The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1895-02-01
AMONG THE LAW TAKERS.

In the mouse yesterday Representa-
tive Gutterson introduced a joint
memorial to congress asking that SEN
ators be elected by the people. 1t was
passed under suspension of the rules.
One of the most important bills in
PRODUCED is that of Representative
Zier, which provides for the estab-
lishment of an appellate court which
will relieve the supreme court of
much of the work which is now piling
up before it, so that it takes about a
year before a decision can be reached
on an appeal, and the judges have not
the time to devote to important cases
which ought to be given.
Senator Yale has introduced a bill
which fixes the salaries of members
of the legislature and the principal
officers of both houses the same as
they are at present, but makes the
pay of minor officers considerable less
than that of the principal officers, and
expressly states that they can not re-
ceive any more. This would appear
to be a good measure.
Senator Heneman introduced a bill
which is intended to make it harder
for independent candidates to run for
office. 1t provides that they a only
run for state offices by getting petit
tions from one per cent. of the voters;
for district offices, five per cent; for
county and municipal offices, 10 per
cent. of the voters. The law seems
to be all right in this respect as it is
now.
Senator Ozmen introduced the other
night, a bill governing the election
of city and county officers, which he
thinks will remedy many of the evils
connected with municipal elections at
least. 1t does away with primaries
and conventions for city and county
officers and follows an Australian
law which is said to have proven very
successful.
All candidates for these offices are
to be announced by petition, each
petition to contain not less than 10
per cent. of the voters at the preced-
ing election. No petition is to be cir
culated more than thirty days before
the election, and it must give the ad-
dress of each signer, and must state
that he has been for more than two
years a member of the same. party as
the candidates mentioned in the
petition. The names of all the
candidates presenting the requir-
ed petition will be placed on the
ballot, which is similar to
the one now used, except, that the
voter is given an opportunity to ex-
press his second choice, there being
several members Of the same party
candidates for one Office on the bal
lot. To prevent confusion in count
ing the ballots, the bill provides that
the several candidates of any party
receiving collectively, a plurality OF
all the votes cast, will be declared the
party in the as%cendency. Then the
member of this party receiving a
majority of all of the first choice
votes cast would be declared the
choice of that party. In case no
one candidate receives a majority of
the votes of the successful party, the
result will be determined as follows:
The candidate of the successful
party receiving the smallest number
of first choice votes will be dropped,
aid to the total first choice votes Of
the other candidates of the successful
party shall be added the second
choice votes upon the ballot cast for
the candidate having been dropped.
If then any of the remaining can
didates of the winning party shall
have, with the second choice votes so
added, a majority, he shall be declared
elected. If none of the remaining can
didates have a majority, the process
will be repeated by dropping the low
est remaining, and SO On until one is
found to have a majority.
This appears to be a very compli-
Gated affair, and would appear to serve
only to confuse matters instead of
simplifying them.