Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1900-10-29
new COMPLICATIONS
Secretary of State Permits An.
dreWs To Claim Three Dem.
ocratic Votes, Too.
AS A LEGISLATIVE CANDIDATE
Latest Development in Contest a
Strange One--injunction
to Be Sought.

structlons from Secretary OF State
Rose, yesterday morning, to place the
name of j. II. Andrews on the official
ballot for minority representative in
the SD district as democratic can
didate. The execution of this order
may, however, be interfered with
through process of law. The applica-
tien for an injunction to prevent such
a proceeding is pending in the Rock
Island county circuit court, to be dis
posed of, it is hoped, tomorrow.
j. H. Andrews at the last minute
of the time allotted him to decide
Saturday afternoon elected to 60
on the democratic ticket as a candi-
date for minority epresentativein the
Thirty-third senatorial district, thus
discarding his independent candidacy
subterfuge. Strange to say Secre-
tary of State Rose permitted his
candidacy with three votes, just as
had been the case with NJ. j. McEniry,
to be certified TO the county clerks of
Rock Island and Henry counties COM
prising the Thirty-third senatorial
district. The action of the secretary
of state. instead of sustaining the rul-
ing of the county judges who had al
ready passed upon the merits of the
controversy as to the contesting county
conventions, and relieving the COM
plication of the situation. as far as
the ballots are concerned, only
added to the enc barTassment. He did
this by authorizing more votes for
the Office of minority representative
than the law permits, for he gave
Mr.. Andrews, as well as Mr.. Nc
Entry, permission to go on with three
votes each. Under such a state of
affairs it would be like voting for two
men on the same ticket for the same
office, and thus deprive democrats of
the straight party vote on representa-
tive without running through the en-
tire ballot and exercising the strictesJ
caution in order TO make the will of
the electoE plain.
Complications That Develop.
According to the law each party is
entitled to three votes to a candidate
for minority representative in dis
tricts the size of the Thirty-third.
Each party may nominate one, two or
three candidates, but the elector must
so distribute his vote that it will not
exceed three. He may vote one for
each of three candidates regardless of
politics, or may vote one and one-half
each for two, or may plump three
straight for one. But he cannot plump
three straight for two, and the
ballot ought not TO give him the OPP
portunitv of doing that which the law
will not permit, and which, if he does do,
will invalidate his vote on that par
l.. T.,
il does not seem reasonable that a
ballot should be permitted to be
printed that will deprive the elector
who votes his ticket straight of intel
ligent expression on every office and
candidate on the ballot. Neverthe-
less. according to the ballots.the Sec
rotary of state authorized, with three
votes each for McEniry and Andrews,
the man who would vote his ticket
straight, would lose his vote on rep
resentative entirely. The cleo
tor would be obliged to indicate
in some way that would not be
construed as a mutilation of the bal
lot, his preference for minority repre-
sentative. The elector could, perhaps,
so indicate that there would be no
in interpreting his prefer
once, but he would have to use great
deal of care under the Australian sys-
tenn of voting.
disappointed in Mr. Andrews.
MI. Andrews course ever since the
legislative convention met at Cam
bridge has been q source of much sur
prise and disappointment to his
friends in Rock Island county. That
his candidacy, or the candidacy of
Henry county candidate, rather,
had many sympathizers in Rock
Island county this year is, as
a matter of fact, true. And Mr.
Andrews as the candidate of Henry
county made many friends here. But
when he sought to defeat the will of
the majority of delegates in the sena-
torial convention, and beyond that
had arranged to 90 on the ticket in
if he was defeated in the
or his candidacy as q
party candidate was set aside by law,
as proved to be the case afterward,
he lost the respect of democrats in
this section. AS far as his candidacy
now is concerned, it seems logically,
il not according to law, to be irregu-
lar, if it comes, as it appears to, from
the senatorial committee designated
by the same convention that
the county Judges declared had
no right to nominate. AS for
Mr.. McEniry his name on the
ticket comes, not from a committee
designated by either of the contesting
but from four out of
i've mem bers in the original legisla-
tive committee and including both
Rock Island and Henry county mem
beTs. Mr.. Andrews, on the othe<
hand, has the support of only the
Henry county members of the COM
mittee selected by the convention that
it was declared by law did not exist.
However, the proper tribunal will