San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-04-29

mayor from performing their duties
and to enforce it the mayor was ar
rested by the sheriff. This injunc-
ton, the revolutionary act of the dis
trict Judge, is now in force, and will
be, until a decision is heard upon it
May 9th, when the case is set for
hearing.
This is bald infringement of the
rights of the council by the district
Judge and in direct violation of the
law. 1t is therefore revolutionary in
it's character and subjects him to inn
parchment.
1t is in violation of the law.
High, on injunctions, section 1872
says:
mo principle of the law of iniunctiOns, and
perhaps no doctrine of equity of jurlspru-
dence is more definitely fixed or more clearly
established than that courts equity will not
interfere by injunction TO determine ques
tons of the appointment of public officers or
their title to office, such questions being pure
ly of legal nature and cognizable only by
courts of law. A court of equity will not per-
init itself to be made the forum for determn-
ing disputed questions of title to public office,
or for the trial of contested elections. but Will
in all such cases leave the claimant of the
office to pursue the statutory remedy. IL there
be such, or the common law remedy by pro-
ceedings in the nature OF quo warranto. Thus
equity will not interfere b injunction to re-
strain persons from exercising the functions
of pu bic offices on the ground of the illegali-
ty of the law under which the appointments
were made So when a specific remedy by
quo warrantO exists Mt law for the unlawful
disruption of an Office by one not entitled
thereto, court Of equity will not entertain
Jurisdiction of the offence and will not grant
an injunction against the incumbent of the
office"
This opinion of the eminent author
ity above quoted is fortified by de-
cision of nine states five of whom are
southern states. In section 1850, the
same authority, we find.
"a court of equity mas no jurisdiction to in
tertere in disputes concerning mancipal C!ec
lions: and when a court has assumed iuriS-
dictiOn in such a case and has enjOined
board of municipal officers, such as be COM
mon council of city from canvaSSing the
returns OF municipal! election which Is maze
their duty by law. such injunction will be re-
garded as absolutely VOID for want of juriS
ctiOn over the subject matter"
When the special correspondent
AYERS that this revolutionary action
of the democratic members of the FL
Paso common council was strictly
within the law, he must mean the
law as set forth by the district Judge.
But according to the authorities
above quoted that judge has acted
contrary to and in direct violation of
clearly established principle of the
law of injunctions, and a definitely
fixed doctrine of neutrality-suspicious..
1t were perhaps to be expected that
this blunder would be made by
country press correspondent; it is not
that democrats hungry for
office, finding themselves defeated in
a regular election should resort to any
and all devices to retain their hold
on power and bar out their more for
tunate republican rivals; but it passes
belief that a district judge should
overlook the plain statements of his
legal authorities, and denying the
force of accepted and settled princi-
pies of law become the instrument of
revolution in the hands of unscrupu-
lous office grabbers. The dilemma
into which the judge at Ell Paso has
put himself has two
sharp horns. One points to writ of
mandamus from the supreme court,
the other to a square back down and
the placing of Mayor Krackauer and
the council elect in their seats as they
were before this revolutionary in
junction was issued. OF the merits
of the election, this article says moth
ing. The republicans were elected
upon the face of the returns. If there
was fraud and grounds for contest,
let the contestants have their remedy
legally in quo warranto proceedings
and not in revolutionary actions of
revolutionary democrats supported
by a revolutionary district Judge
AN HUNDRED YEARS.
Tomorrow will be the centennial of
the Inauguration of the first president
of the United States, George Wash
ington, at New York. There have
been other centennials, such as that
Of tho darIara tion of in6apoDdapca