St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-10-18
STICKS TO THE TEXT,
Gen. Clapp's Views Given-Inter.
eSting Running Discussion.

esting Running Discussion.
Attorney General Clapp then made a
brief address. He said the secretary
had prepared the names in the order
filed. and he (Clapp) did not believe the
legislature intended to give the courts
Jurisdiction over executive officers. He
saw TO difference between this case and
those already cited. He admitted that
cases might arise where an injury might
be done, for which there was no remedy
by law, but this was simply a mis-
fortune. A man having claim against
county has remedy. A man having
claim against the state has none. But
il the wisdom of the past iG has been
decided (and it has met with the com
mon approval of the people, that
upon whatever theory they have a
mind to place it the character of the eX-
ecutive Office, the character of the in
cumbent of that office is such that the
remedy does not lie as against his error
or omission, which does lie in the case
of the error or omission of an inferior
officer. That is simply condition that
attaches to our form of government,
and has no more bearing here than it
has i'll the discussion Of any other mat
ter that may become the subject of
action by an inferior officer or by an
executive officer. 1t is the settled policy
of this state.
submit this, as | said before, as sug-
geStlUn, not as an argument put forth as
an advocate in the cause of his client;
for if this court is of the opinion that it
cares to entertain Jurisdiction Mr..
Brown will cheerfully acquleSce in the
Judgment of the court and its decision.
MIR. Flandrau--lf your honorS please,
the answer that the attorney general
makes to our position that this is con-
ferred jointly, or apparently SO, upon
the secretary of state and the judicial
department of the government to fix up
this ballot and see that it is right, one
having the right to correct the errors of
the other; that that, as he says, is based
upon the condition of thugs which
existed at the time of the passage of the
act and must be construed to have been
so intended, that it did not reach the
secretary of state, but only reached
the inferior officers, and as to this
series of decisions which have been
made by the supreme court placing an
immunity upon the executive officer.
Now, it seems to me. if your honors,
| please, exactly the contrary. They
make no distinction in the language at
| all. In regard TO this section 43, which
refers to the whole business that has
been previously provided, in regard to
these three classes of tickets: when
| ever it shall appear by affidavit pre-
| serted to any judge of the supreme
! court or district courts of the state that
| an error or omission has occurred in
the printing of the name or description
of any candidate on official ballots, or
any other error has been committed in
printing the ballots, or that the presi-
dent or secretary of any caucus or con-
vention has failed to properly make or
| file any certificate of nomination, or
that the name OF any person has been
wrongfullY placed upon said ballots
| as a candidate" particularly the
| county: congressional and legls-
lative are otherwise provided for
| 1t seems to me it admits OF better and
fairer construction to say that the legis-
lature, in passing this act, had in view
that very idea that the counsel suggests.
that lame condition of the law where
you could not reach the executive. and
that it intended by its language here to
reach ito cover it all. 1t seems to me
! that we are to suppose that they under
stood and know that the secretary of
state was accustomed. ordinarily, from
these decisions, to escape coercion by
| the judiciary. and in order to avoid that
| difficulty they massed the whole thing
| They did not say anything about the
said ticket" county ticket" or any
thing of that kind. but whenever it
shall appear Ivy affidavit presented to
any judge of the supreme or district
courts that an error or omission has oc-
Cured in the printing of the name or
description of any candidate on official
4 tk.,l1 f.f. h.,t
committed" The language is SO broad
that 1t seems TO contemplate that they
Intended to include
Could Correct Their Own Errors.
MIR. O'Brien ito Mr.. Flandrau)-The
reason is that, before this, people could
correct their own errors.
Mr.. Flandrau--Of course, before this
change was made all we had To do was
to nominate an officer III :, convention
and that was the end III it-iie WIS he
fore the peop!e-aild w.icn il ca.ic 10