Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1905-11-10
BANGOR HAS AN
ELEPHANT ON HAND
The Supreme Court Decided
1t Shall be the County
Seat Town.
NOT VERY ENTHUSIASTIC
The People of Bangor Have Not Re.
sented the Action of Selby Citi-
zens in Stealing Away the
Court House and Records.

Pierre, S. D., Oct. 30.-Bangor is con-.
fronted with a condition by reason Of
a recent decision of the supreme court
compelling it to 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-,
en-. 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. il 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 mob has no recognition In courts OF
law.
1t is an old struggle, the fight be-
tween Bangor and Selby, for the
ty seat. Bangor is the older and sleep
Ter town. Modern business methods,
railroads and natural have
conspired to make Selby the metropolis
IF 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 handful 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 q new tack, Fred
Griffin, one of the most persistent of
the advocates of the Old site, resorted
to law. The action Of courts is pro-
verbally slow. The case dragged on for
months and years. Demurrers, mo-
tons, injunctions and one thing and an
other delayed final action by the high
est tribunal in the state until the gen.
eral public had forgotten the contest
and had become reconciled to the new
order of things.
Other Such Decisions. f,
But not so the supreme court. 1t had
to have it's say, and when it did speak,
1t was to reopen the old controversy.
The Sphinx county case is an iliustra-I
ton. Three own were "contending.
The county seat consisted of a lone
building on the prairie and Radfeld,
Doland and Ashton all coveted the hon.
or. With q three-cornered fight neither
town could secure a majority, n 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 vas a close,
vote in favor of Onida, but Clifton. the
old county seat, refused to give up the
honor until 1t had been fought out in
the courts and for several weeks IL
maintained a home guard ready to do
battle if necessary. Immediately after
the election the Onida people secured
n court order and came to Clifton in
force, taking the records home with
them. In q few days Clifton secured
another order and in force went to the
! rival town and took back the records.
The records were all kept in an im-i
mense safe which weighed several tons,
and each time they We're moved the
safe was rolled on to truck and cartedi
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 in peace al Sis
seton. -.