The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-11-30
WillGOOnt the
Ballots.
APPEARS LEGAL.
Decision of City Solicitor on
Democratic Caucuses.

the democratic caucuses held on Friday
night last appear to be perfectly le-
GAL and upon this conclusion has au-
thorized City Clerk Towne to place up
on the official ballots TO be used at the
city election the names of the success
full candidates at the municipal eau
cuses and those nominated at last
nights city convention
The decision of City Solicitor Rugg is
hailed with great delight by the Mellen
faction of the democracy, and undoubt-
eddy the effect of the decision was to
save Mr. Mellen from defeat at the cit.-
convention. He won out as a candidate
for the board OF aldermen by the mar
rowest margin, receiving % votes, as
the sixth and lowest of the several cam
didates for nomination ballouted for,
beating his next competitor, John b.
Ratigan by single vote,
The decision of the city solicitor is
said to be based on a decision on an
election case, contested on a SIMILAR
point as that raised by The Spy, against
the validity of the democratic primar-
les. The decision was by McCarron, and
is as follows:
While it is true that notice is
essential, to the validity Of an cleo
ton, it is not always essential
that the particular form or manner
of giving notice, which may be
prescribed, shall be followed. 1t is
essential that the electors should
have notice of the time, place and
objects of the election. That is,
they should have knowledge of
them, but an omission to follow the
particular mode provided by stat
ute for publishing such notice, may
not render the election void, and
will not, if the electors have actual
notice, and do, in fact, take part in
the election. This doctrine was laid
down very broadly by the supreme
court of Iowa, in DishOn VS.. Smith
90 Iowa, 212.) The court in that case
say THE courts have held that
the voice of the people is not to be
rejected for a Select, or even want
of notice, if they have, in truth,
been called upon and have spoken.
In the present case, whether there
was notice or not there was an
election, and the people of the coun-
ty voted, and ii is not alleged that
any portion of them failed in knoWl-
edge of the tendency of the cues
ton, or to exercise their franchise
This is the basis for the decision rem
dered by the city solicitor, but there
are many prominent lawyers in town
who differ with the city's legal adviser.
The decision above quoted. is decls-
ion on an election, for which there were
general laws laid down, while the issue
at stake in the present case, was a
matter for which there was a special
statute, which applied for only those
parties that had accepted it for their
own particular locality.
The city solicitor and City Clerk
Towne We're in conference for more
than an hour yesterday afternoon, Be
fore their decision was reached Chair
man Mellen of the democratic city COM
mittee was called in and remained with
them for half and hour. what was Of
fered in the nature of advice from the
chairman of the local democracy is not
known, as the latter refused to say
anything about the matter when Quer-
led thereto by the reporter of The Spy.
AS has been stated already the de-
oisiOn of the solicitor IA not regarded in
many quarters as a good one. That he
was hampered in reaching his conclu-
sion by the dilemma in which the re-
publicans are placed, through the fail
ure of the city committee of this party
to notify the board of aldermen in re-
lation to the places for the holding of
their own caucuses is admitted by sew
eral prominent politicians of both par
ties.
One gentleman told The Spy man last
night that in his opinion the city soi-
citor was obliged to render his decis-
ion in this manner or else meet with a
contest from the democracy as to the
legality of the republican primaries
This, Of course, would force both par
ties to run their candidates on nomina-
ton papers and result in no end Of
bother and perhaps more or less con-
fusion.
There are plenty of prominent men in
both parties who maintain that The
Spy's point relative to the illegality of
the democratic caucus is we'll taken
and that an appeal to the courts by any
interested parties would result in haV-
ing all elections based upon nomina-
tions from these caucuses thrown out
on this ground.
One prominent democrat stated last
night, after the democratic convention,
that he should do all in his power to
test the legality of the caucuses and
the legality Of the nominations made
at the democratic convention last
night. OF course, and it is needless
to say this, he was one of the men
who had voted for one of the defeated
candidates for nomination as alder
man.
It is held, however, that if the stat
utes mean anything, they mean what
they say and that caucuses held under
their provisions shall be held strictly
in accord Herewith, or else be illegal
If section 104 directs that an is days
notice shall issue before the holding of
the primaries, it is presumed that this
is what is meant, Notwithstanding the
fact that an additional notice by publ
cation in the local newspapers is re-
quired by section 106.
1t is generally conceded that both
parties are fortunate in having blum
dered in the same way. Had the dem
ocrats been alone in their error, the
party would undoubtedly
have pushed the matter to the court of
last resort, and vice versa.
Whether or not the test is made, it
has clearly been demonstrated that the
of republican and demo-
cratic political affairs have been in the
hands of inexperienced and immature
hands, and that the time has come for
the rank and file of both parties to ex-
ercise greater care in the selection of
the men to handle the machinery of the
party.
That the republican party is not dis
franchised through the oarelessness
and ignorance Of its officers, in not call
ing the caucuses at the proper time,
is due to the consideration of members
of the opposing party Even then,
there is an irregularity of which the
democrats would take the greater adj
vantage were it not for the fact that
their committee officials have been lax
and have been guilty of as great if not
a greater blunder than were the re-
publicans before they were corrected. /
That the democrats are not forced to
run all of their candidates upon notni-
nation papers and thus lose many votes
the city through the lack
of interest by members OF the party in
wards that are hopelessly republican,
is likewise due to the peculiar fact that
the republicans are not without the