Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1898-10-28
COURTS OPINION.
Opinion 81 the Supreme Court in
the Election Case in Cava-
Her County
Of0eneralInteresta Interpreting
Various Features Of the Elec-
ton Law.
Various Items of News Gathered
In and Around the. Capital
City.
The Cavalier County Case.

4GN ENfth1ENfEE ~
The Cavalier County Case.
The following is the opinion Of the
supreme court in the Cavalier county
case. AS it defines the duties of the
secretary Of state and i%nterprets a num-
bel, Of points of law with regard to con-
ventions and other political matters
which will be of interest in all parts Of
the state, it is published in full:
Bartholomew, C.J.: The relators in
this case, Charles W. Plain, James Dobic
and j. H. Williamson, ask at the hands
oil, this court a writ of mandamus requir-
ing Fred Falley, secretary of state, to
certify their names to the auditor of
Cavalier county as nominees of "Inde-
pendent and Democrat" party for the
offices, respectively, Of state senator and
representatives for said Cavalier county
the same being the Eighteenth Legisla-
tive District of the state. It will be,
tain statutory provisions and also to
epitomize the allegations in the alterna-
tive writ.
Sec. 493, Rev. Codes, reads as follows:
.".Any assembly or convention of dele,
gates held for the purpose of making
nominations to public Office, or electors
to the number hereinafter specified, may
nominate candidates for public Office to
be filled by election within the state.
Public printed or posted notice of hold
ing such assemblyor convention must be
given at least six days before the holding
of the same. Such nomination shall be
made by delivering to and leaving with
the officer charged with directing the
printing of the ballots upon which the
name is Ito be placed, within the time
prescribed herein, a certificate of nomi-
nation OF each candidate. An assembly
or convention within the meaning of this
chapter is an organized assembly of dele
gates representing n political party or
principle which cast five per cent Of the
total number of votes cast for member
of congress at the last general election"
The following section declares: "All
nominations made by such convention
shall he certified MS follows: The certi-
ticate of nomination, which shall be in
writing, shall contain the name of each
person nominated, his postofice address
and the Office for which he is named and
shall designate in not more than five
words the party or principle which such
convention represents, and it shall tie
BIZ LSTu ulO NCIlllCO ny tuS pACSlOlAS
officer and secretary of such convention
who shall add to their signatures their
p:stoticc address,
Sec. 500 requires the certificates of
nomination for state and legislative
offices to be filed with secretary of state
and see. ,533 provides that such certifi-
cate shall be opened to public inspec-
ton. Sec. 5N reads: "Not less than
twenty-five days nor. more than thirty
days before an election to fill any state
or district Office the secretary Of state
shall certify to each county auditor
within which any of the electors may by
law vote for candidates for such office
as specified in the certificate Of nomina-
ton filed with him."
The alternative writ, after reciting at
length the factsfshoWing REALTORS to be
eligible to the respective Offices for which
. they have been nominated, proceeds to
state that heretofore there has been in
the state Of North Dakota a certain
political party known,as the "Independ-
ent" party and another political party
known as the Democratic" party; that
the principles of said parties were in
many substantial particulars identical,
and that it had been the policy of said
parties nsthis state to center their nomi-
nations for specific Offices, state, legisla-
ture and county, upon. the same indivi-
duals; that pursuant to said policy, and
pursuant to notice duly given by the
proper officers Of said parties respective
~, said parties duly met in Joint con
yentioni in the cityof Fargo on July 9th,
1898, and placed in nomination a com
plete state ticket to be voted for at the
ensuing general election; that the nomi-
nations thus made had been filed with
the secretary Of state and by him certi-
fiedsto the various counties Of the state.
Further that on Sept. S3Oth, 1898, and
pursuant to notices properly given in
each instance the said democratic and
independent parties Of said Cavalier
county met iii separate delegate conyen-
tions at the city OF. Langdon; that con-
ference committees were appointed which
resulted in q union Of the two conven-
tions and the nomination, of a single leg
islative ticket under the party designa-
ton Of .Independent and Democratic
party, and that these REALTORS were the
legislative nominees 30 chosen, and GER
~tiicates Of their nomination in. due and
proper form filed withfthe defend
ant, and that he has failed and refused
to certify such nominations to the audi
tor Of Cavalier county.
Upon&t return of the alternative
writ the defendant moved to quash and
set aside the same on the ground that
the allegations did not warrant the relief
demanded. Bysagreementth defendant
also answered.. without waving his
motion The answer admitted, in effect,
all the allegationsio of the alternative writ
except the fusion OF the independent
party and the democratic party in Caya-
Tier county. AS to that il Is alleged that
when the conventions met in the city of
Langdon the independent convention
was composed Of forty-four members
present in person or by proxy, that the
conference committee appointed by said
ACKNOWLEDGMENT reported against
fusion with the democrats, which said
report was duly adopted: that thereupon
q fragment OF said%s convention represent
ing eighteen votes in person and8by
proxy, withdrewiand. formed aseparate
convention, and this fragment slbse-
quently united with the democrats in
n0minat;nU tha5 rnlafnra. These allepa-