St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-10-17
NO GERRYMANDER.

~ IL.
The provision of the Minnesota cleo
ton law as to how the names of presi-
dental electors shall be printed on the
official ballots is so clear that 10 one can
mistake its meaning. 1t says that the
presidential electors of each political
party shall be grouped together
The secretary of state has grouped
together the nine Republican electors,
the nine Prohibition electors and the
nine electors OF the Peoples party. The
Democratic party also has nominated
nine presidential electors. But OF these
the secretary of state has grouped to-
gether'' only five. The other four he has
scattered promiscuously at irregular in
tervals through the ballot.
He finds his justification for this ex-
traordinary action in the section of the
law which says that the name of any
candidate nominated by more than one
party for the same Office shall be placed
only once on the ballot. Four of the De-
mocracy'S electors have also been nomi-
mated by the Peoples party. 1t is impos-
sible. the secretary of state claims, to
group together the electors of both
these parties without repeating their
names.
Even if the provision against dupllca-
ton applied to presidential electors, the
Democratic state central committee
pointed out a way in which the names
of the Democratic electors might be
grouped together" without duplica-
ton. This could be done by placing at
the head of the Peoples party list the
four electors who have been Endorsed
by the Democracy. This fair sugges-
ton the secretary of state refused to en-
terrain because it would defeat his pur-
pose of introducing an element of coll
fusion in the ballots which promised
him a partisan advantage.
But the provision against duplication
does not apply at all to presidential
electors, because it is inconsistent
with the provision that their names
shall be grouped together" according
to the parties they respectively repre-
sent. The law says that the presi-
dental electors shall be placed On the
ballots grouped together and in the
order of priority in which the several
political conventions nominating them
were held. Candidates for other offices
are to be placed Oh the ballot without
duplication, and in an order of priority
to be determined by lot.
The Republican secretary of state has
thus sought to gerrymander the ticket.
He has omitted four of the Democracy's
electors. The only question is. can he
be compelled to do his duty, and put
them on? 1t would seem as though there
ought to be some machinery by which
this could be accomplished. Suppose,
instead of emitting four, he had omitted
the entire nine. would there be no rem
edy? The decisions of the supreme
court have consistently held that the
judiciary has no power of control over
an executive officer. Unless diStinc-
ton can he drawn between the facts of
the case to be argued this morning be-
fore Judge BRILL and the facts of the
cases in which this point has heretofore
been involved, the Democracy will be
defeated in its search for justice.
Well, what then? Then il will an
peal to the tribunal of the people from
the tyranny of the secretary of state, in
full confidence that their verdict will be
righteous one. But meanwhile let
the Republican party beware how it in
sists on violating the law. 1t may sue
coed for the present. But if the ballots
which it forces on this state are illegal,
the election will be vitiated. Nine
electoral votes gained for BENJAMIN
HARRISON by fraud will avail nothing.
They will not be counted in the cleo
toral college. The Democracy fights
honestly and openly now that the pro-
posed wrong may be remedied. If it is
not remedied. and the state is lost to the
Democracy because it is not. our party's
leaders will not stop here: They will
continue the fight to the end.
If the desperate champions Of illegal
Ity are not careful, Minnesota will not
participate in the national election of
1892,