The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1896-01-02
JANUARY 2, 1896.
LET 60 HARD.
Representative Jones Hated to Give
Up His job.

j. N. Jones, factory inspector in the
State labor bureau, who will be re,
moved FROM Office as a result of the
Sutton decision, has allowed the i'm
preston to get out ia the State that
he was getting ST. 200 a year and on
the strength Of this impression several
applications for his place were handed
into the labor commissioner. AS
soon at it was learned that the pay
was only 81 600, the applications were
withdrawn, leaving Mr.. Powell only
four or five from which to select the
winner. Mr.. Jones has had hard
work to let go of this ST 900 Office, and
every influence which he could legiti-
mately bring to bear was used, to the
end that the attorney general might
hold him as not being included in the
decision. But Mr.. Jones has not been
successful, for the attorney general
will hold that he must go. One of
the arguments made by Mr.. Jones
was that he was not regular officer
of the bureau, but was only an en-
pioye under section of law providing
for the securing of "additionaT help
whenever the labor commissioner
needed it. This story, however, does
not fit very we'll with his story over
the State that he was a factory in
spector at salary of $1,000 a year.
Attorney General Childs gave his
opinion on the decision of the Supreme
Court holding that members of the
Legislature could not hold an appoint
i've office during the time for which
they had been elected, on Friday last.
The decision is a sweeping one and
holds that municipal officers and
notary publics are likewise affected.
T. D, French Of this city is conse-
duently debarred from holding the
Office of notary public until 1899, when
his office of senator will have expired.
On the main point the attorney
general holds as follows:
Enquiries having arisen from sew
eral sources as to the scope of article
4, section 9, of the constitution of this
State, in view of the decision by the
Supreme court in the recent case of
State, VS.. Sutton, I deem it advisable,
in reply, to such inquiries. to cover
them in one opinion, rather than
several.
"That the constitution contemplates
appointive as we'll as elective offices is
settled permanently by the above de-
cision. There was no occasion for the
court in that case to define an Office
within the meaning of the constitution,
as it was conceded by counsel, and
very properly, that the position of
boiler inspector is an office.
"The courts of this country, with
slight conflict, are agreed in defining
public officer as one who has any
duty concerning the public, and he is
not the less public officer when his
authority is confined to narrow limits,
because it is the duty of his office and
the nature of that duty which makes
a public officer, and not the extent of
his authority
"This definition was in vogue
long before the adoption of the
the constitution of this State, and
may properly be deemed to express
the sense in which the term office is
employed in the section in question.
The court emphasized the fact that it
was the intention of the trainers of
the constitution, by the language
used, to prevent, as far as possible,
trafficking in public Office 1t is
therefore obvious that the word office
is vested with meaning as broad as the
evils which the constitution seeks to
forestall; and it may be noted in this
communication as significant fact
that out of the whole category of
official positions the only Office ex-
copied in the prohibition is that Of
postmaster.
"The constitution must, in my judg-
ment, be held to contemplate every
Office created or authorized by the
constitution or an act of the legisla-
ture. A few cases may be found
which initiate against this view, but
it is supported both by reason and
the weight of authority. When it is
remembered that the power of the
legislature over all statutory Offices is
supreme, and that at the time of the
adoption of the constitution the term