Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1912-09-17
CHALLENGES THE CERTIFICATES
Says Parties Who Signed Did Not
Attend the Meeting.
NO LAW FOR THE PROCEEDING
Political Nominating Conventions
Are Prohibited by Law.
PRIMARY IS PLACE AVAILABLE
Secretary of State Has No Authority
to lace the Names of the Bull
Moose Nominees o NTH
Regular Ticket.

LINCOLN, Sept. 1e.-(Special.)-A- NJ,
Morrisey, democratic candidate for at
torney general, was at the state house
this morning and filed with the secretary
of state this afternoon a protest against
the appearance Of the progressive party
candidates on the election ballot. The
protest goes farther than that and denies
the legal formation Of the party.
For the first cause of objection to the
admission of the bull moose candidates to
places on the ticket, the relator sets up
that no convention such as alleged was
ever held. that the signatures TO the
certificate were obtained at the state
fair grounds, on the streets Of Lincoln, at
the hospital for the insane and at the
penitentiary. and at other points remote
from the place where the alleged mass
convention Is said to have taken place;
also, that many of the signatures APP
pended thereto are of persons who did
not In fact attend the allegee convention
and have no personal knowledge that
any such gathering was ever held. That
C. o. Van Meter, who makes affidavit
to the certificate, did not see the slgners
whose names are attached, and does not
know II they signed the certificate. That
the names of many persons signed to
the certificate are those Of state en-
ployes. who signed under duress for fear
of losing their jobs II they refused.
No Law for the Convention.
For a second cause Of objection, Nor
risey sets up that the regular primary
election for candidates was held In April
and that since then no primary has been
held, and that the alleged progressive
party had no candidates on the primary
ballot at the regular primary election In
April.
Third-That there is no provision Of
law that win Tes1uir sof~the nomination
Of candidates by political convention,
or by mass convention. nor is there any
provision of la wthat will permit the
nomination OF candidates In the manner
as proposed by the certificate filed by
the bull moosers.
Secretary of State POweriess.
The objector further sets up that the
secretary Of state has no power under
the law to put the names of the bull
moose candidates on the ballot; that the
laws Of the state give no legal power to
hold a nominating convention to any po-
litical party. old or new: that political
parties are prohibited from holding nomi-
mating conventions; that the pretended
did not represent any political party;
that those who took part In 1t are affili-
ated with the old political parties, and
participated in the primaries in April;
that the convention was called for the
purposes Of defeating and abrogating the
result Of that primary; that the conven-
ton was not mass convention open to
all persons. but was made up of the Sc
lected representatives of faction se-
lected by a few individuals
For these and other reasons the OBJ
jector protests against the names Of the
bull moose candidates being placed on
the ballot, or being certified to county
clerks as being entitled to go thereon.