The weekly chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Craig County, Okla.) 1905-1913, 1911-10-27
DUNLOP ASKS FOR
WRIT OF MANDAMUS
State Treasurer Files Application For
Order to Compel Officers to
Turn over Funds.

OhAuAOAAltl NAte wv 49, NbE-ANtNNAsAi
for an alternative writ of mandamus
to compel the state school land com
missioners to pay into the state treas
ury all revenues in excess Of $500
which may come into their hands as
commissioners or to appear before the
supreme court on or before November
IA, 1911, and show cause for their re
fusal to do so, was filed in the supreme
court, Friday, by State Treasurer Rob
ert Dunlop Assistant Attorney Gen
eral Charles L. Moore acted for Treas
.urer Dunlop in filing the application
The action is styled the state of Ok
lahoma, upon the relation of Robert
Dunlop, state treasurer of said state,
against Lee Cruce, Benjamin Harrison,
Leo Meyer, R. H. Wilson and G. 7.
Bryan, commissioners of the land office
of the state of Oklahoma 1t brings
to an issue the question of whether the
commission, which is composed of the
governor, secretary of state, state audi
tor, state superintendent of instruc-
tion and president of the state board of
agriculture. shall disburse funds re-
ceived from the sale or rental of
school lands directly, as they may be
lapportioned to the various state in
stitutions, or shall pay them into the
office of the treasurer to be handled
and disbursed by him.
The receipts of the land Office
amount to a huge sum during the
course of a year, and much interest
naturally attaches to the handling of
the money and the question of whether
the state treasurer or the commission
shall dictate the repositories in which
it shall be placed before being checked
out.
Judge Chambers, attorney for the
school lands department, advised the
commissioners that they have author
ity to disburse the money directly.
Treasurer Dunlop applied to Attorney
General West, who rendered an opin-
ion directly opposite and held that the
commissioners shauld pay the money
into the state treasury. The treasurer
was asked to institute a, friendly suit
in the supreme court to determine who
is the proper custodian of the money
and he has responded with the applica
ton for a writ of mandamus to compel
the commissioners to turn the funds
over to him.
In the application for the writ it is
set forth that the state treasurer is
the legal custodian of the current pun
lie funds and revenues of the state, and
of the funds under its control and man
agement from the time they have beer
received until they are disbursed, and
that any statutory enactment authoriz
ing or attempting to authorize the de
PENDANTS to withhold such funds from
the state treasury would be void as il
contrayerism of the state constitution
That all public funds in the hands
of the state treasurer are augmented
by interest at the rate of three PEI
cent per annum, paid by the variou!
repositories, but when withheld by the
defendants, as the relator believes
bear no interest and their use is o
benefit only to the banks in which the!
are deposited.
The application declares that thre'
members of the board of commission
ers constitute a quorum and contro
the board, and that it is the belief .
J the treasurer that Governor Cruce
} Secretary of State Harrison and Pres
dent Bryan, against the will and cor
sent and over and protest of the othe
: two members, Auditor Meyer and ST.
r perintendent Wilson, are responsible
j for the action of the board, but tina
t. Meyer and Wilson are made defend
n ants in the action so that judgmen
n may bind their successors in office.
e Under section 10 of the enabling ac
e and section 2 of the state constitution
relator declares, the territorial statut
e prescribing the rule in relation to th
e handling of the states money was cor
D tinued, and in no way has been mod
e fed 1t is the belief of the treasure
It that the money now held by the con
a missioners now totals about $4,000.
it 1t is stated that written demand ha
l. been made by the treasurer upon tn
r defendants to turn over the funds j
s their possession, but that the maporit
e constituting the board has failed, M
o elected and refused to comply wit
/ the demand or any part of it, and wi
n continue to refuse until compelled t
h do so by the court