New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1889-07-10
COUNTY SEAT MATTERS.

The people OF Sleepy Eye have about
completed the undertaking of circulat-
ing a petition for the removal of the
County Seat of Brown County from
New Ulm to Sleepy Eye, and they
claim that they have secured 8 sufi-
cient number of signers to compell the
commissioners to proceed in the matter.
They nave had fair show: no attempt
was made to interfere.
Now comes New Ulm's turn, petit
| ton of remonstrance iE being circulated.
and we are free to saw that when the
work has been completed. the voters
OF Brown County will have manifested
their objections to vote on the remov-
al proposition at this time.
We have learned from !. number of
parties that have signed the Sleepy Eye
petition tiiat heir signatures were Sc
cured by misrepresentation. Some
We're told that Sleepy Eye has $50. 600
in the banks of St. Paul and that the
amount would be turned over, 10 the
commissioners as soon as the seat was
declared removed, and that New Ulm
would never pay the $4,000 offered.
The facts are that the $1,000 of New
Ulm are already in the hands of the
County Treasurer, while Sleepy Eyes
$50, 600 are in bonds, which may or
may not be realized, as there are hun
dred ways of preventing it. But even
if the bonds could be foated, the offer
of New Ulm will, as shown in our last
issue, more than balance Sleepy Eyes
offer.
Another mode of securing signatures
has been the claim that Brown County
has no title in the Court House square;
this question has been finally settled by
Judge SeFerance's decisions which read
as follows:
''trom the showing made the county
of Brown may righfully erect court
house and maintain it on Block LOG
mentioned in the complaint where the
county buildings of the county have
been for more than twenty years. -
Gin order for temporary Injunction, de-
cision of Oct. Sth, 1887.
That the county of Brown has good
right to erect and maintain courthouse
on said Block 106. situated in the citv
of New UIm aforesaid, when it has
funds that can be legally applied to
such purpose, and has good right and
title to said Block for such purpose.
Decision of April 9th. 1888.
Besides these decisions the city of
New Ulm had quit-claimed in due form
of law all its rights. title and interest
in the same to the county SO that the
latter has now q perfect title in the
premises. The quit claim deed is on file
in the Auditors office and recorded IN
Book 52 of Deeds page 479
The main inducement to capture sig
natures has however been to ask the
people to only sign the petition to
make New Ulm come TO time, as Sleepy
Eye was not at all anxious to get the
County Seat, while in fact this was the
only issue. Sleepy Eye has worked to
secure the County Seat for wears
and has only been waiting to get
strong enough to realize the project.
The commencing of the new court
house threatened to interfere with. said
project and hence the kicking.
Sleepy Eye ecants the County Seat
and all other tals to the contrary Is
nonsense.
The old story that there was no ne.
cessity of building new court house
because the old one was good enough
to last another fifty years. will have NO
bearing on the fair minded voters of the
County. Judge Severance, before
rendering his decision, Inspected the
old shell personally and expressed
his surprise at the time that the people
OF SO wealthy and prosperous county
as Brown could oppose the measure.
Here is the judges finding on that
point:
| That the said County of Brown
constructed County offices and build.
ings as in the complaint alledeed
that ali of said buildings are old. deIap.
idated. defective, and in size and con.
struction wholly insufficient for the pur.
poses and cannot be repaired so as to
answer the purposes OF said county fog
county buildings That 1t is necessary
aud the interest of said county demand
that it should erect new court house
IN and for the use OF said county and TO
contain all the county offices for said
county and that S35, 900 will be reason
able cost of the same
decision of April 9Th, 1885,
4 great number have signed the
Sleepy Eye petition because they were
asked to do 50 in order. to give the for
mer chance to have vote taken on
the question Did these parties stop 10
Il r.