Show THE COMMISSION THE ItEGIS TH VTIO Tilt ELECTION TJII decision of the Utah Con mission In the examination of com plaintt ngnin the registration i ofl if is far this city will bo found III another column We consider tln the main n fair and reasonable Lament It was not to bo expected that Ui ommiIoii would take the name Men of the situation as that per iied lo the Committee and mem Irs of the People s Parti The symiflt1ai and feelings of the Commission Com-mission do not lie in that direction The officers complained of wcru of their selection and appointment and they naturally leaned to some client toward to-ward the point their support pro Miling it muLl be reasonably afforded Therefore the evidence demanded In substantiation of the complaints was mjuiml to be in the nature of absolute proof which of coure w as difficult to obtain Hut evcr5 intelligent person who has followed 1 the examination carefully must liae perceived that thedejnity rtgi tiaUononlcers have exhibited greAt dilligenco in certain directions and lack of energy in others and that the Peoples Party hand solid ground for the conviction that they Were being di riminated against and obstructed in the exercise of a legal right i it was demonstrated during the txumination that certain individuals individu-als were reidil > registered under eircuiUitancesiu which others were refused That the registrars excreted excr-eted judicial power in relation to matters in which n5 the Third District Court has deckled their authority is only ministerial Tint they have taken pains t hunt up ijme oters and have avoided others oth-ers That they have loitered around saloons and at Liberal headquar ters when they should have been visiting the Bionics of oter That they have registered large numbers of men clustered at certain cer-tain clieip hotels and refued to register others at private boarding houses That they have even no iIered men at night and not at their homes and refused to register others except at their home whether at night or in the day time That they were I unable to stay they had refused if itration to any Liberal while large numbers of the Peoples Party were ruse That in ca = cs here Liberal and Peoples oters I ved Mile bi side on the same street the Liberals were checked efTon the registration Its and the Peoples left unchecked And that while I was impossible to bring Lilcral witnesses forward to technically prove certain act i was clear that voters had been discriminated zagainst aud tat in various ways and to a large extent because they were supposed to b members of the Peoples Part Explanations were asked for and plausibly given to account for these difference and the Commi ion ac 11 jited them as in good faith and therefore rendered the decision in the form in which it apjiears And it is i tnie that there has been a the c ommiion declare no final or aljsolute denial of electoral rights lxcajs there is etill one week left in which voter may b registered Hut the Central Committee and large numbers of voters whom the registration diners had been lodging and putting off and postponing until December 2trd had reason to believe that the ob jest of these officers was to crowd i away until the week appointed for otlici registration s many of the IeopIfV voters that they Mould L uiiahJe to secure registration AIo that by the assumption judicial Jwer already exhibited thl oHUers would < till further obstruct registration and that the office registration regis-tration would be conducted in I similar manner te the house to house visitation All the facts in these matters well not brought ot Ivcaue the actual proof required were necevanij difficult dif-ficult to obtaiii through the reluctance reluc-tance of men to b badgered as on the witneSs stand by impertinent attorneys and to atre1 nn leave their em nlo meut during this busy season Hut suflitient Were ehtited to show ties points we hive made heron < lii i ton Die coming of the Commission iiTi been productive of great good The registration oflicer evinced more alacrity at once Vi are satisfied sat-isfied that a great many voters were rtgitered after their arrival who would not have been if the Coin nuViou had not come The powers of registration ofticers are non also more clear le They have no right to exercise dLcretionarj functions except exerc when thiy hat rmons to believe tlst a person aiiiling for registration is maintaining the lohgamous rela tlonand then only to the extent of making mijuiry in a legitimate moje As to loc s all other al persons their 3ndalt as provided b1 law is 1m dent The registration officer has no power to do an thing m their iose but administer theoath If 11C refuses to register an applicant he does j at his own peril Iud isonlv rotected from the penalties of such refusal by being able to show con clusnel that such applicant is lot entitled to regi terand oteI It Mil b interesting here to Intrtng ilr se what thoc > penalties are Section 1 > > 4 Compiled Laws CompiI Lws of Utah pro vjtfrj that Anv person who having entered upon any of the oflices or duties provided for in Ibis act shall e wilfully fail or neglect perform any of tin duties required of such officer iy 1 person shall be deemed guilty of a felony and on convirtion thereof hall be l punished by a fine