The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-12-12
COST OF PRIMARY
1t Falls Below What Had Been
Expected.
Only Little More Than One Hun
dred Thousand Dollars.
A NEED OF CHANGES.
A NEED OF CHANGES.
Inequalities Brought to the
Surface This Year.
G. L. Denton, Secretary of State,
Makes Suggestions.

the table below of the cost of the pri-
mary election last August by coun-
ties. The secretary sent list of eight
questions to all the county clerks for
complete information about the cost of
the primary. All but seven out of
los responded. The total cost was
$101,523 with about $4,000 to ac-
count for for the seven missing coun-
ties. The secretary has compiled in
his report the vote of the counties at
the last election, their valuations as
reported by the state tax commission
and other interesting information but
only enough is published in the table
to give a general idea of the cost. The
secretary in his report preceding the
table, says:
ITO those who may have entertain
ed an idea that the cost of the recent
primary was a matter of indifference
to the general public, / will state that
since 1t became known that I was col
Iecting information on the subject I
have received many letters asking
when 1 would be able to furnish the
figures, nearly everyone who has come
into the office and many whom 1 have
met on the street have asked me the
same question and it is the desire for
this information that has prompted
the news gatherers to ask that I sub
init at this time that part of my bien-
nal report containing it,
81 regret to say that a few county
clerks have not as yet responded to
my inquiries and great many of
them while stating very plainly the
total cost in their counties, have failed
to furnish the information in detail as
asked for and I am therefore unable
in many instances to divide or appor-
ton the cost as should like to have
done. But enough of them are thor
oughly itemiZed having the cost set
opposite each inquiry concerning the
services performed so that compari-
sons can be made with reasonable ac-
curacy and it is from such reports that
the following comparisons are made.
It should be understood that 1 have
purposely selected some of those
showing the greatest differences in
charges for a like service performed.
For the publication of notices of
offices for which candidates were to
be nominated and the notices of can
didates for whom nomination papers
heads the list with charge of $3.50,
Cheyenne county is next with a charge
of $349, followed by Labette county
with $345, Wilson with s339, Neosho
with $306. Barton with $2S7, Dickin-
son with $213.
The other extremes on this particul-
ar item are headed by Sedgwick coun-
ty with no charge at all for this ser
a charge of $2.75, Norton county with
1000. Atchison county $1,000, Doni-
phan county $3S.00, Pratt county, $41.
Usage county. $500.
''In the publication of the aforesaid
notices the size of the county, popu-
latfon or voting strength has nothing
whatever to do with fixing the cost as
the law provides that such notices
weeks in the official county paper. So,
it will be seen that if Wyandotte coun-
ty with its charge of $3.50 or Cheyenne
county with $349, as we'll as the 9TH
er extreme charges noted above, are
right there is no reason why Sedg-
wick county should perform this ser
vice for nothing at all nor why Kiowa
county should pay the insignificant
sum of $2.75 or Norton county $1,000.
Charge by Sheriffs.
1.-THE next question asked was as to
the charge made by sheriffs for posting
notices in each voting precinct in the
county. In response to this inquiry
Usage county, with q precincts, heads
the list with a charge of $142; Saline
county. with 26 precincts, is next with
$116; then comes Nemaha county with
2S precincts, at 800; Sherman county,
16 precincts, SIS, Lyon county, % pre-
cincts, $75. Minimum charges for this
service are reported from Greeley coun-
county, three precincts. $3.50; Bourbon,
&c precincts. $12; Anderson county, 10
precincts, $1S; johnson county. 26 pre-
cincts, S22
Here it is hard again to reconcile
the figures. Usage county paid $142 for
posting these notices in 27 precincts, |
Saline paid $116 for posting these no
tices in 26 precincts while Bourbon hav-
ing 26 precincts paid only $12 and John
son with a like number of precincts
paid but so.
I'm response to the inquiry as to cost
of printing the official primary ballots
and the sample ballots, Leavenworth
county, with a population of 10000, |
heads the list in cost of ballots by
charging $1,366. Wyandotte county is
next with its population of 111.o0O, |
charging for the ballots $3.50 Reno
ly 35,000 charges 1852 for ballots while
Montgomery, Shawnee and Sedgwick
having a population of around sc, 1000
each, charge respectively 1907, $500 and
S672 for ballots. These are of course the |
highest charges in the state for ballots. |
it will not be easy to un-
derstand why Leavenworth county with
but a little more than one-third the
population of Wyandotte. should make ,
a charge for printing ballots of over
so per cent more, while Reno county
with less than one-third the population
of Wyandotte makes charge of the
same amount. 1t would seem from the
Montgomery, Shawnee and Sedgwick
counties were nearly uniform in pro-
portion to their population.
.'Now taking up the other extreme 1
find that Haskell county with a popu-
lation of 1,400 charges but $40 for these |
tion of $1,000, or nearly ten times as
many as Haskell, makes a charge of $50 |
or only $40 more while Wichita county |
whose population is less than one-sev-
enth that of Riley county. charges just |
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