Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1879-10-09
Yearly one thousand majority. AMI MT.


about, with no prospect Of ever recover
ing his health, and nohope of surviving
but a. few months at the longest. He died
on the 9Th day Of August, universally la
mented-his death FASTENED beyond a
doubt by the prosecutions to which he
was subjected by the Judge.
Anew weeks ago, and before Mr.. McIp-
tyre took possession, Hon. H. NJ. Knox,
public examiner, made an. official inves.
tlgation of the books, vouchers aud funds
IN the treasury, and found everything
correct, and commended the efficiency
now dead treasurer.
In the month Of July, 1877. he made a
complaint as Judge against Lafayette
French, in which he accused him Of
malteasance IN Office, OF taking fees from
both parties to lawsuits, of falsely repre-
sentlng to the court the facts about pub.
',c business, and 4 number of other un-
professional and criminal acts. For ex-
animation Mr.. French was brought he.
fore Page, who acted as informant, prose-
cutting attorney and judge. After spend
ing eight days in the examination, and
putting Mr.. French to large bill Of
expense, Page held him to be guilty of
the charge preferred, and made an order
suspending him from practice until the
close of the succeeding term of the Su-
preme Court, bclng period of about
considered by the Supreme Court, it was
dismissed for Illegally and total want of
con f,rmity to the law in such cases, and
MIR. French was thus released from disa-
bility, and resumed practice. Later, the
same charges were preferred against Mr..
French, the complaint being this time
signed by A. E. Meigs, whom Page had
procured to act in his stead. j. NJ.
Greenman was appointed by the Supreme
Court to take the testimony, ana was en-
gagged in 80 doing not less that Is days,
and when the evidence Was submitted to
the Judges Ut the Supreme Court, they
decided that there was no cause of action,
that Mr.. French had been unjustly &C.
cused, and that he was entitled to costs.
the proceeding appearing to them to have
been malicious.
July 20, 1877, on his own complaint,
he had Edward Richards, who was tenn
porarily In Austin as correspondent of
the Pioneer Press, arrested upon charge
of libel and held to bail, but the grand
jury failed to see anything wrong or lille.
gal in what was said in the Pioneer Press
about the Judge, and the defendant was
held to be innocent of the charge.
ON complaint of Judge Page, A. A.
Har wood was arrested upon two different
criminal charges, taken to Lansing before
John E. Robinson and bound over. w.
H. Merrick and E. o. Wheeler appeared
as attorneys and Page as principal wit
ness, and Merrick acknowledges having
received fee Of $25, from Page, for his
services. AS soon as MIR. Harw0od was
held to bail, Page published circular,
of which thousands OF copies were cir
culated, in which he said, among other
things, ut has been discovered that A. A.
HARDWOOD, postmaster at Austin. has fOrg
ed and counterieited the name Of VIM.
NJ. Corbitt, ESQ.," The grand jury lnvesti.
gated both charges against MIR. HARDWOOD
aud declared him innocent in every par
ticular. Notwithstanding which at each
term of the court when Page has presided
he has had the same charges re.submitted
grand juries reach the same conclusion
On the 31st day of May, 1879, upon his
own complaint, Page had D. H. Stimson
arrested upon a charge Of contempt OF
court and brought before himself for ex.
animation, alleging, among other things,
that Stimson, while holding the positi on
Of deputy sheriff, circulated petition
asking Page to resign, which petition be
insisted was llbelous. Upon the hearing
he compelled half dozen persons u
come before him and disclose what par,
they took, if any, IN writing, printing
and circulating the petition. He KEPT
Stimson under bonds about month, and
then finding no evidence to support his
charge, StimsOn was released.
ABOUT the same time, We think at the
ensuing fall term OF court, Judge Page
called up this same deputy sheriff Slim
son, in open session, when the grand jury
was present, and the room was full, &C.
cused him of converting TO his own use
money which he had collected as an off
Ger that belonged to the State, and com.
manded him to pay it over to the clerk,
when he knew that the money retained
by Stlmson belonged to HIM as matter
Of right. but he did it for the purpose OF
humiliatiug and di.gracing Stimson, and
of advertising himself as a faithful guar
dian OF the public interests.
C.L. WEST, of the firm Of Hall s. West
was at one time jailer under an appoint
ment of the Sheriff and the approval OF
the Judge. Happening to take an adverse
part in caucus which Page was labor
ing to control, the Judge made an order
cutting of Vests compensation, which was
in effect a dismissal, dated it back eight
days, and then refused to allow him pay
for the work done during that time.
He employed w. T. Vaudeville SIX
days as court deputy, and when asked
to give an order for the pay, refused, and
asked, "What dirty work did you do TO-
wards electing Hall that he should ap-
point you dcputy?" And Vaudeville
was compelled to sue the county before
getting his pay.
Two years ago, Chief of Police Tom
Riley was on duty as a deputy during
term of the court A case was pending
IN which Riley had been subpenaed as q
witness. Having several processes to
serve, he went into the country to perform
the work, and, although he was not alb
sent from the courtroom more than six
hours, the case was called, Riley not being
present, Page, of his own motion, issued
an attachment, sent an officer for him, had
him arrested and brought into court, and
then fined him $40 for contempt-and all
because he had spite against Riley.
WHILE Page was officially disabled by
the Impeachment proceedings, Sheriff
Hall removed F. w. Allen, turnkey, aud
lackey OF Page, appointing Lyman Baird
to the position, and his action was ap-
proved by H. r. Brill, Judge ad interim.
I'm mediate:y after Page got clear, he
made an order annu]ling Raird's appoint.
ment and cutting off the per diem Of the
appointee. Believing the act to involve
a usurpatlon Of power, and to be wholly
! illegal, Mr.. Baird 6isregarded it, and
continued to perform the duties of the
position until he went out of Office by
reason of the expiration Of the term Of
his principal. Under Pages order the
Auditor refused to draw warrants for the
pay of Baird, and lie sued out of the
Supreme Court an alternative writ of
mandamus. The CASE came on for hear.
ing at The last January term, and the
court overruled the order of Page, hold
ing It to be illegal and peremptorily Or
dcfed the Auditor to draw warrants for
! the jaller for the full term of his service,
together with his costs, taxed At over
eighty dollars,
ONE W, D. Jaynea, formerly a resident
of this city, was put on trial before Page