Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1899-10-19
HIGH COURT RULING.
Former Head Attorney Johnson
on Decision in the Wood
men Case.
VICTORY BIG ENOUGH FOR ALL.

I
titled to Credit In the Contest Which
| Has Terminated Successfully For the
| Order and Rock leland Fulton Gives
| Up-Copies of Opinion Received.
| Hon. j. G. johnson, former genera
attorney of the order of Modern
| Woodmen of America, reached the
city this morning from Chicago and
will remain over a couple of days on
| business at the head office building
He has been the recipient on every
| hand today of congratulations on the
rulings of the supreme court Of Hi
! nois in favor of the order in the long
pending proceedings over the ques-
ton of removal of the headquarters
from Fulton to this city. MIR. John
son, to whom the victory is a source
of particular credit, and must be there
fore source of personal qualification,
exhibits his characteristic modesty
over the outcome, and to little assem-
blage of friends remarked, ITO apply
the language of Schley, it is a victory
big enough for US all. Congratulations
are therefore mutual"
Supreme Courts Decision.
Copies of the decision of the Illi
nois supreme court in the Woodmen
removal case have been received.
Moneyed men of Fulton who backed
the fight against the order will have
TO bear the expense, and it will come
high, too. The opinion was written
by Justice Phillips.
The court reviews its decision in
the Bastian case and holds that de-
cision conclusive as to the legislation
involved in that suit, then comments
upon the law of 1897, which amended
the law of June %, 1898, and allowed
fraternal societies TO amend their ar
ticles of association, also that part of
the law of 1897 which permitted such
societies to meet in other states to
transact business. The court holds
the law of 1897 valid, permitting
such societies to meet outside of the
state and the act did validate what
the supreme court in the Bastian case
held to be invalid because done in n
foreign state. The court holds that
the acts Validated by the law OF. 1897
were such that the legislature could
in the first instance authorize, that
the acts validated were not jurisdic-
tional with reference to persons and
property, they were acts that might
have been authorized originally,
hence the curative act was valid. The
court holds these fraternal societies
in the matter of this kind of legisla-
ton were never placed beyond the
power of a subsequent legislature to
modify or regulate, for the Legislation
did not involve contract or property
rights.
The court also disscnts from the
motion of the Fulton attorneys that it
required the consent of all the mem
bers to change the articles of assOcia-
ton. 1t is held that the power to do
this was vested in the head camp,
that the head camp represented the
mem bers, that what the head camp
did at Madison in 1895 in adopting
the rule providing how the articles of
association could be amended was the
act of all the mem bers of the order,
that the rule was in force and that
therefore the action of the head camp
at Dubuque in 1897 when acting under
that rule in changing the location of
the head office and amending the arti-
cles of association was valid and
bound all the mem bers of the order.
The court finds that there is no evil
uShSO oAi'"Ah SO'AbA hNI b-itAI IhO
head Office was to remain at Fulton.
If there was such a contract with the
promoters it would not bind the order
when organized.
Charter Not UnaIterabIe.
The court further holds that every
person becoming member of the
order must take notice that its charter
is not unalterable, but is subject to
such legislation as the public good
might require. The court refuses to
consider the objections to the action
of Judge Gest in dissolviDg the pre-
liminary inJunctions because the rec
ord on appeal did not bring before the
supreme court the facts on which the
Judge acted. The court further holds
that the city of Fulton as munich
pality had no right to sue and inter
fere in the contention, that it was not
authorized to bring suit in such case
for the people and make costs.
Up in Fulton they seem to accept
the verdict as settling the fate of that
town in its efforts to hold the Wood
men there against their will, and the
papers speak of it as the ending of
II.