Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-09-22
Three BdLL0t-BOSes
are Ordered Opened

are Ordered Opened
Continued Prom Page Ono
when 1t was discovered that no return,
at all had been made on the nonpartisar
oaiiot for judges. Thereupon Judge
Audenried ordered the ballot box
Drought into court and opened.
Officers Not in Court
The discovery that three election
boards made no returns was revealed at
the morning session of the official count.
NO one knew what had become of the
returns from missing divisions. And
when the election judges we're called to
explain the mystery of the missing tally
sneets no one seemed to know what
mad become Of the judges. ..
AT least 1t was quite certain that
they were not in the room, as there
was no response when their names were
called. The judges turned to other
business, leaving the mystery unsoIved
for the present.
Inc Moore campaign committee law
sers passed over an opportunity of
having the ballot box of the fourteenth
division of the First ward opened
Judge Audenried himself declined to
order it opened when David j. Smyth,
OF the Independents counsel. refused
to ask for this proceeding.
The unused ballots had been missing
The Judge of elections. an old man. wbo
explained that in all his experience ms
an election official since 1904 he had
never returned ballot pads, brought in
the missing sheets under his arm. Seven
unused ballots were missing.
DO you want to take a chance. or do
you want to have the ballot box open =
ed, Judge Audcnried asked Mr..
Smythe.
AS I understand the law" Mr..
Smythe parried, lit is up to the dis
cretion of the court whether or not
the ballot box shall be opened"
we will consider the vote here SET
tled-proceed with the count" snapped
Judge Audenried.
Discrepancies Revealed
The morning session of the court con-
tlnued to reveal numerous inaccuracies
and discrepancies. Election officials
had a chance in each instance to ex-
plain why they failed to comply exactly
with the law. Though Judge Auden-
ried repeatedly warned them that sim
liar errors in future elections might
lead to criminal prosecutions, he seemed
to sympathize with the difficulties of the
men who had to puzzle out the diff
culties of the law for the first time.
The sensational charges made by
Maurice Saeta on Saturday concerning
the thirteenth division of the First ward
were to have been answered today by
the election officers of that division, but
the explanation was sidetracked when
Judge Audenried found the election
board in this division had left its unused
ballots in the polling place. He sent
the election judge, Joseph Delara,
hurrying off to try to recover them.
Voters Illegally Aided, Charge
Saeta charged that Ray Watson,
letter carrier. had taken charge of
things in the thirteenth division on the
afternoon of primary day. although he
was not member of the election board,
and had begun to tabulate the count at
: O'Clock in the afternoon. Another
charge made by Saeta was that illegal
assistance had been given forty voters
during the day.
The election board of the division had
been ordered to appear this morning
to answer these accusations, also to tell
why they had failed to return something
like 200 unused ballots.
Delara, the election judge. explained
that he had not known the law in re
gard to returning unused ballots, and
had left them at the polling place This
cut short further inquiry, as Judge Au-
denried sent him hurrying back to get
the missing ballots.
Delara said that he had taken one of
the ballot pads home with him to use
for writing paper.
Thrift certainly is commendable
these days" the Judge remarked dryly.
as the election officer hurried out of
the room.
Unused Ballot Pads Burned
An effort was made to get back the
unused ballots Of the sixteenth and
eighteenth divisions of the First ward.
but without result. The election Judges
appeared and testified that they had re
turned the partly used ballot pads. but
had left the pads from which no ballots
had been taken in the polling place.
When they went back to try to salvage
them. after learning that the law re-
quired they be produced the election
judges found the pads had been burned.
To add to the complexities of the
count. it was discovered this morning
that the printers in many cases had
erred in the number of ballots glued
together in pad. 1t should have been
fifty; in some cases il was fifty one or
HEt.- 4 In, atl l.