The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1886-05-22
PRIMARY ELECTION Law.
THE coNsTITUT1oNALITT OF THE EN-
AcTMEHT uF 1881 DECLARED
BY JUDGE PAxsoN,

AcTMEHT uF 1881 DECLARED
BY JUDGE PAxsoN. 90,
The Supreme Court Monday handed
down very important decision in the
case of the Commonwealth ex rel. At.
torney General against John Leonard,
Commissioner of Schuylkill county.
The opinion is by Judge Paxon and af.
fords the first important judicial inter.
probation by the Supreme Court of tbs
primary election law OF 1881. The pro.
ceeding was a writ Of quo warranto by
the Commonwealth to test the right Of
Leonard to hold his office as Commis.
sioner Of Schuylkill county.
1t was conceded that the defendant
was the Republican candidate for tina,
office in 1884 and was duly elected by q
large majority at the election Of that
year; that he was duly returned as
elected ane had entered upon his Office.
The Commonwealth alleged that de-
fendant had been guilty of bribery, fraud
and violation of the election laws.
This the latter denied and the case was
tried before a jury. who found for the
Commonwealth, aud the Court passed a
Judgment of custer against the defend
ant. Leonard took this writ OF error to
the Supreme Court and the substantial
error alleged to have been committed
by the Common Pleas of Schuylkill
county was its failure to instruct the
Jury that the primary election law of
1881 was not one of the election laws of
the Commonwealth and that therefore
violation of its provisions would not
be a violation Of the election laws.
Tie Supreme Court hollis, affirming
the decision of the lower court, that the
primary election law is an election law
without the intent of section nine of
article eight of the Constitution, which
holds that "any person who shall, while
candidate for office, be guilty of brib-
cry, fraud or wilfull violation Of any
election law, shall be forever disquali-
lied from Office, etc." Judge Paxson
says:
"The Constitution provides for the
future as well as for the present. Hence
when 1t speaks of violation of any
election laws as were in force when It
was adopted, II means any election law
then IN existence or thereafter to be
used by the Legislature which that
D ny had right 10 pass. The ar
sument has failed to satisfy US that the
act in question is Objectionable upon
constitutional grounds. The PROPOSE
tion that the Legislature may not pro-
hibit and punish frauds at primary
elections and nominating conventions is
certainly novel one. The argument
that 1t is not valid because il is not ex-
pressly authorized by the Constitution
is unsound. The converse of the prop
osltion Is true, that the Legislature NAV
pass such laws unless prohibited from
doing SO by the Constitution. III act
IN question is perfect law as far AS its
validity depenGs upon mere form. 1t is
comp.e within itself 1t defines and
punish IS otfeEscs of the gravest c arac-
ter, the existence of which has he, n
known to every intelligent person in the
state for many yea s, and which, more
than anything else, has undermined and
weakened our whole sN stem of govern
ment. To say the Leg stature may not
lay It's had upon public evil of such
vast proportions is t. say that our gov
ernme is too weak to pre- erve ts own
life. There is not line in rhe Consti-
tuition which, in EXPIRE ter is or by
any reasonable implication, lorbils this
legislation"
AS to the question raised on the ar
glment whether Leonard was ''candi-
& ate for his office prior 20 his nom'l A.
tlon by his party within the meaning OF
tho Constitution, Judge PaXson SAYS:
The word 'cand date in the Constitu-
tion is to be understood in its ordinary
popular meaning as the people under
stood 1t whose votes at the polls gave
that instrument the force and effect of
organic law. Webster defines the word
TO mean One who seeks or aspires to
some office or privilege, or who offers
himself for the same This is the pop-
uiar meaning of the word and is doub =
less the meaning which the members
of the Constitutional Convention at
tached to 1t, and the sense in which q O
people regarded IL when they came 10
vote. We therefore say in EVERYDAY life
that man Is candidate for an Off
when he is seeking such office. 1t is
begging the question 10 say that he is
only a candidate after nomination, for
many persons have been elected to Office
wlo were never nominated at all. We
hold, therefore, that the defendant was
a can late for OFF @ within tho Co lsti-
tution as well as the act of 1881. If|
while such candidate he was guilty of
any wllfull violation of any election
law he comes directly within the con-
stltutional provision. What Is an cleo
tion law? When the people inserted in
tnelr Constitution the words any cleo
ton law il is far TO assume that they
meant any law relating to elections.
That primary elections come within the
mischief intended to be remedied Is too
plain for argument. Under our frame
OF government vast system of political
machinery has grown up, by which
elections have been for many years
controlled. It is SO far
reaching in its effects that the people
have in many Instances little 10 do at
the polls beyond the ratification of what
had been already done by nominating
conventions. Tho influence which
these primary elections have been for
good or evil upon the politics of the
country is overshadowing. In many
counties of the State, as is well known,
nomination by convention of one of
the parties is practically equivalent to
an election. The Importance of the re-
lation of the primary TO the general
election must be apparent to every one
who does not shut his eyes that he may
not see or stop his ears that he may not
hear.
"By the words amy election law the
trainers of the Constitution and the
people who adopted 1t evidently meant
II to include any act which the Legisla-
ture might thereafter enact for the pur-
pose of purifying our elections. The
act OF 1881 was passed TO give effect TO
this constitutional provision and il mat
ters little at what stage of the campaign
the fraud is committed. We are of
opinion that the act of June s, 1881, is
an election law within the meaning Of
section q, article s, of the Constitution.
Judgment is affirmed"
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The new lay-off siding west of the
Catasauqua station, on the Lehlgh Val
ley Railroad, is now ready for use. 1t
is 1000 feet long in the clear. The