Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1915-01-27
TURNER ELECTION CASE
IN COURT HERE TODAY
Contest Over Counting Of
Ballots to Be Decided
By Jury

Turner election contest was the CEN
t Of attraction in department No. L
of the circuit court today and the court
room was crowded with Turner people
who are interested in the outcome of
the case. The case itself over the
election Of the mayor is of but second
ary importance and the principal in.
terest in the ease lies in the fact that
the town is about evenly divided over
the question of the city water plant.
The present case is the outgrowth of
tho controversy over the letting of the
contract to the Dennison construction
company.
g. 7. Booth, the present mayor, was
reelected 10 that office according 10
the returns Of the election. While a
member of the old city council it is
charged that Mr.. Booth was one of the
men who let the contract for the con.
stEuetion of the water plant for Ger.
tain gum. After the contract was let
his opponents charge that another
company offered to put in the plant
over thousand dollars cheaper. This
caused controversy and the citizens
of the town aligned themselves ON one
or the other Of the sides Mr.. Booth
vas the candidate of the party want
! ing the contract to stand and his op.
poneDt Mr.. Crawford was the cham
pion OF the side which wanted the con.
tract canee1ed and new one let
Feeling ran high in Turner at tho
time Of tho election on December 7
and when the votes were counted and
the report made the returns Of the elec.
tion board showed that Mr.. Booth had
70 votes and Mr.. Crawford 10. A con.
test was filed by NJ. A. Nicely, as con.
testant against G. +. Booth, as con.
testee, and il was charged in the com.
plant that there was fraud and error
in the election and that Mr. Crawford
should have been credited with five
more votes. The election board con
sisted Of Lee Jeans, first Judge; George
Woods, second judge; j. T. Cannon,
third Judge; Roy Wassom, first clerk,
and Stoekwell Cornelius, second clerk.
Election Board DisCredited.
That this board was "packed" in
favor Of the contestee was the charge
that the contestant would endeavor to
prove according to the opening state,
ment of Attorney j. G. Heltzel this
morning to the jury.
Mr.. Cannon, the election Judge, was
the first witness called by the con.
! testant this morning and he took the
stand shortly before noon. Mr.. Can
non was questioned as to the sealing
up Of the ballot box and to it's delivery
into the hands Of the city recorder
This line Of questioning was carried
out by the contestants in their en-
| deavor to show that Il was the same
box, that ii had not been tampered
with and that it had been in the Gus
tody Of the proper Officers up to this
time. II they can prove this conten
ton the contestant will then move that
the bcx be opened in the presence Of
the Judge and the ballots recounted in
court.
The contestants witness testified OF
! the stand that the Judge who read tho
ballots, Lee Jeans, read them so rapid,
| ly that the clerks werc unable 20 kcel
mp in their tally and that at five diff
ferent times there was a difference Of
one vote in their tally, This was ad
iusted, said Mr.. Cannon, on the stand
and they proceeded with the count
The contestants claim that the adjust
ment, 90 called was not in their favoI
and is the basis for doubt as TO tn,
result Of the election as announced.
The jurymen selected in the cas-,
were: ]. w. Apple, A. y. Huckcstein
Fred Schwab, IT, D. Troycr, Har,
! u,,nttng Ura,k AT,nce At,,hpusi
Boutin, NJ. p. Salberg, Dan Webb, j
L. Edison, T. j. Cheshire, Thomar
Cornelius. Attorneys s. II. Holtze
and Thomas Brown are appearing fo
tho contestants and John McNary, Roy
Shields, and s. NJ. Endicott for IN,
eOntestec.