The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-03-25

wards. Kelly and Newcomb on the petit
tion for the vacating of the seats of the
Dickson City councilmen for having
failed to effect organization within ten
days after the first Monday of March,
the date fixed by law.
O'Brien and Martin appeared for the
petition and Borough Solicitor John M.
Harris against 1t. The petition was
signed by ten citizens, not councilmen,
but was in fact inspired by four of the
councilmen who had refrained from
joining with the others in effecting an
organization. These four were Messrs.
Hufnagle, Snyder, Beddoe and Hagar.
At the respondents table with Mr..
Harris were four other Councilmen,
Richards, Reese, Mccarthy and Cruck-
shank.
The hearing occupied practically the
whole day and was characterized by an
almost continuous exposition of how
differently different people see different
things at different times. No decision
was reached by the judges but there
was strong intimation given from
the bench that unless the contending
lations before many days they would
appointed to succeed them.
NINE CoUNCILMEN.
Dickson City is entitled to nine coun-
clmen, three from each ward. 1t so
happened this year. however, that there
was a tie in one of the wards, between
John Reilly and James Reed, and it
remains for council to fill the vacancy.
Monday night, March 3, when it came
to reorganization the five hold-over
members and three members elect were
found to be divided in two even fac
tions.
Reese, a new member with Richards,
Cruckshank and Mccarthy, three of
the hold-overs comprised the one side.
Hufnagle and Beddoe the two other
new members with Hagar and Snyder,
hold Lovers, made up the others fac
ton.
The Richards Nc Garrity y-Cruckshank
Reese faction favored seating Reilly
whom the Hagar- Snyder Hufnagle-
Beddoe crowd preferred.
1t was four to four and an assured
deadlock, unless something was done to
weaken the opposition. Richards, ct al,
According to the undisputed testi-
mony, Reese was seated but when the
Beddoe and Hufnagle oaths of office
We're presented, objection was made to
the first named because he had not
resigned his membership on the board
of health and to the second because a
clerical error made the date of the
oath wrong.
LEFT THE MEETING.
The faction to which the ousted men
belonged aver that they got up at this
juncture and elbowing their way
through the crowd left the council
chamber and the borough building.
James Caygill, Thomas Grier, d. c.
Wilmot and Squire Slivinski corrobor-
ated them in this.
The other faction, with equal posi-
tiveness declared that Hagar and Sny-
der did not leave the room but sat
through the meeting, though not voting
and that while there was thus a
quorum present, Reilly was seated and
the permanent organization proceeded
with.
The four respondent councilmen We're
corroborated in their claims by John
T. Parks, who was elected .retary;
William Buckdoth, son of the man who
was chosen street commissioner; Frank
Malone, who was made chief ef-of-police;
John Gray. Benjamin Jarvis, John
Brodofski, John Grady and Thomas
Turner.
Mr.. Hufnagle went on the stand a
second time and told of Richards hav-
ing approached him some days after
the meeting with proposition to go
over to his side If he was allowed to
name the treasurer. He also testified
that Richards admitted to him that
he thought Reillys election was not
legal.
On cross examination, Hufnagle
denied that he had made efforts to win
Mccarthy over to his side by undue
means. Mr.. Mccarthy was put on the
stand in rebuttal and told that Huf-
nagle called him into the postoffice lob
by and offered to see that he got $500
if he would come over,
Mr.. O'Brien, on cross-eXamination,
said:
MCCARTHY. did you see the money!"
Whats that?" asked Mccarthy.
Tell me Harry did you see the color
of the $500?"
II didn't.
II thought not, That'll do"
JUDGES CONSULT.
When the testimony was all in, the
judges consulted for a while and then
calling the attorneys before them they
questioned them as to what they held
was the law governing the case.