The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1909-01-12

mitteeman.
Under Section 80 Of the party law a
chairman may or may not be a men,
Der Of 2 county or legislative commit
tee, but as the chairman may cast the
deciding vote in case Of q tie on all
questions that may arise before the
committee, we are of the opinion that
the chairman is comitteeman within
the inhibition of that part of Section
% last referred to and if he becomes a
candidate for an office over which his
committee has jurisdiction he thereby
vacates his office as county or legisla-
tive chairman.
The remaining question, viz: Wheth-
er a Democrat otherwise qualified, who
held an Office to which he was elected
or appointed prior to June II, 1903, is
now eligible to DE a member of the
Democratic County or Legislative Com
mlttee, or chairman thereof, is answer
ed by the concluding clause of Section
z, which is as follows:
Hereafter, no precinct committee
man or chairman of any comittee shall
hold any Federal, State, district, county
or municipal Office or be eligible there
FORE"
q 1t will be observed that this clause
last quoted does not say that a person
holding Office on June il, 1908, shall be
ineligible to be comitteeman but on
the contrary it says that a committee
man shall hereafter" Tor meaning
after Junel 1908, be eligible to hold
a public office, thereby showing that
the thought of the convention
was IN this regard, that if
any committeeman or chairman
aculred an Office after June IL 1880. he
should vacate and did vacate his Office
as cOmItteeman, or as chairman.
but if he held an office which he ac-
quired either by election or appoint-
meEt prior to June II, 1908, he was ell
glDle to continue as chairman, or
committeeman, or to be elected as
such. In other worlds, the purpose of
the convention was, according to it's
language, to lnhibit those who after
the adoption of the law became office
holders from being a member or chair
man OF County or Legislative Com
mlttee. ANY other construction would
give eX-post facto effect to the said
provision.
While the language is not identical.
the through here is the same as that
contained in the provision of Section 3.
above quoted, applying to members of
the State Central and Executive Com
mlttee, which provides that the Office
OF said committeeman shall become
vacant upon the acceptance of any
elective public political office, whether
Federal, State, district, county or nou-
nicipal, after this date
We are fortified in this construction
by the fact that the same convention
which adopted the party law ratified
and adopted the action of various con-
gresslonai districts which had previous
~ elected to the position of State Cen
traI and Executive Committeeman sew
eral Democrats who at the time were
holding offices to which they had been
heretofore elected.
Besides the Democratic party at
large has given the section now under
consideration the same construction
which we do. For, although Section
SO of the new party law provides.
This revision of party laws shall take
effect from this date. - those who were
members of the various county and leg
lslatlve committees at the time of the
adoption of the law, and who had ac-
CURED public Offices prior thereto, con-
Ulnued to act without protest as COM
mltteemen, the opinion being, accord
ing to the language of the party law.
that disqualification could not arse
from Offices acquired prior to the adop-
tiOn Of the law,
This view is in accordance with the
well-estaDil6hed rules of legal con,
struction. No court would, we think.
give a different meaning to similar
legislative enactments if their meaning
and effects were involved.
We can neither add to nor take from
the party law, but we must assume
that the convention said what it meant
and meant what it said. It's intention
must be gathered from the language
used. If the convention had intended
that those who were holding office on
June II, 1908, should he eligible to be
members of the various Democratic
committees of the State or local com
mittees or chairmen thereof, it could
easily have said so, but it did not do
this. 1t is expressly provided that this
portion of the party law should become
operative only as to Offices acquired
after this date, and which the con-
Ventjon we'll knew, in the course of a
short while, would leave both the State
and local committee free from Office
holders.
All of which is respectfully submit
ted this Dec. 20, 1908.
j. A. SULLIVAN,
j. "A. DONALDSON,