Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-11-02
Biennial Elections Amendment
Did Not Go by Default
Four Years Ago
MISREPRESENTATION is AFLoAT
Some Arc Confused Retweon This
Amendment and tho One Providing
For a Constitutional convention--
Dos Moines Registration THIS Year
ia 1888.
Special to Times-Repnbllcan.

Special to T1meS-RepuDllCan.
lies Moines, Nov. 1.-There Is mucn
misapprehenslon in regard to the vote
on the biennial elections amendment
four years ago when 1t first came he
fore the people. A great ms.ny have
questioned the large majority given for
1t and have indicated that 1t went by
default before. The fact is that at
the election four years ago the amend
ment was given consideration by 341,-
Gil vo.ers of the state, and of these
1S8,1O5 voted for 1t and 155,50'i against
It, leaving u majority for the amend
ment OF $4,000. Some persons have be-
come confused as between thili amend-
ment and the one providing for con-
stitutional convention. IL ess than
16Ql. 900 OF the voters Of the state rec
ord their opposition to the amendment
this year 1t will have an enorr nous ma
jority for q very much larger number
will vote ON the question than did four
years ago. This year the amendment
goes OH separate ballot AMI the at
tention of the voter will De called
sharply to 1t. The separate slip Will
also have printed thereon tile other
amendmcnt providing for q 'epresen-
tative for every county Of the state.
AS to this amendment there will be
some work for 1t, and very little In
opposition. It will all help he bien-
nlal elections amendment. Some Of
the counties gave large maje rites for
the amendment four years ago Polk
county gave it2.971, Woodbury. county
2,129, Marshall 1854. Scott ,226, Des
Moines 1902, and Wapello 6!i3. The
counties which gave majorities against
the amendment four years igo were
Keokuk, Lucas, Madison, Monona,
Monroe, Audubon, Appanoost, Adams.
Allamakee, Jasper, Iowa, Cedar, Clarke,
Clayton, Davis. Decatur, Floyd, Frank
lin, Greene, Guthrie, Wayne, Warren;
Van Buren,. Taylor, Shelby, Ringgold
All the other counties approved the
amendment.
Des Moines has probably done bet
ter than most of the cities in the mat
ter of registration. The total vote
In the city of Des Moines for presl-
dent four years ago was 1850. The
registration this year is 1888. It will
only be necessary to register about L.
900 to equal the vote CT four years
ago. or course there should be reg
istered now a larger number than vo-
ted four years ago and the total ought
to run up 5000 to 1000 more than four
years ago. In Sioux City there has
irXn of,,sk - "a
$3.50 four years ago and 5,995 eight
years ago. Other cities report as fol-
lows:
Davenport, registered S,776; presi-
Dental vote 1851.
Oskaloosa, registered 1895; vote
1896.
Fort Dodge, registered 1901; vote
2,O93.
Muscatine. registration 3,291; vote
$3.50.
Iowa CITY, registration 1863; vote
2,O21.
Webster City, registration 914, a fall
ing off of 80 per cent.
Clinton, registration 1876; vote A.
793.
Perry, registration 772: vote about
1900.
Boone, registration 1923; very light.
Mason City, registration 1870, about
half.
Maquoketa, registration 900, short
200.
These figures indicate how 1t is run
ming In the cities of the Second dis
trict there has generally been good
registration. The large registration in
Davenport is significant. In the small
ler cities where there are no local fights
the registration is very poor.
In addition to the two amendments
to be voted on at the election this year
In Iowa there will be voted on in Polk
county a proposition to borrow $780,
900 to complete the court house, which;
has already cost 100000. The fact is.
however, that the court house will be
none too large and none too good as it
is, and that great many people now
realize that Polk county ought to have
planned in the first place
for million dollar court house. Yet
the proposition will have many ene-
mics who would prefer that the unfin-
ished structure should stand for a few
years. This little fight and contest
for member of the board Of supervis-
ors drawn out by the court house bond
will add. some interest to
the campaign here.
Representatives of the Iowa retail
grocers association are out In the state
engaged in getting signatures to pc
tition or remonstrance against the pas
sage by congress of the bill to allow
a parcels post system for the benefit Of
the people residing on rural mail
routes They report that they are
having great success in inducing per-
sons to protest against the parcels post
idea. 1t Is expected they will be able
to array the solid iowa delegation
against the bill.
The litigation regard TO oleornar-
garine is at an end IN Iowa. With the