The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1898-06-24
TO GET OUT A SUPPLEMENTAL
GREAT REGISTER
WITHOUT MANY EXTRA CLERKS
Unless These Are Appointed Many
Citizens Will Find Themselves
Cheated of Their Vote


ly necessitates. That the intention of the
legislature had been to provide for such
extra expense. but accidentally passed the
rest of the act and forget al. about the re-
munerative clause, is poor consolation alike
to the county clerks and the voters, who
stand in danger of being DISTINGUISHED be-
cause there is no money appropriated to
pay for supplement to the great register,
which by law must be published before the
| coming general election.
1t is utterly impossible for County Clerk
Newin to prepare for the printer within
| the given time the sheets from which the
supplemental great register is to be pub
lshed The time for registration begins
l6O days before the general election, which
takes place this year on November 8. and
continues for rs days. After that no new
registrations can take place, but transfers
from one precinct to another of voters all
ready registered must be accepted until
within q days of the day of election. Clerk
Newlin's regular deputies began the work.
and just keep on with it the best they can,
along with their ordinary duties, but they
are getting behind hand at ratio which
VIII go on increasing in proportion TO the
shortening of the time for closing the books.
ting up of this supplemental register will
call for it may be interesting to state that
up to within two days, in the city, Of Los
Angeles alone, there had been entered about
1900 changes since December last, of which
500 were new registrations and 1000, more or
less, transfers of voters from one precinct
to another. And the business has only Just
commenced.
Tho. Ill IL
supervisors some time ago for permission
to employ extra deputies, without whom It
would be physical imposslbility to bring
ouo great register that would do justice
to every citizen who has a right to have
his name printed in it; so that from no fault
of his own he should be beaten out of his
vote on election day, his name having been
left out of the book, either because for
lack of clerks. 1t could not be reached and
taken up, or because it had been conven-
iently laid aside cE account Of its owners
politics, the size of his whiskers or any
other old reason which might have inspired
the party handling the names. The only
explanation that would be given would be
that the party's affidavit had not been
treated worse than that Of a lot of others,
ard that clerk can only do a days work
for days pay; that the officials were not
to blame because they had worked as long
as they could, and only quit when the law
commanded it.
These would no doubt be very fine rea-
sons, but they would hardly satisfy the dis
appointed citizen who might at heart be
convinced that the only cause of his nom
registration was that he was a Democrat or
Popukst. On the other hand with the
needed complement of extra clerks provided
in accordance with the request of the cen
trail county committees no name need be
left out of the register, and there could be
no complaint, whether on correct basis
or wrong deduction that dirty work had
caused the disappointment of the voter.
Nothing in the foregoing remarks should
be construed referring TO Mr.. Ne,wliu
personally. 1t is certain that he, is far too
high minded gentleman and official to lend
himself to anything of the kind, but every
body in the party in power is not made of
such material, and there are men, not nee
essarily connected with the county cerks
office, but for all that there are always
enough court house guerriilaa hanging
about the building who would only be too
thankful to snow under a few Democrats
on November s. 1t would not do therefore,
to have one extra man or even. two extra
men, because they would s'til be insufficient.
but the full rumber required is needed to
give the people sense. of, that security In
this matter to which they are entitled.
1t has been in a measure settled between
the board of supervisors and Mr. Newlin
that he may put on one man as extra reg
istration clerk, and that his demand for
salary will be passed by the board AS
matter of course, II will be held up by the
auditor or the treasurer and then 1t is ex-
pacted that somebody wiz ask the superior
court for writ Of mandate to compel the
auditor to issue the warrant and the treas
urer to cash it. If the decision should be
favorable to the clerk other men would be
appointed.
But all this takes time. and the more tme
is lost in tentative efforts to find out how
the matter can be circumvented the surer
it is that a large number of citizens will
not find their rames on this years suppie-
mental great register Ard in the event !
that the superior court quashes the manda-
mus proceedings, how will the clerk pro-
coed then?
Supervisor Wirsching said yesterday that
he realized the corditon of affairs, and that
e.
"If there is any way at all by which the
county clerk can be provided with the nee
essary help ] am strongly in favon of it,
he said, land I may say that the whole |
boaros is. dIon't care what a. mans poll |
tics may be--let them be ararchistic, for |
all care-but he must not be deprived of
his vote If nothing better can be devised, |
and in order that no dispersion of crooked |
ness could be cast up against the. party. |
am in favor of letting both the Democratic |
and Republican central committees seect |
volunteer clerks. to be approved of by the
clerk, to do the work That ought |
to remove any suspicion of a faint of poll |
tics in this anomalous condition Of affairs,
where a man is required to do thing and
is not given the means or the factors to do |
Ii with.
but, besides making suggestions, may
mention here that the board informally |
considered this deadlock with Deputy Dis
to wait until 1t was found beyond doubt |
that the getting out of complete supple
mental register is physical impossibility, |
and then TO put on extra clerks any way.
Under a clause of the county government |
act, section So. Il believe that we have au-
thority to do this. The section says that we
may do and perform all other acts and
things required by law. not in the act emu
or which may be nece ssary to the |
full discharge of the duties Of the leglsla-
tive authority of the county government.