Civil government of Idaho, for the use of schools

Front matter

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

MACMILLAN & CO., Limited

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd.

Preface

“Nothing mil ruin the country if the people themselves will undertake its safety; and nothing can save it if they leave that safety in any hands hut their own ”

— Daniel Webster.

This little volume will have served its purpose if it can be used as an aid in making the young citizens of Idaho familiar with our political institutions. The school should have as a main object the preparation of its children for the duties of citizenship. This preparation can in no way be complete unless the young citizen, sent out by the school, meets the duties of citizenship with a steadfastness of purpose which comes only with a true conception of one's rights and duties as ordained by the state, of the impor¬ tance and the sacredness of the ballot, and of the scope of the various units of government.

The course in civil government cannot be complete by studying merely a general work on the subject. There are many volumes published which meet every requirement for a careful study of our National gov¬ ernment, and of the smaller units in general. This volume should be used to supplement the general work by presenting the facts peculiar to our own state and local governments. The questions at the close of each chapter are given in the hope of creat-

VI

PREFACE ing interest by suggesting lines of supplementary work which are indispensable to a thorough course in civil government.

I wish to take this opportunity to express my sin¬ cere appreciation of the kindness of those who have added much to the value of this volume by their help¬ ful corrections and criticisms. For this favor, I am under great obligations to Miss Grace M. Shepherd, State Superintendent of Public Instruction ; her Deputy, Miss Bernice McCoy, former County Super¬ intendent of Nez Perce County; Hon. George H. Roberts, former Attorney General of Nebraska and of Idaho; Capt. E. G. Davis, Representative from Oneida County, and former Instructor in Constitu¬ tional Law at West Point ; and Supt. 0. M. Elliott, of the Twin Falls Public Schools.

C. E. Rose.

Boise High School

Contents

I. INTRODUCTION . 1

Origin of Government ; Rights and Duties ; Forms of Gov¬ ernment ; The United States ; The State ; The County ;

The Township ; The Incorporated Town or City ; The School District ; The Home ; No Conflict of Authority ;

Introduction

Origin of Government. — “ We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain in¬ alienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, de¬ riving their just powers from the consent of the gov¬ erned.” These words from our Declaration of Inde¬ pendence, and penned by the immortal Jefferson, give us in words that can never die, the object for which government is established. Government places the poor on an equal footing with the rich ; the weak, with the strong ; the conscientious, with the unscrupulous.

Rights and Duties. — The purpose of government is to guarantee to us our rights. In a country like ours, we make our own local laws, as is done in the New England town meeting; or we elect others to make laws for us, as is done in all the state legislatures and in the National Congress. Now if the government is for the individual, and we are to help govern, we owe it to ourselves and to our fellow citizens to in¬ form ourselves as much as possible in regard to our government. Every right implies a duty. . If we have the right to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happi-

B 1 ness, it is our sacred duty to help guarantee the same right to others.

Forms of Government. — Aristotle (333 B.c.) was able to arrange under three heads all of the two hun¬ dred fifty governments about the Mediterranean sea at that time. His classification was :

1. Monarchy; government by one, the strong.

2. Aristocracy; government by the few, the wise.

3. Democracy ; government by the many, the good.

But the governments of the present time may be

classified better under the following three heads :

1. Absolute Monarchy, in which the will of the monarch, or ruler, is supreme and unfettered.

2. Limited Monarchy, in which the monarch is limited to the exercise of particular powers or func¬ tions by the constitution or laws of the realm.

3. Republic, in which all power is exercised by officers chosen directly by the people.

The United States. — When our present government was first organized, the wise men of the world sneered at the mere suggestion that it would be able to survive for any great length of time. Even one of the framers of our United States Constitution scorned the idea that the constitution then being framed could last a hundred fifty years. The thousands of years of history in the past offered no example of government like ours. The United States is a republic made up of many smaller republics. By the adoption of the Articles of Con¬ federation, and later the Constitution, the people of the United States delegated certain powers to the United States government: such powers as belong properly to a nation in its relations with other nations, and such powers as can best be exercised by the general

INTRODUCTION government for the whole country. To each state was reserved the power of conducting all its local affairs, and of exercising control over its citizens and thenproperty. As later states were organized, they were modeled after the original thirteen states, and guaran¬ teed the same rights. For many years it was con¬ tended by some of the best statesmen of our country that a state could secede from the Union, if it was not satisfied with the manner in which the United States government conducted the affairs of the Union. The great Civil War settled the question of secession for all time.

