Omaha daily bee., 1910-10-07
Nebraska
DIVISION FIGHT IN CUSTER
Court Asked to Require Board to Set
Aside Election Order.
PETITION ALLEGED TO BE SHORT
IL IL Charged that Action IL IrreE-
uIar and that Plaintiff Asks to
BE Allowed 20 submit
Evidence.

BROKEN BOW Neb., Oct. 6.-Cspecial)-l
Joseph Pigman on behalf of the anti |
divisions SITS of Custer county has com
menced action in the district court for |
writ of mandamus to require the Board of
Supervisors to assemble and set aside the
order to submit the question of dividing
Custer county, and erecting therefrom tho
proposed new counties of Corn and Rose.
Only the petitions of these two named
proposed counties are questioned The
plaintiff asks that ne be permitted to offer
evidence that the said division petitions
have not been signed by majority of the
legal voters in the two counties named
The action of the county board in grant
ing these petitions was somewhat unusual,
It is alleged. When the northeast. or Corn
county petition came in Mr. Pigman filed
request asking that the petition be laid
over for thirty days in order to give the
anti-dvisionists chance to thoroughly ex-
| anime It, tie vote was had on the
matter. Supervisors Morris, Gilmore and
| Grint voting to reject the Pigman request
while Supervisors Dewey, Cushman and
| Foley voted to sustain the request. Su-
| pervisor Headley was absent. The follow
| ing day the presence of Supervisor Headley
was secured and he Joined with the first
named supervisors in rejecting the Pigman
request. Chairman Morris then appointed
committee consisting of Supervisors
| Grint, Gilmore and Dewey to examine and
report on the petition. Supervisors Grint
and Gilmore submitted majority report
declaring that the petition was signed by
a majority of the legal voters of the pro-
! posed county the said majority being
thirty-four Supervisor Dewey submitted
a minority report, stating that he did not
believe that the petition had the required
number of signers and recommended that
the Pigman request be granted.
Second Protest by Pigmnn.
At this point Joseph Pigman filed a sec
ond protest declaring that the petition was
referred to the committee at 1880 a. m, and
that the time which had elapsed from that
until the report of the committee which was
made on the afternoon of the same day,
was utterly insufficient for a reasonable
investigation to be made Pigman further
stated in his protest that the committee
of supervisors had taken no steps to ascer-
tain the actual number of legal voters in
the said territory, and that there had been
no evidence before the board to show the
same. The majority report granting the
petition was carried by a vote of four to
three Supervisors Morris. Grint, Gilmore
and Headley, voting to order the election
and Supervisors Dewey, Cushman and Foley
: voting against II.
The southeast, or Rose county petition
was rushed through in practically the same
manner. The committee reported that the
petition had a majority of fifteen of the
legal voters in said proposed county Mr..
Pigman protested against the allowing Of
this petition without proper investigation
in much the same manner as before.
vote was taken and the petition was
promptly granted, the same supervisors
: voting for and against it as was done in
, the granting of the Corn county petition.
Since this action of the board, these Pc
titions have been thoroughly Investigated
|, by people living in every township within
the proposed counties in question, and 1t is
said that both petitions are far short of
! the necessary legal signers. Many names
, appear on the petition twice and in one or
! two cases, even three times and some gross
Irregularities it is alleged, will be brought
! out when the matter is thoroughly sifted
( in court.
e Anti-DivisfOnists Charge Fraud.
Y In several division elections held in
d Custer county, 1t has been known that the
petitions in one or more of the proposed
counties have been illegal. Last year the
northeast petition was not a good one and
: a few of the division leaders of that part
of the county were acquainted with this
9 fact. Owing to the tremendous volume OF
work and the heavy expense involved in
: proving these facts, the question has beer
!" allowed TO go to vote in years past, but
the work OF the division leaders in forcing
: through their petition has become so bold
that the ant-divisionists from all over
n Custer county have not only requested, but
q demanded that stop be put to this kind
q of work.
II the petitions are legal, there is no dis
position on the part OF anybody in Broker
Bow, or any other part of Custer county
IS to head off the election. The sentiment II
: about three-fourths of Custer county is 81
a strong against division that It would b,
lie utterly impossible for the matter to ever
come to a vote, If the division leaders wht
l. circulate these petitions were compelled t
If show an actual majority of the voters
e II the anti-divisionists of Custer count!
-, do not prove beyond any question of doub
q that the petitions are far short of a ma
lie jority of legal signers. there willNbe no at
le tempt to head off the vote on this ques
ton at the coming election.
vi Deadly Fright
! possesses sufferers from lung trouble I'll