The Glasgow courier., 1916-02-25
TWO PRIMARIES
MUST BE HELD
State Supreme Court Makes
Ruling in Test Case.
FIRST PRIMARY IN APRIL
Will Nominate Electors and Elee
Delegates to Presidential Conven-
tion-Second on August g.,

tion@Second on August 29.,
Montana will hold two primaries
this year. One, April 21 to indicate
presidential preferences, to nominate
presidential electors, and to elect de-
legates to the national conventions.
The other August 20, to nominate
state and county tickets.
So ruled the supreme court today
in decision by Associate Justice Sid
ney Sanner. Here's the nub of it:
"At the time our laws were enacted
the Oregon law consisted of the gen.
eral primary law relating to nomi-
nations for state and county officers
as amended by later enactment re-
delegates to the national conventions
the whole, however, constituting
one law, the effect of which is to re-
quire but one primary election in
presidential years. Had it been the
intention to so provide in this state,
the Oregon law as whole would
doubtless have been enacted in one
law. This was not done =
The apparently deliberate separa-
ton of the single Oregon law into the
two Montana acts cannot be ignored"
Secretary of State A. M. Anderson
has estimated that the holding of
these two primaries will cost the tax
payers 100000.
The matter was brought before the
supreme court on petition for writ
of mandamus by William Taylor to
compel County Clerk A. J. Duncan to
place his name on the ballot at the
April primary as candidate for the
Democratic nomination of public ad-
ministrator. The decision in full is
as follows:
Mandamus to compel the respond
ent, as county clerk of Lewis and
Clark county, to file the petition Of
the relator as candidate for the DEM
ocratic nomination to the office of
public administrator Of said county
and to place his name as such candi-
date upon the official ballot to be
used at the primary election to be
held on April 21st, 1916. The theory
upon which the relief is sought is that
in virtue Of the provisions of the laws
passed by the initiative at the gener-
al election of 1912, relating to prim-
airy elections, it is required that in
the years when a president and vice
president of the United States are to
be elected the primary election for
all officers-state and county as well
to indicate the presidential preference
to nominate presidential electors and
to elect delegates to the national con-
ventions-shall be held on the forty
fifth day before the first Monday in
of June. AS no dispute exists con-
cerning the relator's right to be sub
mitted as such candidate for nomina-
ton at such time as may be appropri-
ate, the question presented is whether
these initiated laws contemplate the
holding of one primary or two in
presidential years.
That these laws are an attempt
by the people to enact in this state
the general features of the primary
law of Oregon cannot be open to
doubt; and it must likewise be con-
ceded that the effort to adapt the
provisions of that law to the legis-
flative and other conditions of this
state, has been most unskillfully per-
formed. Some things however, are
obvious. At the time our laws were
enacted the Oregon law consisted of
the general primary law relating to
nominations for state and county Of
fices as amended by later enact
ment relating to presidential electors
and delegates to national conven-
tions-the whole, however, consttut-
ing one law, the effect of which is to
require but one primary election in
presidential years. Had it been the
the Oregon law as a whole would
doubtless have been enacted in one
law. This was not done; instead the
people of this state enacted two laws
one establishing the primary for nom
nations to state and county offices,
to be held on the seventeen day pre-
ceding the biennial general elections,
the other providing for an election to
be held on the forty-fifth day before
the first Monday in June in presi-
Dental years, for the selection of de-
legates to the national party conven-
tions and for the nomination of presi-
dental electors. 1t is quite true the