The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-10-26
MR.. BISHOPS OPINION
HOLDS THE DEMOCRATS CANNOT
USE THE GAME COCK.
chairman Moyle Looks at It the
Other Way and Declares the Party
viii Fight For the Rooster-Wal-
ton Appeals For Money-Hatfeld
In Mess-Ladies' Meetings.


demonstrating business and has laid
well-concocted plans for getting away
with the Democratic rooster, so the
Democrats cannot use it at the head of
their ticket. The announcement was
made that Secretary Hammond had
decided the Democracy was not enti-
tied 10 use the emblem-the game bird,
IN defiant attitude, which has crowed
over victory so often; that this move
ment was taken in order to prevent the
song, Mark an X up by the rooster
and let ii go at that" being sung.
There is a basis for the story. 1t is
a fact, except as to Hammond, who is
out OF town. The first wall came from
Garfield county, where Hon. John Foy
Chldester holds out. John sent up Sc
ries of questions to the attorney gen.
eral, and MIR. Bishop took the same as
serious and has delivered an opinion.
The questions prOpounded by the en-
lnent attorney from Panguitch are as
follows:
l. Whether the party emblem codld
be filed at this time?
, Whether county clerks could legal
~ accept the filing of the emblem with
certificates of nomination by Demo-
cratic county conventions of Democrat
ic county candidates?
8. Whether the Democrats could le-
gally use q party emblem on their state
ticket?
4. Whether they could use it at all?
AS soon as the questions were re-
ceiVed, Mr.. Bishop began an exhaustive
research of the authorities. "Meakin
on Roosters,' "Bagley on Plymouth
Rock Hens" Eldredge's celebrated
treatise, (which is the Mother of the
Chicken, the Hen that Laid the Egg,
or the Incubator which Matched It.?
We're all examined, together with the
T.-ba ha had onnanlptpd
the following opinion was handed down
with all the solemnity befitting the oc-
casion:
After title of court and cause, the
attorney general says:
Upon these facts you ask to be adj
vised whether the clerk of your county
is authorized to place party emblem,
and have the same printed, upon the
Democratic ticket in your county.
Section S23, r. 5. says: THE certifi-
cate of nomination shall contain the
name of the office for which each per-
son is nominated, the name. postoftice
address, the residence of each person.
and, if in city, the street, number of
residence and place of business, and
shall designate in not more than FIVE
words the party which such convention
or committee represents. 1t shall be
signed by the presiding officer and sec
rotary of such convention or committee
and make oath that the atlantis were
such officers of such conventions or
committee and that said certificates
and the statements therein contained
are true, to the best of their knowledge
and belief.
In section SS9, R. s., relating to the
emblem or design, it is provided: 1t
shall be lawful to designate the polit-
icaI party or group of petitioners, as the
ease may be, by an appropriate emblem
or design, such as a flag, eagle, rooster
or other device, as may be set forth in
the certificate OF nomination; provided
that no two sets of nominations shall
use or have the same device, and that
such political party or group of petit
TONERS shall have the prior right to
use the device used by it at the last
similar election. Each list of candidates
for the several parties and groups OF
petitioners shall be called ticket, and
be placed in a separate column on the
ballot in such order as the authorities
charged with the printing of the bal
lots shall decide The columns contain
ing the list of candidates, including the
party name and device, shall be Separ-
ated by heavy parallel lines.
Then it is enacted: THE ballot shall
contain no caption. or other endorse
ment, except as in this section pro-
Vidcd."
Section S36. r. S. provides: Except
as otherwise provided by law, 1t shall
be the duty of the county clerk to pro-
vide printed ballots for every election
of public officers in which the voters,
or any of the voters, within the county
participate, and TO cause to be printed
on the ballot the name of every candi-
date whose nomination has been certi-
fed to or filed with the county clerk in
the manner provided for in the preced-
ing chapter"
Under these provisions, think it
clearly appears that the duty of the
county clerk, in making up the tickets
and getting the same printed, is purely
ministerial, and he has only to follow
the certificates of nominations made to
him by the secretary of state, or filed
with him by the presiding officer and
secretary of a convention held by a !
political party of his county, or some
lesser political division; that if the Ger
tificate transmitted to him by the sec /
rotary of state fails to recite the adop-
ton or designation of a party emblem
or sign, he would have no authority, in
law, TO place any emblem or sign at
the top of said ticket.
Reading and constituting the proVis-
ions of the election law as a whole, I
am very strongly inclined to the opin-
ion that il was the intention that only
conventions of the parent political or
Plantations of the state should ADOPT
parry embleIns or signs, such as is pro-
vided for in section S39. supra and that
ty or precinct conventions should do
so However, as to this, there may be
some doubt: yet, admitting, for the
purpose of argument, that county con-
Ventions have the right, under the law,
10 adopt an emblem, the fact that in
the first certificate filed by the officers
of sucss convention with the county
clerk, they failed to recite that such
convention did adopt an emblem, would
render il exceedingly questionable as
to whether il should be accepted by the
clerk as authority to place the same
upon the ticket Nor would such de-
feet be cured, in my judgment, by the
recent filing of a new certificate COW
erine that point and. in no event, would
the clerk be justified in placing an en-
hlem adopted by a county convention
al the head Of the state ticket. as that
would operate TO designate the politics
of candidates nominated by a conven-
ton wholly different from the one from
which the certificate emanated. This
would be clearly the exercise of an au-
thorfty not possessed by them.
If q county convention, or a conven-
ton of a smaller political district has
the right TO adopt an emblem at all. 1t
could not relate to or extend beyond
the candidates TO be voted for in such
county or other district, and, if placed
upon the ticket at all, it would seem
that it should be placed at the head of
such portion or part of said ticket.
AS stated above l am inclined to the
opinion that such was not the intention
of the legislature.
Chairman Moyle was seen in connec-
ton with the matter and declares his
1Da1;ef that fha Marty has the right 10