Sioux County pioneer. (Fort Yates, Sioux County, N.D.) 1914-1929, 1921-03-10
6he Crist Of the
Legislative Mill
OPINIONS DIFFER ON
Ill., QUESTION OF RECALL

Opinion within the ranks of the In
dependent forces apparently is decid-
eddy varied on the question of the
recall election. aR.5
While delegate convention for the
naming Of candidates has been called
to meet in Minot March %, and the
date for the election on the officials
and initiated measures has been fixed
for June Is, there still are many who
doubt the wisdom Of holding the recall
at this time, If at all. %
Many Of those most strongly op-
posed to the Nonpartisan program are
counseling that recall SHOULD come
only after every possible circumstance
has been considered and every other
avenue for obtaining financial relief
has been searched with painstaking
care and found closed"
Those keenest for recall believe
that an Independent victory would
clear up the financial situation and
facilitate the marketing of North Da-
kota bonds. .ssse.s54,.
u The supporters of the state admins
tration and the industrial program
maintain that they would easily have
worked out their success, and can yet,
If left free to carry out the law. That
the house Investigation has destroyed
confidence and credit is maintained.
Their intention is expressed as that of
letting the spring and summer work go
and fighting for the continuance of the
state program.
The Independents face the situation
that even were they successful in the
election their hands would be tied
until July 1, 1921, for the reason that
the state law provides that no meas
ure enacted by the legislature takes
effect until the first Of July following
the session. And to insure the lenac-
ton of measures that would kill off the
present industrial program would ne
cessitate the recall Of many legislators.
Another argument, advanced by
members of both factions, is the great
expense of undertaking recall. 1t is
estimated that nothing less than $780,
600 would see such a move through.
"Give them chance" is the plea of
several independent legislators for the
administration forces, and others con-
tend that the fight in North Dakota
can never be ended by political cam
paigns, but must be settled in friendly
discussion. '"The victory, whoever
won, would be close and the scrap
would continue" is the expression of
one leader. A "
Recall petitions must bear 80 per
cent of the voters of the preceding
general election, or about 10000
names. To initiate measures it is re-
quircd that 10 per cent of the voters
at the last election sign petitions and
that they be filed with the secretary Of
state 80 days before election. A recall
election shall be called not less than
40 nor more than 45 days after suffi-
cient number of petitions has been
filed. 6
There is no form of ballot prescribed
for state recall election, it Is said.
There was form used in the seth
legislative district last fall, which fol-
lows the general style of ballot. The
election is without party designation.
The law says the candidates in re-
call election shall be nominated in the
same way as in the primary election.
This is construed to mean that they
are nominated the same as for prl-
mary election, or by the petition of 800
voters.
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