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Mail Tribune 100, July 31, 1922 By Alissa Corman Jul 31, 2022 12:00 AM A A News from 100 years ago The following news items were drawn from the archives of the Mail Tribune 100 years ago July 31, 1922 TERRILL IS WINNER BY 305 VOTES Charles E. Terrill, twice elected sheriff of Jackson County by the people, for 50 years a resident of southern Oregon, and the subject of a year of gossip and vilification, retained his official position Saturday at the recall election by a majority of 305, over D. M. Lowe, proclaimed during the campaign as a candidate and a member of the Ku Klux Klan, though he denied the last allegation, in an affidavit during the closing hours of the bitterest political battle ever held in southern Oregon. The unofficial count, from the 56 precincts in Jackson County complete, gave the following totals: Terrill ...... 2,943 Lowe ...... 2,638 These figures will probably be changed slightly in the official count, which begins tomorrow by the county clerk but not enough to alter the result. Rumors Are Rife Ashland, recognized as the hotbed of the Klan, and where the feeling was strongest against the sheriff, gave Lowe a majority of 417, as expected with about 50 percent of the registered votes going to the polls. Central Point also carried Lowe. ... These were the two chief centers of the Lowe strength. It was known at 10 o’clock that Sheriff Terrill had carried the day, and simultaneously rumors began to fly. It was reported in Ashland Sunday, that Lowe was “only 12” behind, by a county official, and the favorite yarn on Medford streets was that “Roxy Ann over voted herself.” In this precinct 150 votes are registered and 145 were cast. Innuendos, but no direct charges were made that “Lowe had been gypped,” and, as gossip usually does, traveled on fleet wings. Threats of a contest, like the one now raging between Gov. Olcott and Hall were made. The banner precinct of the county from the Terrill standpoint was Sterling, where Mr. Lowe did not receive a single vote out of 20. This is the home of Mrs. Mary E. Kleinhammer, forewoman of the grand jury before the one now in session. Every precinct in the Applegate was carried by Terrill. LOCAL AND PERSONAL Late yesterday afternoon Hall’s attorneys served Olcott’s legal representatives with a list of individuals in Marion County who are charged with voting illegally. The program calls for having these people called to the witness stand. The best known name on the list of those alleged to have voted illegally is that of George Putnam, editor of the Salem Capital Journal. — Portland Oregonian According to reports in Medford the charge against Putnam is merely that of changing his registration from democratic to republican, an action sustained by the court as legal in a recent decision. — Alissa Corman; [email protected]