The State. — From 1607 to 1732, thirteen colonies were formed in America by authority of the English government. While these colonies were all subject to English rule, they were entirely independent of each other. When George III, forgetful of the fates of Charles I and James II, tried to tax these colonies without their consent, they remonstrated. When he attempted to force them into submission, they formed a union to oppose force with force. The actual union was effected when the Continental army accepted General Washington as its commander-in-chief, and he was so recognized throughout the colonies. When George III persisted in his stubborn efforts, the united colonies, through their representatives in the Conti¬ nental Congress, declared their independence of Eng¬ land. In order to carry on the Revolutionary War to the best advantage the people and the states per¬ mitted Congress to exercise certain powers. Under the advice of Congress, state governments were formed in all of the thirteen new states, except Virginia, to take the place of the abandoned colonial governments.

Virginia had already taken such action. Thus oui Union and our state governments were formed.

The County. — Each state of the Union, by its con¬ stitution and laws, divides its territory into many smaller divisions for the purpose of local government. These divisions are called counties. The origin of the county can be traced to that part of the country in England ruled over by a petty king, and called a shire. The name shire was changed by the Normans after 1066 to county. Very early in the State of Virginia, the county became the unit of local govern¬ ment. By that we mean that the county officers attend to all the business of government in the county. The Virginia form of local government has been pat¬ terned after by many of the Southern and Western states.

The Township. — In New England, just as in old England, the town or township meeting exercised the powers of local government. All the voters as¬ sembled in one body, made their own local laws, settled disputes, and chose men to attend to certain duties until the next town meeting, or for a stated period. This was certainly ideal government, but is possible only in small units. Such a system would be impracticable in a county, and impossible in a state, so representatives are chosen by the people to carry on the government for them in counties, states, and nation. In the New England states, at the pres¬ ent time, the town is the principal unit of local gov¬ ernment. In many of the central states, the powers of local government are about equally divided between township and county. In those states in which the county is the unit for local government, it is always

INTRODUCTION 5

divided into what may be called civil districts, such, for instance, as election precincts.

The Incorporated Town or City. — When a great number of people build their homes in the same locality, it becomes necessary to make special laws for regulating such communities. Special officers are also chosen to enforce the laws. But such town or city is always under the jurisdiction of either county or state. Usually it operates either under a general statute passed by the legislature for such purposes, or under a special statute commonly called a Charter.

The School District. — For the purpose of public education, the school district is organized in all the states, the size of the districts varying greatly. In some states, the county is the unit, and all schools are under the control of a county board. In other states, a township board looks after all the schools in the township. Generally all the schools in an incorporated town or city are under the supervision of one set of officers. In many of the states a school district com¬ prises territory about two miles square, all the children in such territory go to one school, and that school is governed by officers chosen by the people of the district. In this kind of district, the voters usually exercise some of the functions of government at the annual district meeting.

The Home. — The oldest form of government is that of the home, with the father of the family at its head. The government of the home should be and usually is the best of all, for it is founded upon love. Solon, the sage of Athens, once said : “ That is the most perfect government under which a wrong to the humblest is an affront to all.” But the home is subject to the state, and the state determines the rights and duties of both the parent and the children in the home. Upon the parent falls the duty of providing maintenance, protection and education for the children, and the children have a right to these three things. On the other hand parents are held responsible for wrongs committed by their children. In return for the many obligations resting upon the parents, the principal duty demanded of the children is obedience, and to secure this obedience parents are necessarily given almost absolute authority over their children. But, as the best government is that in which the governed are taught to govern themselves, so the best home government is that in which the children learn by cheerful obedience to lawful authority how to govern themselves and then to govern others.

No Conflict of Authority. — Although we find that in the United States we are under so many govern¬ ments at one time, yet the whole system is so planned that there is no conflict of authority. We can obey all the laws of the United States and of our state at the same time. Nothing in the state governments can be in violation of the United States Constitution or laws. Every official act of the officers of county, city, township or school district must be in accordance with the laws of the state which has created these in¬ ferior divisions of government.

