Hattiesburg daily news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1907-1908, 1907-10-15
PRIMARY Law ISPLAIN;
STATE STATUES DOUBTFUL
Only One Ticket in the Field, How
ever, and Il VIII Make Little Differ
ence in the Long Run--Two Tickets
Would Bring Complications.
Daily News Special. !,

jackson, Miss, October 14.--Since
the sample COPIES of the official bal
lot, to be used in the coming state
election next November have been dis
tributed throughout the, state, the COM
missioners of election having charge
of the printing of the official ballots
for the various counties, raised ques-
tion as to how the railroad commits
sioners and penitentiary trustees are
to be voted for That is to say,
whether they shall be voted for by
districts or bN the voters of the state
at large.
Under the primary election law the
question is settled unequivocally Py
the Language Of the law, which dis
tinctly, and emphatically provides that
the candidates for railroad commits
sionef and trustees of penitentiary
shall be nominated by districts, one
from each supreme court district, and
the voters Of each district to vote only
for the candidates running from. that
particular district.
The primary law, however, OF
course has nothing to do with the
general election law, and hence the
question as to. how to vote for these
candidates IN ne regular election.
In the case OF railroad commission
err che law ia plain and provides that
the railroad commission shall be com
posed ,of three members, zone from
eaol supreme court district, to- be
E1ted at the general elections every
+ years, BY ballot at large" This
tuaee is unmistakable and means
i railroad commissioner shall be
ected from each district and then
ef rted by vote of the entire state
b the case of the penitentiary trus
te6, the law is not so clear, and seems
toIndicate, however, that the trustees
slfll be elected by districts. just al
til are nominated.
Row, in the present instance, where
tire is only one ticket in the field
it'll makes no difference whatever
wether the candidates for trustees
AZ voted for by the whole state O
bk the districts only. If the candi
d4s running are properly nominal
ed &one from each supreme court dis
til they will, Of course, be elected
nj natter whether they get votes out
81 of their respective districts o.
u n |-
However. a very iiNesass i wes
Pn arises when the possibly of na'
b two strong opposition tickets
Ie field for state officery is conten
plated. Suppose, for exabple, instea
pr having one ticket in he Held tnl
year, we had two and the contes
lwas close one. and suppose the Den
ocrats put their candidates for pen
tentiary trustees on the tickets
every county in the state, while II
R9puslicaDA placed their candidate
on the district tickets only. The la
In regard to the prison trustees, reat
that there shall be elected three tru
tees for the penitentiary at each ge
eral election, each to hold office 4
four years, one to be elected from eat
supreme court district" Now und
this language 1t would seem to ha'
been the purpose of the legislature
have trustee elected from each q
trict. The primary law had alrea'
provided for the nomination by d
tricts. Now suppose, in the case pl
sented, that the Republican nomine
got the majorities in each distri
while the Democratic candidates
\ the majorities in the state at lart
naturally enough, because the RepV
lican candidates were not on the sta
at large ticket Who, in this eve
would be the officers elect?
AcCn rnrnCnnD vIInDnVI