Omaha daily bee., 1902-12-14
CLEARING UP OF OLD CASES
Supreme Court to Hold Special Term to
Pass on Pending Litigation.
INSURANCE MEN ARE MUCH EXERCISED
swamp Land Controversy Breaks out
in n New Place-Town of Wood
ward to Vote on Candidate
for Postmaster,
(From a Stan correspondents

" n oNdh COAAtopbhuth1J 1
DIES MONIES, Dec. 13.-(Special. 1.-The
special term of the Iowa supreme court for
cleaning up the business Of the year will
begin next Tuesday. 1t will not be a sub
mission term, but one in which there will
be decisions rendered on cases already sub
mitted. An unusually large number OF i'm
portant cases were submitted at the October
term Of the court and many of these will
be decided. Among the criminal cases now
in the hands of the court are those of G. G.
Baird, convicted Of murder in Keokuk;
Jack Phillips, convicted Of murder in OF
tumwa; A. NJ. Hunter, convicted of murder
in Ringgold county; Jerome w. Hoot, con-
victed Of using dynamite in Blackhawk
county; J. w. Sale, murder case from Page
county, and the cases involving the hanging
Of Lewis Brooks and Albert Phillips from
Buena Vista county, who are under SEN
tence Of death for murder. The big Mo-
mona county ditch case, which has been
before the court in various forms for many
years, may be decided finally. The cases
involving the right OF the state of Iowa
to tax the cigarette BUSINESS to death in
Iowa is also in the hands of the court and
may be decided. There will be no change
in the personnel Of the. court with the
close of the year, but the members desire
to have the work all cleared out OF the
way.
Alleged Illegal Examinations.
Insurance men here are much exercised
over a report in eastern insurance papers
that State Auditor Merriam and his in
surance examiner, Max Beehler, are en-
gagged ia making alleged examinations of
eastern insurance companies under the
guise Of seeing II there is any trust or
combine on Iowa business and charging
the companies exorbitant fees for such ex-
aminations. Auditor Merriam goes out of
office the first of next year. He has been
absent from the city about three weeks in
New York and other eastern cities, but
his mission is not known here. The state
executive council has not authorized any
examination Of insurance companies outside
Of the state and the state officials are at 4
loss to understand why examinations are
being made, II they are. The new law
provides that examinations can be made
in other states only on authority from the
executive council. The attorney general
has been appealed to and has decided that
If examinations are being made they are
illegal.
New Election IL Ordered.
Adjutant General Byers today ordered a
second election for lieutenant colonel in
the Fifty-fourth regiment, Iowa National
guard, TO be held December %. The cleo
ton this week resulted in a failure to
elect because of all three of the majors
! Of the regiment desiring the place.
The World Cream Separator company OF
| Council Bluffs has been incorporated with
a capital OF SIS, 900.
swamp Land Controversy.
Another phase of the swamp land con-
| troversy in low has turned up and this
time it comes from Dubuque, where 1t had
been supposed the swamp land matters had
been disposed of long ago. 1t appears, how
ever, that in the days when the counties
were seizing so-called swamp land in Iowa
and selling it for small sums Dubuque
county got behind and was afterward per-
mitted to select swamp lands out in the
interior of Iowa in the unorganized coun-
ties. Some of this land was taken out in
Calhoun county. The county authorities
sold their land and it was supposed gener-
ally that all the swamp land the county
had owned or to which 1t was entitled had
been disposed of, but investigation has
shown that there is still some swamp land
in the county and that the government has
sold some of the swamp land proper in the
county. An investigation is now being
made to determine how much Of this swamp
| ldllu WIFI PlOPtlAg btAoh6NN W NHN NSNAS
was sold and when this is determined a
claim will be made against the general
government to recover the price received
for it when sold.
An Election for Postmaster.
Congressman Hull has fallen back on the
last resort Of a perplexed congressman in
the settlement of a postofhce rivalry and
has given authority for a republican pri-
mary election among the patrons OF the
postof1ce at Woodward, in Dallas county, to
decide who should be appointed postmas-
ter. The date for the election has been
fixed for next Wednesday, December II, and
the polls will be open from 1 to 6 o'clock.
1t is anticipated that there will be a lively
time in Woodward on that day.
Governor Cummins today appointed DR..
S. Bailey of Mount Ayr to be member Of
the Iowa commission OF the st. Louis .ex-
position in place of DR.. Prentis Of Delphos,
who has resigned to accept a position as
immigration inspector at Buffalo.