The Civil Government of Idaho. — The following chapters deal with the civil government of the State of Idaho. This book is intended for use in connection with a general work in Civil Government. It is to supplement the latter, by presenting the Civil Gov¬ ernment of the State of Idaho. References to certain

INTRODUCTION articles and sections of the State Constitution are made for the purpose of acquainting the student with that document. (See Appendix.) The laws of a state, especially a young and growing state like our own, are constantly changing, so one never can be sure of the law on any particular point without reference to the last Session Laws of the State. The most important reference work, then, in local or state civil govern¬ ment, is a set of the Compiled Laws of Idaho, 1919. With these laws must be considered the session laws passed by the Legislature since their adoption.

1. What principles of government are stated in the first few

sentences of the Declaration of Independence?

2. As children in school, you are under five or six different gov¬

ernments, viz. : national, state, county, (city), school district, home. Name ways in which you are or might be controlled by each of these governments. In case of con¬ flict in authority between any two of these governments, to which do you owe allegiance?

Chapter II Elections Andj Voting

The Precinct, — By the state law of Idaho, the board of county commissioners is empowered to divide the county into a convenient number of election precincts, cKange the boundaries of such as may be necessary, create new or consolidate established precincts, but it must not alter or change anv election precinct^-after its regular Apnfineeting next preceding any election..

Registration of Voters7— TheTToard of County Commissioners at its regular meeting in April next preceding each general election appoints a registrar for each election precinct in the county. It is the duty of this registrar to register all the voters in the precinct. The registration books must be kept open during each Saturday including and from the first day of May to and including the last Saturday preceding the_ primary election. The books shall then be closed until the Saturday 'following such primary election when they shall again be kept open until nine o'clock p.m. on the Saturday preceding the general election. A transfer certificate may be taken from one precinct to another in the same county, in case a voter moves between the time of his registration and the day of election.

Qualifications of Voters. — The Constitution of the United States, Amendment XIV, determines who are citizens of the United States. Amendment XV states that no citizen shall be deprived of the right to vote on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude. Amendment XIV says that “when the right to vote at any election ” for Federal or State officers “ is denied to any of the male members of such* State, being twenty-one years of age and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion -or other crime, the basis n of representation therein shall be reduced in the pro¬ portion which such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such state.’ ’ In Article I of the same document, it is stated that “ the electors (of Congressmen) in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State Legislature.” Otherwise, the states are perfectly free to establish the qualifications of voters. In Idaho every male or female citizen of the United States, twenty-one years of age, who has actually resided in the State six months and in the county thirty days next preceding the day of election, if registered as provided by law, is a qualified elector, or voter.

Disqualified from Voting. — No one is entitled to vote, serve as juror, or hold any civil office, who is under guardianship, is idiotic or insane^who has. i§en convictecT^rTreasonTfelQnv, buying on selling votes* or the~attempt to buy or sell a vote^who is a bigamist AT* ^ polygamist^ or by his teaching or support en¬ courages others to enter into bigamy or polygamy. Persons employed in the service of the United States, or engaged in the navigation of the waters of the state or of the United States, or attending any insti¬ tution of learning, or being kept in an alms-house at public expense, have the right to return home to vote.

Elector’s Oath before Registering. — Below is the form of the oath prescribed by law for all who wish to register:

“I do swear (or affirm) that I am a citizen of the United

States, of the age of twenty-one years, or will be the .

day of . a.d. 19 ; that I have (or will have)

actually resided in this State for six months, and in this county for thirty days next preceding the next ensuing election; that I have never been convicted of treason, felony, embezzlement of public funds, bartering or selling or offering to barter or sell my vote, or purchasing or offering to purchase the vote of another, or other infamous crime, without thereafter being restored to the rights of citizenship ; that I will not commit any act in viola¬ tion of the provisions in this oath contained ; that I am not now registered or entitled to vote at any other place in this State; that I do regard the Constitution of the United States and the laws thereof, and the Constitution of this State and the laws thereof, as interpreted by the courts, as the supreme law of the land, so help me God.”

This oath must be signed by the one wishing to register and sworn to before one of the registrars of the county.

Importance of Voting. — Every voter is responsible in part for the kind of government under which he lives. It is his duty to see that good men are chosen to make the laws, and other good men to enforce the laws when made. No one who shirks the responsi¬ bility of voting has any right to complain if the laws do not suit him, or if officers prove faithless. This government is surely “ for the people.” It will be “ by the people ” only when all voters do their full duty at the polls.

