tion unless at the head of said matter is printed in non-pariel capital Letters or larger type the words "Paid Advertisement" and unless there is also a statement at the head of said matter showing the name and address of the candidate in whose behalf the matter is inserted and of any other person, if any, authorizing the publication of the matter published or inserted, and the name of the author thereof.

Section 2. Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

Section 3. All acts or parts of acts in so far as they are in conflict with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed. Approved March 4, 1921.

Escheats

CHAPTER 228.

(S. B. 25.)

RELATING TO ESCHEATS AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATORS.

AN ACT Entitled, An Act to Amend Sections 718, 3050, 3249 and 3470 of the South Dakota Revised Code of 1919, Relating to Escheats and to the Manner of Determining the Same, Either Through an Action Instituted for that Purpose or in the Course of Probate Proceedings, Providing for and Defining Duties of Public Administrators, and Declaring an Emergency.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of South Dakota:

Section 1. That Section 3050 of the South Dakota Revised Code of 1919 be and the same is hereby amended to read as follows:

Section 3050. States Attorney and County Judge to Report.] It shall be the duty of States Attorneys and County Judges to report to the Governor or to the Attorney General all cases coming to their attention wherein there is reason to believe that any real or personal property has escheated or may escheat to the State, and all cases wherein there is reason to believe that the whole of the estate of a decedent may pass either by succession or by devise to any person or persons other than the persons or classes of persons mentioned in subdivisions 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Section 701 of the South Dakota Revised Code of 1919; and it shall then be the duty of the Attorney General to conduct an investigation, and if it appears that there is a defect of heirs of the classes mentioned in subdivisions 1 to 7, inclusive, of Section 701 of the Revised Code of 1919, and that any persons who may be asserting their claims to such estate as heirs, devisees, legatees or otherwise are not lawfully entitled thereto, then it shall be his duty to cause an action to be brought in the name of the State for the recovery of such property or its reduction into the possession of the State. Provided, that in any of the cases above enumerated, if it shall appear to the Attorney General that the condition of the estate is such as will permit the question of the right of succession thereto, including the rights of the State as the ultimate heir of the decedent, to be determined in the course of probate proceedings in the manner provided by law, then the Attorney General shall be authorized to institute or to intervene in any probate proceedings affecting such estate, in lieu of the proceedings provided for by

this Article. Provided further, that the right of action created by this Article shall be concurrent with and in addition to the right of the State to conduct or participate in probate proceedings affecting the same property, and the two methods of procedure hereby authorized may be conducted without interference with each other, subject to the provisions of Section 3053 of this Article. And if the Governor of this State shall have reason to believe that any real or personal property has escheated through defect of other heirs, he may direct the Attorney General or any States Attorney of any county in which the whole or any part thereof is situated to institute such proceedings as may be necessary and proper to protect and enforce the rights of the State with respect thereto.

Section 2. That Section 718 of the South Dakota Revised Code of 1919 be and the same is hereby amended to read as follows:

Section 718. If There Are No Other Heirs, Escheats to the State.] If there is no one capable of succeeding under the provisions of subdivisions numbered 1 to 7, inclusive, of Section 701. the property of a decedent devolves and escheats to the State as the ultimate heir, by right of succession, and not otherwise. The word "escheat" as used throughout this Code shall be construed to mean the devolution or descent of property to the State, by right of heirship, in the order of succession as established by Section 701 of this Code. The words "any person interested," or similar expressions as used in Sections 3210, 3231, 3258, 3267, 3366, 3368 and elsewhere in Title 3 of this Code shall be deemed to include the State in all cases where the State is permitted to appear in a probate proceeding under the provision of this section; and the words "heir" or "heirs," as used in Title 3 of this Code, shall be deemed to apply to the State in any case where the decedent leaves no husband, wife or kindred; in any such case the State shall be entitled to all the rights of an heir in any Court of probate, including the right to nominate an administrator.

Whenever it shall appear to the Attorney General that the estate of a decedent has escheated to the State because of the defect of other heirs, it shall be his duty to institute such proceedings as may be necessary and proper to protect and enforce the rights of the State therein, either under the provisions of Article VII, Chapter 2, Part 10, Title 2, of this Code, or by asserting the claim of the State in the Probate Court; and in such cases the State shall have the same right as any other claimant to heirship, to institute or participate in any probate proceeding, to contest wills, to nominate an administrator and to participate in and direct the probate proceedings generally. And the County Courts of this State are invested with jurisdiction to hear and determine any claim of the State in such cases, and to adjudge that an estate has escheated, and to make and enter a final decree vesting the property of such estate in the State of South Dakota, subject to the provisions of Section 3470 of this Code as now amended.

Section 3. That Section 3249 of the South Dakota Revised Code of 1919 be and the same is hereby amended to read as follows:

Section 3249. Who Are Entitled to Letters of Administration.] Administration of the estate of a person dying intestate must be granted to some one or more of the persons hereinafter mentioned, and they are respectively entitled thereto in the following order:

1. The surviving husband or wife, or some competent person whom he or she may request to have appointed.

2. The children.

3. The father or mother. Laws-22.

7. The next of kin entitled to share in the distribution of the estate.

8. The nominee of the State, as designated by the Attorney General or other proper officer of the State, in all cases where there is a failure of heirs of the seven classes hereinbefore designated, in which case the State, as the ultimate heir in the line of succession, shall be entitled to control the administration of the estate. Provided, that the County Judge of any county in this State may, by a written appointment filed in the office of the Clerk of Courts of his county, appoint a public administrator for such county, who shall give a good and sufficient bond to be approved by the County Judge and by the Board of County Commissioners, in an amount sufficient to cover the aggregate value of the personal property of all estates which may be committed to his care; which bond shall be renewed or increased from time to time as the circumstances may require. Each such appointment shall be for a term not exceeding two years, and during such term the public administrator shall be entitled and it shall be his duty to administer upon all estates within his county, where there is no person in existence having a prior right to such administration under the provisions of this section.

