French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1916-1919, 1916-11-16
IN 10Th
IS STILL IN
DOUBT

Last week on the face of unofficial
returns from the tenth district, the
Hustler announced that Zebulon
I Weaver had been elected to congress
by majority of 100 votes. Later de-
velopments, however, showed that
semi-official returns from over the dis
| trict gave Mr.. Britt majority of 49,
| Moreover. the Buncombe county cleo
ton board, after canvassing a part of
the returns from Buncombe county,
adjourned without certifying the con-
gressional vote, to meet again this
Thursday afternoon to go over the
vote.
In the meantime both sides have
gotten busy, charges and counter
charges have been made until the sit
Uation has become somewhat complex
and decidedly perplexing. The fight
now seems to hinge on the unmarked
ballots that were cast, and dispatch
from Washington says there will be u
ontest in Congress no matter in whose
favor the election is decided.
Congressman Britt'S Statement.
am resting my case solely upon
he ballots regularly, legally cast at the
no charges whatever against anybody;
not that-I have not abundant grounds
or complaints but because know that
am entitled to my certificate of cleo
ton on the face Of the official returns,
and feel that the matter should rest
there. Mr.. Weaver now contends that
unmarked ballots should be counted
when he knows that the Democratic at
torney general Democratic state board
of elections, and his Democratic chair
man, d. s.. Elias, have each and all
held the law to be that all ballots must
be marked in order to be valid; not
only this but his chairman, who hap
pens also to be chairman of the couu<
ty board of elections, marked every
Weaver ticket before sending them out,
as his own letters now in my posses
sion aAnndantly prove, while in the
same 4etters he stated he was sending
out my ballots unmarked and that the
Republicans could mark them on the
day of election. when they received
them.
'Mr. Weaver and his friends should
be the last to complain. have beat
en- him at the polls, under election ma
chinery provided by the Democratic
party. Both his ballots and mine read
as follows: TO vote this ticket, make
cross mark in square, Knowing that
this question had been threshed out
before the Democratic state board of
elections. by the Democratic attorney
general, and also that every Demo-
cratic election official from state board
elections down had so decreed it, in
structed my friends generally to abide
by it and observe it fully, which they
did, with the result that lost heavily
on that account, 29 votes in one coun-
ty. and almost an equal number in an
other, and from one to 10 in many pre-
cincts throughout the district.
SCI have won this election against the
most fearful odds against w:licl any
man ever battled. I had to contend
against federal, state, county and mu.
nicipal officers; a solid opposition
press. as well as the tremendous pop
ularity of President Wilson. In spite
of all these odds l have won, and
Weaver now proposes to revoke the
election laws and regulations all made
by his party, in order to destroy my
majority and get the certificate Of cleo
ton, to which he must know he is not
entitled. But he and his friends have
not reckoned with the public. The
great Democratic masses will not up
hold him in this, he will find that the
eople regardless of party will not sup
port him in this uI1warranted effort to
deprive me of my election.
"On last Tuesday the American peo-
pie reelected Wilson president of the
United States We republicans bow to
their will without complaint. On the
same day the people of this district re-
elected me to Congress, and Weaver
and his friends should as cheerfullv
concede my election and accord to the
Republicans their rights"
The Democratic View.
The Democratic view of thu situa-
ton, as it now stands follows:
IF the unmarked tickets should not.
have been counted then errors and
mistakes have been made in counting
and returning unmarked tickets for
the candidates for congress. If the
unmarked tickets should have been
counted then errors and mistakes have
been made in not counting the un-
marked tickets and including them in
the returns.
''In either view it is imperative, If
the will of the people as legally ex
pressed at the polls is to be arrived at,
that correction of these errors and
mistakes be made.
1--WE understand that Mr. Britt and
his advisers insist that unmarked tick
cts should not have been counted and
included in the returns. If that be
true, then it is necessary to correct
the returns on that account. If. on
the other hand, the unmarked tickets
should have been counted, then the IN
marked tickets which were thrown
away and not counted must be includ-
ed in the returns. So in any event the
oard of canvassers of Buncombe coun-
ty must be presented with the facts in
order to declare result in accordance