Votin g Booths

Model Polling Place.

SAMPLE TICKET. (Session Laws, 1919.)

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Australian Ballot System. — In order to give every voter the opportunity to prepare and cast his ballot in secret, and to guard against any possible interfer¬ ence, intimidation or bribery, this state has adopted the Australian ballot system. The model voting place and sample ballot previously shown illustrate how much care has been taken to protect the voter in this his first and greatest duty to his government.

Election Officers and their Duties. — The board of county commissioners. shall appoint in every precinct j^rPP~pidges of election, one of whom shalL_act as distributing clerk! These officers shall as nearly^ as possible represent all parties taking part in the elec¬ tion. The three judges shall select two clerks of election, and in case there is no constable in the voting precinct, appoint some person to act as such during the election. Such officer shall have^powerjto^arrest for HisLnrhance bTthTpeace, shatTalldw no one inside thTguardTaifexcept those~who go to vote, and only one elector in a compartment at one time. The judges shall conduct the election according to law, allowing only those to vote who are eligible. The clerks sha make a record of all who have voted. In case any judge, who has been appointed by the commissioners is not present when the time comes for the opening of the polls, then those voters^present may- choose om

"How to Vote. — The following complete instructions for voting are from the Revised Codes of Idaho, adopted January 12, 1909 :

** Delivery of Ticket to Elector. _ .

“ Sec^ 423. An elector desiring to vote shall give _lus ; name and, l requited to do so, his residence, to one of the clerks of the election, who shall thereupon announce the same in a loud and distinct tone of voice, clear and audible, and if such name is found on the check list by the election officer having charge thereof, he shall likewise repeat the said name, and the voter shall be allowed to enter the space enclosed by the guard rail as hereinbefore provided. The distributing clerk shall give him one, and only one, ticket, and his name shall be immediately checked on said list by placing a mark on the registry list to denote that he has received a ticket, and the ticket must be stamped on the back and near the top of the ticket with the official stamp by the distributing clerk, and thereupon delivered to the elector. Besides the election officers, not more than one voter, in excess of the voting shelves or compartments provided, shall be allowed in said enclosed space at one time.”

“ Manner of Voting.

“ Sec. 424. On receipt of his ticket the voter shall forthwith and without leaving the enclosed space retire alone to one of the voting shelves or compartments so provided and shall prepare his ticket by marking in the appropriate margin or placing a cross (X) opposite the name of the candidate of his choice for each office to be filled, or by filling in or writing the name of the person for whom he wishes to vote in the blank space provided therefor under each office to be filled and following the names of the regularly nominated candidates marking a cross (X) op¬ posite such names. In voting for presidential electors he shall mark a cross (X) opposite the political designation of the candi¬ dates for President and Vice-President for whom he wishes to vote or by writing in the names of persons for Presidential electors in the blank spaces provided therefor and marking a cross (X) opposite such names. In case of a question submitted to the vote of the people and appearing on the regular ballot, he shall mark in the appropriate margin or square a cross (X) against the answer wdiich he desires to give. In case of questions submitted to voters of particular localities at special elections, he shall vote by marking in the appropriate margin or circle a cross (X) against the answer which he desires to give. Before leaving the voting shelf or compartment the voter shall fold his ticket without dis¬ playing the marks thereon so as to expose the impression of the official stamp on the back and he shall keep the same so folded until he has voted. In case of the ballot voted at a regular general election, he shall fold the same in the same manner in which it is folded by the distributing clerk before being given to the voter. After marking his ballot the voter shall hand it to one of the judges and announce his name. He shall mark his ticket or ballot without delay and shall quit said enclosed space as soon as he has voted.”

Absentee Voting. — Any qualified voter who is absent or expects to be absent from his election precinct on elec¬ tion day may, by making application therefor not more than 15 days nor less than 1 day preceding theligy-of electlonT obtain a baHoTand forward the same "by mail to the election officers to be counted as other ballots.

