The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-02-16
Petition Was Manipulated.

The committee on rules declared in its report
that the petition plainly bore upon its face the
marks or mutilntion and manipulation, and
showed that of necessity it is in an ell
purlorted petitioners The report says in part:
Inc hrst page is clean and freshly written
page i,le ana IN sharp contrast with the succeed
succeeding. pages bear the marks Of handling
AGAIN, the first page states that it is the orig
,nai form and caption used at the head of each
ana every list of petitioners attached 1t con-
talns the following words: "OrginaI form and
caption embodying proposed law used at the
to attached
inspection of this first page demonstrates that
It Is false on Its face and that it could not
have been attached to each and every list of
petitioners, and further demonstrates that it was
attached to the list of names after the same
had been signed Your committee further finds
verified nor authenticated nor signed by any
person or persons. That it has been Illegally
traudulently and falsely attached to said list
OF signatures OF names contained in said pur-
ported petition Is entirely certain. but by whom
your committee has been unable to ascertain.
Your committee finds. third that page two
of the original purported petition has also been
fraudulently illegally and falsely inserted there
IN by someone to this committee unknown.
Your committee finds, fourth. that page three
of said original purported petition and the fol-
lowing pages of this section. preceding the
various lists Of names, have also been fraud,1-
lently. illegally and falsely inserted in said
petition.
Your committee concludes. from the foregoing
four findings of fact, that no petition Or law
was ever attached to formed part of the
lists of names which appear after pages l. 2
and and the pages which precede the lists
these We're e these ans lists 'no of
signers subsequent to the affixing of the sigma
lures Of sold lists. And while your committee
| is unable to state by whom this attachment
was made. your committee does find that it could
only have been made for purpose and that
was to commit fraud upon this legislature and
ta Of Sn,,f, no1y
to induce action by this legislature which the
signers of said lists Of names may never have
contemplated or even desired.
Plain Law Ignored.
Your committee further reports that it has
carefully examined the lists of signatures which
follow the foregoing pages hereinbefore specific
ally referred to. These signatures appear upon
| sheets of paper containing about thirty names
each: and are divided into four columns under
the headings Of Name Residence "Busi-
are numbered at the left in red ink from 1 to
1854 by unknown hand and evidently after
| circulation Of the sheets. In this regard your
committee finds:
First, that large number Of the pages con-
taining purported names were not and could not
have been attached to any petition, copy of the
law or to any other paper or document what
ever. Others of them have apparently been at
some time attached to some other paper or
| document, the character Of which paper or docu-
ment Is impossible for your committee to de-
termine and from which they have been
lawfully and fraudulently torn asunder by some
person or persons to your committee unknown.
Your committee finds. second that for the
purpose of preventing the preparation of frauds
upon the people and the legislature. and at
the time to furnish means for full iden-
tifcation Of the signers to initiative petition
and authorization of the petition itself. the
statute law Of this state (Section d, Political
Codel provides "all measures proposed to the
legislature under the initiative shall be pre-
| sented by petition which petition shall be
signed by not less than per cent of the quail;
fed eli Of tha Sta each 1ectO hal
add to his signature his place of residence, his
business and his postoffice address, This re-
that each elector shall with his hand sign,
not only his name, but also his residence, his
business and his postoffice address.
The language of the statute Is that the elector
shall add to his signature, and does not provide
that anyone else can do this for him. Yet
your committee finds that a great majority OF
absolutely and entirely fail to comply with this
plain. mandatory and imperative provision of
the statute.
Your committee further finds that these for
geries last mentioned consisted In some person
other than the signer of the purported petition
sheets had been signed by the purported signers
thereof, by adding to the same.
Bulk of Signatures Illegal.
1t appears to your committee, and your COM
mittee finds, that Of the ss4 purported sigma
lures to said petition nearly $500 of the same
are absolutely illegal under cited sections Of
the law. This leaves about 1900 purported
sgners who have furnished the Identification
quired by law.
Your committee further finds that Of this num-
Der Of 1900 purported signers who have fur
nished this necessary Identification there are a
number who have signed the purported petition
more than once. and only thru lack of time
does your committee feel justified in failing
to ascertain and report the exact number and
exact instances Of fraud in this respect. Among
these instances that your committee has so
ascertained are H. G. Shober, who signs
No. 1857 and again as No 5000; c. H. Cassill
who signs as 4, 33E and $40; o. NJ. Osbon, who
signs as 397 and 5,935.
Your committee further reports that there
have been filed with your committee afidavits
showing that this purported petition has in a
number of instances been signed by persons who
are not electors of this state or of any county
or precinct therein. Among these instances are
those of signers who are minors, others who are
not residents or electors of any county within
this state but having their residence elsewhere
Your committee further reports in this re-
gard that it has been represented to your COM
mittee that in large number of instances these
signature sheets circulated by persons who
received stated compensation for each sigma
ture obtained. That frauds should be perpetrated
under such circumstances may be considered a
natural result. ~ -. 49,. .~-- -
DULUTH, M1NN.-C1yde w. Kelley, who is
connected with the United States census depart
ment is here to lay out the work of collecting
manufa turing statistics. He has been assigned
this work for Minnesota and a part of Wiscon-