Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-12-24
UNUSUAL LEGAL QUESTION IN
voLvEp IN CONTROVERSY
OVER LAND.
ONLY ONE OTHER CASE
OF KIND BEEN APPEALED
JUDGE Wille.t Hears Testimony For
Minor Heir Seeking to Have Court
Not Approve Bids Received by Ret
eree-New Cases Filled For January
Term.

Whether land Of the Henry kuhie-
man estate is 10 become the property
-of Louis Smith and George Alexander
OF Minerva township. or OF A. +. Smith
of Montour. or whether the land is TO
be ordered sold again were the points
a, issue in the interesting legal con-
troversy of the Kuhlemann estate tAa'
Was brought TO a hearing before Judge
wilctt in the district court Wednes-
day. The case was submitted later III
the afternoon. Judge Nll!et VIII prof.
ably decide il next week
The hearing was granted on the APP
plica,ion OF William Hanalau, a minor
hair ~ rhe state. Lawyers Ter him are
seeking 10 have the court not approve
the sale of 100 acres of the estates
land TO Louis Smith and George Alex
ander. Under order Il court the lama
was placed at public sale in November
by the referee, c. n. Van Law smith
bid SIS for eighty-one acres. Alexan-
der bid $40 for another eighty. IheF
were the high bidders. Attorneys Tor
the minor heir and the other heirs, VINO
are parties to the effort 20 have these
transactions al the auction set aslue
alleee that the referee did not sell the
land when he accepted the Smith ana
Alexander bids as the highest obtain
able and Knocked the land off TO them.
Estate Stands to Lose.
The reason for their contest lies IN
the fact that later the referee accept
ed private bid from a. F. Smith of
$40 for the eighty-one acres Louis
Smith bid SIS for. and SIS for the
eighty Alexander bid SO for, Unless
the court sets aside what is alleged 70
have been sale by the referee at the
auction the estate stands TO lose prob
ably $1,000 or more All three bidders
have posted with the referee 10 per
cent of their bid as earnest money.
No collision or fraud is alleged
gard to the bids made either at the
public sale or in private.
Wednesday the attorney for the
minor heir put witnesses on the stand
to prove that the land was worth from
$50 to s95 an acre. The referee was
also witness Wednesday.
To controvert this testimony wit
| nesses were introduced by the inter
venorS, Smith ana ALEXANDER 1 Hese
witnesses said the land was worth $5o
to $40 an acre in their opinion.
Case Unusually Important.
The case is Of more than passing in
terest, and involves what the lawyers
say is a most interesting law point.
| 1t not only has TO do with the bids OF
/ Louis Smith and George Alexander for
| the land and thus concentrating the
! sale at public auction which was held
under instruction of the court, was
| entirely legal and was fully reported
but also whether the receiving of the
bids at the public sale constituted a
sale or merely the act of receiving the
bids
Another point Of special interest In
the controversy is that there has only
been one other case of similar kind IN
the supreme court Oddly enough this
case was from Hardin county and In
volved sale of land of the Wisnel
estate The lack of rulings Of the su-
preme court gives the court no pre-
II cedents to follow.