The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1900-02-27
Assistant Attorney General Re-
plies to Inquiries Concern
ing Issuing Of Bonds.
THOSE WHO MAY VOTE
On the Proposition and Who Is
Authorized to Call the
Election.

In reply to inquiries from Count.
Attorney W. M. Johnston and Gwen F
Burla, secretary Of the board OF trustee
Of the county free high school, in regart
to several questions pertaining to tn
building and equipping Of the school
as provided for by the measure passed
by the last legislative assembly, Assist
ant Attorney General Loeb has rend
cred the following opinion:
Answering the various questions con
tanned in your letter OF Feb. 10th, 1900,
respecting the procedure in submitting
the question Of issuing bonds for the
purpose Of building and %equipping d
county high school, and for the pur.
chase Of a suitable site therefore, ]
will say that section Z of house bill
No. SO Of the sixth session laws Fro
vides that said trustees may, it in their
Judgment they think best, bond the
county for the purpose Of raising the
money necessary to build and equip the
high school provided for in said law
and to purchase a suitable site therefor.
Section s of said law provides,
whenever any board of trustees of Il
county free high school shall decide to
bond the county as provided in the fore
going section, said trustees shall issue
said bonds IN the provided for
the issuance Of school district bonds.
Provided, that no county shall be bond
ed for the above purposes in an amount
to exceed one hundred thousand dollars.
Under this section it will be seen
that the bonds are to be issued in the
name provided for the issuance of
school district bonds. The law appli.
cable to the issuance of school district
bonds provides that the board of school
trustees Of ~ school district (Which
in this case, Of COURSE, would mean the
trustees OF the county high school) shall
whenever a majority Of the school trus.
tees so decide submit to the electors Of
the district in question whether the
board shall be authorized to issue bonds
to a certain amount. In the case Of
the issuance Of bonds for a county high
school, of course. the limit would be
u hundred thousand dollars. This
proposition can be submitted, in my
Judgment, whenever a majority of the
trustees Of the county high school
shall 30 decide to submit the question.
As to who would be authorized to
vote at said election. I will say that
the provisions Of section 1777 of the
political code, as amended by substitute
for senate bill No. SO, passed by the
Fifth legislative assembly, would in
my judgment, control.
1t provides that EVERY citizen of
the United States who has resided in
the state Of Montana for one year, and
thirty days in the school district next
preceding the election, may vote there
at. Women of the age Of 81 years and
upwards who are citizens of the United
States, and who have resided in the
state OF Montana one year, and in the
school district for thirty days next pre-
ceeding the day Of election, may vote
thereat; provided, however, that be.
fore any such person shall be entitled to
vote in any district Of the first class,
he or she shall have registered as in
this act hereinafter required"
The county commissioners, in my J
Judgment, would have nothing to do
with the calling Of this election. The
is entirely a matter for the
OF the county high school. {
They are authorized to call the election !
which You refer as having been I
given by the attorney general with
to the holding of a special I
election was one given in a letter to >
.. L. Gray, county attorney at kalis- !
pell. Dec. 18th, 1899, in which attor. U
aey General Nolan concludes that there a
10 no authority for holding a special &
election for the submission by the coup. Z
y commissioner Of the question as to u
bonding OF a county for tho purpose a
u building n court house. but that this G
proposition must lie submitted to the O.
electors at a general election. 1t was v
hen held that there was no authority a
or holding special elections for the b
purpose set forth. The proposition u
men under consideration had no con-. 81
leotion with school elections in apy Il
manner. 81
county Attorney Johnston, at the u
eqnest OF the board of trustees of the u
county free high school, rendered an II
'pinion before the one was requested p'
rom Assistant Attorney General Loeb. tt
.his opinion, in substance. was that VI
board would have to submit the "
ono proposition not to school electors II
lone, but to the general electors at &C
eRn!ar election. because the constitu. al
Ion specifically states that when n b'
onda amounting to over $40, 900 are to kl
Q voted u shall be submitted to a vote tn
ell electors at a regular general cleo. le
ION. And Mr.. Johnston still holds to A
Ia opinion. the assistant attorney gen. Is
to the contrary Notwithstanding. th
A REMEDY FOR DIVORCE, "
- q
la rhronn. IN. Rr,,l,ant c- 81