The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1905-06-23
LAW To BE INVOKED
Dun and Bradstreet Agents to
Have Point Decide d.
Whether City Recorder Can
Charge Certain Fees.
Are All the Public Documents
Peoples Property?
Must a Person Pay Every Time
He Seeks Information?
From Tuesdays Daily.

City Recorder Hodapp anticipates q
little legal encounter with the Dun and
Bradstreet Mercantile agencies, or, per
haps with some of their agents as indi-
viduals. For some time past, agents OF
these two great establishments have
been accustomed to get information at
the city recorders office regarding this
and that mans standing, chattel mort
cages against his property and other
matters of municipal record. During
the past few weeks, Mr.. Hodapp has
been turning down these information
seekers, telling them that if they de-
sire such intelligence, they must pay
the recorder a fee for furnishing the
same. If any person interested in a
particular matter of record i'm the of
fee desires information concerning the
same, the recorder furnishes such in
formation free, but persons who make a
business of cleaning such facts and are
paid for getting them together and
sending them off to the agencies, the
recorder does not think entitled to the
information without paying for the
same. Mr.. Hodapp has commenced ask
ing fees, and has consulted the city at
torney, who gives his opinion that in
such cases the recorder is entitled to
fees. He has been requiring twenty five
cents lately from the Bradstreet and
Dun reporters, and the consequence has
been that the cleaning of this inGor-
nation at the office nas ceased There
are mutterings of little legal storm
over the matter, and the recorder is ex-
pected to have. papers served upon him
before long.
These expectations on the part of the
recorder will not prove idle dreams
Attorney w. n. Plymat has been pre-
pairing complaint and making ready to
apply in the name of ID. V. Williams,
the local record reporter to both .agen-
cies, to the district court for a man
damus, compelling the recorder to show
up these public records to the agents
and to the public in general.
The institution of these legal pro-
ceedings seems to nave been inspired
by two travelling representatives of the
respective agencies, both with headquart-
ers at st. Paul, w. Earl Smith of the
Dun agency, and j. j. Thornton of the
Bradstreets. These gentlemen both
called at The Free Press office this
morning and declared that in all their
experience they mad never come across
such proposition, as that which the
cit yrecorder of Mankato lays before
them
The whole question seems on the in
depreciation of this phrase of the law,
interested parties" The law says
that interested parties" are entitled to
see the records. Are the Dun and
Bradstreet agents what the law means
by interested parties?"
Short and Acid Like.
Former City Recorder ID. V. Williams
stepped into the office of the present
recorder this morning, and said in a
perfunctory tone, as if he knew what
the result would be, Can | see the
chattel mortgage book?"
'What do you want with it ?" asked
Mr.. Hodapp.
"None of your business" was the re-
ply.
"If it is none of my business. | guess
you won't see it." was the response of
the officer.
well have it shown up whether you
have a right to withhold the records
from the public said the other, and
walked away with an air of duty well
performed.
The writ applied for byD v Williams
was issued by Judge Cray and made
returnable at nine o'clock Saturday
morning.
A number of lawyers spoken to in re-
gard to the controversy, hold to the
opinion that the recorder is in the
wrong
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