St. Paul daily globe., 1889-06-27
And Decides Him to Be the
Legally Elected City At
torney.
The Famous Case Unraveled
in All Legal Eccentric
tiles.
Murray Will Move Out To-Day
and Holman Warm His
Seat.


quit.
The title of the case may be given:
The State of Minnesota ex rel. Oscar E.
Holman, relator, VS.. William P. Muir
ray. respondent. Attorney General
Clapp applied for writ of quo war
ranto against Mr.. Murray, whom he
charged with having usurped and in
truded into. with unlawfully holding
and exercising the Office of corporation
attorney for the city of st. Paul.
Mr.. Murray was reelected city attOr-
ney at a meeting of the city council the
first Tuesday of March. 1889. This was
claimed to be illegal, and that the proper
day to elect an attorney was the second
Tuesday of March, 1889. A meeting was
then held, Oscar E. Holman being
elected city attorney by the Republican
members, At the first meeting the Re-
publicans championed W. d. Cornish,
and Mr.. Murray was elected by the vote
of Aid. Book, who, week later, fitted
to Holman.
The question between the parties is
as to which of these elections must be
declared valid By sec. 81, chap. of
the Session Laws of 1885. it is provided,
that the Corporation attorney shall be
elected by the common council of the
city on the first Tuesday of March. 1885.
and shall hold his Office for the term of
two years thereafter" This law did
not provide for an election subsequent
to that held in 1885, which was evil
IDENTIFY an oversight, and by an act OF
the legislature of 1887. there were added
the words and figures: "And OH the
second Tuesday of March every two
years thereafter" By this amendment.
all elections subsequent to the period
were fixed for the
SECOND INSTEAD OF THE FIRST
Tuesday of the month. However, by
the third section of an act approved a
few days later, on March l, the word
''second'' in the amendment of Feb. %
was stricken out and the word ''first"
inserted. the manifest purpose Of the
change being to designate the first
Tuesday of March as the day upon
which an attorney should be elected In
stead of the second.
The election in 1887, under which the
respondent qualified and served for two
years, was held under the amendment
of March /; and the proceedings of the
council upon the first Tuesday of
March, 1889, were also under the same
statute, which is now admitted by all to
be repugnant to section OF our
state constitution, and therefore
void. The act Of the legislature in
which the amendment is found is
entitled: "An act to provide addition
al compensation to the auditor and as
SCISSOR Of Ramsey county for clerk hire
during the years 1887 and 1883 in tran
scribing the books of their respective
officers, rendered necessary by reason
of the extension OF the city limits and for
other purposes, and is in direct viola
ton of that inhibition found in article
4, section 81, of the state constitution,
directing that mo law shall embrace
more than one subject. which shall be
expressed in it's title" The actin ques-
ton embraced four subjects
First - In the first and second
sections, additional compensation for
the auditor and assessor of the county,
the only subject mentioned in the
title;
Second-In the third section, the
amendment now being considered:
Third-In tine fourth section, the sal
ary of the city jailer; and
Fourth-In the fifth section, the sal
ary of the market master Of the city.
Beneath and covered by title which
relates solely to extra compensation for
found. in addition to that which might
be expected, first, change in the time
for the election of an officer of the city
of st. Paul. and secondly, the salaries
fixed for two other officers of the same
municipality. cit would" the court
says, ''be difficult to invent
A LAW MORE OBNOXIOUS
to the constitutional restriction quoted,
for one of the subjects, that indicated
by the title, is absolutely foreignto each
of the other subjects and as independ-
ent of them as if it had appeared in a
separate act.''
Being obliged, therefore, to put aside
the amendment of Maech 1. 1887, the
respondent is met with the fact that he
was not elected upon the day desig-
mated by the act of Feb. %, 1887. but
one week earlier, upon the first instead
of upon the second Tuesday of the
month of March. He is also con-
fronted by the further fact, that upon
the day fixed by the statute for the per-
formance of the duty in question. the
city council formally elected another
person, the relator in this proceeding.
TO the office.
An elaborate review of the legal bear
ings of the points raised by the respond
ent is given in the opinion. written by
Judge Collins, but. to sum up, the find
ings Of the court are:
First-Tested by section ~, article 4
of the state constitution, which pro-
vides that ssno law shall embrace more
than one subject, which shall be ex
pressed in it's title" the statute by
which the first Tuesday in March was
fixed as the day upon which the council
of st. Paul should elect corporation
attorney to succeed the person elected
in the year 1885, Secs, Chap. 333, Spe-
cial Laws 1857, is unconstitutional and
void. ~
Secend--The statute in force regulat-
ing such election and designating the
second Tuesday of March as the day
upon which the council should elect
such officer. Sec. 21. Chap. Z, Special
Laws 1885, as amended by Sec. 6, Chap.
absolutely prohibiting an election upon
day antecedent to that specified.
Third-A person elected upon the
first Tuesday in March, 1889. to the
Office of corporation attorney cannot
hold the Office as against another
elected upon the day named in section
81, chapter Z, supra, as amended.
Judgment has. therefore, to be eli
tered Ousting and excluding Murray
from the office of corporation attorney
for the city of ST. Paul, and that he
forthwith surrender and deliver up to
the relator, Holman, possession of said
Office with all the books and papers re-
lating thereto.
Mr.. Murray has been city attorney
thirteen years.
RISING AND SETTING SUN.
Mr.. Murray and his assistants were
busy yesterday afternoon removing his
personal effects from the corporation
attorneys office; and Mr.. Holman will
take possession when the Office is
opened this morning. Who his assist
ants will be Mr.. Holman would
not state yesterday afternoon,
but it was inferred that Judge
Parker and Attorney Phillips would
| be asked to remain temporarily, until