The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1905-11-02
.bANGO? HAS AN
ELEPHANT On HAND
The Supreme Court Decided
u Shall be the County
Seat Town.
NOT VERY ENTHUSIASTIC
rhe People OF Bangor Have Not Re.
serted the Action Of selby citi.
xens in Stealing Away the
Court House and Records.

Pierre. S. d., Oct. 3o.-Bangor Is con-
fronted with n condition by reason OF
n recent decision OF the supreme court
compelling Il to DO the county seat OF
walworth county against It's will.
The court house has been RACED 10
the ground and the records transferred
TO Selby, which usurped the functions
Of the county seat.
Trouble In bound TO nsue. Citizens
OF waiworth county are greatly per-
turbed. They feel the approach OF the
inevitable conflict but IRE powerless to
prevent. The supreme court has spok-
en-. The old county seat fight be
renewed whether they wish to Tight or
not.
Supreme Court Acts.
When Justice Carson handed down
the momentous opinion Tuesday, * was
the letter OF the law and not the spirit
which moves him. Legally he found
the Selbyites hadn't n 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
n mob a no recognition In courts OF
law. g,
II Is an old struggle. the tight be-
tween Bangor and Selby. for tho oun
~ seat. Bangor Ii the older and sleep
Ter town. Modern business methods.
railroads and natural resources have
ronspired to make Selby the metropolis
" the county.
Bangor has been left far behind.
10 an Old Fight.
Seiby aspIred TO become county seat
but found itself blocked ut every turn
OF the road by the handful OF Bangor
ties who had the law on their side.
Finally. I'm sheer desperation, following
nm adverse vote by the county. the peo-
pie OF Selby n n midnight raid apo
Bangor. tore the court house into bits
and marched avn with the public rec
ords. These they have held ever since.
despite the feeble efforts OF B~angorites
to dispossess them.
Then Bangor took n new tack. Fred
Griffin. one Of the most persistent OF
the advocates OF he old site. resorted
TO law. The action OF courts Is pro-
verbally slow. The ease dragged on for
months and years. Demurrers. mo-
lions. injunctions ms one thing n an
other delayed nnal action by the high
est tribunal In the state until the gen.
eral public had forgotten the contest
and had become r~econciled TO the new
order OF things.
Other Such Decisions.
But not SO the supreme court. II hnd
TO have it's say. and when IL did speak,
Il was TO reopen the old controversy.
The Sphinx county case IN an illustra-
ton. Three towns were c~ontending.
The county seat consisted OF a lone
building on the prairie n Rcdfield.
Doland and Ashton all coveted the hon
or. With a t~hrce-corncred fight neither
town Guild secure "A majority. and after
several unsuccessful elections had been
held. Redncld took the records by force
OF arms.
In Sully county, with another three
cornered contest between Onida, CHI
ton and Fairbank. there was a close
vote In avo OF Onida. bu; Clifton. the
old county seat. refused to give up the
honor until u had been fought out In
the courts and for several weeks II
maintained n home guard ready To do
battle II necessary. Immediately after
the election the OnIdn people secured
n court order and came To Clifton In
force, taking the records home with
them. In n few days Clifton secured
another order n In force went TO the
rival town and took back the records.
The records were all kept In an Inn
mense safe which weighed several tons,
and each time they were moved the
safe Yas rolled OF TO trucks and carted
away
Roberts county Is another case OF re-
cent date which was fought through all
the courts before the records were final
ly allowed 20 remain In peace ut Sis
seton.