Show VAN COlT ON CAINE II I I I A County Registration Officer That the Constitution Schemers Cant Bulldoze Cogent Reply All the People Must Have a Chance to Ratify or Reject A Partisan Plan Plunked Caine ns a HolderOat Declination to Post Advise Posting What Turn Will Caine Take N XUWi I be Submitted Sub-mitted l In the matter concerning the submitting submit-ting of the new Constitution to the people peo-ple of this Territory for rejection or ratification fication as the voters may deem best for the future good of Utah there has n the public is already informed through THE DEMOCRAT been a correspondence passing between John T Caine President of the Constitutional Convention and Waldemar Van Cott County Registration Registra-tion Officer regarding the method in which the Constitution shaH be submitted sub-mitted for voting Herewith is appended ap-pended a letter each from the gentlemen above mentioned relating to the dispute between them in the matter Mr Van Colts letter is an able and succinct document docu-ment and will no doubt be read by the people with interest Following is A LETTER FROM JOHN T CAINE SALT LIKE Crrr July 121887 JV Val Cott Esq Registration Officer Salt Lake County DEAB SIB Your favor of the llth inst was received this morning and I was pleased to learn that in your opinion the people ought to have an opportunity op-portunity t express an opinion on the proposed pro-posed constitution eto As t the form of the notice to be given of the election I bop to say that the one sag Rested in my letter of the 7th was that provided i the constitution vmich I followed fol-lowed verbatim But as in your opinion i does not express the actual facts in the case for the reason that it seems to submit the ratification offioinllyetc while not con oeeding that your objection to the form of notice is well taken as the substitute notice proposed by you gives substantially the announcement an-nouncement required by the terms of the Constitution I am willing to acoeed to the change you suggest and furnish the notices accord incly As regards your expressed desire to be assured as-sured that seperato boxes for the ballots on the ratification or rejection of the Constitution Consti-tution will be furnished Judges of Election at each polling place in this County and that a sufficient number of ballots as indicated indi-cated on the additional notice will also be furnished to the Judges of Election at each polling place I submit that it is unusual to famish ballots to the Judges of Election They havenothing to do with the ballots except to receive and deposit them in the ballot boxes when presented by the Electors Elec-tors and at the close of the polls to canvass them and make returns thereof in the man ner prescribed by law The proposition is that the Electors who desire to vote for or against the Constitution will write or cause to be written or printed on the bottom of their ballots the words Constitution Yes or Constitution No At elections in this Territory heretofore the ballots have been furnished either by the political parties or by the Electors themselves and in my opinion at the ensuing en-suing election those electors desirous of voting for or against the Constitution will experience no difficulty in securing ballots upon which to express their preference Very Respectfully JOHN T CAKE President Constitutional Convention VAN cons BEPLT SALT LAKE Cm July 1 ISgL John T Caife EutyJSfsfAsSr omlitu tl ° L > mnlion DBAS SIB Yesterday I Deceived your favor of this date in answer to mine of the llth and also notices as changed at my request and in return desire to reply to yonr communication and state i why I now decline to advise the notices sent me to be posted In my previous letter it was pointed out I by me how I desired the notices to bo worded to this request you have acceded but to my other reqtfEt that separate ballot boxes be famished you have not replied and to my request that ballots yes and no on the constitution be furnished so as to give an equal opportunity to all the people peo-ple to express an opinion you have in substance sub-stance refused t accede I asked you to furnish these separate ballot bal-lot boxes 8 a to avoid inaccurate and necessarily nec-essarily unofficial returns that you will obtain ob-tain without them and to insure to the Convention returns as regular as was possible possi-ble to be had under the circumstances to wit The return of the ballot boxes themselves them-selves to the Convention as a canvassing board and also to prevent the opportunity of furnishing ballot boxes to those precincts that will vote rreoincts only mi presumptively yes by a majority and to insure to those that will presumptively vote no on this question either by majority or unanimously an opportunity op-portunity of doing s and t prevent op one hand a apparent popular unanimity and on the other hand to obtain in fact T ACTUAL POPOLAB WILL On this question t prevent returns being wade up in a hurry by a part of the judges and then from only those precincts whereat where-at least there is one judge who favors the Constitution