The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1906-11-30
MAY META CONTEST.
Tax Amendment Is Not Yet Out Of the
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st. Paul, Nov. 23-Interests opposed
! to the wide-open tax amendment threat
ell to begin a contest to determine
whether it carried at the last election,
or whether it was the good roads
amendment that passed and the tax
amendment that was defeated.
The grounds of the contest would be
that the two amendments were placed
in one order on the ballot, and in the
reverse order on the tally sheet, so
that the tax amendment was credited
with votes really cast for the good roads
amendment which is reported lost. The
threat comes from st. Louis county,
where the iron ore interests fear the
amendment and the legislation that is
likely to come from it. They are afraid
that the state will take advantage of
the wider latitude now permitted to i'm
pose a tonnage tax on iron ore, or some
other form of discrimination against
the alien holdings of mineral wealth.
The law provides method for bring
ing a contest, but it is an expensive
and cumbersome affair, and whoever
starts the contest must be prepared to
pay the costs ii he fails to make good.
The vote will not be opened and
counted by the state canvassing board
till Dec. IS. On the face of the re-
turns, the tax amendment will be found
to have carried by $4,000 to $4,000 ma
jority. The good roads amendment,
however, is probably lost by 800 votes
or more. On the, ballot the good roads
amendment came first and the tax
amendment second. On the tally sheets
this order was reversed. Opponents
of the tax amendment claim that on ac-
count of this, the tax amendment got
the credit for the vote on the good roads
amendment, and that the good roads
amendment really carried, while the
tax amendment was lost. No doubt this
was true in many voting precincts, but
it is doubtful whether the mistake was
made in all. The facts could never be
known with a recount.
To get recount the petitioner would
have to apply to the district court, and
get an order for collection of all the
state ballots, which are now in the
hands of town clerks and city clerks
of every city, village and township IN
the state. 1t would be done under
section 1886 of the Revised Laws, which
says that 'Any voter may contest the
election of any person for or against
whom he had the right to vote, who is
declared elected to a state, county or
municipal office, Or the declared result
upon a constitutional amendment or
other question submitted to popular
vote" This contest must be made with
in ten days after the canvass is COM
pleted, and in the case Of a state matter
it must be served on the secretary OF
state. The judge Before proceedings are
brought appoints three persons to in
spect the ballots, if the ballots are
called for, and the party applying for
inspection of the ballots must file a
bond of $3.50, conditioned that he will
pay the costs and expenses of the in
spection in case he fails to maintain
his contest. W "'''1s'' ~
If the tax amendment was really
beaten, it was defeated by an error re-
garded as extremely suspicious by
friends of the amendment. J. J. Lo
men, assistant secretary of state, who
prepared the state ballot, says it was
his intention to place the tax amend
ment first on the ballot, as he did on
the tally sheets, and that he so pre-
pared the copy. 1t was sent to the
printer at Delano, and he received no
proof, and has not been able to get his
original copy back. The first thing he
saw was the great stack of printed
ballots with the order OF the amend-
ment revised, and it was then too late