display
of Spartan courage, while adm'raole
is altogether unnecessary.
The Council Bluffs officials are not
being censured by the press for throw
ing up their hands after working
thirty hours at a stretch and still fac
Ing another thirty hour job. The
strike was not due to lack Of patriot.
ism. 1t was due to lack OF endurance,
the Sioux City Journal declares, and
edds: "The experience of the Council
Bluffs officials was duplicate, differ
ing only in degree, of the experience
Of election officials in the populous
precincts of all Iowa cities. 1t was a
frequent happening for election offi'
Gals to remain on duty until late on
the day after election, completing a
task that used to be completed al
latest IN the small hours of the morn
ing after election. The delay was not
only discomforting to the officials, but
Il was disturbing to candidates, news
paper men and, in fact, everyone con-
cerned directly or indirectly In the
&
outcome of the balloting.
.The increase in the volume of work
thrown on the shoulders of election
officials can be traced directly to two
causes, The precincts have increased
n population without any proportion
ate increase in clerical facilities Tor
handling the votes. Changes nave
been made in ballots and voting GUS
toms which greatly hamper the WORK
OF counting and checking the votes.
In the good old days Of strict partisan
ship the judges would make two Dig
piles OF straight party ballots Whlcn
could be counted without any furtner
effort. The stewing, such as 1t was.
was done over the small mounds or
scratched ballots Now, with the
circle off the ballot, the straight bal
lots are hardly more numerous than
the scratched in the old days, and the
work OF tracing each individual vote
for each Of the many candidates Is a
task requiring time, energy, and aptl-
tude.' "
Discussing the reforms needed to in
sure an earlier count of the vote the
Journal says: 1.-THE work Of counting
the vote should be apportioned and
systematized so that it could be COM
pleted in every precinct as early as
possible on election night. Where
wards or precincts have grown I'M
wieldy they should be redistricted to
distribute the burden more equally.
AZ the counting of ballots has de-
yeloped into Job requiring expert &C
countant skill, men with the proper
nualificatiors should be named as Off
Gals. An adding machine would be
labor saver in every booth. In time we
will get around to the short ballot, but
It will hardly do to wait for that be-
fore inaugurating minor reforms
The reforms the Journal suggests
are good ones. There should be trained
accountants on every election BOARD,
but whether you can secure the serv-
Ices of such talent for twenty-five
cents an hour is to be questioned. 1t
should be an easy matter to secure
adding machines in the larger polling
places II not otherwise available they
could be rented or borrowed. But the
greatest reform needed is reduction
IN the size of the election precincts.
1t should not be necessary IN Ottum
wa to wait longer for further PROOF OF
this There are seven wards IN Vt
tumwa The total vote of each OF these
wards is between 500 and 500. There
should be two precincts IN each ward.
or fourteen voting places. This would
reduce the total vote Of each precinct
to between ESQ and 400. Even that re-
duct;on might not be sufficient to in
sure the completion OF the vote count
Ing as early as the work should be
completed, but it would cut the labors
Of the election officials in half and re-
duce the delay in securing the returns
by half, which would be that much
gained
u,ncE IANnIs SCORES AGAIN.