The age-herald., 1900-07-13
JUDGE MATTHEWS EXPIRES AT GUN Was Democratic Nominee For
 State Auditor. IMPORTANT QUESTION RAISED There is Now Vacancy on the State Ticket Which Must Be Filled
 Within the Next
 Few Days.
IMPORTANT QUESTION RAISED

Judge Walker H. Matthews, Democratic
 nominee for State Auditor, died at his home at Guin, in Marion County, yester- l day, thereby creating a vacancy on the I state ticket which must be filled within
 the next three or four days.
 l The first news of Judge Matthews death
 received in Birmingham came in a tele- gram to the Age-Herald last night, the | telegram containing the bare announce ment of his death without stating any | cause. It was known that he had been i'll | for some months past, but a letter to Sec
 retary John c. Pugh of the executive and | campaign committees a few days aGo stated that he was very much improved.
 In the letter Judge Matthews expressed the hope that he would soon be out and that he expected to take part in the campaign | now in progress.
 | When nominated by the State Demo- cratic Convention at Montgomery on April | 20 for State Auditor, Judge Matthews was | confined to his bed at his Marion County l nome ana nau Deen TOT several "eeh9'
 Later his condition was improved some what and there were hopes that he would be entirely recovered in a short time. | Judge Matthews was one of the most l honored by the voters of his county with 1 the best offices in their gift. For twelve I years he was probate judge, an office held | by his father for twenty years and by his | grantff ther for a number of years. He was a. one time tax collector and at the time of his death was a State Senator from the district of which Marion is a
 part. He was 42 years of age
 l Meeting of Committee Necessary
 The death of Judge Matthews makes it
 necessary for the State Democratic Com
 mittee to meet at once and fill the va
 cancy thus created.
 Under the election laws of the State, po-
 litical parties making nominations must
 file the names of the nominees and the of. | fees for which they nominated with
 the Secretary of State not less than thirty | days before the day of election. If this | provision of law stood alone it would rem
 der further action by the committee un- | necessary, but the same section provides
 that any qualified voter may have his
 name placed on the ticket to be voted at
 the election if a petition bearing the sig
 natures of not less than 800 qualified elect 1 ors be furnished the probate judges of the
 different counties not less than twenty
 days before the day of the election. The
 opinion seems to be that when such pe- | ttion is filed no certificate to the Secretary
 of State would be necessary.
 The State election occurs on Monday, | August 6, and in order to comply with the | law it will be necessary for the probate
 judges to be provided with the properly
 signed petitions not later than July F,
 winch wlll be next Tuesday
 | sect,on of the code
 Section 1906 of the Code of Alabama, 1896,
 which provides the manner in which candi-
 dates may get their names on the ticket is
 as follows:
 | "The Probate Judge of each county | shall cause to be printed on the bal | lots to be used in their respective coun- 1 ties the names of all candidates who | have been put in nomination by any | caucus, convention, mass meeting, pri- | mary election or other assembly of any | political party or faction in this State | and certified in writing and filed with him not more than sixty nor less than | twenty days previous to the day of elec- tion. The certificate must contain the name of each person nominated and the | office for which he Is nominated and I must be signed by the presiding officer l and secretary of such caucus, conven- l tion, mass meeting or other assembly
 or by the canvassing board of such pri- | -xt o,,6 hair cierY atIra met be duly acknowledged by one or more | of them before an officer authorized by l law to take acknowledgements. The | Judge of Probate shall also caused to be l printed upon the ballots the name of | any qualified elector who has been re- l quested to be candidate for any State, county, municipal or Federal office by written petition signed in case of can didate for State or Federal office by | at least five hundred electors, and in case of county or municipal office, by | at least twenty-five electors qualified to vote in the election to fill said office, when such petition has been filed with him mot less than twenty days previous to the election. In case of a person to De voted for by the electors of the whole State or of an entire Congressional district or judicial circuit or division, the certificate of nomination or the peti- ton must be filed in the office of the Secretary of State not less than thirty days before the election; and the Secre- tary of State must thereupon immedi- ately certify to the Judge of Probate of each county in the State in case of an officer to be voted for by the electors of the whole State, and to the Judges of Probate of the counties composing the circuit, division or district. upon suit able blanks to he prepared by him for