and to prevent leaving the question t a judge favorable to the Constitution where there is an expressed opposition from making returns or not according ac-cording to the circumstances or as mere party wish may dictate nov as there are precincts i this county where all the judges of necessity are from one party and where the indications are that the Constitution would be voted against unanimously you will from those places have no returns By your refusal in this matter the result is this The returns are as unofficial as it is possible to have them and opens wide the pssiblo doer for error partiality and inaccuracy and you will have no returns from precincts that will presumptively vote solidly against the Constitution and the admission of Utah as a State As t my expressed desire that yon furnish ballots yesh and no to the judges of election at each polling place in the county von raise the objection that i is tnuiulf furnish ballots to judges of election elec-tion as it is their duty only to receive and deposit ballots My object in making this request showed it was for the purpose only purpse of making it certain where the ballots were t be sent and that voters could obtain them if desired this object was so plain evident and apparent that it does not fairly admit of a apparent And further I understood under-stood you desired an expression from all the people on this question either one way or the other With understanding ON mAT BEOAD BASIS I stood and to accomplish that I was will ing t advise the notices to be posted if you would furnish the ballots and separate ballot bal-lot boxes so as to obtain that fall and popular popu-lar expression from all the people which in such cases is s much desired To do what was presumptively advantageous advan-tageous to you viz to change the notices yon have acceded to furnish ballots and ballotboxes to all the polls which was presumptively disadvantageous disadvanta-geous to you you have in fact refused to accede Yon holding yourself out asA as-A BEPBESESTATIVE OF ALL THE PEOPLE In regard to this question have gone within party lines and taken a partisan view of the matter while as an officer I proposed a plan which was broad and gave the whole people an opportunity to express themselves Yon cannot plead a want of knowledge to what is here stated as in our conversation on the 12th inst on this subject I frankly expressed ex-pressed these same views to You preed vews you speak spak of political parties furnishing ballots on this question I do not speak of political parties but of all the people standing on the same basis a desire and a proposal on my part that on a subject that concerns no political party but the whole people the opportunity of response should be equal to I all or the and other as expression shown either one way In ou conversation you stated that your i party you presumed favored the constitu contu tion and that they would send out their ballots Constitution Yes and those who desired to vote Constitution No conld I find their ow ballots My proposal made the opportunity equal to all f and affords the i public a chance to express the popular will I without an obstacle af obstole Apparently on the I surface you desired the desird popular expression I on the constitution as a practical result resl you Adopt the very means and methods to metho t hove an expression from expresion a party which yon I presume favors the project and none at all roca those who oppose it al oppse prom your reply t my former communi on and from ou conversation on the f i 1 T E 1 A I c o 12th inst it is clearly apparent that your sole desire is to have official BECOONITIOH OH A PDBELY PARTISAN MEASURE Not a recognition for the purpose of obtaining obtain-ing an honest expression from the whole people The Convention during its entire proceedings I pro-ceedings and you as its presiding officer t and you 1 yonr remarks as such professed to act for all the people and you professing I profess-ing to act in that capacity requested a favor f of me who was also acting for the public j When I as an officer asked a favor of you ito i-to secure fairness and equality which is I incidental dependent on and springs from i your request you respectfully decline A 1 President of the Constitutional Convention I you ask favors for all the people a a party man you decline to grant reciprocal requests to secure fairness and equality You request in one capacity and refuse hi another as to the same question As to what is favorable to yonr project and party and unfavorable t the public you act as a representative of all the people and on their behalf A to proposals which are fair and equal to all the people and not advantageous to a mere party then you act as a representative of a party and not of all the people To deal with you in your dual capacity is at once difficult and highly unsatisfactory For the reasons stated I decline to post or advise the posting of the notices or to myself assist or to advise others to assist in such a partial and unfair movement Respectfully W VAN COTT Registration Officer Salt Lake C |