The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-06-08
ON SOME POINTS OF Law
Attorney General Nolan Advises
tho Commissioner.
THE SPECIAL ELECTION
The Annexation Question May Be Taken
Into the Courts-Doubtful II b
County Had . Right to Contract
With Markley q Armstrong.

Attorney General Nolan met with the
county commissioners at their request
yesterday morning to advise them on
several matters of law which had been
giving them a great deal of bother.
One question was In relation to the
special election to be held in h SUBJ
urbs Of Butte which it is purposed to
annex to the city. The law on the sub
ject makes very inadequate provisions
for the election. 1t first provides that
the city shall vote on the proposition
whether the territory shall be annexed.
II the city votes in the affirmative. then
the vote must be certified to the county
commissioners. who shall call a speciai
election in the territory sought to be
annexed and give the voters therein an
opportunity to vote on the proposition.
The law provides in the first place, for
but one polling place. which would not
be sufficient to accommodate the voters
in the territory II Is intended to annex,
besides, the territory Is widely scat
tered and one polling place could not
be so located that IL could be reached
by all the voters.
In the next place. the law does not
provide for a new registration, but
says the registration of two years &
i'm the county shall be taken for the
Inv VI ~
years & was by precincts, and the
territory to be annexed to the city In
no wise corresponds with the precincts.
As the residences of the registered vot-
ers of the county are not given on the
registry books. ii will be impossible to
tell whether the man who presents
himself at the polling place to vote is
a resident within the territory sought
to be annexed or not. and yet only
those who are registered therein can
vote.
Mr.. Nolan gave the commissioners a
written opinion to the effect that the
law relating to registration must gov
ern the election and there was no get
| ting around IL. However, he thought
the commissioners might. in the exer-
else Of their discretion. establish more
than one polling place. He also made a
suggestion orally that the law could
very readily he judicially determined IL
| the matter were taken into court. He
said the commissioners might lay off
| the proposed annexation territory into
registration districts and proceed to
register the voters again. when they
would probably be enjoined and the law
could be tested.
The commissioners have not yet de-
| termined what they shall do. They had
been trying to call the election for an
early date. but the trouble over the law
caused them to hesitate.
The commissioners also
| with Mr.. Nolan the likelihood of COM
plications growing u of the outrage
Gus Markley and Armstrong tax con-
| tract The contractors were to receive
a certain per cent of all one actually
collected on certain property. Very
little was collected. and the bulk of
the property vas sold and knocked of
to the county because nobody else
would bid on IL. The contractors, or
rattle their ~assignees. now claim their
percentage on the property sold" to the
county, claiming that it is equal to a
collection of the tax on 1t. The COM
mitssioners decided to stand a suit on
il. Mr.. Nolan said he had very grave
doubts as to the legality of the con
tract itself and the right of the COM
missioners to enter into such an ar
rangement with any outside person
when there was a legally constituted
officer of the county elected to do that
work.