Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1905-02-24

Legislature which the signers OF saiu
lists of names may never have con-
templated or even desired.
THE SIGNATURES.
| The law provides (section Il, Poll
tical Code): "All matters proposed
to the Legislature under the initiative
shall be presented by petition, which
shall be signed by not less than five
per cent Of the qualified electors OF
the state" Again the law provides
(section 26, Political code); Every
petition to propose measure must
contain the substance of the initia-
tive law desired Your committee
believes the provisions quoted to be
absolutely mandatory and that the
purported petition, being so entirely
defective, as specifically set forth in
the foregoing four things, is an alb
solutely nullitv aud constitutes no
basis or foundation for any atiirua-
tive leg islative action.
Your committee further reports
that it has carefully examined the
list of the signatures which follow
the foregoing pages hereinbefore
specifically referred to. These sig
natures which following upon sheets
of paper containing about thirty
names each, and are divided into four
columns under the headings of
name" Residence" Business"
"Postoffice Address" The sigma
lures are numbered at the left in red
ink, from to 1884, by an unknown
hand and evidently after circulation
Of the sheets. In this regard your
committee finds:
NAME NOT ATTACHED TO PETITION.
First, that a large number of the
pages containing purported names
were not aud could not have been at
tached to any petition, copy OF the
law, or to any other paper or docu-
ment is impossible for your commit.
tee to determine and from which
they have been unlawfully and fraud
ulently torn asunder by some per-
son or persons to your committee un-
known.
Your committee finds, second. that
for the purpose of preventing per-
petration of frauds upon the people
and the Legislature, and at the same
time to furnish means for full identi
fication of the signers to an initiative
petition and Authorization of the pe-
ttion itself, the statute law of this
state (section Il Political Code) pro-
vides SAIL measures proposed to the
Legislature under the initiative shall
be presented by petition, which petit
ton shall be signed by not less
than five per cent of the qualified
electors of the state and each elector
shall add to his signature his place
of residence, his business and his
postoffice address" This require
ment Of the statute can mean moth
ing but that each elector shall with
his own hand sign, not only his name
but also his residence, his business
and his post office address.
LAwoF THE CASE.
The language OF the statute is that
the elector shall add to his signature
and does not provide that any one
else can do that for him. Yet your
committee finds that great majority
Of the signatures found that this pur-
ported petition absolutely and entire
lyifail to comply with this plain, manv
datory and imperative provision of
the stat ute. As demonstrating this
finding of your committee, attention
is called to the fact that upon large
number Of these sheets which pur-
port to contain signatures OF signers,
the signatures are written in pencil,
followed by the residence, business
and post office address writtenin ink
by an entirely different hand, entire
pages being go filled in by some per
son other than the persons who,
signed their names. Without citing
unnumbered single cases. your COM
mittee finds most glaring forgeries IN
this respect in the list of names mum
bered 4l0S to 1910, 43l6 to 1884, 4482
to 1895, 1896 to 1850, 47l2 to 475l,
4772 to 1886, 1890 TO 5lS1, $3.50 to
529l, 1914 to 5409. 5437 to 547O, 5527
to 56C9, 567e to 57777 SITS 10 1892.
594S to 597s, 59S2 to 60s3, 6Osi to
6l34, 625S to 6272, 627S 10 GAIT. GAG
to 6504, CABS to 6443. 66b7 to 6745,
1880 to 754S, S26l to s422, s555 10
S6O5, s66s to s754, s765 to 1854
THousASps or NAMES SHORT
4 Your committee further finds tiist
these forgeries last mentioned con
sisted ID some person other than the
~. tL = y 4 < "a 81 .-1 81 /. -.-t4