St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-03-21
MURRAY HOLDS THE FORT.
He Declines to Surrender on De.
mand of Mr.. holman,

mand of Mr.. holman.
Another step was taken yesterday
towards settlement of the difficulty
arising from the action of the board Of
aldermen in the election of city attor-
ney. Attorney Holman, his official
bond having been accepted by the coun-
ell Tuesday night. appeared at the
clerks office early yesterday morning
and took the oath of Office, subsequently
calling on Mr.. Murray and demanding
possession of the office, books and seal.
Upon refusal from Mr.. Murray the
following letter in demand of the office
was filed:
To Hon. William P. Murray-Dear Sir: You
are hereby notified that on the 18th day Of
March, A. D. 1899, the common council OF
the city of st. Paul, in the county of Ramsey
and state of Minnesota, duly elected me to
the office of corporation attarney of said city
on the 10Th day of March, 1889. l entered
into bond to said city of st. Paul in the
sum of five thousand 5000 dollars, with
two (2) sureties, as required by
the laws and ordinances of said city,
accepted and approved by said common
council; and that on this day duly sub
scribed and swore to the oath of Office re-
quired by law, and filed the same in the Office
Having been thus duly elected and quail
fed as the corporation attorney OF said city.
l hereby demand of you the possession Of
said office, and all the papers, money. books,
things whatsoever in your possession and
control belonging to said office of corpora
ton attorney of said city. Respectfully,
o. E. HOLMAN.
st. Paul. MIMI, March 20. 1887.
Mr.. Murray asked for short time in
xxyl,i oh 10 l., Of
o'clock forwarded the following COM
munication to Mr.. Holman, refusing to
comply with the demand:
To. o. E. Holman, St Paul, Minn.-Dear
Sir: am in receipt of your letter of this date
in which you advise me that you claim to
have been elected to the Office of corpora
ton attorney of this city for the term of two
council of such city; that you have fully
qualified. and that you demand of me pos
session of such Office and of all the books,
papers, money, accOuntsand documents and
files and other things belonging TO the same,
beg to advise you that am advised, and
believe, you were not elected to the office
which you claim at the time specified in your
letter, or at any other time. That your at
tempted qualification for such Office is abso-
lutely Intellectual; that the approval of a
bond on yonr behalf by the common council
is equally Intellectual for the purpose of con-
ferring upon you the right of the Office
claimed by you, and that you are not now
and never have been entitled to the same or
to any of the matters belonging to such Of
flea.
And l respectfully notify you that I am
the corporation attorney of the city of st.
Paul, duly qualified, elected and acting as
such, and as such in possession Of said Office
and all of the property and rights and priv
ieges appertaining to the same; and that for
the aforesaid reasons decline to surrender
to you or to any one else, either the Office re-
ferred to in your letter, its insignia, or any of
the documents or property belonging to tie
same. Very respectfully, your obedient
servant W. P. MURRAY.
st. Paul, Mimi, March 20, 1889.
When seen by GLoRE reporter last
night, Mr.. Holman stated that he had
fully complied with the law governing
the case, and should be given possession
at once. There is no doubt whatever"
he said, 'as to my legal election, and 1
believe Mr.. Murray recognizes my
rights and was inclined to give up pos
session when called upon him. The
act under which he was elected is, with
out doubt, unconstitutional, and l
shall apply to the supreme court for
possession. under writ of quo war
ranto, before the week Closes" Mr..
Murray, on the other hand, viewed the
matter in an altogether different light.
and didn't understand how the action
of Mr.. Holman cut much of figure in
the case. lyon observe that l am here
attending to business as usual" he
said, land as my election is perfectly
legal it matters little what the other
side may do. AS matter of fact, there
is not much to it,"