Jasper County Democrat, Volume 17, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 August 1914 — APPARENTLY A ROTTEN DEAL [ARTICLE]

APPARENTLY A ROTTEN DEAL

Being Pulled Off by the Republican in Its Voting Contest. Of all the voting contests The Democrat has ever seen pulled off, that now being conducted by the Rensselaer Republican is surely the rottenest. 4 We had not expected to say anything more regarding this contest, notwithstanding the fact that in all the similar contests'conducted by "the Democrat the Republican has complained to the postoffice department and attempted to have the contest off, but some of the parties who have permitted their names to be used as aspirants for the “prizes" offered by 'the Republican have made complaint to The Democrat that they were not being treated fairly , and asked us to inform the public of the fact. To say nothing of the misrepresentations made as to the value of some of the prizes offered, including the “S2OO building lot" in Rensselaer—which is not in Rensselaer at all, but away off to one side of the town where there is not a house within almost a quarter of a mile—it is offering special votes for money turned in on subscriptions to a certain' date, something wholly contrary to the postal regulations and the very identical thing The Democrat was “called" on by the postal department four years ago in its New

York City trip contest on complaint made to the postal authorities by the Republican itself. We were ordered by the department to eliminate that feature altogether from the contest and not to count any pueh special votes at all, and a public announcement of this ruling by the postal authorities was published in The Democrat and each contestant notified immediately by mail of the fact. The postmaster was directed to refuse to accept for mailing any papers containing any advertising of an offer of such special votes. Yet the Republican is now doing the very thing for which we were called on its complaint. If illegal then it is no doubt illegal now\ and no one should know this better than the Republhcan. Therefore none of the contestants need hustle to secure these special votes as they cannot be counted at all, but must be entirely eliminated from the contest. Another wholly unfair and illegal proposition of its contest is its taking sides or showing unfair partiality to any candidate, as it did in an issue a few days ago in making an appeal for votes for a certain candidate. No doubt each candidate could put up some individual reason why he should be given votes in preference to others, and it is all right for them to do so. But it is clearly against the postal regulations and the rules of any voting contest ever heard of for the parties who are conducting the contest to itself urge the preference of any one candidateanother. As stated at the beginning of this article, The Democrat had not intended to make any further reference to this voting contest of the Republican’s, but some of the candidates have complained to us as stated. If they and others do not have just cause to complain over many other instances of unfair treatment by this Republican crowd before the contest is ended they will indeed be fortunate.