Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-12-21
KITTERmAN
SUIT reviewed
OPINION OF SUPREME COURT
SETS LOWER COURT AWRY
-WHITMoRE TALKS.
w OU L D HAVE SAL Larry
Attorney for Appellant Will Strive to
Have All Back Pay Allowed
Cornell Wants Rehearing
of the Case.
w OULD HAVE SALARY

Reinstatement to the post Of janitor
Of the Wapello county court house for
an indefinite term and judgment
amounting to the salary G. w. Kit
terman would have received had he
continued as janitor since 1907 are the
benefits Mr.. Kitterman will receive by
the action of the supreme court in re-
versing the decision of the lower
court in the court house mandamus
suit, unless the motion for rehearing
Of the case, which County Attorney
Seneca Cornell will file, is sustained
The county attorney states that he
will ask the court to grant rehearing
of the old sui, and Attorney G. w.
Whitmore, who appeared for Mr.. Kit
terman, Is 70 resist such a motion and
endeavor to show to the lower court
that Mr.. K..terman Is entitled to his
full salary as janitor. 1t is also hint
ed that an effort will be made to Sc
cure an order enjoining the county
from paying this salary if the same
can be taxed against ex-Supervlsor T.
J. Relnier and Supervisor William Will
son, who are made parti-defendants in
the two suis filed by Mr.. Kitterman.
The Supreme Courts View.
That part of the ruling of the SUI
preme court which refers directly to
the essential point in Mr.. Kitterman' s
case follows:
1.-THE fact that soldier Is employed
| to do work for the county creates no
obligation upon the county to keep him
upon its payroll when that work is
done and there is no longer any need
| of his services; but when the service
is one of an indefinite or continuous
character the reasonable necessities OF
which require the employment Of some
one at all times and there is not
statute designating or limiting the
time for which appointment to suct
position may be made, we are not pre-
pared to say that the board of super
visors can defeat the operation of the
Soldiers Preference Act by the exped
lent of dividing the time into terms.
BY such plan the board Is enabled tt
i exercise an absolute power Of removal
vides that an honorably discharged
soldier shall not be removed from sucl
position except for due cause show
and after due hearing on formal ant
specific charges, is made of no prac
teal effect
ut is clear that the central purpos
of the statute was to insure to tn
veteran permanacy Of employment an
make him SO far as possible independ
ent of the changing whims and inter
ests of the officer or board unde
i which he serves. To hold otherwis
and say that the supervisors may Il
the term beyond which they are unde
, no obligation to keep the soldier az
, pointee in service the nature {
which is continuous. is to convert tn
! position into a political asset of tn
successful party at each recurrin
, election. We think therefore that II W
| are to give effect to the statute accord
ing to the obvious purpose and inter
q we must hold that the appointment {
3 a veteran to a public service or en-
ployment of continuous character Il
which no terms are fixed by the sta
ute must be treated as continuous ar
that he may not be removed therefro
except in the manner which the a.
provides. A somewhat similar provi:
, ion embodied in the constitution
+ New York has been held to have III
p tended not only a preference in al
h pointment. but permanency of tel
n ure except in case of misconduct
a incompetency to be declared upt
: charges made and hearing had.
For the reasons stated the judg
ment below is reversed and cause r
manded to the district court with d