The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1918-11-11
! AMENDMENT IS
lS6 SHORT With
TWO COUNTIES IN
STATE MISSING
Percentage Is Against Sue
cess Of Public Debt
Removal Plan

Thes constitutional amendment re-
moving the state debt limit and
cepning the way, to the financing of
state owned business enterprises,
contemplated in another amendment
10 the constitution, lacked So votes
of having majority Of all the votes
cast for governor In that same num-
her of counties, according to reports
compiled by The Herald early this
morning.
Mckenzie county, a strong Nom
partisan league county, which went
about 1900 to 500 for the league tic
ket in the primaries, and Cavalier
county, which gave Doyle a 200
majority in last Tuesdays election,
have not reported on the debt limit
amendment. The Mckenzie county
figure is not available because wire
communication is disrupted, and in
Cavalier county the county auditor
said last night that the tabulation on
the amendment had not been COM
pleted.
In all but two counties, the debt
limit amendment, withou the enact
ment of which the Socialists are
powerless to conduct their proposed
seheme of state owned Industries
received 43,066 votes, while 35,S43
, voters marked their ballots against
the amendment.
In that same number of counties,
there were S6,314 votes cast for ebv-
ernor, thus giving the amendment in
question So less than a majority OF
The votes cast FOR governor.
Many Did Not Vote
A potent factor in the final deter
mtnation of the success or failure Of
The league amendment, however, is
that part of the state electorate
which did not ballot on the office of
governor. An estimate furnished by
Burleigh county last night indicated
that between 125 and $50 voters in
that county wh) participated in the
election, did not vote Cor either can
didate for governor, 80 that the re-
ported vote for governor in Burleigh
county does not, in fact, represent
the entire number Of voters who
I, participated IN the eIecijCn. That
situation doubtless holds true in
practically every county Of the state.
and an estimate, while arbitrary in
its nature, would indicate that prob
ably two to three perSent OF all Vot-
ers participating did not vote for
either candidate for governor. If
that is a fact, then the amend
ments have a greater handicap 70
overcome than the vote for COVER
nor indicates. In the election two
years ago, records in the Office of
the secretary Of state at Bismarck
disclose that nearly five thousand
voters who participated in the cleo
tion, casting ballots for presidential
electors, did not vote on goveror.
Soldier Vote q Factor
Another factor that probably will
be determining Is the soldier vote,
two to four thousani OF which are
expected before December tenth,
Undr Attorney General Langers g re-
when the state canvassing board.
meets. Under Atty. General Langer's
recent ruling, those votes will count
If received before the state canvass
ing board meets. The bulk Of the SOL
dier ballot will be against tho So
cialist amendments.
County Auditor Temple Of La
Moure county, who was called up on
:.ie.x,p
long distance telephone last night,
said he had been advised that wo-
men voted on constitutional amend
ments in at least one LaMoure
county precinct. They are not en-
powered by the constitution to do
so, and Mr.. Temple said their vote
would be thrown out. LaMoure Is
one OF the strongest for the amend
ments.
Amendments Face Handicap
While It will require the official
vote to finally determine the out
come of the amendment question, 1t
is apparent on the face Of the fig-
ures that the igsUs will swing one
way or another within the margin
OF only few hundred votes.
The counties that have exported on
the amendment, all except Cavalier
and Mckenzie. give 50,7T1 for FraZ-
ier, and 35,343 for Doyle.
In Mcintosh county, a strong Ger
man county that went three to one
for Frazier the voters rejected the
amendments. while nearly all Ger
man counties polled proporttonate-
ly larger vote against the amend
ments than they poll2d for Doyle for
governor.