If the decedent was a member of a partnership at the time of his decease, the surviving partner must in no case be appointed administrator of his estate.

Section 4. That Section 3470 of the South Dakota Revised Code of 1919 be and the same is hereby amended to read as follows:

Section 3470. What Decree of Distribution Must Show.] In the decree the court must name the persons and the proportions or parts to which each shall be entitled, and such persons may demand, sue for and recover their respective shares from the executor or administrator, or any person having the same in possession. Such decree is conclusive as to the rights of heirs, legatees or devisees, subject only to be reversed, set aside, or modified on appeal. If the decedent shall have left surviving him no husband, wife or kindred capable of inheriting his estate, the decree shall vest the estate in the State of South Dakota for the benefit of the common schools of the State; provided, however, that such decree declaring an escheat shall contain a further provision to the effect that at any time within five years after the entry of such decree any person not a party or privy to the probate proceeding in which such decree is made, and who has no notice or knowledge thereof, may institute an action in the Circuit Court of that county, in the same manner as provided in Section 3058 of the Revised Code, for the purpose of asserting his claim or right to the property of the estate or the proceeds thereof. And any such claimant shall have the same right to assert his claim within five years after the entry of such decree in probate as he would have had under the provisions of Section 3058 of the Revised Code in case of a judgement of escheat in an action instituted under the provisions of Article VII, Chapter 2, Part 10, Title 2 of the Revised Code; and such decree of the Probate Court shall have the same force and effect as a judgement of escheat in an action instituted under the escheat statute, and shall become final and conclusive against all the world at the expiration of the period prescribed by Section

3058 of the Revised Code, unless it shall be vacated and set aside prior to that time, in an action brought under the provisions of said Section 3058.

Section 5. Whereas, this Act is necessary for the immediate suppor of the state government and its existing institutions, an emergency is hereby declared to exist, and this Act shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and approval. Approved February 25, 1921.

Estates of Decedents

CHAPTER 229.

(S. B. 3)

RELATION TO PARTITION AND DISTRIBUTION.

AN ACT Entitled, An Act to Amend Section 3477 of the South Dakota Revised Code of 1919, Relating to Partition or Distribution of Real Estate of an Estate After an Assignment by an Heir or Devisee and Legalizing Distribution or Partition Heretofore Made.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of South Dakota:

Section 1. That Section 3477 of the South Dakota Revised Code of 1919, be and the same is hereby amended to read as follows:

Section 3477. When Interest Has Been Conveyed by Heir.] Partition or distribution of the real property of the estate may be made as provided in this and in preceding chapters although some, or all of the heirs or devisees may have conveyed their share to other persons, and such shares must be assigned to the persons holding the same, in the same manner as they otherwise would have been to such heirs or devisees. Distribution or partition heretofore made in accordance with the provisions of this Section is hereby declared valid. Approved February 5, 1921.

Evidence

CHAPTER 230.

(H. B. 8)

RELATING TO DYING DECLARATIONS.

AN ACT Entitled, An Act Relating to Evidence in Criminal Actions.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of South Dakota:

Section 1. Dying Declarations.] Dying declarations are statements of material facts concerning the cause and circumstances constituting the res gestae of any of the following felonies to-wit: homicide,

rape, as rape is defined in sub-divisions 3 and 4 of Section 4092 of the South Dakota Revised Code of 1919, and abortion, as abortion is defined in Section 4116 of the Revised Code of 1919, made by the victim voluntarily while sane and under the fixed and solemn belief that his death is inevitable and near at hand.

Section 2. In all prosecutions for the following felonies to-wit, homicide, rape, as rape is defined in sub-divisions 3 and 4 of Section 4092 of the South Dakota Revised Code of 1919, and abortion, as abortion is defined in section 4116 of the Revised Code of 1919, the dying declarations of the deceased, as defined in the foregoing section, are always admissible in evidence, provided, the deceased would be a competent witness if living. All such declarations are also admissible in behalf of the defense.

Approved March 12, 1921.

Executive Accountant

CHAPTER 231.

(S. B. 301)

RELATING TO DUTIES AND COMPENSATION OF EXECUTIVE ACCOUNTANT.

AN ACT Entitled, An Act to Amend Section 6901 of the South Dakota Revised Code of 1919, Also Section 6905 as Amended by Section 2 of Chapter 198 of the Session Laws of 1919, and to Provide the Executive Accountant With a Seal for His Office.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of South Dakota:

Section 1. That Section 6901 of the Revised Code of 1919, be amended to read as follows:

Section 6901. Examination of City, Town, Township and District Officers.] It shall be the duty of the executive acountant or an assistant to examine and audit the books and accounts of the officers of each city of the first class in the state at irregular periods once each year. Such examination shall cover such period as the executive accountant shall direct, but in no case shall the examination extend back more than six years from the date the examination is started.

He shall also install a uniform system of accounting in the city offices and the forms for the records, receipts, vouchers and other documents for such uniform system of accounting shall be prepared by the executive accountant.

The executive accountant and his assistants are also authorized to make examinations of the books and accounts of the officers of all cities, incorporated towns, townships and school districts when called by the presiding officer of any such taxing district or upon request by petition signed by twenty per cent of the resident tax payers of such taxing district, as shown by the assessment roll for the preceding year. Section 2. That Section 6905 of the Revised Code of 1919, as amended by Section 2 of Chapter 198 of the Session Laws of 1919, be amended to read as follows:

Section 6905. Salary, Fees, Per Diem, Expenses, How Paid.] The Executive Accountant shall receive a salary of thirty-six hundred