Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-01-14

commissioners were being improperly
voted for, in that they were appointive
instead Of elective; but In pursuance
of their duty as clearly defined by law,
and in the absence Of protest, the
board of canvassers did not consider
that they had anything to do except
make return of the number of votes
received by each candidate. This they
did, and the vote returned for Messrs.
Jackson and Smith Is as stated by Mr..
Blackburn.
About two weeks ago, when as a
matter of personal information, Mr..
White W. Jackson advised the editor
Of The Enquirer that he had received
his commission as county commission
er, the editor of The Enquirer express
ed surprise and took occasion to ad-
wise Mr.. Jackson of his probable status
as an official. Not caring to trust his
own legal knowledge too far, the edi-
tor went on to advise Mr.. Jackson to
consult w. w. Lewis, Esq, chairman
Of the Democratic executive commit
tee and a lawyer Mr.. Jackson did 80
and returned to The Enquirer Office
with statement to the effect that Mr..
Lewis had assured him that the COM
mission was all right. He went on to
quote Mr.. Lewis as saying that under
the law the Office of county commits
sioner Is co-terminal with the office OF
county supervisor, and that II Gov
ernor Blease's term were about to ex-
pire, he would not assume to appoint
commissioners who were to serve un-
der his successor, but inasmuch as the
incumbent governor was to continue In
office during the next two years, the
appointment was perfectly proper. He
went on to say that the fact that the
commissioners had been voted for In
the general election when the law
made the Office appointive, would have
no bearing on the matter and likewise
that the recommendation Of the coun-
ty delegation in the general assembly
was not necessarily important to the
legality Of the commission. On the
assumption that Mr.. Jackson had pos
sibly misunderstood Mr.. Lewis, the
editor Of The Enquirer called Mr..
Lewis over the telephone, and secured
full confirmation Of the opinion as re-
r. ted by Mr.. Jackson. '.fter that the
eaitor of The Enquirer did not assume
to raise any further question.
On last Saturday morning Supervi-
sor Boyd advised the editor of The En-
quirer that from the moment he had
learned Of the receipt of the commits
had doubts as to their regularity. He
was we'll aware of the fact that here
tofore, commissioners recommended In
the August primaries were not COM
missioned until after the convening of
the general assembly, and his UNDER
standing Of the law being that the
commissioners should be appointed by
the governor on the recommendation
of the legislative delegation he had
doubts about the validity Of the COM
missions He went on to explain
that while he had no personal interest
In the matter, still he thought that
complications might arise especially In
view Of the big issue Of court house
bonds which will have to be signed by
the commissioners, and II there Is any
question Of the official status OF these
commissioners, the bonds might be
queered. He had heard Of several legal
opinions on the situation; but not be-
ing satisfied with them thought before
the swearing In Of the new commits
sioners to get an opinion from the at
torney general Being advised, how
ever, that the attorney general was not
In his office in Columbia and could not
be reached over the telephone, he did
not get the opinion.
It Is very clear from the foregoing
that If any mistake has been made,
and We believe there has been a mis-
take, there Is no blame to be laid upon
the election commissioners, Mr.. Black
burn or the governor. The procedure
heretofore has been for the executive
committee to certify the primary NOM
nations for county commissioners to
the legislative delegation. In this case
the certiflcation was made up to the
state executive committee instead, and
the state executive committee, pre-
suming that everything was correct
below, caused these names to be In
cluded on the regular Democratic
county ticket. The ticket read as fol-
lows:
Sheriff.
HUGH G. BROWN.
Clerk of Court.
]. A. TATE.
County Supervisor. ..
THoS. w. BOYD.
County Superintendent Of Education.
JOHN e. CARROLL.
Coroner.
L. w. LOUTHIAN.
County Commissioners
WHITE w. JACKSON.
JOE w. SMITH.
In view of the fact that any name
printed or marked on ballot that Is
not specifically prescribed by law, null
lifies that ballot, the placing Of these
names on the ticket nullifed the whole
ticket. But happily as a matter of law,
no harm has been done for the reason
that there was no protest at the prop
er time Under the law the commits
sioners Of election meet at the court
house on the second Tuesday after the
election and qualify as board OF can
vassers to receive and pass on pro-
tests and canvass the returns. Had
there been one formal protest as the
law provides, then Of course the COM
missioners would have been compelled
to declare that there had been no elec-
ton of county officers. But inasmuch
as there was no protest or contest, at
the proper time, the election must
stand.
AS to the present status Of the coun-
ty commissioners there is room for
considerable controversy to say the
least of it. Speaking In an off-hand
way, an experienced lawyer summed
the situation up to the editor Of The
Enquirer yesterday about like this: 1T
is quite evident that these commits
SionerS are not regularly constituted
officials. They are de facto officials all
right and as such, the official acts IN
which they have participated will very
probably be upheld by the courts. But
I do not think II would be safe to allow
the present status to continue. The law
specifies that these commissioners
shall be appointed by the governor
upon the recommendation Of the legis-
lative delegation or majority thereof,
and until these specifications are com
piled with, their status Is doubtful. l
take 1t that new commissions Will
have to be issued. No, Of course the
governor is not to blame, II any blame
there be. He Is not supposed to have
every statute in the code with all the
exceptions thereto constantly In his
mind. and as these commissions
came to him regularly through the
proper official channels, he had MOTH
ing to do but sign them."
LOCAL LAcoNICS
Looking over Winthrop.
Senator Niels Christensen, of Beau
fort ond Representatives Osborne,