Semi-weekly herald., 1909-07-12
SUPREME COURTS DECISION FOR
ANTIsALooN ELEMENT

Denver Post
A ward which votes wet" may
still have dry precinct
But a ward which votes "dry" may
not have within It's boundaries a pre-.
cinct that Is wet"
The supreme court, IN an opinion
handed down this forenoon. by vote
OF to recorded the above big VIC
tory for the anti-ssloon element. Jus.
tioes Gabbert and Hill dissent from
the opinion that was written by JUS
tice Bailey and concurred in by JUS
tices Musser, Campbell, White and
Chief Justice Steele.
The case went up TO the supreme
court on an appeal by N. L. Schwartz,
a saloonkeeper in the Eighth ward.
Judge Allen of the district court rem
dered the decision holding that the!
vote of the ward on the anti-saloon
question was final for every precinct
in the ward. His decision is affirmed
In arriving at the conclusion of the
exhaustive opinion which Justice Bal
ley wrote, the five justices agree on
the proposition that the purpose of
the statute and its intent was to estab
| lish dry territory. 1t is law for
| the abolition of the saloon; therefore
| when ward votes against saloons Tor
| It's territory, that vote is determine
| tive of the entire political division.
Following out this line of reason
| ing, the majority of the court holds
that If any subdivision, of a ward
that has voted wet" elects to vote
for dry" precinct, that vote shall
rule and that precinct shall be dry"
| 1t is held that before the vote is
taken the ward Is, under existing stat,
utes. wet" The purpose of the vote
is to make 1t "dry," and If the "drys'
win, their will shall be recognized.
Attorney Ralph Talbot, counsel for
Ausmus and Moon, who were sentenc-
ed to twenty-five years each in the
penitentiary, produced as exhibits in
his argument before the supreme court
a skeleton, by which he sought to
prove that the body dug up and of
fered for evidence as the remains OF
Mcdowell was not his.
An important point was won for ir.
rigation companies in the decision
rendered in favor of the BessemeF
Ditch company against which half a
dozen suits bad been brought by farm
ers to recover for damage done theh
lands through seepage. The decision
of the court is that "the cause of the
injury is permanent and the injury Is
permanent. The seepage is a neces
sary result from the character of the
land" The ditch company is held
blameless. and the relief prayed for by
the ranchers is denied.
Justices White and Musser and Chiei
Justice Steele dissent.
The court went ON record as uphold
ing the sufficiency of circumstantial
evidence in a murder case in the case
o. the people against John Ausmus
and Zara Moon.
These two men are from Morgan
dering Robert B. Mcdowell. an illit
crate farmer. A skeleton was dis
covered which witnesses testified was
The remains of Mcdowell. The de
Tense was that the corpus deficit was
never proved and an appeal was taker
from the district court of Morgan
county.
In affirming the decision of the dis
trict court 1t is declared that, 81
may be barely possible, but not prob
able. that the crime alleged was never
committed, but until the faculties o
men are unfolded and expanded tha
all things are known, we must act OF
cumstances as they appear, logica
deductions made and presumptivt
roof, or leave the worst crimes un
punished"
A sharp rebuke is administered te
former Judge John l. Mullins in the
cases of w. I. Davoren, chairman o
the Democratic county central com
mittee. and Fred Williams, formel
chairman of the Republican commit
tee, who were committed by Mullins
for refusing to answer questions he
propounded TO them three years age
after the franchise elections.
The court says that the district
judge had no right to compel Davoren
and Williams to answer his questions
and that his reason for asking such
namely. that he wished to determine
II a necessity existed for calling Il
grand jury will not suffice.
"The (districD court has an inner,
ent right to call grand jury at any
time" the supreme court holds. II
was not necessary that he should sub.
ject the witnesses to his questions.