Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1895-05-02
a. o. =. ".

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The final hearing in the mandamus
proceedings instituted by Webster Lodge
No. 80, eame off before Judge Campbell,
at the court house, on Tuesday, April 30
and resulted ina denial Of theapplication,
though the Judge, in rendering his de-
%cision, stated that there was no question
but that Webster Lodge had a right to
maintain the action, but that the defend
ants had experienced q change Of heart
and that parties who experience such a
change Of heart should pay the costs.
This case, owing TO the promineuce OF
the parties interested, the matters in
controversy and to its effect upon the or
der has attracted wide attention. That
the motives and aims OF Webster Lodge
may not be misunderstood, a short
statement OF the case is here made;
Sometime in February, the officers Oh
the Grand Lodge OF the Dakotas were
petttioned to postpone theannual session
of the Grand Lodge aud to either donate
or loan the funds thus saved estimated
at $500; aud to add enough more to
make the amount SI00O} for the pur-
chase OF seed grain forneedy members Of
the order. This question was voted up
on by the subordinate hodges and carried
by a majority. Upon the Goth day OF
March, a number OF Grand Lodge officers
met in the city OF Aberdeen and as q relief
committee canvassed the vote, declared
the annual Grand Lodge postponed and
passed upon n number of applications
for relief. Immediately upon receiving
notice OF this action, Webster Lodge tele-
graphed their disapproval of the pro-
posed ~postponment and gave notice that
they would contest the matter. No at
t%ention, however, was paid by the
Grand Recorder and, upon the first day
OF April, application was made for a
writ OF mandamus to compel the holding
OF the Grand Lodge and OF prohibition,
prohibiting the misrepresentation OF the
Grand Lodge funds. The trial Tuesday
10 w hCbtI hlllit NitllitI UIlt pTGIlI
Lodge session had been postponed or
not and as to whether or not it would be
held at Jamestown, y. ID. on May 8, '95.
The Grand Lodge officers denied hav-
ing ever contemplated postponing the
Grand Lodge, but, inasmuch as circulars
have been promulgated by the Grand
Master and Grand Recorder, giving no
tice that such postponment had been
made, they can hardly make such a
statement win. They dodge behind the
trustees and claim that no money could
be appropriated without their approval.
The evidence brought out during the
trial was very strongly corroborative OF
the charge that an attempt was being
made to postpone the Grand Lodge; the
only tenable ground for the defendants
was that ut this time there was no in
ter,tion OF p~ostponing the Grand Lodge
or OF misappropriating the funds, While
the decision is not all Webster Lodge de-
sired, the result vii! be practically what
they We're seeking.
DIR. MeNutt, OF Aberd zen, Past Grand
Master OF the order, was in this city on
April 81 and, in discussing the matter,
admitted that ii no action had been
taken by Webster Lodge, the Grand
Lodge would have been postponed, but
that nothing would be done by the
Grand Lodge officers toward that end
owing to this action.
There is no other conclusion but that
we were in the right aud had good rea-
sons to suppose the Grand Lodge officers
intended to postpone the session but
were stopped by Webster Lodge.