The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1905-11-03
BANGOR HAS AN
ELEPHANT On HAND
The Supreme curt Decided
It Shall be the County
Seat Town.
NOT VERY ENTHUSIASTIC
The People of Bangor Have Not Re
sented the Action of seIby Citi-
zens in Stealing Away the
Court House and Records.

Pierre, S. D., Oct. S0.-Bangor is COM
fronted with a condition by reason Of
a recent decision of the supreme court
compelling it 10 be the county seat of
WalWorth county against it's will.
The court house has been RACED to
the ground and the records transferred
to Selby, Which uSurped the functions
of the county seat.
Trouble is bound to ensue. Citizens
of Walworth county are greatly per-
turbed. They feel the approach of the
inevitable conflict but are powerless to
prevent. The supreme court has spok-
ell. The old county seat fight must be
renewed whether they wish to fight or
not.
Supreme Court Acts.
When Justice Carson handed down
the momentous opinion Tuesday, it was
the letter of the law and not the spirit
which moved him. Legally he found
the Selbyites hadn't a leg to stand on.
They had seized the records and de-
stroyed the Bangor court house by
sheer force. They constituted a mob
when they committed this offense and
a moi has no recognition in courts Of
law.
1t is an old struggle, the fight be-
tween Bangor and Selby, for the coun-
ty seat. Bangor is the older and sleep
Ter town. Modern business methods,
railroads and natural resources have
%conspire9 to make Selby the metropolis
of the county.
Bangor has been left far behind.
Is an Old Fight.
Selby aspired to become county seat
but found itself blocked at every turn
of the road by the handfu of Bangor
ties who had the law on their side.
Finally. in sheer desperation, following
an adverse vote by the county,, the peo-
pie of Selby made a midnight raid upon
Bangor, tore the court house into bits
and marched away with the public rec
ords. These they have held eVer since,
despite the feeble efforts of Bangorites
to dispossess them.
Then Bangor took a new tack. Fred
Griffin, one of the most persistent of
the advocates of the old site. escorted
to law. The action CT courts is pro-
verbally slow. The case dragged on for
months and years. Demurrers. 10
lions, injunctions and one thing and an
other delayed ina action by the high
est tribunal in the state until the gen.
eral public lac forgotten the contest
and had become %reconciled to the new
order of things.
Other Such Decisions.
But not so the supreme court. Ii had
to have it's say and when it did speak,
it was TO reopen the old controversy.
The Sphinx county case is an illustra-
ton. Three towns We're ~contending.
The county seat consisted of a lone
building on the prairie and Redfield.
Doland and Ashton all coveted the hon
Or. With a three-cornered fight neither
Gown could secure a majority. and after
several unsuccessful elections had been
held, Redfield took the records by force
of arms
In Sully county. with another three
cornered contest between Onida Cliff
ton and Fairbank. there was "A close
vote in favor of Onida, but Clifton, the
old county seat, refused to give up the
hone until it had been fought out in
the courts and for several weeks it
maintained a home guard ready to do
battle if necessary. Immediately after
the election the Onida people secured
a court order and came to Clifton in
force, taking the records home With
them. In a few days Clifton secured
another order and i'll force went to the
rival town and took back the records.
The records We're all kept in an inn
mense safe which weighed several tons.
and each time they were moved the
safe was rolled on to trucks and carried
away.
Roberts county is another case of re-
cent date which was fought through all
the courts before the records We're final
ly allowed to remain i'm peace at Sis
seton.