Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-12-12

spect, no action based thereafter on it
could stand.
Cimarron is now de facto county seat.
but the ingalls, people declare that they
will take steps necessary in the early fu-
ture to bring the county offices back to
the Original and only legal county seat.
Cimarron will certainly resist any move
in that direction, and lively time is pre-
dicted by those who know the feeling that
exists between the people of those two
towns.
Treasurer IemebOwcr Upheld.
The court upheld Treasurer Hefflebower
in his efforts to prevent the state school
fund commissioners from purchasing $1,000
of Graham county bonds at more than
their market value. Some time ago a bond
agent made a deal with the commissioners
for the sale of that amount of Graham
county bonds to the permanent school fund
at par. These bonds were held then in
the East by spectators. The commission
ers agreed to buy the bonds. they were
stamped state property" and warrant
was drawn on the treasurer to pay for
them. Treasurer Hefflebower knew that
the bonds were not worth what the COM
| missiorers intended to pay for them. SO
he refused to countersign the warrant.
menced in the supreme court to compel him
| to sign the warrant. The case was Bit
| terly contested. The commissioners con-
| terded that the treasurer had no legal
right to refuse to sign the warrants; that
| his acts were purely ministerial in that re-
Spect. The treasurer claimed that 1t was
| his duty TO stop the promiscuous purchaS-
| ing of worthless bonds for the state school
fund. and that he was justified in refusing
| to permit the commissioners to purchase
| the Graham county bonds!
The court, in the syllabus, said: THE
| state treasurer will not be compelled by
n.andamus to register and pay orders
| drawn on the permanent school fund by
| the state school fund commissioners to pay
| for bonds purchased by them, where it ap-
| pears that the price agreed to be paid is
more than the actual market price there
of at the time of the purchase. even though
! the excess above the market price be sc
| small that the purchase cannot be de-
| clared an improvident one
! The court further says that the testimony
| offered at the trial showed that the bonds
We're not worth par in the market at the
time the commissioners made the deal fol
| purchasing them, and that while the treas
! urer Is not vested with authority TO su.
pervise the actions of the commissioners
he did right in refusing to pay for bond.
that were not worth par i'll the market
as the law prohibits the commissioner.
| from paying more than the market pric,
| for them. The court also decided that
simply because the bonds were stamped
Us owned by the state, their value wa.
not impaired and they should be returned
| to the owners.
Powers of Police Judges.
The court also rendered an important de
cision in regard to the enforcement Of th
prohibitory law. 1t held that a city Counci
does not have the constitutional right t
give a police judge authority TO subpoen;
witnesses for the purpose of finding ou
what they know about the violation of tn
prohibitory law and to send them to jai
for contempt for refusal TO testify.
Usage City has an ordinance prohibiting
the sale of intoxicating liquors. 1t also ha
another ordinance in relation to the en-
forcement of said ordinance, which con
tains provision that il the city attorne.
has good reasons to believe that any ordi
nance Is being violated, and he is unabl
to procure any person to make complain
for the violation. he may apply to the po
lice judge to issue a subpoena to any per
son whom the city attorney desires to ques
ton concerning law violations.
The city attorney told the police judS
that he had reason to believe that the pro
hibitory law was being violated there, an
that he had been unable to get anybody I
swear to complaints. He requested tn
judge to issue subpoenas to bring q numbe