The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1905-01-04
The River Press.
Published every Wednesday Morning
By the Rirer Press Publish-
ing Company.
TO AMEND ELECTION LAWS.

A@A VVos
Pro6ting by the experience of for
mer years and which was accentu atei
by the recent election. the republicans
OF Butte are O. moving in the di
rectiOn of securing some new election
laws and amendments to the existing
ones. The central committee of Sill
YER Bow has taken the initiative In
the matter and held a meeting las,
Saturday at which an outline of the
proposed changes was agreed upon.
A full report of the proceedings is
not available. but from what has been
learned the committee should have the
earnest cooperation of every voter in
the state who has regard for the purity
OF the ballot and is DESTROYS of seeing
an end put to some of the conditions
that have caused Montana to have so
unsavory a reputation abroad. One
OF the changes Thai will be asked is
for a. amendment to the present law
making uniform the official ballot in
every county and requiring thai every
ballot be numbered in serial form and
that tally books be kept to conform.
The object OF this is manifestly to
make impossible the sharp work prac-
ticed in Butte last November and at
elections in other years. If all the
ballots are numbered it will be much
more difficult to substitute a ticket for
the one given the voter by the Judges
as he enters the booth to mark his
preferences. The ballots will be given
out in their regular order and at a
glance the judges a tell whether the
one offered by the voter when he
leaves the booth is the same that was
given him or whether it is another.
"Workers' will not have the time to
mark a ticket and return it before
some one else will have taken the
place OF the man to whom it was Civ
en- for deposit in the ballot box.
The plan of numbering tickets is in
force in Nevada and has been found
effective in accomplishing the object
sought.
The committee also expressed itself
in favor of the adoption of voting ma.
chimes in counties of the first class,
and will attempt TO secure q law pro-
hibiting the appearance of the name
of a candida ate more than once on the
official ballot, regardless Of the nun.
Der Of political organizations that
may have nominated or endorsed him.
The latter law is one that will prob.
ably be regarded with more favor
than almost any of the others pro-
posed by the committee, although it
must be conceded that all are good
and that they should find a place on
the statutes. This will put an end to
any of the so.called ''movements,"
such as We're responsible for the ap.
pearauce OF one name under a multi.
tude Of alleged political parties dur
ing the last campaign. 1t will greatly
simplify the matter of voting and will
confine the issues and candiuacies to
legitimate political parties and climi-
nate as factors all of the pretended
parties, which generally are nothing
more than the EXAMINATIONS of schemes
on the part of a few individuals with
ends to subserve.
TO take the judiciary Out of politics
is also one of the purposes to which
the committee has committed itself.
TO do this as nearly as possible it will
ask for the enactment OF Il law pro-
viding for the election of judges of
the district court 1t elections held
separately from the regular county
elections. Whether it is desired 10
throw the iudgeship elections on ''off'
years or to simply allow for al Inter.
val of a few months between the rcgu.
lar and the special elections is not
known, but whichever it may be, it
will do much to clothe the selection of
men for the bench with much more
dignity than now obtains and will
have Il tendency to do away with party
distinction. Such law would have
much to commend it, while little, if
anything, could be said against it,.
The republicans of Silver Bow are
on the right track and it is to be
hoped that they will be successful.--
Billings Gazette.