The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-10-10
Decisions Of the Supreme Court

State of North Dakota. in Supreme
court.
The state of North Dakota upon the
relation of H. W. Braatelien, as states
attorney within and for Williams
county, North Dakota, plaintiff and
appellant, VS.. George O.. Drakeley, c..
o. Borstad, c.. j. Helle, c.. O. Hough-
lum, Frank Banks, as county commits
%sioners within and for Williams coun-
t., North Dakota, defendants and re-
%spondents. ,
/. When a county auditor retains
fees which belong to the county and
fails to account for them and pay
them to the county treasurer, and the
board of county commissioners neg
leCts and refuses on demand to adjust
the accoui of such fees and deter
mine the amount thereof as required
by section 2430, revised codes of 1905,
a resident, taxpayer and citizen of the
county is qualified to act as a relator
in proceedings in the name of the
state to compel action by the county
commissioners.
2. The adjustment of such fees by
the county commissioners when not
paid into the county treasury is q
ministerial duty and m~andamus will
lie to compel them to audit or adjust
III oNAlIN "a va 11OI ~ ~ O1Ilp IL
determination Of any particular sum
due or not u the county from the
auditor.
3. Neither the criminal prosecution
nor the removal Of county officials
who fail to perform their duties fur
shes an adequate remedy to the
public or to taxpayers Of the county to
which funds unaccounted for belong,
and hence are not the other adequate
remedies which inhibit the mainten-
ance of proceedings to mandamus the
commissioners to adjust such &C
counts.
4. AS to whether the states attor-
ney of a county can bring an action
against the auditor, to collect fees
county, without being directed so to
do by the board Of county commits
%sioners, is not decided.
5. By chapter 70, laws of 1907, fixing
the salary of county auditors, the diff
ferent counties are classified with ref
erence to the assessed valuation of the
property in the counties of each class,
and this statute reads that no county
auditor shall receive more than......
dollars for his personal services in any
one year, the moun depending on the
valuation OF the property in his coun-
ty. Held that. this enactment fixes
the salary of the county auditor at the
sum named as applying to the class in
which his county belongs.
6. Chapter 70, supra, was enacted to
fix the salaries Of all the county audi
tors Of the state and relates to that
subject alone and provides that ali
moneys received as fees for certifying
to abstracts or deeds in excess of the
salary as thereby limited shall be paid
by the county auditor at the end of
each month into the revenue fund OF
the county. Held that this requires
an accounting by the auditor, at the
end of each month, of such, fees, and
Dat If the amount exceeds his salary
for the month it Is his duty to pay the
excess into the revenue. fund of the
county.
Z. Chapter 219, laws of 1907, was
enacted for the purpose of enforcing
the payment of taxes before the trans
fer Of real property, by requiring a
certificate Of the county auditor as to
the facts, before deeds, with certain
exceptions, are entitled to record and
as ar incidental matter provided for
the fee to be collected by the county
auditor for such certificate ami that
the audito: might retain such fee as
compensation for making his certifi
cate. Held that in view of the fact