The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1916-11-17
Will Take Up Resolutions on
Law Today and Discuss
Primary Law.
ABSENTEE VOTE AIDS
FRAUDULENT VOTING
E., ]. Deal Addresses Convention
Hereto Elect Officers
This Afternoon.

law today will form the two most i'm
portant subjects for discussion by the
county clerks who are holding their
tenth annual convention in the Cape
this week.
The clerks, as an organization frOwn
upon the absentee vote and likewise
the pr nary law in its present form,
according to the statement Of d. b.
Kunkei, assistant secretary of the as
sociaticn, who is county clerk in Holt
County in the extreme northwestern
part Of the State.
at is quite probable that the clerks
will 20 Oh record in some manner
against the absentee voting provision, -
he said.
a believe the concensus Of opinion
among the members of the association
is that it burdens the county with an
additional expense, without rejecting
any real sentiment Of the voters. We
have had the law in operation IN two
elections and | find that the ratio OF
Democrats to Republicans in the regu-
lar ballot box is virtually the same
as that which obtains in the count Of
the absentee vote.
an addition to the expense that 1t
creates, it readily lends Itself to fraud
in elections. In the first place, the
ballots are absolutely at the mercy
Of the clerk of the County Court, who
NAV count them in any manner ne
chooses, if he is INSCRIPTIONS.
"In the second place, there IS no
challenge for vote at the place where
the voter IS known and that IS the
feature that most readily lends itself
to fraud.
"a man might go to several coun-
ties in day and vote as an absentee
voter in each county, taking dit
ferent name each time, and there Is
no WAY of challenging the vote at the
county he gives as his home, as long
as he makes oath that he is a quail
fed voter"
In taking up the primary election
the clerks declare that the primary
creates much needless expense to the
county. but they say there has been nc
remedy offered. They do not stand II
favor of going back to the former con,
ventiOn idea.
Another ballot reform that the CLERKS
expressed in favor of was having th'
names of the presidential candidate!
nIaced on the ballot instead of the
presidential electors. The names OF th'
presidential candidates are placed oil
the ballots in Kansas. The system
means directness, they declare, SIM
plicity and economy.
In the recent election, one OF TN
presidential electors killed himself tn
dav before the election. His name hat
TO be substituted on the ballots an op
Grafton that took a great deal OF wor
and expense.
Recourse many of the county clerk
are detained at their Offices by cleo
ton returns, the attendance at the hrs
davis sessions of the convention wa
light. More than dozen were o
hand however, for the opening mee'
mo Yesterday morning when T. :
Oaol delivered an address, which VIZ
followed bv a talk by J. W. Harrlnf
ton of Platte County, president OF tf
association.
We, tcrday afternoon the member
If .ha association were taken dow
tbe Rock Levee road to the drainat
ditch where they inspected the dra'
line work. They were entertained Ia
NIGHT at a smoker by members OF u
Commercial Club. Several club mef
berc were on hand to assist IN ente
timing the county clerks.
The business session will contln
today when the next meeting pla
will be selected, officers Will be elect
ond addresses will be delivered by he
hen F. Jones of Stoddard County a
Lloyd n. Brown of Harrison Couh'
A banquet viii be feature of The pi
gram tonight.
The convention will close at l o'clo
tomorrow afternoon.
Those present at the meeting
President ]. w. Harrington of Pla'
County. First Vice President Char
r. Johnson of DeKalb County, Seco
Vice President Forrest Smith
wife of Ray County, Secretary Geol
E. Hackmann and wife of War;
County, Assistant Secretary u.
Kunkel of Holt County. Mr.. and NJ
William Seibel Of st. Louis Coun
Mr.. and Mrs. Butcher Sporting OF q
Girardeau County, Edgar Archer
Clay County, Floyd n. Brown OF h
rison County, George Lorten OF AID