The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1876-10-09
Registrarion is REQUIRED this Year.


election in this city think the registry law
has been repealed and that no registration
is required. They are mistaken. The
law has been changed 50 that registration
is only required at state elections cleo
tons when some state officer is to be elect
ed. If an election for any city, town,
county or district officer happens to fall on
the same day, and 10 the same ballot box,
then the registration is applicable TO all
candidates, etc.-but there must be some
state officer to be elected or no registra-
ton is required And that part of the law
ought to be repealed, as the registry is
no protection whatever against illegal
voting. Illegal and fraudulent votes can
be cast under the registry law just as cas-
lily as without it.
The following is the first section Of the
law:
81. That the persons auth Jrized by law, or ap-
pointed pursuant 10 any town or city ordinance, TO
act as jrges or inspectors OF elections In any wn
city or ward other election district or precinct
In tiis state, shall constitute board of regis
tricts or precincts, and shall meet Tuesday,
three weeks preceding any STATE election. at nine
O'Clock A. NJ, and proceed to make list, as herein
after prescribed, OF oil persons qualified and enti-
tied TO vote at the ensuing election in the election
district of which they are judges or inspectors;
which list when completed shall constitute and be
known the register of electors, of said election
| district,
By comparison with the old law, of 1865,
it will be seen that the present law was
materially changed March 81, 1874. taking
effect July l. 1874, The wording of the
section of the present law, which we have
quoted. above, ought to be easily under
stood, but it seems that it was not, and
the secretary of state asked the attorney
general for his opinion in regard to it. and
he gave it as his opinion that no regis
tration was required, except when a state
officer was to be chosen. The following
telegram was published in THE ARGUS at
the time:
NO REGISTRY REQUIRSD EXCEPT WHEN A
STATE OFFICER Is ELECTED.
SPRINGFIELD, ILL.,, Aug. g. 1S74-The
atlorney-general, st the request of the
secretary of state, has furnished an opinion
in relation to the meaning of the amended
registry law, as it appears in the Revised
Statutes of 1874. After quoting the sec
tons of the old and of the amended law on
the subject, the attorney general says;
The material part of the amendments made to
the old law in 1874 consisted in striking out the
words, county. town or city, before election
so as to only require such registration before each
STATE election Had the Legislature intended to re-
quire such registration before each election held tC
elect county officers reason is perceived why
the word county should have thus been stricken
out. My conclusion is that The statute IL
force does not require registration of the
be made for the ensuing county election In Novem
Der for the present year, and consequently that Il
is not your duty to furnish blanks for such regis
tration. [Signedl JAS, K. EDsALL, Att-Gen.
State officers are to be elected this year,
and therefore registry is required this
year. The judges OF election in every
voting district in the state are required to
to meet on the Tuesday three weeks pre-
vious to the electlon-this year it falls on
Tuesday the 18th instant, next week Tues
day. And the second meeting of the
registry board, for correcting the lists. will
be two weeks later-on Tuesday the 3lst
inst-the Tuesday previous to the election
Some of our citizens who went down to Rock Is
land were hit with rotten eggs near the corner o.
Illinois and Dock street., just they landing
from the cars.-Mot'He Editor of the Gazette
We very much regret TO hear it, and We
hope the miscreants who threw them will
be discovered and severely punished
There are too many rowdies and rough:
hanging around the outskirts of both par
ties, ready to carry a torch for pay, ca
free lunches, drink free whisky, and d.
the dirty work of those who set them on
THE ARGUS has never been an apologies
for any of them, and it feels humiliateC
now to learn that such acts have been pc,
petrated upon a Republican procession
the inference being that they were th,
acts of Democrats. THE ARGUS would b.
glad to see the authors of them severel
punished. We had hoped that the Repub
licans would have been left the sole infam
. Of such acts They have perpetrated then
e so especially in Moline-that we ha
D hoped no Democrat-man or boy-woul
attempt to initiate them. And we ask
t now, that all good Democrats will (if III
: Republicans have another turn-out) max
! it their business to watch for the rascals-
big or Ettle-who are guilty of such act
S and help bring them to punishment