The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-10-31
Ex-GOv. GiChriSt Out For Knott
And Explains Various Details
In Connection With Recount

ocrats of Florida showed that they
did not understand the law, as was
evidenced by their failure to vote a
second choice vote. Can anyone fail
to understand that the three inspec-
tors of many of the election precincts,
especially in the country precincts,
did not know how to tabulate the sec
ond choice votes? / understand that
about five per cent of the people of
Florida are Catholics. Cats was run
ming for governor religious prejudices,
anti-Catholic. Voters who are aroused
on religious prejudice are usually out
spoken. Of $4,000 votes Cats re-
ceived 10000 first choice, being about
thirty six per cent. Nearly two
thirds of the voters cast their first
choice votes for candidates who were
not basing their campaign on religious
prejudice. Cats received 3, 300 Sec
ond choice votes to Knott's S.43S,
Cats receiving forty per cent of as
many such votes as Knott. In other
words Knott received two and one-half
times as many such votes as Cats
The errc"G in tabulation being unin-
territorial, the errors against Knott
would be from two and one-half to
three times as many as would be
made against Cats. AS it is claimed
the Cats supports were requested not
to vote second choice, there would
be but few errors due to such votes.
Some say that the votes in all the
counties should have been recounted.
AS the expenses for the inspectors
per diem and probably mileage and
sheriff's fees had to be paid by Knott,
sue han expense could not be enter
tanned. His attorney examined the
returns from the various precincts of
many of the counties. Where the tab
ulation showed manifest error. re-
counts were ordered. Take, for in
stance, precinct No. 4, of ST. Lucie
county, the fiji COAT showed, in the
tabulation that twenty-nine voted first
choice vote for Cats, and of these
Twenty-Five votes, ten second choice
votes were cast for Farris, eleven for
Hudso, twenty-seven for Knott and
ten for Wood. A manifest absurdity.
The county canvassing board neces-
sarily had to throw out all the second
choice votes. On account Cats re-
ceived ten second choice votes and
Knott ten. In st. Lucie county as a
whole Cats gained ten votes over
Knott. In Precinct N AZ in Hillsbor-
ough county, Cats received three first
choice votes, 'Farris five, Hudson one,
Knott twenty-one, Wood six, vet all
the second choice votes, except the
three who voted first choice for Cats
were credited to Cats.
Officials Admit Errors.
"In Precinct No. As, of Hillsborough
county. all of the second choice votes
were tailed as having been cast bys
the voters who voted their first choice,
votes for Cats. An. error on the face
of it. Knott's net gain was twenty.
eight in this county. The inspectors
swore that the errors made on the
first count was theirs the same being
unntentional. In No. 10, of Santa
Rosa county. Cats did not receive a
single vote yet all of the second choice
votes, nineteen, were incorrectly tai
lied for him. Knott's net gain in that
county was twenty-four. In No. 23, Of |
Marion county, fourteen first choice |
votes were cast for Cats, of which |
-hree voted for Farris. All the other