The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1893-03-04

TOPEKA, Kan, Feb. 27.-The SUI
preme court Saturday. Chief JUS
tice Horton rendering the decision, Jus
tice Johnson concurring and Justice
Allen, Populist. dissenting, sustained
the Douglass or Republican house as
the legal and constitutional house of
representatives of the Kansas legisla-
ture, and incidentally declared that
the acts of the Dunsmore or Populist
house had no standing in law. The
opinion of the chief justice occupied
an hour and forty minutes in delivery
and fully exhausted the subject.
The chief Justice began by saying
that the court was under great obliga-
tions to the attorneys for the mas
terly manner in which the case had
been presented. Yesterday the court
had consumed the entire day in COM
pairing opinions and examining author
tiles. This morning" he continued,
81 am here to present my own views
and, at the conclusion, | will state
some other matters as to the views of
other members of the court. No
written opinion has yet been pre-
pared" He then went briefly into
the history of the case and declared
that. upon the allegations made, the
court had a matter before it to decide
judicially.
CERTIFICATE MEMBERSHIP TESTS.
The question at issue, the chief
justice continued, was whether the
Douglass house of representatives had
legal authority to arrest Gum. IL
there was one house only the duty of
| the court would be easy and plain, but
| it appeared from the respective
| Journals that there were two houses
claiming the right to legislate. He
then went briefly into the way
legislative bodies are organized and
| cited McCray on election to show
that the proper person to or
| ganiZe a house were those holding
certificates and, in support of McCray,
read passages from Cushing's manual.
| The supreme court of Nebraska. no
longer ago than January Il of this
year, had taken that view of the ques
tion. In support of this theory, he de-
clared, the scenes lately witnessed in
the Kansas capital fully justified such
| rule. In the main. he said, it was
undertaken to ignore the statute in
making returns of the election of
| legislature and riot and violence re-
suited
In the case now before the court the
| chief justice continued. no showing
had been attempted that there was
fraud or bad faith on the part of the
state board of canvassers. There had
been presented Revised Journal" of
the Dunsmore house, evidently care
fully prepared, and yet that journal
| day after day seemed to recognize that
sa,H1, ~ -.
had authority to act. For several days
it set forth that tifty-eight members
responded to roll call and others were
counted in as present but not voting
| in order to make a quorum, the other
| members of the house characterized as
contestants. This record was kept up
| until the contestants were formally
taken in by vote of the house. Then
the journal showed that the Dunsmore
house accepted the precedents laid
down in the books as correct.
THE REED PRECEDENT FAULTY.
Much was said about the Reed house,
the court went on, in support of the
practice of counting the members. but
the Reed house had one of it's own
rules formally adopted upon which to
base the speakers ruling. The Duns-
more house had adopted no such rule.
More than five persons who We're
counted in by the Dunsmore house had
| never recognized it as such. but were
carrying on house of their own.
Speaker Reed never counted in any
persons who had not recognized him
as speaker. Now there could be no
question that the Douglass house was
organized by the votes of sixty-four
members who held certificates.
1t was claimed that the Douglass
house was destroyed when the senate
and governor recO gniZed the Duns
more house. If that was the law the
governor and senate two years ago
might haye destroyed the Populist
house and created Republican house.
And two years hence. and so on
through future history, other legisla-
tive bodies might be overturned TO ac-
complish partisan ends. If the Doug
lass house had voluntarily dissolved
when the governor and senate recog-
niZed the rival body the question of de
facto government would have been a
strong force in the case. but it did not
dissolve and it was still in existence.
In the course of his remarks, the
chief justice incidentally indorsed the
opinion of Judge llazcn in the injunc-
ton case against State Treasurer Bid
die handed down last week.
Mr.. Justice Allen then delivered a
dissenting opinion in which he held
that the supreme court had no juris'
diction in the case and as the Duns
more house had been recognized by
the governor and senate it was n dc
facto organization and its acts were
good in law.
Leading Populists say they will ac
cept the decision of the court until the
next election when they will go before
the people confident of being sustained
in their course. The present session
of the legislature expires by limita
tion March s. when it is expected the
governor will call an extra session
The pay of members for an extr;
session is limited to 800, which limit
the session to thirty days, This i
more than enough time for ti,s legisla
ture to pass needed laws.
| Shooting In u Court Ronn-