The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-02-12
1t Provides for the Purchase of n
Full Machine Outfit, Costing Near
~ Half n Million.
SPECIAL VERDICT MEASURE
SENATE COMMITTEE WILL RECON-
MEND THE WAR BILL.
Building and Loan Bill i'm the Senate
Insurance observation-disclosures
on Hammond.

There was a meeting of the judiciary
committee of the Senate yesterday after
noon, at which representatives of the diff
ferent voting machines were heard The
committee was considering Senator Haw-
kins's bill, which appropriates $4,000 for
the purchase of voting machines, and Sem
atOr Gill's bill, which simply provides
that machines may be used in city and
town elections. John W. Kern appeared
to urge that the bill providing for the pur-
chase of the Turner machines, manufac-
tured by Alexander Turner, of this city,
be reported favorably. He said that it was
generally conceded that the time was COM
ing when no other than the machine form
of voting would be permissible. AS TO the
constitutionality of a law providing for
their use, he cited a recent decision by the
Supreme Court of Michigan in which it was
decided that votes by machine came with
in the statutory meaning of voting by bal
lot" He went into the expense of the
plan. He said that the use of machines
would reduce the number of voting pre-
cincts from 1920, the present number, to
1,400, or 1850 at the most. He estimated
that it cost the State an average of forty
cents voter for each election, basing the
estimate on voting population of 100000.
1t had been shown that it cost from $40 to
$106 precinct to hold elections 1t would
cost about $50 a precinct to hold elections.
or some $4,000 for the entire State, a saw
ing of $685. 900 year. In two elections the
machines would pay for themselves and
after that time make an enormous saving
to the State Mr.. Kern explained the fea-
lures of the bill. 1t providesthat the coun-
ty clerks shall come to the office of the
secretary of state and procure the voting
machines, just as they now come for bal
lots. After elections the machines are to
be returned. There are the usual provi-
sionS for making returns, as under the
present law, many of the provisions OF
which are to remain unchanged. Mr.. Kern
was listened to with close attention, and,
from the questions asked, it Is evident that
many of the members or sne committee
believe that it is only matter of time un-
til machines are adopted.
Merrill MoOreS appeared to represent Mr..
Cummings, the proprietor of another sort
of machine He urged that 1t would be
unwise for the committee to recommend
a bill providing for the purchase or a. GER
tain machine to the exclusion of all others.
He said that the men he represented were
not asking anything so unreasonable. They
were simply asking that a law be passed
permitting city and town elections to be
held with voting machines, SO that they
might be tested and given a fair trial. Ills
ideas, well those presented by The
agent of another machine, who urged that
competition should not be shut off and that
the committee ought not to enter into such
an expensive undertaking until after ex-
amining the merits of the different ma
chimes more fully, seemed to meet with the
approval of the committee.
1t is not likely that bill will be passed
requiring the state elections to be held
with machines at the present session of
the Legislature. The committee seems to
think that ii would be unsafe to provide
for such an expenditure in the present un-
developed state of the voting-machine idea.
One of the agents present yesterday said
that there We're but six machines known.
All of them claimed everything in sight,
however, when it came to urging the mer-
its of their machines.
1t is likely that a bill will be recon-
mended providing that town and city cleo
tons may be conducted with voting ma
chimes without limiting the city to any
one kind.