The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-12-07
HASKELL HAS A SCHEME
The Attorney General Outlines q Plan
for Improving the Regis
tration Law.
Assessors, County Clerks and
County Commissioners to
Do the Work.
He Thinka IL Would Preserve the Purity
Of tho Ballot BOX aad Ensure
Greater Safeguards.

The annual report OF Attorney General
Haskell to Gov. Toole makes the following
suggestions of changes in the registration
laws: "That each county clerk keep in his
office q book to be called the great register
in which is to be entered the names OF the
qualified electors of the county, 80 as to
show the name, at length, with the surname
first. the age. emitting fractions OF years;
the place of nativity; the place OF residence;
IL naturalized, the time and place OF
naturalization; and The date OF entry.
That the assessor. at the time when ne
assesses the property, should obtain from
each resident Of his county. a statement
under oath setting forth such facts as
would furnish to the county clerk sufiicisns
information to authorize him to insert the
electors name in the great reRister. COM
plete and fill out the same; such reQlstra-
ton should continue for ten years.; it
should be the duty Of the commissioner to
carefully examine the great register at least
thirty days before any general election, to
the end that the names Of all persons there
on registered, who are dead or
removed from the county, or be-
come insane or convicted of a
crime, shall be cancelled. That the county
clerk should prepare for the judges Of
election of each precinct a precinct reg
ister,' at least ten days before any general
election. in which shall be included the
name of every eleotor whose name appears
on the great register. In case that an
elector who is entitled to be registered. but
was not registered prior to the printing OF
said precinct registers, he should be en-
titled to have his name placed upon the
great register by the clerk of the county.
and receive q certificate therefrom, which
would show the facts as they appear upon
the great register. which certificate might
be presented by the ~eleotor to the judges of
election on election day and by them taken
up, and upon proof that the person pre-
senting the same. was the party named in
such certificate, he should be entitled to
vote the same as though his name appeared
upon the great register and precinct reg.
iater.
IA modification OF the registration Law
to the extent that we have suggested, would
save to the electors a great deal OF time ano
expense. and would, in my Judgment, pre-
serve the purity Of the ballot and throw
greater safeguards around the ballot-bol
than are granted by the provisions of tht
present registration law. The ~inconveni
enc6 to the elector 20 register unuor Ine
present registration law is not, in my judR-
ment, inconsiderable."
On the subject of the stock inspector ano
detective tax the attorney general says
'Our attention has been called to the fac
that the county commissioners of some Of
the counties in the state have failed to levy
a stock inspector and detective tax, anc
notably in counties which are directly ben
Gifted therefrom. We would suggest tina
this Law be repealed or else suitable legisla-
ton be framed which will require the coun
tY attorney of each county. under severe
penalties, to cause this law to be enforced
1t is unjust that one county should be taxec
for the benefit Of the many"
The attorney general says the duties i'm
posed upon his department are such tina
he should be allowed an assistant attorney
general and r. clerk.