The Red Cloud chief., 1895-05-03
Township Organization.

49, '''y
as n hodge podge statute, while Mr..
Gillian never mentioned it at all. Talk.
ing with him afterwards he outlined his
objections something az fellows:
l.. The statue seemed to provide that
the people Of Oak Creek, Harmony. Glen.
wood. Saltwater, Beaver Creek. Elm
Creek and Pleasant Hill should be com.
PEELED to surrender their power to govern
themselves, because the people OF Rod
Cloud, Guide Rock and Blue Hill
wished to have a hand in governing
them.
The statute does not allow a school
district to be divided, or a part OF it an.
neyed TO another without the consent Of
the people affected. Nor does the con.
stitution permit a county to be 80 divid.
cd without such consent.
But this statute permits the voters Of
cities and villages to abolish the govern.
mcnts Of townships twenty miles away.
1t is a singular thing for one political
organization to abolish the existence OF
An independent political organization
against it's will, by "A free election.
Again the state seems to provide an
unfair. il not unconstitutional. dispo.
sition OF the funds Of the townships.
The townships taxed themselves for pur
poses peculiar to their township life.
F.
The statute takes that tax and gives il
to the county generally. 1t would be
just as equitable to take the money we
raise for water AID fire protection and
give it to the whole county, and il would
be just as fair to let the voters Of Oak
Creek aud Saltwater vote to abolish u
city government and put our city taxes
into the county fund as to let Red Cloud
city vote to abolish the townshipgovern.
ments and put their taxes into the coun.
ty. funds.
The city and the townships have no
business with each other and no relation
to each other except SO far as county
government and county taxes are con.
cerncd, and a statute that provides for
the voting Of one to destroy the eXis.
tence Of the other is obviously contrary
to the spirit, il not the letter, OF the con.
stitution, and could hardly be upheld by
any court.
The constitutional provision that the
Legislature shall enact proper legislation
to enable people who have adopted town.
ship organization to discontinue it, does
not mean that the people who did not
adopt ard organize themselves into
townships should do the disseminating.
1t means that when the people OF the
townships wish to surrender their self
government there shall be a method pro.
vided to return to commissioner govern.
ment il the cities and villages be willing.
A law providing for the discontinuance
OF township government should provide
for the consent OF the townships or a
moiority OF tkem, before a general sub.
mission to the electors Of the county.
Unless it do this it's constitutionality is
at least questionable.
His principal point, had the merits OF
the election been tried, was that the
statute and the constitution require the
proposition to be voted for by a majority
OF those voting at the election.
The words Of the statute majority of
the votes cast on the question" do not
mean majority Of those voting for and
against discontinuance but a majority
Of those voting for, those voting against,
and those voting blank. The constitu.
ton describes three majorities:
Majority Of those voting for
and against.
Second-A majority OF those voting
at an election.
Third-A majority OF those voting on
the question.
The first requires that there shall be
more votes for a measure than there are
against it.
The second requires that all the voters
be counted and that the measure shall
receive the votes VI more than half OF
them.
The third which ia substantially the
statute in this case, requires that all the
ballots on which the proposition Is writ.
ten or printed, be counted either "For,"
Against" or blank, and that those writ.
ten For shall equal the sum of those
written against" and those without any
"For or Against" Before the Australian
ballot system went into effect no vote
could be said to be cast on a question
unless the question appeared on the bal.
lot. A majority Of the votes cast on a
question might be much less than a ma.
iority Of the votes voted at the election,
and possibly the Trainer OF the discon.
tinuance statute intended this, but the
Australian ballot provided that every
ballot should have the question printed
upon it 80 that every vote is now cast