560 



NEBRASKA. 



and Republicans of the House in passing a reso- 

 lution requesting Gov. Boyd to deliver his 

 inaugural address. A few days later the Senate 

 voted down the joint resolution, and with this 

 defeat ended all hopes of the contestants. 



In the quo warranto suit, Thayer v. Boyd, a 

 motion to dismiss was early filed by the respond- 

 ent on the ground that the relator had no title 

 or authority to maintain the suit, and that the 

 facts stated did not form a good cause of action. 

 Early in March, after a hearing, the court over- 

 ruled this motion and ordered the respondent , to 

 file his answer. 



Arguments upon the merits of the case were 

 heard toward the middle of the month, and on 

 May 5 the court rendered an opinion to the effect 

 that Boyd was not a legal citizen of the United 

 States, and was therefore ineligible to the office 

 to which he had been elected. The fact that his 

 father, being an alien, had never completed his 

 naturalization as a citizen during the minority 

 of his son, who was born in a foreign country, 

 was held to be conclusive against the citizenship 

 of the latter. It was further decided that the 

 alien inhabitants of the Territory of Nebraska at 

 the time of its admission as a State did not be- 

 come citizens of the United States by virtue of 

 the acts of Congress admitting the State into the 

 Union. In view of these facts, the court held 

 that the election of 1890 for Governor .was void, 

 and that the person elected Governor at the pre- 

 ceding election was entitled to hold over after the 

 expiration of his term for the term succeeding. 

 From these conclusions of the majority of the 

 court Justice Maxwell dissented. Pursuant to the 

 majority opinion, however, judgment of ouster 

 was entered against Gov. Boyd, in obedience to 

 which he immediately surrendered to Gov.Thayer 

 the Executive office. His counsel then cai'ried the 

 case up to the United States Supreme Court upon 

 a writ of error, but no decision had been reached 

 by that tribunal at the close of the year. 



Legislative Session. The Legislature as- 

 sembled for its regular biennial session on Jan. 6, 

 and adjourned on April 4. Its action in the con- 

 troversy over the State executive offices is re- 

 corded in the foregoing paragraph. Both Houses 

 were controlled by members of the new Inde- 

 pendent or Farmers' Alliance party. Hostility 

 to railroads was one of their cardinal doctrines, 

 and their avowed purpose was to pass at this ses- 

 sion some law compelling a reduction of railroad 

 tariff rates. Several radical measures were in- 

 troduced and were the subjects of prolonged and 

 heated debates. One of these, known as the New- 

 berry Maximum Freight-rate bill, passed the 

 House, and after causing a dead lock in the Sen- 

 ate for several days, was carried in that body and 

 submitted to Gov. Boyd. In the bill an attempt 

 was made to embody in a law for Nebraska the low- 

 est rates in force in Iowa. A reduction from ex- 

 isting rates of from 40 to 60 per cent, was con- 

 templated. Gov. Boyd, believing that such an 

 act, if enforced, would bankrupt every road in the 

 State, returned the bill without his approval on 

 the last day but one of the session, and it failed 

 to pass over his veto. A secret-ballot law was 

 enacted at this session. Under its provisions all 

 ballots used at elections shall be printed at 

 county expense, except in municipal elections, 

 when they shall be printed at municipal expense. 



Candidates for office may be nominated by the 

 convention or caucus of any political party that 

 polled at the last election 1 per cent, of the entire 

 vote cast in the State, county, or other division 

 for which the nomination is made, or by nomina- 

 tion papers signed by electors of the district for 

 which the nomination is made to the number of 

 500 when the nomination is for a State office, 

 and to a number not exceeding 50 where the 

 office is to be filled by the electors of a city, 

 county, or other division less than the State, and 

 to a number not exceeding 20 when the office is 

 to be filled by the electors of a township, precinct, 

 or ward, provided that the number of signatures 

 need not exceed one fourth of the total number of 

 voters when the nomination is for other than a 

 State office. Ballots shall be white, printed with 

 black ink. Each ballot shall Contain the name of 

 every candidate duly nominated, the names of all 

 candidates for each office being arranged under 

 the designation of the office in alphabetical order, 

 except that the names of electors of President and 

 Vice- President, presented in one certificate of 

 nomination, shall be arranged in a separate group. 

 At the end of the list of candidates for each 

 office a blank space shall be left for writing in the 

 names of other candidates. Each polling place 

 shall be provided with a sufficient number of 

 booths or compartments, which shall be fur- 

 nished with such supplies and conveniences as 

 shall enable the voter to prepare his ballot, 

 and in which electors may mark their ballots 

 screened from observation The number of such 

 booths shall not be fewer than one for every fifty 

 voters or fraction thereof registered in the dis- 

 trict or precinct. Before delivering a ballot to an 

 elector, two of the election officers shall write 

 their names in ink upon the back. The elector 

 shall indicate his choice by marking a cross with 

 ink opposite the name of his candidate, or by 

 writing in the name of his candidate. He shall 

 then fold the ballot so as to conceal his choice, 

 and deliver it to the judge of election, who shall 

 deposit it in the ballot-box. Electioneering with- 

 in any polling place or within 100 feet thereof is 

 forbidden. 



Another important act of the session regulates 

 and defines at length the rights and duties of 

 public warehousemen. The mixing or shipping 

 of different grades of grain together is forbid- 

 den, except by consent of the owner. Ware- 

 houses are divided into three classes, and they 

 shall receive, ship, store, and handle the prop- 

 erty of all alike without discrimination. 



Eight hours are declared to constitute a legal 

 day's work for all classes of mechanics, servants, 

 and laborers, except those engaged in farm or 

 domestic labor. 



The State was re-districted into six congres- 

 sional districts, as follow : 



1. The counties of Cass, Otoc, Nemaha, Kichardson, 

 Pawnee, Johnson, and Lancaster. 



2. Sarpy, Douglas, and Washington. 



3. Burt, Thurston, Dakota, Dixon, Cuming, Dodge, 

 Colfax, Stanton, Wayne, Cedar, Knox, Pierce, Madi- 

 son, Platte, Nance, Boone, Antelope, and Merrick. 



4. Saunders, Butler, Seward, Saline, Gage, Jeffer- 

 son, Thayer, Filmore, York, Polk, and Hamilton. 



5. Hall, Adams, Webster, Franklin, Kearney, 

 Phelps, Harlan, Gosper, Furnus, Ked Willow, Front- 

 ier, Hitchcock, Hayes, Perkins, Chase, Dundy, Clay, 

 and Nuckolls. 



