Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1912-05-02


he was forced to call to his assistance to
mark his ballot, the judge would ask
him who be wished to vote for. The
republican would reply, Mckinley"
Then the judge would say: "You want
to vote the whole republican ticket?"
The voter would reply, yes" The
judge would then say: Here is the re-
publican ticket with Mckinley at its
head; must mark everything else off,
When the voter said yes" the dishon-
est judge would mark off General Walk
er's name, shielding himself by the fact
that, technically, Rhea's name consti-
tuted part of the republican ticket.
A short time after the election in 1900
we met distinguished democrat from
Russell county, and he admitted the
game had been worked that way there;
and he tried to justify the crime by
claiming that the judge had done what
the voter told him to do.
That the same trick was played sue
cessfully in Pulaski county can be seen
from reading the deposition of Colonel
George w. Miles, printed in the second
contested election case Of Walker VS..
Rhes. Colonel Miles was pronounced
democrat. On Thanksgiving day, 1900,
he stated to the writer that the ballot
used in Pulaski Was a disgrace to his
party, and had cost General Walker g
number of votes.
The same trick was played in Dicken-
son county. This accounts for Rhea's
boastful claim that he got more votes
in the Ninth district than Mckinley did.
There was but one fair and legal bal
lot printed and used in the Ninth dis
trict at the election Of 1900. That bal
lot was the one prepared and used in
Wythe county, the home Of General
Walker. Why do we say this? Because
in every other county the instructions
given by the Secretary Of the Common
wealth for the preparation and printing
of the ballots were disobeyed by the
electoral boards. The following, dated
October Is, 1900, was forwarded to the
secretary Of each electoral board in the
district:
VIRGINIA, OFFICE OF SECRETARY OF THE
COMMONWEALTH.
Richmond, October Is, 1900.
To the Secretaries of Electoral Boards.
Sir:-In compliance with the fifth sec
ton Of the amended act approved March
6, 1900, entitled IAN act to amend and
re-enact an act entitled AN act to pro-
vide for method of voting by ballot, ,"
l herewith transmit to you the names
Of the persons who have complied with
the requirements of the act aforesaid
and notified me of their intention to be-
come candidates for Representative in
the Fifty-seventh Congress of the United
States, from the Ninth Congressional
District Of Virginia, at the election to
be held on the first Tuesday after the
first Monday in November, 1900.
WILLIAM F. RHEA.
JAMES A. WALKER.
The law requires that the ballot shall
be white paper ticket" and your at
tention is especially called to that clause
in the sixth section of the act above
cited which reads as follows:
These ballots shall contain the names
of all candidat, complying with the
provisions as above required printed in
black ink Immediately below the office
for which they have so announced their
candidacy, and the names on said bal
lots shall be printed in the same order
and each name in separate line, and the
type used in printing said ballots shall
be plain Roman type not smaller than
type known as plea"
This letter and the accompanying list
of candidates for President and Vice
President, with their electors, are print
ed in plea type.
Very Respectfully,
J. T. LAwLESS,
Secretary Of the Commonwealth.
1t will be seen that the copy furnish
ed by the Secretary of the Common
wealth to the electoral boards in the
Ninth district had the names
William F. Rhea
James A. Walker
placed in consecutive order; and he sent
with this copy of the statute, direct
ing that they be printed below the Office
for which their candidacy was announc-
ed, in the same order and each name in
a separate line. These commands were
violated by the electoral boards in every
county in the district, except Wythe.