The Colville examiner. [volume] (Colville, Wash.) 1907-1948, 1913-12-06

magnificent country, and its i'm
portance to both northwest Amer
lea and Canada, it is becoming of
more than national Importance"
The matter of trip down the
river will be taken up by the cham
ber of commerce in connection
with the campaign to open the up
per Columbia to navigation and it
is expected that the committee to
be appointed by President Charles
Hebberd to carry on a campaign
for this purpose will be announced
soon. In all probability. if the
trip down the river is made. many
of the members of the committee
will be numbered in the party
Spokane Chronicle.
People, not Courts, Control Recall
"The plain people at the polls,
and not the robed judges on the
bench, constitute the tribunal to
try charges filed against any pub
lie official sought to be recalled,
according to the most recent rul-
ing of the supreme court on the
subject of the recall" said Attor-
ney G. c.. Dill of Spokane a few
days ago in discussing the new re-
call law of the state.
Mr.. Dill was secretary to Gov
ernor Lister during the last ses-
sion of the legislature and for the
following few months. He re-
turned to Spokane last September
to renew the practice of law and
is now a member of the firm of
Hibschman & Dill of that city.
"In an appeal to the supreme
court recently, attorneys for
Sheriff Edward Cudihee of King
county contended that one of the
reasons why no recall election of
Sheriff Cudihee could be held was
that the charges filed against him
by those desiring to recall him,
had not been proved in court.
Without a dissenting voice the
court ruled against that conten-
ton.
"The right of a public officer to
the Office to which he has been
elected is not property right.
Nor is it question affecting the
right of life or liberty of any in
dividual. 1t is simply a question
of whether an individual having
been placed in a position of public
trust, is to be permitted to con-
tinue or is to be discharged.
| "As the court has said, In other
words, as against the people,
public officer, their servant, has
no right whatsoever, so far as his
possession of the office is con-
cerned, which may not be ignored
by the people.
"The procedure necessary to
bring about a recall election of
any public official is simple. First,
written charges of misfeasance or
malfeasance in office must be filed
with the proper official. There
upon blank petitions will be fur
nished those filing the charges, up
on which petitions must be Sc
cured the signatures of qualified
voters in numbers to equal 25
per cent of the number of votes
cast at the last preceding general
election.
Whether the charges filed are
true or not, justified or not, de.
serving of consideration or not,
are matters to be determined by
the voters at the ballot box. As
the court said in the case of Sher-
if Cudihee, THE people speaking
in the manner provided by law
may discharge their public officers
for any cause or without any
cause
MIR. Cudihee's attorneys raised
other technicalities in the case re-
ferred to, such as mistakes in the
directions as to how the advertise
ments of the initiative, referendum
and recall amendments shall be
made, the wording Of the title of
the act, and irregularities in the
entries on the legislative journals.
Although the court discussed these
legal points fully, they took the
advanced position that since such
an overwhelming majority Of the
voters desired the rights afforded
by these amendments their wishes
should control
"This decision clarifies the re-
call situation in this state. It
| howc oIoo fh of n,r or 1prouo oov1rf