The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1893-03-03
REPUBLICANS UPHELD.
The Supreme Court Declares in
Favor of the Douglass House.
The Opinion Delivered by Chief Justice
HortOn-Justice Allen Dissents, and
Holds That the Court Has No
Jurisdiction In the Case.

TOPEKA, Kan, Feb. aT.-The supreme
| court Saturday, Chief Justice Hor-
ton rendering the decision, Justice
Johnson concurring and Justice Allen,
populist, dissenting, sustained the
! Douglass or republican house as the
| legal and constitutional house of repre-
| sentatives of the Kansas legislature,
| 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 ex-
| hausted the subject
The chief justice stated that no writ
ten opinion had yet been prepared and
| then briefly stated the history of the
case.
The question at issue, the chief JUS
tice continued, was whether the Doug
! lass house of representatives had legal
| authority to arrest Gunn. If there WAS
one house only the duty of the court
would be easy and plain, but it ap-
pesred 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 per-
sons to organize a house were those
holding certificates, and, in support of
| McCray, read passages from Cushing's
manual. The supreme court of Ne
braska, no longer ago than January II
of this year, had taken that view of the
question. In support of this theory, he
declared, the scenes lately witnessed in
the Kansas capital fully justified such
q rule. In the main, he said, it was
undertaken to ignore the statute in
making returns of the election of Il
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 a revised journal of the
Dunsmore house, evidently carefully
prepared, and yet that journal day
after day seemed to recognize that only
members holding certificates had au-
thority to act. For several days II set
forth that fifty-eight members respond
cd to roll call and others were counted
in as present but not voting in order to
make 4 quorum, the other members Of
the house characterized as contestants.
This record was kept up until the con-
testants were formally taken in by z
vote of the house. Then the journal
showed that the Duusmore house nc
cepted the precedents laid down in the
books as correct.
Much was said about the Reed house,
the court went on, in support of the
practice of counting in members, but
the Reed house had one of its own rules
formally adopted upon which to base
the speakers ruling. The Dunsmore
house had adopted no such rule. More
than five persons who were counted in
by the Dunsmore house had never rec !
ognized it as such, but were carrying !
on house of their own. Speaker Red |
never counted in any persons who had |
not recognized him as speaker. Vow !
there could be no question that the |
Douglass house was organized by the !
votes of siXty-four members who held |
certificates.
1t was claimed, the justice went on,
that there were some Irregularities in |
the organization of the Douglass house |
because it did not receive the roll of I
membership from the secretary of state, |
but it had duplicate of that roll The !
secretary of states failure to lay before |
the house roll could not prevent an |
organization.
1t was urged. Mr.. Horton declared, /
that the court could not interfere in |
the controversy between the rival !
bodies, but the supreme court could not !
pass by a question because it was an /
unpleasant one. 1t had no more ,
right To decline the exercise of |
n jurisdiction than to assume I
jurisdiction that was not given to !
it. 1t was claimed that the Douglass |
house was destroyed when the senate /
and governor recognized the Duusmore |
house If that was the law the Cow |
ernor and senate two years ago might |
have destroyed the pOpulist house and !
created a republican house. And two !
years hence, and so on through future /
history. other Legislative bodies might |
be overturned to accomplish partisan |
ends. If the Douglass house had vol !
UNFAIRLY dissolved when the governor !
and senate recognized the rival body, !
the question of de fac:o government |
would have been a strong force III 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 opiu- !
ion of Judge Hazen in the Injunction /
case against State Treasurer Biddie.
In conclusion. the CHIEF justice said |
the Douglass house was the lawful !
house of representatives and in MS !
views on the subject he ANNOUNCED that !
Mr. Justice Johnston fully conceded !
and cOncurred.
Mr.. Justice Allen then delivered /!
dissenting opinion in which he held /.
that the supreme court had no juri:S'iic- !
ton of the ease aud as the DGnsmure !
house had been recognized by the gov |
ernOr and senate 1t was De facto or /
ganization and its acts wer. good il I
law.
FACTS IN ASTRONOMY.