The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1906-08-30
COSTLY AFTERMATH OF
COUNTY SEAT FIGHT
Fifty Leading Citizens OF Selby
County Are Sued for SiO,-
600 Damages.
DESTROYED U HOUSE
Tore Down County Building at Bangor
and Moved Records 10 selhy-His-
tory Of a Most Interest
ing Case.

AbcrGcca. =. H.. Aug sS.-Thc county
commissioners or Walworth county
have Instructed States Attorney Gle
land 10 bring suit against hity citizens
of Sslby for $4,000 damages FOR the
destruction OF thc court house NJ san
Eor IN December. 1904.
The court house fight dates back
nearly two years when Bangor wac de-
Clnrci the county seat after al cleo
tion. Sclby contested In court and Sc
cured judgment by alleged default ana
Sclby citizens then went to Sanger ana
tore down the court house and re-
moved the records Ia their town Later
the order was vacated by the supreme
cogrt and Selby returned n records.
when the Chicago. Milwaukee ana
81. Paul pushed it, road ON through 10
the Missouri river IL left bangor a mid
lpnd town. the road going Tour
miles north of h old county capital
and located the town OF Selby. Selby.
~ course. rapidly jumped into promi-
hence. together with Evhrts and Jaws
thc other two new railroad towns In the
county. Nearly the whole OF Bangor
moved To tile railroad towns and In "a
years time all that was left OF the old
town was the court house. one store
and the residences of the storckceper
and the county officials whose homes
were too FAR away to permit OF their
living there.
At the next election all three OF the
railroad towns sought To secure the
county seat. Sclby got the nominal
ton aud the other two towns then
turned In ana worked for Bangor n
against Seiby. figuring that " Selby got
the county Seat there was no hope Tor
them. but tina " Bangor retained ~.
that ~ ON future time Evnrts or
Java might Ect H.. The result was that
gI.. aWaN WaUWHHNHaI nj .AnanEnT ThNN
was iu 1909. thc year after The rail
road wen through.
Two years later Sclby was again
nominated ana again II had TO Tight the
whole county. losing rs In the first
fight. Rut the claim was made that
Bangor used liquor and got many Rus
stan adhercnts OF Sclby drunk who
thereupon voted for Bangor. and when
Judge Gany. presiding over that cir
cult. was out Of the state for " short
days. Selby people went tn Mitchell
aud secured n rcmoVa order from
Judge Smith for the moving OF the
county records from Bangor TO Selby.
the facts being misrcpresentcd To the
Mitchell jurist. Armed with the Smith
order the Shelby cohorts went over To
Bangor nmasse and IN the dead of
night broke into the court house and
transferred the records to their town.
When Judge Gaffcy returned he was
mighty inccnscd at the proceedings n
ordered n trial ON the merits OF the
ease. and decided I'm favor 81 Bangor.
w~hereupon the Selby people took the
matter up To the supreme court. That
body decided against the ambitious
railroad town. and then as "A last re-
sort a move was inauguratcd To In
crease the corporate limits OF Selby.
the incorporation TO take I'm merely a
strip OF land only a few rods In width
and four miles long. the strip extend
ing to the south just far enough 20
take In the county court house. When
the Bangor people saw h was UP
they entered n vigorous protest on the
grounds or fraud and discrimination.
and the extending OF h limits OF the
town OF Selby In the manner pctitioncd
for was denied.
The men against whom the heavy
damage suit lis now instituted are the
leading business and professional men
OF the railroad town. the leaders In
municipal affairs. those against whom
the suit IL instituted being the follow
ing:
y. II. Kingman, sr, y. II. kinGman,
jr.. John \. Koch. Julius Hocfrs. Roy
Hoefs. William Schwartz. Galusha O..
Palmer. Theodore Schwartz. Peter
Thorstcnson. William III. Nudge. Ell
bridge q. Powell. John Hiemerick. Phil
ZIP FREEMAN, faul Eltrlnk, arthur
kingman. III. Il. Gutz. Bill Williams,
August Rctkc. William Simon, George
Walter. Leon J. Walter. Anthony r
Birkholt. Eddie Kingman. James Cof.
fey. John Bcrcns. Matt Bercns. AL
phonso Buchanan. Nelson Pcrsonius
Peter Finnegnn. +. a. Miles. l.. T.
Brow. Joe Babbitt. Seigrl Hoffman
Charles Griffin, Adam Hiemcrick. Isaac
Smith. Newell Smith. Clarence Clark
Horace Cartwright. Phillip Preszlcr
August Schmidt. Chnunccy Burr. ia
cob Elfrink. A.. N. Smith. Frank Gehr-
vi. Hugh Personals. Homer Clark. Al
cxandcr Hciscr. Elmer Pulls and +. ID
Jenkins.
The case IL expected To he heard I'm
October. and IL il understood that the
states attorney has retained Taubman.
Williamson a. Hcrrcid. who conducted
the defense In the county seat fight. To-
assist him, This firm. however, re-
fuses To discuss the matter In II man
ncr.
The questions involved are said 90 be-
entirely new and will require the plow-
Ing OF new ground u making OF new
presidents.