San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1895-05-28
THREE NEW ALDERMEN.
THE SUPREME COURT DECIDES IN
FAVOR OF CHARLES GUERGUIN,
Which Gusts Aldermen McAllister,
Robin and Menger, and Seats
Guerguin, Ruhnke and
Pinn.

In the Supreme court at Austin
yesterday Justice ]. Brown, in the
case OF Chas. Guerguin VS.. VIM.
McAllister, rendered the following
decision:
State OF Texas ex rel Chas. Guer-
gum VS.. S. w. McAllister, certified
question from BeXar county,
Fourth district.
The charter of the City OF San
Antonio provides for the election OF
city aldermen by wards; and that
only the voters OF each particular
ward shall have the right to vote
for the aldermen from that ward.
Question-Is this provision of
the city charter in conflict with ar
ticle 6, section 3, OF the State con-
stitution, which provides: That,
"all qualified electors Of the State,
| herein described, /" shall have
the right to vote for mayor and all
other elective officers; but in all
elections to determine the expendi.
ture of money or assumption Of
debt, only those shall be qualified
to vote, who pay taxes on property
in said city" etc.
I At the time OF the adoption Of
the constitution the law provided
| for the election of aldermen by the
electors OF each ward. claws 1885,
d. ll3.) This section Of the law
was retained in the revised statutes
which were adopted after the adop-
ton OF the constitution. This
shows that the Legislature did not
construe the provision as being in
conflict with the constitution.
9. At the time the constitution
was adopted, there were many
cities and towns in the State or
ganized under the law OF 1873, and
under special acts, in which the
same provision for electing alder
men was embraced. In fact, 1t
was and is the well-known and
I common method. The purpose to
destroy a system OF municipal gov
eminent, so common in the State,
| will not be attributed to the con-
vention which framed the consti-
tuition, unless the language is so
certain as to compel such construc-
ton.
3. In 1876 the Legislature amend
ed the charter Of the City Of Hous-
ton. In this amendment the Sec
ton OF the constitution under con-
sideration was substantially
copied. In subsequent section OF
the same amendment 1t is provi-
ded: "That each ward in the city
shall be represented in the city
council by two aldermen elected by
the voters Of each ward, who shall
vote only in their respective wards.
| Special Laws 1876, PA, Sec. 81 A
similar provision Is found in the
charters of the cities OF Galveston
and Dallas.
This shows that the contem-
poraneous construction Of the con-
stitution by the Legislature was
against the claim OF appellee in
this case.
4. The language Of the constitu-
ton to divide the voters into two
classes, and to secure the rights OF
each upon the two principal sub
| iects OF elections. The intention
was not to provide that elective
officers shall be selected by the
voters of the entire city. 1t was
simply to secure to the voters Of
each city the right to cast their bal
lots for all officers to be elected for
| the particular subdivision of the
city for which such officers are
chosen.
We answer therefore that the
section of the charter referred to in
the question is not unconstitution-
al and that the legisl AZURE has the
power to make the aldermen Of a
town or city elective by wards, in
whole or in part, or by the city at
large.
This opinion unseats McAllister,
of the First ward; August Robin,
OF the Second, and Erich Menger,
Of the Third, and seats Guerguin,
Ruhnke and Pinn.
The question of the four months
salary will now come up, and 1T is
very probable aldermen ousted will
have to surrender the pay to the
contestants for the four months
work.
Unitarian Meetings.
Boston, May 2S.-The Ameri-
can Unitarian Association cele-
brates its SEVENTEEN anniversary