Year: 1876




From the Sacramento Record Union


To the Editors.


Ia yesterday mo. ning's Issue of your
paper you assume that | advised that the
ballot boxes in San Francisco with their
contents should be taken possession of by
the sheriff. 1t perhaps would be a sufh
Gent answer on my part to say that gave
no such advice, and was not aware that
any such proposition or suggestion had
been made by any one till saw the article
which has made necessary this card. AS
to the inumation that [ was induced by
appeals from Mr. TiIden's headquarters to
make the suggestion, falsely attributed to
me with the view of having the ballots
tampered with while they should be in the
sheriff Office, can only express my sur
prise that it should find place in any
newspaper claiming TO be fair and impair.
tlai. But now, while disclaim all re-
sponslbiity for and all knowledge of the
proposition, which it seems was favored by
committee of the board of supervisors.
to transfer the ballots from the custody of
the county clerk to that of the sheriff, |
DO not beileve the proposition, injudicious
and Illegal as it undoubtedly was, was
made with any view of having the ballots
IN any manner tampered with.


1t cannot be disguised that the unprece-
dentedly and Unexpectedly large vote ID
San Francisco has excited widespread
and very grave SUSPICION as to the manner
ln which a portion of that vote was OBJ
tanned. This suspicion is not confined to
1he adherents OF any one political party.
1t is shared by respectable members of
both parties. While it is not probable
that the result of the election, either On
congressman or presidential electors, will
be changed by ferretiDg out and exposing
the fraudulent voting, if there was any,
nevertheless every good citizen, of what
ever political party, must desire to see all
frauds upon the elective franchise exposed
and their perpetrators remorselessly pun
ished.


The highest estimate, prior to the cleo
ton, of the vote that would be cast in San
francisco did not place the total above
$4,000, yet the vote actually lacked but a
few hundred of $4,000. Now the very
excess of this vote over the highest esti-
mates is calculated to excite suspicion of
fraud. And under these circumstances
no good citizen can object to an investiga-
ton, as to whether any portion of the vote
was fraudulent or not; nor can he object
that all proper precautionary measures
should be taken to prevent the obliterating
the traces of fraud. If fraud was actually
committed. | assume and believe that
those who proposed the transfer of the
allots from the Office of the county clerk
to the Office of the sheriff intended nothing
more than this The suggestion was, no
doubt, injudiciOus, improper, and illegal.
l trust. however, that the placing of the
ballots and other election papers in the
clerk S vault. under seal, with trusted
deputy and United States marshal to
look after item, will accomplish the pur-
pose which was no doubt intended by their
proposed transfer to the custody of another
officer, to wit, their preservation, intact,
in the precise form in which they were re-
turned by the election officers to the
clerks office, till an Investigation can be
had. if it shall be determined to make one.
And to this only those can object who fear
exposure from an investigation.


WILLIAM IRWIN.