Show T THE UTAH VA COMMISSION Upholds list i Dp Rlrr of J Coarsel i THEY CAN DO ABOUT AS THEY PLEASE J here h PrlKblj Ktlr for the Par Injnretl hot tl rue Last evening the Utah Commission Commis-sion decided upon Uio following agreement in relation t the course of the deputy registrars and th charges against them Tbrt lilicr part particularly aCbMa food for reflection fet n In view of tho political situation here Heber il Wells rice chairman i n W Young secretary municipal central committee of the Peoples Party of Salt keO City vs if h McCallum EIt Chubs J n 3for tie n D Winters and Louis CityUefore Hymns registrars for Salt Lake Uefore lie Utah Commission Ou tho nOUi day of November ISsO an Informal chargti hgalnst said registration I sincere was tilo gripheJ to O L Godfrey chairman or thl Pommlsslon by the said complainants whereupon be by telegraph called a special meeting of the Commission t 0 held at Salt Lake City on tc 9lh day of December l > sp In response to said call A Tuorum of the Commission Commis-sion met at IN otc In Salt Lake Citj on said Oth day of Deccmlicr and notified said complainants that the Commission was ready t receive re-ceive and act upon any charges ration they might otllcers prefer against Sd cafe On WedniBdaj December I said complainants presented to the commission com-mission following charges pub lished in the DesuirrNEw of that date against said registration on errs whereupon the commission deeming the Mid charges defective for went cf certainty on the same day caused the secretary the com bion to communicate t the complainants com-plainants the following order pub lished In the XEWSand on Friday the lath day of December at f oclock said complainants presented I amended llfhtili written charges nljopub And on Monday the 16th day of December 1SC9 said commission having met in ixinufincc of said order to hunrsiiid chargca and the evidence thereon thn aid regis ration officers presented their answers t said charges whereupon the commission proceeded t hear the evidence continuing aid hearing hear-ing of evidence and the arguments of counsel thereon dally until the 10th slay of December 1SSO when the same was JCl and submitted sub-mitted the commission for the final consideration of And the said commissioners having hav-ing duh considered the same do flul and bay that in their opinion the said charges so made and preferred preferr-ed are nut sustained by the evidence and that there has been no t n or absolute denial of electoral rights Thejcoramiaionyo therefore acquit from the sold registration officers there fromAnd frmAnL upon the question of law arising upon the said charges and the investigation thereof the commission com-mission is of the opinion that tho registration officers fire required lij law to afford equal facilities fort for-t registration of all legal voters That after qualification specified speci-fied in that portion of the twenty fourth section of the act of Congress approved March 3 1SS7 prescribed what may b shown byalllJavlt the affidavit of the perscn applying for registration sufficient entitle him to le n cWerctl and tint then the-n ofllcer refuses such aj > Jlrnt at his peril and is only protected pro-tected from the jicnaltks of sucli refusal fusal by being able t show conclusively conclu-sively that such applicant is net nUt n-Ut to register antI vote Hut a to the qualification ire scribed in the latter part of said see ton to wit > o person who shall have lieen convicted of any crime under this act under the act of Congress aforesaid approved March nd ISS or who hal be a polygamist or who shall nssoi i ale or cohabit pol gamousl with IHr I onsof the other sex shall lie en tilled to vote in any election in said Ttrritorya discretion is permitted to quote from a late decision of the Lhicf Justice of this Territory which dcekion is the law anJ binding on I all within the jurbslicUon and should b obeyed unless reversed by competent authority With respect to persons maintaining Uie pollgam ousrclationlhercgistrarwould stem to have the right and the discretion I I to fl inquire in any legitimate mode Of coupe it Is his duty to exercise 1 diligence and t l reasonable t w I am of the opinion Hint the registrar being required In I cats t detcrnunethe iionexltrnce of Uio fact that a mau Is a jwligamM or is cohabiUiig olyganiously i with persons of the other sex or the fact tat he hiss committed nnj of the crimes mentioned in the act of Con gnss of ISS or that of March 3d lkS7 lib has a reasonable discretion to make the inquiry I may ho said that in the great mass of cases it 1 not necessary to make any Inquiry In-quiry but it is necessary for him to inquire as to all icrons that he L I oth tll does not know that ho is not satl fied have not committed any of these rime and that are not maintaining main-taining Uie polygamous relation I is his duty to make the inquiry and the mode of the inquiry is not specified He tins the right to make H in any legitimate mode I n all other prelim narv questions We consider it the duty of the registration regis-tration officer to register all voters who qualify themselves by taking I the affidavit or affidavits required by bw butfhe haereh evidence of the fality of the proffered affidavit affida-vit is will him from the I wl protect frm tle penalties pen-alties prescribed by law for refusing to register the applicant tf he may refuse at his own risk nf meeting ruth penalty Tills applies to the close of the registration on the SUi dax of Decemlur ISi9 That during the timefixedby la A for bearing objections to the qualifications qualifi-cations of any jxrion registered as a vote a different rule applies Then the duties of Uio registration registra-tion officer cease to 0 ministerial and become judicial in their nature He It asjudgc in hot respect and in that capacity should give a fair I and impartial hearing U he whose cases may come before him during I that period > o bias prejudice or jl partisan feeling t should Iw allowed for a moment t influence his dec don because one of the dearest and most favored rights of citizenship Is involved I and there is prob ably redress for tbtrI loris Injured in-jured if thu officer should act with partiality or unfairness He should administer justice with an equal hand to members of either party alike casting aside all other questions a unworthy ofcou idern ton except the one question is the per on objected t a legal voter of the city of Salt Lake Equality before the law should b the rule No honest man whatever Ills political affiliations could ask for more or should ask for ha u G 1 c GODKJIETI Chairman Utah Commission |