Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1891-05-14
The Alta-LinCOln Case!
A DECISION AT LAST REACHED
IN THE SUPREME COURT.
NoDivision can be Made
Nez Perce midland Reservation, the
Best of Them all-Many Other
Intesting Items.

AAtootAAS AtcmS.
What is generally known as the Alta
Lincoln counties case has had its day
in court, and was yesterday settled
definitely and, we suppose, finally by
a decision of the supreme court Of
Idaho, which substantially declares
that the act passed by the state legisla-
ture last winter, creating the counties
of Alta and Lincoln out of the area
covered by the counties of Alturas and
Logan, unconstitutional and void in
law and fact. The interest taken in
this matter by the people Immediately
interested has been constant, intense
and deep, from the time of the intro
duction of the bill into the legislature
until the rendering of the decision,
which left no longer room for hope or
fear.
To the ears of disinterested layman
the opinion Of Justice Huston, as read
and substantially indorsed by Justice
Morgan, seemed faultless and perfectly
conclusive until it was followed by the
dissenting opinion of Chief Justice Sui
livan, when, to the mind unframed in
the mysteries and subtleties Of legal
lore, the two conflicting opinions
seemed blended into a simple mass of
tangled uncertainties, leaving nothing
clear but the fact that there has been
lots of time and talent and temper
wasted that might have been saved
and utilized to better purpose.
The act of the territorial legislature,
which created the counties Of Elmore
and Logan from portion of the area
covered by the original county Of AL
turas, contained an element of injustice
to what was left Of the old G. county.
which was allowed to keep the name
while she was shorn of nearly all that
made one Of the largest and most pros
porous counties of the then territory of
Idaho. This injustice entailed misfor-
tunes and disadvantages which made
the condition Of the county of Alturas
well nigh insupportable under the bur-
dens it imposed. Under these circum.
it Is not surprising that the
people Of Alturas should seek rem dy,
and joyfully believed they had found
1t In securing the passage of the act by
the state legislature, which at the best
afforded them only the promise Of par
tial relief. Now that this promise and
this hope Is taken from them, there Is
wonderful In the fact that they
find themselves unable to acknowledge
the justice of the blow which smites
them. But without going into details,
the Statesman, while believing that
Alturas has been unfairly and unjustly
dealt with in the first partition Of her
and in the subsequent pas
sages of her history, feels, nevertheless,
certain that the brave old county, as
she stands today, possesses natural re-
sources and capabilities which will en-
aOte her to recover from all the blows
inflicted and take her rightful place
among the richest and most prosperous
In the state.
But we would fain hope that In the
hour Of temporary disaster, Alturas
will not lay all the misfortunes at the
door of her sister Logan. Logan was
also sufferer bv that first act of parti-
ton, and very naturally resisted any
further curtailing Of her area and re-
sources. The recent conflict that has
come was inevitable, and followed as q
natural CONSCIENCE of the first errors
cOmmitted.-Boise Statesman.
Tho In Opnor ~ NJ Nnu Dr~r~