, 1907-05-21

f'So vi VI W. Is TId<CS-NS.
ton Of Board Adverse Yeste rday.
The following letter from Hon. w.
H. Holiday, addressed to the board
of education, was handed to The Re-
publican for publication:
To the Honorable the Board of Trus.
tees for School District No. 1, Al
bany County, Wyoming.
Gentlemen:-As there seems to be
a difference of opinion as to the legal
ity of the decision Of your honorable
body pertaining to the length of term
that A. G. H. Bode and w. H. Holiday
were respectively elected for, as in
ferred from the press report of the an
nual school meeting, therefore l here
with submit the following statement in
support Of my position in believing
that my election on May 9Th, as a men,
school district, was for the three
year term"
Designation on Ballot.
l hold that IN an election for school
trustees, where more than one trus-
tee was to be elected, and where there
was to be a difference in the length of
term that n or of said trustees
was to serve, then, in that event, no
name could be legally voted for or
counted unless there was a clear desig-
nation on the ballot stating the length
Of term for which the voter preferred
the candidate or the candidates to
Motion Not Effective.
1 hold that no motion, however car
ried, could lawfully deprive a voter of
the right to designate on his or her
ballot the person Or persons who he
Or she preferred to vote for, or for
what length Of term the voter prefer
red each candidate to serve; and fur.
Their that the designation on the bal
lots, indicating the voters wish Is to
persons or time of service. is a man
date that cannot be lawfully ignored,
all such votes specifying the term
Of trusteeship must be counted as they
we're cast, this being the only way
which the judges of election a ar
rive at an intelligent conclusion as to
he intent of each voter.
Should Be Made Clear.
If it were possible that a voter could
by a motion be deprived of the right to
on a ballot his or her prefer
for school trustee or the length Of
time each candidate should serve,
(when there vas to be a difference in
the length of term that one or more
should serve) then such mo
ton should be made clear to each citi-
zen present.
This was not done in the case Of the
Gerhard motion that the two candi-
dates receiving the highest number OF
votes be declared elected for the three
year term and the next highest for the
one-year term"
Motion Comes Unawares.
Said motion was sprung at the mo-
the audience was getting ready
to vote, and was rushed through with
out time for thought or debate. 1t was
not repeated by the presiding officer in
or substance SO that the citi-
zens present could understand its
meaning, and was not voted on by one
tenth of the citizens present. To all
who were present it vas evident that
only a small percentage of all who vot-
ed for school trustees knew of said
Gerhard motion or its purpose.
As to Length of Terms.
With the information that I have, l
that Otto Gramm has SO votes
specifically designated "three-year
term" and II votes without any speci.
fcation as to length of term.
That w. H. Holiday has 80 votes
specifically designated "threeyear
term" and SO votes without any speci-
fication as to length of term.
That A. G. H. Bode has 80 votes, a
majority Of all the votes cast, specific
ally designated 'for unexpired term OF
W. H. Frazee," and 5 or 6 votes speci-
flying for "three-year term" and about
65 votes without any specification as to
length of term. The intent Of the voter
expressed on said go votes ought to
be respected.
Intent of the Voter.
If any inference is permissible as
to the intent Of the voter in casting
a ballot without any designation as to
the term of t%rusteeship, it must be that
such voters intended their votes to be
counted in the order as to term Of trus'
teeship as was particularly specified
in the ticekt designated Nominees OF
the Laramie Literary Club, and the
Woman's Club" being in words and
figures as follows:
Nominees OF the Joint Committee