They Say Washtenaw Has No Option

They Say Washtenaw Has No Option

County Clerk Howlett was just about to issue a call for the special election under the local option law yesterday morning, when an order was served upon him to show cause, next Tuesday, why an injunction should not be served restraining him from issuing such a call. The injunction is sought by Herman Hardinghause, proprietor of the Northern Brewery, who is represented by Hon. C. R. Whitman and John F. Lawrence, esq., his attorneys. An order was issued by Judge Kinne that County Clerk Howlett should come before him next Tuesday and show cause why an injunction should not be issued.

Mr. Hardinghause's petition sets forth that he owns a brewery in Ann Arbor worth $25,000 and that within the past three years he has invested $15,000 in the property, that during the past ten days petitions have been circulated for an election under the local option law, and that the clerk had announced his intention for issuing a call for such an election. He claims that the law, under which the election would be called, is unconstitutional and void on the ground that it violates that provision of the constitution which provides that no law shall embrace more than one object, which shall be expressed in its title and also that it violates a provision of the constitution in that it contains a delegation of the powers of the legislature. He also objects to the call being issued on the ground that the petitions were separate and distinct and not a petition signed by one-fifth of the electors; also that the signatures are not sufficient, because many of them are signed by initials in lieu of given names. He shows that prohibition would ruin him financially and asks for an injunction. This legal move makes it very doubtful if an election is held before May. Under the law, if the courts hold it constitutional, an election cannot be held during March on account of village elections, or in April on account of the city election. The clerk is obliged to give thirty days notice of an election. The last day before the first of May on which an election can be held is February 29, so that the last day on which the election can legally be called is on January 30th. It would not seem very difficult for counsel to stave off the matter by appeal to the supreme court or otherwise until after that date. If the election is not held before May lst, prohibition, in case it carries, cannot go into force until May, 1889.