St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-12-18
Attorney General Hahn Will Not lndorse
the Petition of Bend Against Lieut..
Col. Harrison.
Dentists Who Do Not Propose to Fall in
With the Requirements of
the New Law.
TWO Lectures One Evening-Some-
thing of the Woman's G. A. r.
Relief Corps.
British Depravity Confessed-NeW
Odd Fellows Hall-Treasurer's
Report-N otes.
is THERE ANY COLONEL
Attorney General Hahn Does MOI
Favor Bends Petition.


Attorney General Hahn yesterday gave
ont lengthy opinion in which he refused
to give his official sanction to an lnforma-
ton in the nature of quo warranto against
I,ieut. Col. Perry Harrison of the First
regiment. NJ. n G. The application had
been made by W. b. Bend, through
his attorney, Hon. j. \. Castle
of Saltwater. The decision says that the
points to be considered are that Col. Bend
was duly elected, commissioned and quail
fed: that he was ordered arrested by au-
thority of the governor, and that by the
same order Harrison was elected to assume
command of the regiment; that after
courtmartial the governor made an order
attempting to remove Col. Bend and con-
tinuing Lieut.. Col. Harrison in command,
all of which had been alleged in the petit
ton to the attorney general to be null and
void. The petition further claimed that
without anv legal right Lieut.. Col. Harrl-
son had been exercising all the rights
vested in q colonel, issuing furloughS dis
charging men from the several companies,
etc. Ito the entire exclusion OF the de-
PENDANT" 1t further alleges that he will
continue to usurp and possess these rights
unless the court prevents him, and that he
has no right to do this without Delng
elected and commissioned colonel. The
relation claims still to be the colonel
of the regiment and says he ought to
be i'll possession OF all the rights
and privileges of that office. The attorney
general SAYS that Harrison never claimed,
so far as is shown, To be the colonel, ana
that all his acts have been done simply as
lieutenant colonel, and on this showing.
the application of course, should not De
granted. 1t should on general principles
be denied unless it is believed there has
been an usurpation o. unlawful holding OF
a public office. The query then arises,
whether there is evidence that Lieut.. Col.
Harrison either has, or has intended. to
usurp OF unlawfully hold public office.
THE DILEMMA.
On this point the attorney general speaks
as follows:
1t will not be claimed that the gov
ernor's order assigning him the command,
ipso facto, made him colonel or over author
lied him to assume such title or rank, and II
he has not assumed to be act as such land
he undoubtedly has mott, then these questions
must. as it seems TO me, De answered IN the
negative. What then remains? Nothing but
an alleged false assumption OF authority and
ar erroneous exercise OF power on the part
of the lieutenant colonel. 1t would seem,
therefore to he an attempt to test the legality
of HarrisoH's acts, and to pre-
vent him from exercising authority
which, it is claimed, is not conferred upon
him, but upon the proposed relator. This
cannot be done by quo warrant. IL the evil
dent purpose is i'll the legitimate result OF the
proceeding (if it can have any resnlt) it must
he to prohibit or restrain the respondent from
doing any particular act or acts and not to di-
vest him of the Office itself, thus conceding TO
the respondent the legal title to the Office he
holds ard denying only his legal right to ex-
ercise it over particular cases, or i'll reference
to some particular matter or subject.
The position Of colonel is either vacant or
the relator himself is occupying the same, or
if not in fact occupying it, being vacant,
there is nothing to prevent him, so far as
anything appears, for taking possession. At
all events it is not denied that Harrison is the
lieutenant colonel, and it is not pretended
that he should he ousted from that position.
j then no one is in the Office of colonel, and
Harrison is properly in his office, custer
could not be adjudged. In word, if the gov
ern0r's order of removal is void, as Col. Bend
claims, he is now colonel; if good, the First
regiment has no such officer. On either
horn of their dilemma the writ would not be
proper. ] must therefore decline to grant
the request.