The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1906-05-24
REMONSTRANCE WINS
Icons RemOnstranCe to Decatur
City Court House Petition Filed
to-day and is a Big Winner.

The remonstrance to the Decatur City
petition which was filed with county
auditor Scott ON March 9th, contain
ing the names o62,612 voters of Deca-
tur county asking that the question Of
re locating the county seat. be submitted
to the voters of the county at the gen
eral election in November, will be filed
by the committee in charge this WED
nesday) evening, and it is handsome
winner. The law governing a county
seat fight provides that the board of
supervisors must submit the question
of a relocation when petition contain
ing the names of a majority OF the vot-
ers of the county is filed with the
county auditor, unless a remonstrance
against the same is filed, which in
order to defeat the petition must con-
tain larger number of names than the
petition, or sufficient names of parties
who signed the petition to bring the
petition below the required majority, as
in case person signs both the petition
and the remonstrance the law expressly
provides that his name shall be counted
on the remonstrance and off the petition
and the remonstrance must be on file in
the county auditors Office ten days be-
fore the first day of the June session of
the board of supervisors.
The last state or federal census shall
govern as to the number of voters in
the county, and in Decatur county the
state census Of 1905 gives Decatur
county 4,690 voters, so that it would be
necessary for the petition to have at
least 2,346 names. The Decatur City
petition contained the names of 2,612
persons, but some of them were dupli-
Gates and some others not residents Of
this county. AS soon as the petition
was filed a comnlittee of Leon citizens
was selected to take charge of the work
of circulating the remonstrance, and that
they have done their work faithfully
can be seen when the statement is made
that the remonStrance contains more
than 2,700 names, which is larger num-
Der than the petition, and of this num-
Der more than 1000 persons signed who
had signed the petition, SO that their
names are to be counted off the petition,
which will bring the petition down to
less than 1000. The petition and re-
monstrance will be examined and pass
ed upon by the board of supervisors at
the June session which convenes in this
city on Monday, June 4th.
The overwhelming defeat of the De-
catur City petition to submit the ques-
tion of relocating the county seat to an
election, shows conclusively that there
is no demand for any change in the To-
cation of the county seat, which has
been at Leon for more than fifty years,
and very large majority of the voters
of the county desire that it should re-
main at Leon. Many of those who
signed the petition did so only to ac-
commodate the person who was circulat-
ing the petition and expected to sign
the remonstrance when they signed the
petition.
Under the law if the remonstrance is
sustained, which it will be, the question
can not be again submitted to the people
for at least five years, and Judging from
the way the voters have expressed
themselves it will never be brought for
ward again in this county.