The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-11-22
CONTEST MENACES
TAX AMENDMENT
INTERESTS THAT FEAR IT MAY
ASK A RECOUNT.
Claim that It Is Credited with Votes
Cast for Good Roads Amendment,
Which Has Lost-Recount Would Be
Expensive How Did Switch in Order
Happen? go

= =. E. o. . : Iii y =--T- t-Ey-. 80 .
Interests opposed to the wide-open
tax amendment threaten to begin
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 de-
feated.
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 crediated
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 legisla-
ton that is likely to come from it.
They are afraid that the state will
| take advantage Of the wider latitude
now permitted to impose tonnage tax
| on iron ore, or some other form Of dis
elimination against the alien holdings
of mineral wealth. s}.a' f.
The law provides a 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 if he fails to make good.
The vote will not be opened and
counted by the state canvassing board
till Dec. 49,. On the face of the re-
turns, the tax amendment will be found
to have carried by $4,000 to $4,000 ma
however, is probably lost by 500 votes
or more. On the ballot the good roads
amendment came first and the tax
amendment second. On the tally sheets
this 4HRder was reversed. Opponents
OF the tax amendment claim that on &C.
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
this was true in many voting precincts,
but it is doubtful whether the mistake
was made in all. The facts could never
be known without recount. ~.
= 49, Contest Procedure. !"
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
Of every city, village and township in
the state. It would be done under
section 1886 of the Revised Laws, which
says that "Any voter may contest the
whom he had the right to vote, who is
declared elected to a state, county or
municipal office, or the declared re-
suit upon a constitutional amendment
or other question submitted to popu-
lar vote.' This contest must be made
| within ten days after the canvass is
| completed, and in the case of state
matter it must be served on the secre-
tary of state. The judge before pro-
ceedings are brought appoints three
persons to inspect 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 ex-
penses Of the inspection in case he
fails to maintain his contest.
." Switched by Printers?
|. 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 talk H. Sheets and that he 50
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
men reversed, and it was then too late
| to get them reprinted. .. 49,,
Duluth View Of It.
Speaking Of the question of which
amendment passed, the Duluth News
Tribune says: = 1
/ It certainly Is. not to the interest of
the iron range counties to have the tax
amendment pass in its present form, and
steps should, therefore, be taken to have
recount of this vote, which would be
neither a difficult nor very expensive
matter. Any citizen who is a taxpayer
probably has the right to enforce such a
recount, and some one Of the commercial
:, bodies of this city should at once take
the initiative
Many Of our citizens pass lightly over
the danger of the revenue from the iron
taxes being diverted from local uses.
Possibly this might never be done, but it
/ would always be a menace and would be
a. club to hold over the northeastern
members Of the legislature In influencing
legislation, and would be a constant
source of annoyance. If there is any way
of defeating it, it should be taken,