| Show r 1 3 THEARE so the commission hold the registrars it EQUALITY THE LAW SHOULD BE THE RULE A leal voter may demand registration by affidavit from fridays DAILY I 1 yesterday forenoon the attah corn mission heard alie arguments of the at in the cases against the registrars mr mole of alie peoples party opened and was followed by colonel merritt and judge hoge on the liberal side air it W young next spoke for complainants the cases were then taken under advisement vi by the commission and later in the afternoon the following decision was agreed upon bieber M wells vice chairman E W young sec municipal central committee of the peoples party of salt lake city va H S mccallum E it bluto J R Mor risK D winters and louis hyams registrars for salt lake city before the utah commission on the day of november 1889 an informal charge against said tion olli cers was telegraphed to jr L godfrey chairman of the commission by the said complainants whereupon he by telegraph called a special meeting of the commission to be held at salt lake city on alie ath day of december 1889 in response to said call a quorum of the commission met at its office in salt lake city on said ath day of december and notified said complainants that the commission was ready to receive and act upon any charges they might prefer against said registration officers on wednesday december 11 the said complainants presented to the commission the following charges against said registration officers the charges have been published in the enquirer j 1 whereupon the commission deem ing the said charges defective for want of certainty on the same day caused tho secretary of the commission to communicate to alie complainants a certain order and on friday the day of december at 9 daid complainants presented amended written charges and on monday alie day of december 1889 said commission having met in pursuance of said order to hear said charges and the evidence thereon the said registration officers presented their answer to said cli arges whereupon tho commission proceeded to hear the evidence continuing said hearing of evidence and the arguments of counsels thereon daily until alie 19 day of december 1889 ft hen the same was concluded and submitted for the final consideration of the commission and the said commissioners having duly considered the same do find and say eliat in their opinion the said charges BO made and preferred are not sustained by tho evidence and that there lias been no final or absolute denial of electoral rights alie commission do therefore acquit the said and upon the question of law arising upon the said charges and the investigation thereof tho commission is althe opinion eliat the registration officers are required by law to equal facilities for the registration of all legal voters that of the qualification specified in eliat portion of alie twenty fourth section of tho act of congress approved march prescribed what may be shown by affidavit the affidavit of alie person applying for registration is sufficient to entitle him to bo registered and that the registration officer refuses such applicant at liis own peril and is protected from the penalties of lucli refusal by being able to show conclusively that such applicant is not entitled to register and vote but as to the ons prescribed in the latter part of said section to wit no person who shall have been convicted of any crime under this act under the act of congress aforesaid approved march or who shall be a polygamist or who shall associate or cohabit with persons of the other sex shall be entitled to vote in adv election in said territory which deci afon is the law and binding on all within the jurisdiction and should be obeyed unless reversed by competent authority with respect to persons maintaining alie polygamous relation the registrar would to have athe n ht and tha discretion to inquire in any mode of course it is his duty tc se diligence and to bs reason ab I 1 am of the opinion that the registrar i ng ing required in all cases to determine the non exist ence of the fact that a man is a polygamist or is cohabiting with persons of the other sex or the fact that he has committed any of the crimes mentioned in the act of congress of 1882 or that of march 3 1887 he has a reasonable discretion to make the in aeiry it may be said that in the great mass of cases it is not necessary to make any inquiry but it is necessary for him to enquire as to all persons that he does not know that he is not satisfied have not committed any of these crimes and that are not maintaining alio gadist relation it is his duty to make the inqui the mode of the inquiry S not specified he has the right to make it in any legitimate mode in all other preliminary questions wo consider it mhd duty of the officer to register all voters who qualify themselves by taking the affidavits re the law but if he have such denhof den cof the falsity of tho proffered affidavit as will protect him from the penalties prescribed by law for refusing 0 o register the applicant he may refuse at 1 own risk ot meeting such penalty alis to alie close of tha io ioK day of december 1889 tint during the time fixed by law for eions to alie qualifications of any person registered as a voter a the registration officer ease to be ministerial mini steral and be W sr choso cases may come before m during that period 0 o S preice Sice feeling b pr or partisan slid id be allowed for a moment to sence his decision because one of most favored rights of ff mai ah S oe SW cumo ask for yu Mo jn |
