124 Wis. 548 | Wis. | 1905
The statute (sec. 959 — 52, Stats. 1898) requires that the petition for referendum shall be signed by “at least twenty per cent, of the electors of such city or village, as appears by the poll list of the last general.election.” It is conceded that, if this means that the petition shall be signed by twenty per cent, of the electors whose names appear on the poll list, then the petition in this case was not sufficient, but, if it means twenty per cent, of the number of electors upon the last poll list, then the petition was sufficient. This is the only question which we find it necessary to consider. Little or no aid can be obtained from authorities, although two cases in this court, arising under somewhat similar statutes, are cited, viz., La Londe v. Barron Co. 80 Wis. 380, 49 N. W. 960, and Bush v. State ex rel, Boyle, 100 Wis. 549, 76 N. W. 606. It is simply a question of
By the Court. — Judgment reversed, and action remanded with directions to deny tbe writ and dismiss tbe action.