The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-03-14
IN LIVINGSTON
The City Campaign Will Be a
Lively One.
CALLS FOR CONVENTIONS
Looking for the Best Man-Party Lines
Will Not Be Very Closely Drawn.
Gossip of the Park County
Capital.

Special Correspondence of the Standard.
Livingston, March 11.-City politics
are looking up as the municipal election
the city committees of the democratic
and republican parties for primaries and
city conventions. The democratic pri-
maries will be held on the 18th and the
republican two days later. The calls
for the city conventions name the 23d
instant as the date for the republican
gathering and the 25th as the time for
democratic nominations. 1t is plain, as
election approaches, that party lines
will not be drawn very closely and the
sentiment of the voters appears to be
favorable to the best man named. ire
spective of his political affiliations or to
the party giving him support. A strong
feeling in favor of municipal ownership
of the electric light plant and water
works exists among the shopmen en-
ployed by the Northern Pacific and it
Is plain that they hold the balance of
power and their wishes will meet with
consideration at the conventions of the
other parties in the field But little
hope is offered the faction in favor of
municipal ownership by the republicans,
but it is altogether likely that the demo-
cratic party will make concessions to
those who are bent on inaugurating this,
municipal reform. One, at least, of the
populst candidates for alderman will
be Endorsed by the democrats. William
Jones of the First ward, an ardent sup
porter Of municipal ownership, will re-
ceive the undivided support of both the
populist and democratic parties and be
returned to the council and his excellent
wi
other candidates for aldermen to in
dorse his views on the question of the
city ownership of the plants supplying
light and water. That the question of
submitting the matter to a vote of the
people at the city election will be ar
ranged for at the next council meeting
there is little doubt and it is plain that
this question does much to make up the
issues upon which the city campaign
will be fought.
A case was tried in the justice court
Friday which recalled many memories,
far from pleasant, of the attempts made
to establish Touring mill at this place
before the present mill company took
the matter in hand and erected the
present Touring mill. The case was
brought by John r. King, manager of
the electric light company, against o.
II. Armstrong, a prosperous ranchman
of the Upper Yellowstone. and was for
the sum of $50, the price of the seed
wheat necessary to SOW so acres, which
was sold to Armstrong by King in the
month of April 1897. King expected to
put up Touring mill and sent to Bel
grade for car of hard wheat which he
let the ranchmen have for seed. Some
he took notes from and others he did
not, and all were to settle when the crop
was harvested in the fall and the wheat
delivered at the purposed mill. King
never built the mill and recently he at
tempted to collect for the seed wheat,
and when number of the ranchmen
refused to pay he put the notes and ac-
counts in the hands of Attorney John
T. Smith for collection. The case was
tried before Judge Bender and jury
consisting of the following citizens was
impaneled: David Edwards, G. f.
Simons, j. w. Patton, Louis Miller, G.
S. Newman and j. j. Donelley The de-
Tense to the case was in the nature of a
set-off, the claim being made that Arm
strong had been damaged by Kings
failure to build the mill and deceived by
his promise to do so. The amount of the
damages alleged as a set-off was $3.50.
The defense was represented by Attor-
ney NJ. r. Wilson and the plaintiff by
John T. Smith. The evidence presented
to the jury set forth the facts substan-
TALLY as related above and after DELHI
Grafton the jury decided that Armstrong
turned verdict for the sum of $62. so. 1t
is not unlikely that the case will be
taken to the district court on appeal as
number of other ranchmen are in the
same boat with Armstrong and, while
none of the amounts owing for seed are
very large, the aggregate is consider
able. Should the case be- taken no fur
ther the other purchasers of wheat viii
pay without further litigation as the
case tried Friday was looked upon as a
sort of test case for the whole number
OF notes and accounts owing to King
on the mill proposition.
The bard of county commissioners ad-
journed Friday evening after transact
ing the business of the county within
the limit prescribed by law. A little over
a days work of the session was spent
for naught and the board saw its efforts
go glimmering by reason of the pro-
motors of the measures under considera-
ton having overlooked certain legal
technicalities in the incipiency of the
work at hand One of these was the
new road law, which the board took
up at the first of the session, only to be
told on the following day that the law
was unconstitutional by reason of the
fact that it reduced the salary of the
county surveyor, which, under the law,
Is sufficient to vitiate the bill. This
view of the matter was confirmed by
efal Nolan to Chairman Kelley of the
board. The attorney general stated that
any law which reduced the compensa-
ton of any official in office was clearly
Unconstitutional and advised the board
to revoke the action already taken in
the matter of electing road supervisors
ana proceed under the old law. This
was accordingly done. The other fea-
ture of the proceedings which was a
waste of time was the consideration of
the petition for new road filed by w.
A. Rittenour of Upper Mission. The pc
ytition was not drawn in a legal manner,
the description of the proposed road
and the field notes of the county sur
veyor being for two separate and dis
tinct highways and both appearing in
the petition made the document invalid.
The usual routine matters of the session
were transacted without incident, the
formal appropriations and bills being
passed upon in the usual manner and
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