Omaha daily bee., 1897-04-18
DEMAND THAT THE PROPER WRIT ISSUE

| The ignoraI ce OF the attorney for the Board
OF Education in the case against the county
commissioners. which is designed solely and
simply for the purpose Of manufacturing
political mud for use in the present CAM
paign. wGs strongly in evidence In Judge
Slabaugh's court yesterday.
Tho case was set for yesterday, having
been postponed Wednesday after Attorney
Covell for the board had caused further delay
by asking leave to amend the papers filed
! by him in the case. 1t was evident Wednes-
day that Covell saw that he was defeated on
account of legal inaccuracies in the paper
| he had fled Yesterday Judge Slabaugh
stated in open court that the papers filed by
Covell were not regular and that the suit
had not been commenced in the proper man
ner, according to the rules of practice in
the courts of this state. Covell had filed am
affidavit alleging that Moores owed the school
| fund certain moneys. alleged 20 have been
collected by Moores and illegally retained,
and on this showing he had asked for an
order to show cause and expected a
peremptory writ to issue on this order.
The court said that in this state the rule
| was to apply for an alternative writ. thus
allowing the Issues to be Joined or
| demurrer filed, and the case could then
proceed in a regular manner The court
intimated that the only proper procedure
under the circumstances would be for the
| pleadings to be made to confirm to the
| rules of the court.
| This ruling simply mesnt that under the
rules of the courts the proceedings would
| be delayed for over a month. In this
dilemma Covell was rescued by the very
parties that he was doing his best to drive
into corner Attorney Baldrige for the
| county commissioners ana Attorney ]. G.
Wharton for Frank e. Moores joined the at
| torney for the Board OF Education in asking
1 that the court at once Issue an alternative
| writ of mardamus to be heard at once and
that peremptory writ then issue. direrting
the county to at once commence suit against
Moores for the money alleged to be due from
| him to the school fund. This solved the
riddle which Covell had been unable to solve
and accomplished exactly what he had been
pretending all along he wanted, a suit
| started against Moores
Cool lawyers who were present said that
the papers drawn up by Covall showed very
plainly on their face that Covell had either
| drawn the papers in such haste that he made
| many mistakes or that he was woefully
ignorant Of the ordinary rules of practice.
COVELL'S MANY BLUNDERS
When it appeared that the case was about
| to go over until later date on account Of
| Covells blurders, Attorney Wharton, rep
| resenting Moores. asked permission to make
| statement. He spoke as follows:
There is application here for II per-
emptory writ of mandamus to issue against
| the county commissioners of Douglas
| county, as / understand it, requiring them
| that they bring suit against Frank 10.
Moores clerk of the district court of DOUG
| las county. i have not appeared with the
| attorneys on either side of the case, but
| this morning / appear there for Frank IL.
Moorea and desire TO join the attorney for
the Board of Education in the request that
a pcrcmptory writ issue forthwith and at
once.
nave followed this case through the re-
ports of the papers and supposed that last
Wednesday a decision would be had in the
case; that there would be no further argu-
ment, demurrers or motions for postpone
ment, when | learned in the forenoon of
Wednesday that again the attorney for tho
school board had asked for another post
ponement.
Mr.. Covell-I did not ask for any post
ponement.
Mr.. Wharton-I was so Informed, and I
saw my client and said, 1T looks to me as
II this from It's inception up to this hour
has been nothing but political trick and
a political dodge" and / want to say to the
court this morning and to the attorney for
the Board of Educa lion and to the gentle-
| man representing the department of JUS
tice that l appear I'm this case for Frank
u. Moores to ask the attorney representing
the county not to demur to the petition
but to join with Frank IL. Moores and the
attorney for the Board OF Education to
ask that this writ Issue and that a suit be
brought at once. And on behalf of Ern nnlx
Il, Moores / say to the court and to the
gentlemen that We court the fullest, the
most complete and the most explicit and
specific examination of all of his acts and
all the money that he has collected.
l present at the meeting OF the
Board OF Education when this resolution
was introduced. ] talked with the attor-
ney for the board during the evening pre-
vious to the Introduction of the resolu-
tion. said TO him at that time that II Mr..
Moores had one dollar OF money in his pos
session that belonged TO the Board of
Education that he was ready and willing TO
turn 1t over. but that he had not yet been
able tc effect a settlement with the county
10 know where he did stand. / said that
the county owed Mr.. Moores somewhere
from s25.O 900 to $35.0OO
COVELL DID NOT KNOW.
The claim Of the attorney for the Board
OF Education at that time was that
NHiS WAC u pusStioH VI uHtA anu VIII
nees fees. / said to him: Have
you examined the statute 10 see whether or
not the law which forfelts the witness fees
and provides that 1t shall be
turned into tine school board Is constitu-
tional. and you can deprive Witnesses OF
their property and of their fees simply by
an act of the legislature In such a matterT'
He sald to me frankly then. as I doubt
less think he will say now that he did not
know himself that that law was constitu-
tlonal, but that outside of that question
they claimed 1920 to $500. l said. "As
soon as we can get this statement made We
are ready at any time. and al all times, TO
turn over every dollar that Frank Il. Moores
owes to the school fund or to the county OF
Douglass but that as a matter OF fact. I
was convinced from my examination OF the
hooks and from what the experts who