The weekly chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Craig County, Okla.) 1905-1913, 1910-09-16
Attorneys for Guthrie Are Granted Time t
File Additional Briefs in Reply to Arguments
of Attorneys for Oklahoma City in the
Capital Location Case--Ledbetter Says
That Provisions of Enabling Act
We're Abolished Upon the Admis-
sion of the State to the Union
Oral Arguments Finished.

Guthrie, Okla, Sept. 15.-Apparent-
ly alarmed at the assaults made upon
the validity of the capital location bin
by counsel for Guthrie, Oklahoma City
attorneys at the conclusion of oral
arguments on the capital case yester-
day in the supreme court asked for
two days to file an additional brief
defending the validity of the bill. The
court granted the request and gave
Guthrie five days in which to write a
reply brief. The court will be hearing
oral arguments for several days and
Judge Dunn indicated that no opinion
will be written IN the case while oral
arguments in other cases are pending
in the court. This makes it unlikely
, that decision of the capital case
wiz be made within three or four
weeks.
At the Wednesday morning session
of the court Frank Dale closed his ar
gument for Guthrie on the binding
force of the enabling act. Judge Dale
contended that sovereign power of the
state implies the right to contract
away certain attributes of state SOW
ereignty.
Can you sell yourself into slavery?'
asked Judge Williams.
mo, sir" replied Judge Dale
Then what is the difference in a
state where it surrenders its political
powers?" replied Judge Williams.
w. A. Ledbetter for Oklahoma City
argued that the constitutional conven-
tion was body of prescribed and linn
tied powers with authority only to
formulate constitution and adopt an
election ordinance and with no original
legislative power.
Ledbetter declared that the enabling
act itself provides that any provision
that is not submitted to the people
shall not be part of the constitution
of the state. Justice Hayes then stated
that the enabling act provides that the
territorial laws shall be extended in
force in the state and that in Wyoming
and the Dakotas such provisions were
placed in the enabling act, but not in
the constitution of the state, but that
the laws of the territory went into eff
feet by virtue of the enabling act
Ledbetter replied that this must have
been done pursuant to some law of
congress.
Every provision of the enabling act
is absolutely abolished upon the ad-
mission of the state if not incorporat-
ed in the constitution" said Ledbet-
ter. He contended that only the dele
gates to the convention were bound
by the ordinance irrevocable and that
it expired with the convention.
c. G. Horner, representing Guthrie,
answered Ledbetter's argument BY
stating that state constitutions were
formed by conventions and never SUBJ
mitted to the people. That constitu-
tional conventions are of two kinds,
those required by the enabling act to
frame constitution and submit it to
the people and those required to form
a constitution which would be effec-
tive without such ratification. He con-
tended that the Oklahoma enabling
act required certain provision to be
put in the constitution and submitted
to the people and others were not re-
quired to be so submitted, citing the
ordinance irrevocable as an example.
He cited cases where Texas and Ala
bama adopted ordinances similar to
the one adopted by Oklahoma and the
courts held that they were a part of
the constitution Of the state, although
not voted upon, and were equally bind
ing with the constitution itself
Judge John Burford, another Guth.
rie attorney, closed the arguments for
Guthrie by an assault upon the valid
ity of the initiated bill locating the
capital which was voted on June II.
IF this bill became law. it did so
by an entire departure from every
procedure laid down in the constitu-
ton and laws of this state" said Bur-
ford
Judge Burford declared that the bin
is an anomaly in that it not only pro.