The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1913-09-11

II ZenS OF wayne county as tney Stdnu
| to date The final results will be
II published when the Illinois investi-
i eating committee makes its final
1 report-The Editor
Early in the summer a special grand
| jury in Illinois was instructed to go
into the election frauds which had stir
red up the city of Chicago. 1t had
come out that voting machines and the
| contract entered into between the city
of Chicago and the Empire Voting
| Machine company had played a part
in those frauds. Therefore, in giving
! Instructions to the special grand jury.
Judge Cooper advised that 1t unearth
the facts about the manner in whit1;
the city election commissioners had
purchased one thousand machines
from the Empire company for s942,5 500.
To carry on this investigation the
Butts committee was appointed and
former Governor Charles Deneen was
secured as legal adviser.
This committee has succeeded in
unearthing valuable data bearing on
|
their feasibility, economy and relia-
bility, These facts have been gather
ed from all parts of the country and
have been analysed with the utmost
care. The committee itself engaged
three mechanical experts of high
standing and left no stone unturned to
secure the whole truth about the vot-
ing devices
Tests Machine.
The committee had on hand one of
the tested and certified Empire ma
chimes which had been in regular use
in the city elections of 1912. In all the
demonstrations made by the experts
this was used. Furthermore, machine
experts representing the Empire com
pany, were on hand and carefully
watched the proceedings, giving as
surance to the committee members
that this machine was strictly 0. K.
The first expert to testify was w L.
Abbott Asked if he considered it
possible for politicians to manipulate
the machines in their own interests
he replied In an emphatic affirmative
and said it would be an easy matter.
The election inspectors, he pointed
out, have access at all times to the
machine itself and are in possession OF
its keys. Therefore they are able to
change the counters, to elk" the
reels and to arrange matters to suit
themselves generally. Abbott cited
cases in which this had been done III
Chicago. He also pointed out that q
voting machine is not to be classed
with adding machines and cash regis
tiers and similar mechanisms on the
score of reliability.
Points Out Difference.
While these machines have forms
Of regular and constant manipulation
the voting machine is changed each
time it is used, and it Is seldom used
This means that the users of it are
never as thoroughly familiar with its
working as the users of cash regis
ter would be. He said the voting ma
chine is unreliable when used to regis
ter and count votes.
George o. Olson and c. L. DePuy
the other experts, pointed out ways
in which clever politicians could con
troll an election through the use of sim
pie and inexpensive devices applied
to the machine.
Frauds Possible.
They showed the committee how
easily it is for the inspector to pull
out a pawl holding the reels and thus
enable the voter to cast a plural bal
lot. when you consider" they said
that the election inspector is ap
pointed by the election commissioners
you will see that he is a representa-
tive of the party in power. The very
fact that he alone has access to the
machine shows, on the face of it
where the chief danger in the use O
voting machines lies" The expert!
showed that in five minutes an un
scrupulous inspector could completed!
reverse the decision of the voters a
the polls.
The inspector has another opportu
nifty to control the count, the expert
said, when he reads off the counters il
t the morning before the opening of tn
y polls or in the evening when the vot
ing is concluded: by an intentiona
misleading at such times he can swim.
the election to suit himself.
Inspector Power
Further than this, because his key
give him access to the internal part
of the mechanism he is able so TO Sc
some of the Intricate mechanisms tha
they won't register truly. The voter
of course, cannot see this because tn
parts are hidden by the case of tn
machine. Just to prove this no idl
5 theory. the experts opened up a ma
chine and demonstrated in a variet
of ways the ease with which one hay
ing access to the internal mechanism
could fix things up 10 suit himself.
Again. the experts revealed how
2 crooked inspector could change III
complexion of an election by misread
ing the count of the grouped an
irregular tickets. Whenever. 70
instance, women are able TO vote flo
members of the school board and tn
: ticket must consequently be partition
cd" it is wholly at the mercy of til
inspector who is. in charge of tn
| counters. Several times in the 1sl