The Semi-weekly leader. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1905-1941, 1906-10-17

Wtt8iu VAC IneaHiHg OF tllS EeCLlO0.
In addition to the penalties pre-
Iscribed by section 1929, any per-
lson violating the provisions Of
lthls section shall be removed from
1.-THE Office then held by him, and
lshall not be eligible to succeed
himself. The provisions OF this
section shall have no application
to villages and towns, but shall
Eapply to all cities, whether they
Ishall have elected to come under
lthe provisions Of this chapter or
mot. =
! 1t will be seen that the material
difference between section 1929 Of
1.-THE old Code and section 3446 Of
the new is, that the terms Of the
latter section declare ''the sale to
and purchase by city of over
-four thousand inhabitants of any
lgoods, wares, merchandise, or
lsepplies, constitutes a contract
within the meaning of this sec
tom that removal from Office
and ineligibility of an offending
officer to succeed himself is added
to the penalty, and that "the pro-
visions of this section shall have
no application to villages and
towns"
The first section Of the new
code chapter on municipalities,
expressly declares those having
1000 inhabitants or more are cit
les; those having less than 1000
and not less than 800 towns, and
those having less than 300 and not
less than 100 are villages.
There are good lawyers who
lhold, and il was so argued by
| Attorney E. f. Brennan, repre-
senting the State at the trial of
/ Alderman Hartman last week,
| that the above code definition Of a
lefty construed in connection with
the closing sentence of section
/ 3446, that its provisions shall ap-
ply to ALL cities, and apply
whether they shall have elected
to come under the provisions of
this chapter or not, makes the
sale OF merchandise, etc., by a
city Official to the municipality, a
contract within the meaning of
the law, whether the city actually
has over 1000 inhabitants or not.
i Is u point which has never been
passed upon yet By superior
court of the State and until it is,
every lawyer and every citizen
has right to his own lnterpreta-
ton.
s; While at the trial Of Alderman
]; Hartman it was not shown that he
was interested in any contract, as
such, with the city, or that the
Hartman Mercantile Co., of which
he is the head, received any COM
mission or profit on the merchan-
disc purchased by that firm for
the city from the Grafton
Drug Company, it was ad-
mitted and not denied by
counsel for defense that the Hart
man Mercantile Go. sold painting
material to the city to the amount
of about STA for the public
school building, on which mer-
chants profit was realized, and
the 1000 population clause of sec
tion 3446 was plead in defense
of this.
The enumeration taken last
summer under an order of the
Mayor and Board of Alderman at
the request of the Progressive
Union, placed the population al
l
that time in the old corporation
limits at 1862, and in the outlying
suburbs (not including Pearlha-
Iyen) at 2119, making q total oi
5771. Since this enumeration was
taken the corporate limits have
been extended one quarter Of j
mile in all directions, except or
1.-The line of Pearlhayen; so that.
unless this enumeration and the
many hattering claims of Brook
hayens rapid growth are woefuly
at fault, all that the State needed
Ito make out its case against this
plea was an amended affidavit, the
running out Of the new corpora
ttion lines and a correct enumera
, ltion.
! If Alderman Hartman had beer
convicted Of being interested in :
Z
contract with the city By selling
! liz merchandise, all other members
! of the board who voted for the al
/ loWance would have been liable Il
prosecution under section 3431 q
the new Code.
Mr.. Jones thinks that IN dis
cussing the charges against Alder
- & f.s.