The Montana post. [volume] (Virginia City, Montana Territory [i.e. Mont.]) 1864-1869, 1867-02-16
THE ELECTION FOR MAYOR.

The election for Mayor, which will
take place on next Monday, appears to
attract very little attention from the
mass of the people. We have heard of
but two candidates for the position, Mr..
Castner and Mr., Ohle. The former gen
tleman has no desire for the position,
but is willing TO subserve the interests
of the people if they select him as their
chief officer of the city. Mr.. Ohle has
been requested by large number of cit
liens to permit the use of his name as
candidate, and we believe has granted
the request. 1t is not proposed to make
any nomination by either party. As the
two candidates receiving the largest
number of votes at the last election
were not eligible to the position, and
large number of illegal votes were polled,
many of them unintentional of fraud on
the part of the person voting, we give
below the extracts from the Act of incor-
poration which have a bearing on the
case:
ARTICLE 3, Sec. 2. No person shall be eli
gible to the Office of Mayor who shall not
have been a resident of the city for one year
next preceding his election, or who shall be
under twenty-five years of age, or who shall
not at the time of his election be citizen of
the United States.
ARTICLE 4, Sec. 2. All white male inhabit-
ants over the age of twenty-one years, who
are entitled to vote for members of the Terri
torial Legislature, and who shall have been
actual residents of the said city ninety days
next preceding said election, shall be entitled
lie y..fTt,- TIa1 1,of ruf1
voters shall give their votes in the wards in
which they shall respectively reside.
BY an ordinance of the city, in case of
second election, like the present, the
polls are opened at but one place in the
city, and judges of election are required
to mark on the ticket polled duplicate
of the number opposite the voters name
on the poll books. This latter require
ment was neglected in some wards, at
the last election. In other instances
where votes were challenged for non
residence, the voter was only required to
swear to ten days residence in the city.
We heard of an instance whs re party
who does not live within a dozen miles
of Virginia, attempted to vote, and felt
very much offended when challenged,
because he couldn't voight whin all the
rist of the byes had done it," Several
cases of illegal voting have been pre-
sented to the Grand Jury, and true bills
found This fraudulent stuffing of bal
lot-boxes is a disgrace and stigma upon
the name of any party who resort to it ;
an infamous prostitution of a sacred
privilege, and should not go unpunished-
From present indications there will be
but a small vote polled, and but little
exertion on the part of the rival candi-
dates. We hope that the drunkenness
and disorderly conduct that character
lied the last election will not be repeated,
and that the noisy crowd of loafers, leg
gers and rum shop politicians who made
the day hideous with their brawling,
scurrilous uproar, will have respect
enough for decency, the candidate they
support, and the respectable part of the
voting community, TO stay away from
the polls, or conduct themselves more
becomingIy than at the last election.