Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1894-11-30
THOSE FEE C-fsES.
Some Homeiy Facts Presented
in Homciy Language for
Homeiy People.

$3.50 and the jury in the Ailshie
case awarded him 800 as COM
pensation for alleged services to
the county in the State Wagon
Road case tried before the Supreme
Court at Lewiston last spring.
As matter of fact neither Fogg
nor Ailshie We're employed, or
hired, or authorized by anybody to
appear on behalf of Idaho county
in that case. The county com
missioners did not employ them;
Mr.. Telcher did not hire them, and
Mr.. Reid, who had the case for the
county in hand, did not engage
them. They were employed by |
Frank Shissler and other contrac- /
tors on the Salmon river division
to look after the interests of said
contractors in the test case made |
in the Supreme Court by the At
torney-general ON behalf of the
State and the legal representative
of Idaho county. The fact that the
contractors had better and
stronger case than the county, and
that the contractors case was sub
stituted for that of the county by
mutual consent of the parties i'll
interest, is immaterial to the dis
cussiOn. The fact remains that
Fogg & Ailshie did not appear on
behalf of Idaho county; and there
fore, as a matter of abstract justice
Fogg & Ailshie had no more right
to call upon the county treasury to
pay for their services on behalf of
the contractors than Mr.. Reid had
to ask the contractors to pay for
his services on behalf of the county!
But as soon as the case was
decided Fogg & Ailshie received
from Mr.. Reid (who gave it to
them at their request simply as n
matter of professional courtesy and
etiquette) a letter TO the county
commissioners recommending that
they be paid reasonable fee for
their services. Armed with this
document they buncoed a similar
letter out of Mr.. Telcher, and then
each presented his bill to the
county commissioners, Fogg for
the modest sum of S625 and ALL
shie for the equally modest de-
mand of $500.
We have stated above that Mr..
Telcher did not hire these men to
appear on behalf of idaho county.
This is the exact and literal truth
in one sense, but not strictly true
in another. Fogg & Ailshie so sol-
cited and bedeviled Mr.. Telcher to
give them the job, ard even gave
their opinions on the merits of the
case before they were asked, that
Mr.. Telcher finally told them they
could appear if they wanted to anc
he would recommend the county
commissioners to allow them {
reasonable fee for their services
With this evidence before then
the juries could not help finding
verdicts against the county in eacl
case. But for all that it is no
Justice, and a hundred verdict
will never make it SO. 1t wa
Fogg's business and Ailshies busi
ness to have their case against tn
county complete, and the jur
could not go behind the evidenc
and decide the case upon its merit
as an abstract proposition of righ
and Justice. 1t was all law and n
Justice, as too frequently happens
But apart from this, the case ft
the county was not in competer
hands. Mr.. Mitchell, the count
attorney, is the same gentlema
who only last June assisted Fog
& Ailshie to corrupt the channe
of justice by preventing the indie
ment of j. f.. Ailshie for sendin
bogus telegram to "a count
officer, after the grand jury hs
ordered him -Mitchell-to prepa
the indictment. But we have l
desire to do Mr.. Mitchell injustiC
and therefore we take it for grant
that he did his best for the count
But he was totally ignorant of t
merits of the controversy and
I the facts in the case.
Witnesses could have been p
upon the stand to testify ii
Fogg and Ailshie were working
the case on behalf of the contr;
s tors; that Fogg had receiey
the contractors to pay his expen
in the conduct of the case; a
that the writing upon which IL
based their claim against
county was, in plain Engli
buncoed out of Mr.. Telcher.
Mistakes were made by all hal
against the interest of the coun
but they were made without kno
edge or experience of the charat
and methods of the illustri
= gentlemen who sought to raid
county treasury. The tax-pa
as usual, he pays the freight,
he will have to keep on pay
G more and more freight on just $
y. cases for just as long as he toler'
razzle-dazzle methods and ra7
dazzle men in this community.
There will be two opinions al
ock appealing the cases to "a hi,