The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-07-03
MUST PAY FOR IT.
County Is Liable For Paving
Around State House Square.
Supreme Court Makes an I'M
pOrtant Decision.
SHAWNEE CASES STAND
Ransom Pigg and Oliver Smith
Must Serve Sentences.
George Hughes Not Entitled to
Part Of Fathers Estate.

III y VI dDACA LSEdBC
The supreme court today, in deciding
the case OF Board of Jefferso~ county
commissioners VS. the city of Oskaloosa,
in favor of the city, interpreted the
law to the effect that when a county
takes possession of a certain square in
a city and builds court house thereon
and continuously occupies the same for
many years that it is liable to the city
for the cost of paving the streets ad-
5acent thereto. This case is exactly
parallel to that of the city of Topeka
against the state of Kansas in the mat
ter of the paving the city has laid
around the state house and which it
has been unable to collect payment on
for many years, being refused again
by the last legislature.
The controversy in this case arose
over the action of the city in paving
around the court house square and as
sessing half the cost to the county. The
] commissioners refused to pay the bill
and the city brought suit in the dis
trict court and won its case. The
county appeared to the supreme cocurt
and the judgment of the lower court is
sustained
With this decision which covers the
identical points in the case between the
city of Topeka and the state as a basis.
Topeka should have clear sailing in the
collection of its long deferred claim
against the state for some forty thou
sand dollars.
The supreme court has affirmed the
appeal of Chas. w. Bowman from Phil
lips county and Bowman will serve the
sentence in the penitentiary for
forgery. Bowman was county treas
urer Of Phillips county and drew check
for $4,000 on the New England National
bank of Kansas City. The check was
deposited in Kansas City to Bowman's
tod 4
tried and convicted and appealed the
case on account of a technicaltty. The
court refused to allow any of the
claims made by the defendant.
The Standard Real Estate Loan Co,
foreign corporation, on the order of a
building and loan association, has been
ousted from doing business in Kansas /
by the supreme court. The company /
had offices in Kansas City, Junction /
City and numerous other towns in the |
state. 1t never took out a Kansas |
charter or secured a certificate which |
allowed 1t to transact business in Kan I
sas- The company claimed that while |
It's plan was similar to it was not q /
an investment concern. The court held |
that its plan was so similar that in |
reality it was building and loan asso-
citation.
Three important Shawnee county
cases were affirmed, probably the most !
important of these was the Hughes |
case, in which the decision OF the lower |
court was affirmed.
George Hughes and Charles Hughes
were disinherited sons of a father who |
left an estate valued at $500 600. They |
were left out entirely, and the pro-
perty willed to other relatives After
perty, valued at $4,000 was found to
belong to the estate. The two disin-
herited sons were not barred from par
ticipation in this as it was not men
in ha will H,-rD,, =
suit to secure the entire $4,000 on the
grounds that they had not participated
in the original division The Shawnee
county court ruled that although they
We're not barred, they We're entitled to
'pniy their proportionate share of the
$4,000, and that the other heirs. who
had divided among themselves the or
tgiBal bequeSt, were entitled to share
In the latter amount. George Hughes,
eldest of the brothers, is a blind man
about so years of age. His attorney,
f. D. McKeever. said today upon hear
ing of the supreme court ruling: 1T
means the poor house for George. He
has spent his share of the property,
under this kind of a division, on this
case aud living expenses"
The Oliver Smith case is that of a
man now serving a 20 year sentence
in the penitentiary for murder. Smith,
while under the influence of liquor,
stabbed and killed Thomas Barr.
young farmer. Before he died, Bair
managed to sign an ante-mortem
statement, which was used in the case.
Smith, who was North Topeka
butcher, and a cousin of United States :
Senator Charles Curtis, was defended
by the late A. H. (Hib) Case. He was
convicted of murder, and taken to the
penitentiary. A short time before his ,
death, Hib Case appealed the case to
the supreme court. The veteran law |
year made last effort to free his
client by raising novel question. He
cited as his cause of appeal that the
dying statement made by Bair should ]
not have been admitted as testimony. =
as it did not allege crime against his
spoke of the defendant as "Ollie"
Smith, nickname by which Smith
was most commonly known. Attorney
Case contended that as the defendants
evidence was inadmissible. Hib Case
died during the week set for his argu-
ment before the supreme court. To-
day, the ruling Of the lower court
was affirmed, and the prisoner, who is
past so years of age, has poor
chance of outliving his long sentence.
Ransom P1gg, a young man of not
robbing his cousin, a green youth from
Of Sl11 Pigg and the cousin
went to a moving picture show, both
Under the influence of liquor. Two city
detectives were watching the pair and
the theater. took seats a short
distance from them. In few minutes
the Missouri cousin fell asleep. and the
officers observed Pigg pick the drunk
mans pockets. and file away the pro-
ceeds in his shoe. Pigg was .mmedi-
8sely arrested. and the money found
ia his shoe. He said that he took the
money for safe keeping. because the
cousin was drunk, and had no inten-
ion Of keeping It. The case was hard
fought L was shown that the green
cousin had stolen the money