The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-02-01
THOSE OGDEN CASES.
A RehpariDg Asked for Be-
fore the supreme Court.
BATTERED BY A BARTENDER.
Again In Court-AnOlher
Contempt Case.

A motion was yesterday made in the
Ogden registration cases for rehear-
ing before the Supreme Court of the
Territory. The reasons why rehear-
ing should be granted are stated Sc
follows: The court erred in sustain
ing and affirming the judgment of tt 9
District Court of the First Judicis
District, and in adopting the opinion If
the lower court. because the low,r
court held that there is no authority in
the City Council of Ogden City to re-
quire the registrs ton of voters in prt-
cincts or wards, and that as the plain
tiff and appellant only complained that
he had not been registered in the fiji b
municipal ward of said city, and the
registrar stated that he had been regis
tered as a voter of the city at large
that that was all that the plaintiff and
appellant was entitled to.
The lower court based its decision
upon this point: That certain sections
of the Territorial statute of 1888, re-
lating to the Incorporation of cities,
VIZ: Sections l6, II, Is and 10 of Ar
ticl l. and Section l of Article 6, which
purport to change the government of
cities and the manner of selecting the
members of the council, by authoriz-
ing the voters of each ward TO elect Ger
tain members of the council instead of
selecting the entire council at large,
were not applicable to Ogden City, and
that, therefore, the city council had no
power to provide for registering and
voting in wards. In this conclusion
the court erred, for the sections of law
referred to do not in any manner affect
the question presented by the record in
this cause.
III The question whether each voter
should vote for ali the aldermen and
counciIors-composing the common
couucil-as provided in the original
charter of the city, or whether they
should vote for ward councilmen ard
justices of the peace, Gas provided N
the general act of Marcn 8, 1888, was
not before the court in this action, as
shown by the record. and was not in
volved in the decision of this contro
yersy, any further than the opinion of
the court, in regard thereto, was Invite d
by both parties while passing upon the
question presented by the recold.
The only question before the court
was this. Had the city council OF Og-
den City power to require the city
registration officer to enter the names
of the voters of the city upon five ward
lists, instead of upon one list for the
entire city. The decision of this ques
ton in the affirmative would not, in
any manner, affect the number or
kiEd of officers to be elected. nor the
manner of 9 ecting them, for the voters
in each ward. throughout the entire
city, could vote for each and every
member of the common council and for
each and every other officer to be
elected, just as they always have done.
The appellant claims that no part of
the act of Marcn s, 1888, purports to
affect the matter of registering voters,
and that the act is wholly applicable
thereto. The original charter of the
city confers the power upon the council
to divide the city into as many political
subdivisions-to be known as municipal
wards-as the council shall deem neces-
sary for the convenience and welfare of
the electors of the city
The Territorial election law requires
the city council OF Ogden City tU pro-
vide, by ordinance, for the registration
of the voters of the city, but leaves to
the council to determine whether it will
best suit the convenience of the voters,
and preserve the purity of the ballot, to
have all the registered on one list, and
have them ali vote into one ballot box;
or whether they shall be registered in
wards or subdivisions of the city, and
vote in their respective wards.
4 LII this court is OF the opinion that the
law of 1888 does not cnanee or affect
the composition of the common council;
then the court should have held that
the city council OF Ogden City had the
p3wer to require the registration Of
voters on ward lists and the polling of
votes in each ward, but. that each
elector has right. under the charter,
to vote for all the officers to be elected,
and that the officers named in the
charter are the proper officers to be