The Dickinson press., 1909-07-10
scnAFER WINS The
COUNTY SEAT FIGHT

The famous Mckenzie county seat
case, which has been in the state courts
for the past five years has been decided
finally by the supreme court, and
Schafer has been declared the legal
county seat. The suit is that of Dean,
q taxpayer, against Dimmick, then county
auditor, to require him to remove the
county Office 10 Alexander. Since the
time that the suit was begun Dimmick
has finished his term of Office and is no
longer q county official. The cas- is
one of the most intricate imaginable
involving as it does, quo warranto pro-
ceedinas, writs of mandamus, writs of
Injunction. contests, appeal and other
things in the way of litigation too
numerous to mention.
In 1904 an election was held. the pro-
position to organize the county voted on
and carried. The law under which the
election was held a plainly uncon-
stitutional, but the county was reorsan-
lied by the other counties of the state
as a de facto organization. Ali went
we'll until the supreme court declared the
law unconstitutional. In the meantime
q vote had been taken on the county
seat, Schafer getting 311 out Of q total
of 6t7 votes cast. Alexander, the rival
city, received in the nei&hborhood of
200. As it happened the couny COM
missioners were Alexander advocates
and the trouble soon began. An appeal
and contest over the election vas then
started on the ground that the law under
which the election was held was uncon-
stitutional and that there was fraud in
the election. This came up before Judge
Winchester in 1907 and he decided in
favor of Schafer. judge Young, who
had the cause of the AlexandeF people,
was succeeded by Judge Engerud who
Immediately applied for a writ of
mandamus. Atty. G. A. Bangs. who
represented Schafer, throughout the
entire controversy, demurred and his
UCU1uIICl Wdo ouoSoAAAOOs -. Jsa
In the meantime the law under which
Dunn county was formed, identical
with that in the Mckenzie county case,
was declared unconstitutional furnish
ing another complication. In the fall
of 1908, Judge Engerud in behalf of
Alexander appealed from the decisiontof
the district court against the writ Of
mandamus asked. The supreme court
%disregarded the legal phase of the ques-
ton and declared a tax payer was not
the proper person to bring the suit in
the case and granted a rehearing for
December 1908. In the meantime the
Alexander people got busy again and
q writ injunction was applied Tor and
secured by Attorney Bangs TO restrain
them from moving the county offices
from the de facto county seat. The
recent decision of the supreme court
afirms their former decision in favor of
Schafer. The above summary does not
by any mean take in all the legal n
tanalements of the case.
The suit has had a hearing at differ
ent stages before almost every district
court judge in the state including
Judges Goss, Pollock, Winchester, Tenn
pleton and Crawford and in the supreme
court has been deliberated on by Judges
Fisk. Morgan, Spalding, Carmody and
Ellsworth.
Some Dickinson attorneys are inclined
to believe that the foregoing decision
only refers to the Injunction with refer
ence to moving the county offices from
Schafer to Alexander. If the decision
settles all points, then Schafer indeed
is to be congratulated.
InAn nE cnAI puNS