The La Jara chronicle. (La Jara, Conejos County, Colo.) 1896-19??, 1905-06-30
DEMOCRATS OUSTED
FROM DENVER COUNTY OFFICES.
Supreme Court Decides That Change
Of Date Of County Elections from
Fall to Spring Was illegal.

Denver, June 24.-Holding that all
county officers are also state officers,
and therefore should be elected in the
fall. and also that the charter conven-
tion was without power to create two
county judges in this county. the Su-
preme Court has rendered a majority
opinion which will completely sweep
all the present Democratic officials
out OF office in the city and county of
Denver.
The opinion was rendered yesterday
afternoon at o'clock, Justice Steele
and Justice Gunter dissenting. The
decision was not expected until July
Sd. at which time the court will prob
-bly adjourn for the summer vacation.
II was given yesterday in order to al
low time for the considering of the
various anticipated petitions from the
deposed officers. so that the whole
matter might be disposed of by the
time the summer vacation began.
Justice Steele made a brief state
ment. in which he announced that he
and Justice Gunter did not approve of
the majority opinion. and said they
would file dissenting opinion later.
The Democratic officials who are
deposed by the decision are: H. v.
Johnson, county judge; Schuyler ii.
Alexander. assessor; Robert j. Byrne.
clerk and recorder; Emma NJ. Herey,
superintendent of schools; Charles s.
Elder. treasurer; Hamilton Armstrong.
sheriff; ]. N. Stoddard, Roady Kene-
han and Daniel l.. Webb as members
of the Board of County Commission
ers: William A. Rice and Benjamin F..
Stapleton. justices of the peace. and
Joseph Berger and Michael Geary.
constables.
The new county officers are:
County clerk and recorder. A. G.
Vickery; sheriff. Alexander Nisbet;
coroner, r. p. Rollins: treasurer. C..
w. Badgley: assessor. c. c. Gird;
county superintendent of schools,
Lillian A. Field; justices of the peace,
b. F. Harrington. j. NJ. Lindsey; con.
stables. w. j. Horner and Edward
Phillips: county commissioners. Will
liam Lawson. Eugene Mccarthy and
Thomas Uzzell.
The decision of the court is rem
dered in the case CT N. C. Miller. at
torney general of the state, in quo
warranto proceedings against Henry
V. Johnson, claiming to be county
Judge
The opinion of the Supreme Court
as delivered by Mr.. Justice Maxwell, is
very but TO - B''''
cipally expressed in the foil ling par
agraph:
ITO concede that Article Xxx. author
ICES a charter convention to legislate
upon any subject whatever. In contra
vention of any of the provisions of the
constitution, relative to governmental
OF state matters. or to county or state
offices and officers. Is to concede that
such convention might displace the
constitution in every respect. and the
charter, being the organic law OF the
city and county. would thereby become
supreme within the territory included
in the boundaries of the city and
county: hence, we would have por'
tion of the state freed from the CON
stitution; over which the state had no
right to legislate; which could have
no interest whatever in any legislation
which might be enacted by the state,
relating to state and government al
fairs. In short, an imperium in i'm
perio, a condition which cannot be
brought about or exist, even by consti-
tutional amendment, as emphatically
decided by the majority opinion in the
Sours case"
The deposed county officials are
those elected at the May election un-
der the provisions of the new charter,
those installed are the ones receiving
a majority of votes at the November
election, which the charter assumed to
do away with.