Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1905-02-24
PRIMARY PETITION ILLEGAL.
Senate Committee Says Law Was Ignored,
Names Duplicated and Not Legal.

i'Siiestt Soi1lii!tVeS says Law was ignored,
Names Duplicated and Not Legal.
a Pierre special OF the 17th says:
The senate committee on rules made
an advance report on the primary elec-
tion petition, and this report was
adopted after IL red hot fight, by votc
OF : | to 81.
In it's report the committee declared
that the petition plainly bore upon its
face the marks of mutilation and ma
nipulation, and showed that of neces-
sity it is in an entirely different form
than when signed by the purported pc
titioners. The report says in part:
The first page is clean and freshly
written page and in sharp contrast with
the succeeding pages of names thereto
attached, and which succeeding pages
bear the marks of handling. Again, tho
first page states that it is the original
form and caption used at the head of
each and every list of petitioners at
tarhed. 1T contains the following
words: "Original form and caption en-
hod7ing proposed law used at the head
of each and every list of petitioners
thereto attached"
Inspection of this first page demon
straies that it is false on its face, and
that il could not have been attached to
the list OF names after tho same had
been signed. Your committee further
finds in this regard that tho said first
page is neither verified nor authenti-
Gated. nor signed by any person or per-
sous. That it has been illegally. fraud
ulently and falsely attached 10 said list
Of signatures of names contained in
said purportea petition is entirely GER
tain, but by whom your committee has
| been unable to ascertain.
| Your committee finds, third, that
page two OF the original purportod
petition has also been fraudulentiy,
| illegally and falsely inserted therein
by someone to this committee lin-
known
Your committee finds, fourth, that
| page three of said original purported
petition and the following pages of this
section, preceding the various lists of
names, have also been fraudulently.
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 or
/ formed part ,of the lists of names
which appear after pages /, , and 3 and
the pages which precede the lists OF
names III said pulported petition, aud
lists of signers subsequent to the attiN-
ing Of the signatures of said 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 one purpose.
and that was to commit Il fraud upon
this legislature and the people of the
state of South Dakota, and 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 specifically referred
to. These signatures appear upo1
sheets of paper containing about thirty
names each. and are divided into -four
columns under the headings of"Name,
"Residence," Business" 'Postotiice
Address, The signatures are mum
bered at the left in red ink from te
1854 by an unknown hand and evident
ly after circulation of the sheets. II
this regard your committee finds:
First, that large number Of tn.
pages containing purported name!
were not and could not have been at
tached to any petition, copy of the Law
or to any other paper or documen
whatever. Others of them have appar
emily been at some time attached tt
some other paper Or document, th,
character of which paper or documen
, is impossible for your committee to de
termine, and from which they hav,
been unlawfully and fraudulently tori
asunder 10y some person or persons t,
your committee unknown.
Your committee finds. second, tina
for the purpose of preventing the per
petration of frauds upon the peopl
and the legislature, and at the sam
time to furnish means for full identi6
/. cation of the signers to any initativ
petition and authorization of the pc
!, tition itself. the statute law of thi
' state (section 2l, political code) provide
! ''all measures proposed to the legisla
J, tnre under the initiative shall be Pre-
sented by petition which petition sha
I, be signed by not less than per cen
of the qualified electors Of the stat,