The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1881-08-06
THE COUNTY OFFICER DISPUTE.

4 About every Illinois paper we open mas an
article, editorial or contributed, pro or con. on
the great question whether there must or must
not be an election of county officers next fall
The ground commonly taken by those who
contend that there must be such al election 10
that the constitutional amendment adopted by
tie people last fall and BY its own terms de-
clared to have gone into effect on the day OF
the official announcement Of its adoption, real
ly does not 60 into effect until November 1882,
aud that therefore the law of the last legisla.
ture changing the election laws Of this state
80 as to put off the election of county officers
from 1881 to 1882 Is unconstitutional, on the
ground that its effect Is to extend the term OF
certain officers beyond the time for which they
were elected, which the Legislature IL prohib-
tied from doing
On the other hand, those who maintain that
there can be no election this fall contend that
the constitutional amendment did 90 into ct.
feet from and after the date Of the official an
nouncemont Of its adoption; that Its effect was
therefore to put off the election from 1881 to
1882 and that as to the interegnum OF one
year which was thus created as to the officers
whose terms expired in 1881, that was provid-
ed for by the constitutional provision that they
should hold their Offices until their successors
are elected and qualified. TO the objection,
that the constitutional clause authorizing such
officers to hold until their successors are elect
ed, &c, is contained only in the old section of
the constitution which the amendment super.
sedes, and If that Is dead there is no such con-
stiiutonal clause the simple and sufficient
answer is made, that the clause ia simply trans
fcircd from the old TO the new section and IN
reality constitutes no part OF the changed p0r-
ton Of the old section.
In this view the old and new section Of the
constitution act in harmony with each other
all complication Is evoided--thc object IN
view, to lessen the number of elections, is at.
tanned, and the ugly complication is avoided,
what to Go with the officers elected tor two
and four years in 1881 when their places are
claimed 10y new set elected in 1882! 1t is
said by the advocates OF an election in 1881
tuat III Tue new COnstltutlOnal provision mao
intended the prolongation for one year of the
terms of the present officers expiring in 1881
it would have said So In the same way, 1t
may be SAID that il the amendment intended
that the officers elected in 1881 for two and
-four years should go out in 1882, 1t would have
said so,
Upon the whole there is no doubt, rs the
FREE TRADER said repeatedly while the
amendment was pending before the people,
that it was very tuuglingly constructed and If
adopted was liable to lead to grave compiled.
tons; yet there is common sense way in
which it can be so construed as 10 avoid such
computations, and that judicial courtesy
which the law always favors and which Us.
sumes that the legislator was guided by com,
mon sense in his work, will secure tor the new
constitutional provision such construction
| by the courts as 10 make it harmonic with
itself and tho old provision it was INTENDED to
| SuUCTsCtip