Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1875-06-10


races Of the bay and the iron horse
at Lancaster on Saturday last COM
PEELED the strict attention by village
Marshal Mitchell to his duties, in or
der to keep the peace. A number OF
refractory parties were arrested by
him and turned over to Sheriff Nc
Coy, bat the latter refused TO take
the charge, on the rourds that the
county jail is not a village calaboose,
and that the authority fol- confine-
ment was insufficient. From the
position taken by Sheriff Mccoy we
Judge that he proposes to have set
tied the question whether county
property can be put to local use.
We rather like the stand he has TAX
en-. Lancaster has dead heated it on
the county cow long time, and it
ought to be able to eroct for its use
at least calaboose. Two years ago
the people voted against an appropri-
alton for the building OF town ball.
That was q mistake, and the county
has a right TO charge the town and
village for the past use Of its proper.
ty for local purposes. We may be
mistaken in this matter, but it has
always appeared to us that Lancas-
ter was sponging off the county in
the use of the court house and Jail.
Has LANCASTER A CALABoosE P
Can the marshal commit to the coun-
ty Jail of Grant county persons who
may have violated some ordinance of
the village of Lancaster, and who
thereby have become answerable TO
arrest without process? The authori-
ty for such commitments, if found
anywhere is in the village charter
Section Al, which reads: "Any peace
"officer may, and it shall be the duty
s'of the marshal 10 arrest Without pro-
"ceSs any person found in state OF
.'ntoxication or guilty, etc, etc and
stake such person or persons forth
"with before the police justice or q
'Sustice of the peace, 10 said village,
"or keep them until they become So
"ber, in confinement" etc. Now
then the question is hoo or ,0here shall
he confine them? Section n of said
charter provides among other things
'that in default of payment CT any
Judgment, the offender may be i'm
"prisoned, ETC.; for which purpose
"the said villags shall have the use of
"the jail of the county in which said
"village is situated, for the imprison-
"ment of any person liable to be i'm
"prisoned," etc. Section 80, after
authorizing the corporation TO build
Jail reads as follows: "and until
"such Jail be built said corporation
"shall have the use of the county jail
"for combining and furnishing Of
blenders, both before and after con-
eviction" From the above extracts
from the charter, and which extracts
- iaI;ouo a0ct.;ca n II 4bak -ala4oo -
the county Jail, it is difficult to dis
cover any authority in the marshal,
on summary arrests, to appropriate
the county Jail for the confinement of
his prisoners The county Jail is
built by the county. witt the county
money at = large cost, and is design
ed tor and should be exclusively ap-
propriated to such uses and purpc ses
only as are prescribed by statute,
and it is difficult to see why the whole
county of Grant should furnish cal
aboose for the village of Lancaster,
more than they should for the other
incorporated villages in the county.
An indiscriminate license to use it
for the confinement of intoxicated
men. with the filth and miro which
would be carried with such Of
Tenders, would soon change and pol
lutte the character of our county pris-
on. and we think would be subver.
sive to the purposes for which it is
intended, and an infringement upon
the rights of the people by whom it
was erected and at whose expense it
is main tanned.