Canvassing the Votes. — At general elections the polls shall remain open from 8_p!clock in the morning to 7 in the evening. As soon as the polls close the judges shall canvass the votes publicly and make certified returns to the clerk of the board of county commissioners. If at the general election preceding there have been over one hundred votes cast ffllL Governor, then there shall be two sets of election officersTiT such precinct, one set to receive and register the votes, and the other set to count the votes. Two ballot boxes shall in such case be used, one to receive the votes until five have been cast, then delivered to the counting judges, and the other box used for re¬ ceiving ballots. As soon as the ballots in the first box are counted, it shall be returned to the judges who are receiving ballots, and the ballots in the second box shall be counted. So the two sets of officers shall continue to exchange ballot boxes, until the polls are closed, when the rest of the ballots shall be counted and all the judges shall join in signing the returns to the county commissioners. T-he^coi^ shall canvass the returnsjosent in and determincwhoare_

The state canvassing board receivei~a^fateme5FofThe^ votes from each county for

The Primary Election. — For several years Idaho had a Primary Election Law which enabled the voters of each political party to vote directly for all candidates for both state and county offices. This law was so amended by the Legislature of 1919 that candidates for presidential electors, for United States Senator and Representatives ~mT Congress^and for all state offices, are nominated_by a state convention. Can¬ didates for the State Legislature, for district judges, and for all county and municipal offices are chosen directly by the voters at the Primary Election. This election is to be held on the first Tuesday in August, 1920, and biennially thereafter. The polls are to be open from one o’clock in the afternoon until seven o^clock in the livening: ~

Political Party Defined. — "A political party within the meaning of this Act, is an affiliation of electors, representing a political organization under a given name, which at the last preceding general election cast fop any candidate on their ticket, within this state, ten per cent or more of the total vote cast for, all candidates for such office within the state, and upon which ticket there were at least three nominees for state offices, or an affiliation of electors, equal in number to five per cent of the total number of votes cast at the preceding general election, who shall, at least thirty days before the date of the primary, file with the Secretary of State a written .notice that they dqsire recognition as a political party, which said notice shall contain, 1st: the name of J;he proposed party ; 2nd : that the subscribersTheretohave affiliated one with another, for the purpose of forming such party ; and 3rd : that the subscribers to such notice intend to nominate at least three candidates for State_ offices, whereupon such ^affiliator~shall, under theparty name chosen, have all the rights of a political party whose ticket shall have been on the ballot at the preceding general election.”

Nomination Papers. — In order that the name of any person wishing to become a candidate for district judge, for the State Legislature, or for a county office may be placed upon the official ballot, a nomination paper must be signed and sworn to by him, and filed with thf ponr>ty rprnrHer not more than sixty nor less thanthirty days before the primary election. This nomination paper must show him to be a qualified voter, and belonging to the political party of which he aspires to be a candidate, for at least two years preceding the date of the election. He musiT~aIso file a statement signed by the chairman of the county central committee or a majority of the members of that committee showing that he has been a member of that party for the required two years. The candi¬ date must also pay a fee equal to one per cent of the_ yearly salary of the office for which he is a candidate, except that candidates for the legislature must pay a fee of two dollars.

Form of Primary Ballot. — Across the top of each ballot shall be the words “ Official Primary Election Ballot,” the name of the party, the name of the county in which the ballot is to be used, and the following instructions to voters : “To vote for a person make a cross (X) in the square at the right of his name. After marking the ballot, hand it to a judge of the election, to be placed in the ballot box for votes.

A sample ballot is shown on page 20.

The County Convention. — The county convention of each party^is, held on J:he -third -Tuesday in August immediately following the primary election. In this convention eacIT precinct shall be entitled to one delegate for each thirty votes or major fraction thereof cast at the preceding general election for legislative and county offices. This number shall be determined by finding the average vote so cast. This county convention chooses delegates to the state convention and a member of the State central committee, and, if it so determines, adopts a county platform.

The State Convention. — The State convention of each party is held at such place as may be designated by the State central committee, on the fourth Tuesday in August immediately following the primary election. In this convention each county has one delegate for each four hundred votes or major fracHoiT_thereof cast for legislative and county^officesT- This number is determined by finding the average vote so cast. It is the duty of the State convention to nominate candidates for the following offices: (1) Presidential Ejectors, (2) United States Senator, (3) Representatives-in Congress (chosen by congressional districts), (4) Governor, (5) Lieutenant Governor, (6) Justices of the Supreme Court, (7) Secretary of State, (8) State Auditor, (9) State Treasurer, (10) Attorney General, (11) Superintendent of Public Instruction, and (12) Mine Inspector, and to adopt a platform for the party.