The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-09-11
ASKS cLoUGH TO HOLD BACK
CHAIRMAN sEABuRY WILL WAIT.

| Says the Contract Will Not Be Signed
Until Further Knowledge Is
Obtained.
| Auditor Dunn, whose possible refusal
| to sign the certificates of indebtedness
| for the new capitol was anticipated in
the G o b e of Tuesday, now has at
least the tentative moral support of
has not absolutely avowed his belief
in the illegaIity of the action in award
ing the contract for Georgia marble,
still, in a letter to the governor, sug-
gests that it would be we'll to delay
further action along the lines objected
to, until he may look into the matter
farther. His letter, which, much to
the encoura cement Of the Butler-Ryan
company and the members of the board
of capitol commissioners, is plainly but
preliminary, is as follows:
State of Minnesota. Attorney General S
Office ST. Paul. Sept. /, 1S97-His Excellency,
D. NJ. Clough, Goyernor-Slr: l All Informed
tndt the D0dfQ CT STATE cdptI0I cOul.uiSS oilers,
which You are c. oilicio tn: president,
has awrde1 to certain firm the contract
| for the erection Of the superStrIc ~" of The
state capitol tuiIting. The proposed contract
| c0ntempiates I an Informed hat the ex-
| terror surface of u:h building N whole or
in part, shall be u: Georgia marble. III view
of the 0rJ 'Is-ons Of General Laws 1885. chap
ter 347. | would advise -hat your honorable
board defer further action relative TIC such
contract until am afforded A reasonable op-
| portunity to investigate the ques ion tuech-
| irNey no 1rl nTotn into
such contract.
/ regret that an occasion las arisen which
casts a doubt upon the validity o. the ac-
ton of the board but | am constrained to
now advise you, and through you the mam-
bers of your honorable board that a con-
tract providing for surfacing the said build
ing with material quarred without this state
is in seeming violation of the law above re
ferred to-
While not now desiring to be understood
as holding that the said law would, in fact
be violated by such a contract, | deem the
question of sufficient gravity to warrant this
communication and the propriety Of the sug-
gestions therein made. 1 remain, very re-
specially H. w. Childs.
Attorney General.
Gov. Clough has notified each men,
Der Of the capitol commission of the
p1 eliminary opinion, which it is expect
ed. will be followed Monday or Tuesday
by more thorough analysis of the
legal points involved.
in the stated library since early in the
week investigating thoroughly all the
authorities bearing On the problem in
volVed, and his first letter was merely
for the information of the governor,
to prevent the states chief executive
from involving himself in unpleasant
| complications, it being evident from
the First ward of the contract that any
faux pas OH the part of any one con-
cd no CO. nrit hXr
those who thought their noses were
scratched by the action of the commits
sioners go
In fact the animus of the present
disturbance appears to be more and
more developing into scramble for poll
teal favor. The Journal, which a year
ago, was Safeguarding the present
governor in a way that disguised even
it's own dictionaries, displayed this last
night in the following paragraph in a
news" article:
St Paul, by protesting and fighting the
attorney general, will render that official as
we'll as the governor a most valuable political
service. Both vii! come out of this con-
troversy, should the courts uphold them, with
a great deal of useful political capital, which.
increased in proportion as st. Paul becomes
ugly. 1t would be unjust and perhaps I'M
true to even suggest that the governor and
attorney general had only their own welfare
in view in bringing the capitol question thus
to a crisis. and the Journal makes no such
suggestion. But that tie successful issue
of the and the ultimate selection OF
granite or some other home stone. will do
much to strengthen both before the people
will be very generally conceded.
Gov. Clough said yesterday: eff At
torney General Childs' future opinion
shall bear out the intimation in his
first letter, it would be my duty as
governor to see that the law is en-
forced"
The granite men were jubilant last
night They claim that Commissioners
Weaver, Du Toit and CCrliss are in
favor of granite. and that Commission
ers De LaHtre and Seabury favor 1t
after the marble. MesSTs. Graves and
Lamberton are accredited to sandstone.
These contractors are sanguine that
if the action of the commissioners
should be rescfnded, by it or by the
courts, the contract would be awarded
on a granite basis. in which event the
wounds caused by the importation Of
the marble would be healed.
There seems to be no question of the
power of the commissioners to recon-
slider their action. The case is prac-
tfcally a parallel one with that in
volved in the Anoka-H Hastings contro-
Versy The Hastings people were first
given the hospital. and papers were
drawn up but not signed. The Anoka
site was selected, and the Hastings
people were lin the SOUP" so far as
the commissioners, were concerned. The
legislature subsequently declined to ap-
propriate the money for the courts held
in that case that the Hastings people
acquired no vested rights until the
signing of the contract. In the event
that the papers between the commits
sion and the Butler-Ryan company
were signed. then the latter would be
entitled to carry out it's contract. and
collect actual damages, if not allowed
to complete it. The defense of the
state would have to be that the con-
tract was a violation of the law and
the burden of proof would be on the
state. That is the judgment of attor-
neys interviewed by the G Q b yester-
day.
Chairman seabury, of the board.
asked about the Childs' letter, said
he would not sign the contract until
the opinion of the attorney general
should be rendered.
MR. CUTCHEON RESIGNS.