not exceeding exceed-ing the sum of one thousand dollars or lie Imprsoncd in the pcmtentiarv for a term not exceeding two excin yoN In addition to this wo call atteu ton to the following provisions of the Jaws of Congress in relation to the elective franchise Revised L Statutes of the United Slates pp 3511 PI fenc3X > j When under tho autor fly of the constitution lans i cnlntoo or of al1 State or tho laws of any Territory any act is required to b done as a prerequisite pre-requisite or qualification for voting and by such constution or laws persons per-sons or officers are charged with the duty of furnishing to citizen an opportunity > op-portunity to perform such prereqm fcite to become or bme qualified to rote < every such person and oCScer ahal give to all citizens of the United State the same and equal opportunity to perform such prorequisite and to become be-come qualified to vote SEe 003 Every person or office charged with the duty pecifled in tho precedinc section who refuses or knowingly omits to give full effect to that section shall forfeit tho curs ot tire hundred dollars to the party aggrieved ag-grieved by such refusal or omission to bo recovered by an action on me case with costs and such allowance for counsel fees 3 the court may deen just Sec 2007 Whenever under the au tort of tho constitution or laws of any Stole or the lw of any Territory Terri-tory any act Is required to h done by a citizen isaprereqnisito to qualify or entitle him t vote tlie offer of such citizen to perform the act required to b done shall I K fad to bo carried Into execution by reason of tho wrong lul act or omission of lie person or officer charged with tim duty < f receiving ceiving or permitting snch performance perform-ance or offer to perform oract thereon h deemed and held as a performance such act antI tho so in law of < person 1 offering and filling to vote and being otherwl qualified shall h entitled to vote in the sro manner and to the same extent as if ho had In fact performed per-formed such act SE 2003 Every iudge inspector orotheroffl < erof election who duty it I to receive count certify register report or give effect to the tote of such citizen who wrongfully refuses or omits to receive count certify register report or give effect to tho voto of such citizen upon the presentation presen-tation by him of his affidavit stating such offer and tho time and place thereof and the name of the officer or person whose duty it was to a thereon there-on and that bo was wrongfully prevented vented bj such persons officer from performing such ac shall forfeit the sum of fno hundred dollars to tho party aggricod by such refusal or omission to recovered by au action on the case with costs and such al lowalce for counsel fees as the court may decal just SEe aw Every officer or other person hating powers or duties of an official character to discharge under any of the previsions of this Title who by threats or any unlawful means hinder deLays proventsor obstructs or combines or confederates with others to hinder delay prevent or obstruct any citizen from doing any act ramired to h done to qualify him to vote or from voting at any election I I in any State Territory district county city parish township school district municipality or other terri tonal subdivision shall forfeit the urn of five hundred dollars to the person aggrieved thereby to be recov red by an action on the ese with costs and allowance for counsel fees a I the cur may deem just Thus there is a remedy for the voter who is denied his right and ho can proceed under both the cIvil and criminal laws The registration L officer js no monarch of all he surveys when acting in his office and i lie takes chances on his peril in order to serve his lolitlcal pry thc voter has recourse to the proceedings mentioned above in Seton 200 The voters of the Peoples Party have been stirred up in relation 1 their rights and propc e to have Justice They do not nant to regIster or vote unless they are legally entitled to do s and they do not mean to b > reveuted from the exercise of a awful right i there are any means of remedor to putup with obstruc lions from any official without ro sorting to the proper means for his punIshment We desire to say here that no P lerson is entitled to registration unless he is in good faith an actual resident of this city and Territory and has been such in the precinct here he resides one month and in the Territory six months before registration There should b no quibbling or evasion on this mportant matter I a mans home Is out of the Territory or out of the city he ha no right to regis ter or vote in this city Only bona 1 Me residents should attempt to do eIther That there arc persons who are not legally jinlified who Intend in-tend to attempt to vote is rcajon ably certain I is just ns certain I that the Peoples Party do not intend in-tend to submit to any such fraud All we want I a fair registration of the legal voters of all parties and I a fair election which hall show the honest sentiments of the lawful ee tors rsoftlisclt I Ifthesearctccured we wi abide the issue and do all in our power t support the municipal I administration in the proper db char of duty no matter what may hu its political complexion Let the awful mijorit rule |