The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-09
THE NEW ELECTION BOARD
Auditor Frederick Will Not
Sign the July Salary De-
mandS.
Special Meeting of the Commits
sioners Called to Consider tho
Question.

To-day Auditor Broderick will re turn,
without his signature, the salary demands
of James Denman, A. E. Castle, Patrick
Wellin and Mr.. Foster, comprising the
new Board OF Election Commissioners. He
will also return unsigned the demands OF
Registrar Hinton as secretary of the board
under the new law and Registrar of Voters
under the old act.
The Auditor last evening said that he
would to-day send communication to Mr..
Hinton as secretary of the new board, set
ting forth reasons for declining to sign the
warrants presented by him for July sal
aries OF the commission.
1t was the Auditors opinion that the
Commissioners Immediately after their ap-
pointment and organization should have
applied to the old Board of Election Com
missioners, consisting OF the Mayor.
Auditor, City and County Attorney, Sur
yeyor and Tax Collector, for the books,
records and material of the commission.
In response to this formal demand, re-
fusal in due form could have been made
and the case brought into court. The new
Commissioners deemed it best to proceed,
as it were, by strategy, instead of APP
preaching in q direct manner to demand
the office. Now the test will come, as The
CALL predicted when the Commissioners
were appointed.
night: 1.-The communication which /
shall send to Secretary Hinton will ex-
press my doubt as to the constitutionality
of the act, but the points will not be
argued. My attorney, Garret McEnerney,
is very firm in his opinion that the consti-
tuition does not contemplate that the Leg
islature shall have power to confer on poll
tical bodies such as State Central Com
mittee the right to accept or reject APP
pointments made by officers authorized by
law to perform certain duties.
81 am inclined to regard this point as
stronger than the other objection to the
law. l shall dwell chiefly on the impor-
lance of having the validity of the law
tested, because 80 many great interests are
involved.
1.-THE Election Commissioners disburse
large appropriations of the public money
say 100000 every two years-and apart
from that the legality of an election might
be questioned if one should be held under
the new commission. 1t is proper, almost
imperative, that questions of such far
reaching consequence should be adjusted
before an election is called. and my refusal
to audit the salary demands will open the
way for mandamus proceedings wherein
the constitutionality of the act may be
determined"
Registrar Hinton said that he had been
informed that the Auditor would send an
official communication to the Commits
sioners to-day. Yesterday Mr.. Hinton and
Mr.. Denman, president of the board, con-
ferred, and the result of the conference
was call for the Commissioners to con-
vene in special session at IL A. M. Satur-
day.
The question of employing counsel to
defend the new act will PROBABLY arise.
Mr.. Creswell, the City and County Attor-
ney, is an Election Commissioner under
the old act. and as he has declared it to be
his opinion that the new law is unconsti-
tutional other counsel may be desired.
At one time the information was i'm
parted quite freely that the Union League
Club would not only give the new Com
missioners a dinner but would engage ex-
Senator Carpenter to fight their legal bat
ties free of charge to the public, but since
the Foster incident in the Republican State
Central Committee the club has been as
quiet as church mouse. The commits
sion has had neither the free dinner nor
the cratuitous advice.