The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1908-01-28

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pass.
We submit herewith a report OF
the Legal Advisory Committee
an,l ask that it be printed as part
of E,i5 report:
House Of Representatives.
Guthrie, Okla, Ian. %, 1908
Mr. Speaker
Nc, your committee on Legal
Advisory TO whom was referred
House Bill 100 and House Bill
5ol. and substitute for House Bill
100 and House Bill 2o4, beg leave
10 make the following report
The question that was before
the committee was as &c the adyis-
ability Of conferfing jurisdiction
upon the supreme court to hear
aud determine and make settle
ments OK the assets and liabilities
OF divided counties
We find that under the Consti-
tuition this Legislature may pass
an act conferrng original and eN-
elusive jurisdiction on said SUI
prerue court to hear and determine
these matters and we respectfully
recommend that said supreme
court is and should be the tribunal
to determine these matters.
We have carefully examined the
substitute for House Bill 100 and
House Bill 204, which has been
submitted TO us as u report of the
Committee on settlement OF Claims
of Divided Counties. and after
considering said substitute we are
Of the opinion that said substitute
should be amended in section one
before the word Jurisdiction" by
inserting therein the words orig
inal and exclusive" and that in all
other respects said substitute is le-
gal and would afford the means
for equitably determining the
rights and liabilities of said divided
counties.
We recommend that the COM
lnittee substitute, as above men
toned, with the amendment sug-
gested be passed by the House.
Respectfully submitted,
]. X. NC GALA, Chairman Le-
gal Advisory Committee"
The contention, as we under
stand, of those responsible for the
minority report is that the court
house squares in the county seat
towns of the original counties are
subject to division and they claim
that public improvements placed
by the United States Government
are also subject to division. We
find that the court house squares
in the county seats of the original
counties were, set aside by the Uni
ted States Government for court
house purposes when the town
sites were plated and the use of
the ground should not be diverted
from the purpose for which it was
SO set apart.
The funds derived from the sale
OF town lots in the Kiowa and Co
manche country were used by the
United States Government for
public Improvements and we be-
lieye that il would be a great in
Justice to the people who paid such
liberal prices for these lots with the
understanding that the money
would so for public improvements.
to tax them in order to pay the
counties cut off for any part Of any
such Improvements.
The provision to divide only
such property and assets derived
through the process OF taxation,
bonds, warrants or other evidences
of Indebtedness we submit is fair
and equitable and will return to
the people of any new county all
that has been taken from them,
and will not require the people Of
the original counties to bear the
burden of taxing themselves for
lands and improvements set apart
by the United States Government
tor specific purposes. Neither will
the new counties that have inn
provements erected by the pro-
ceeds OF the lot sale fund of the
original county seats be required
to divide such improvements with
any other county, but such inn
provements must stand and be
used for the specific purpose in
tended by the United States Gov
ernment when they were erected.
This is an extremely difficult mat
ter to adjust, Only two bills
touching upon this subject have
been submitted to this committee
and since the substitute bill, for
which the committee stands spon-
sor is satisfactorily to the author of
100, who represents a parent
county, and the authors Of 204,
who represent new counties, and
has met with the approval of the
Legal Advisory Committee we be-