The Commonwealth. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1911-1914, 1914-01-01

Hil'dhA ANA hhNAN's
Heretofore It has not unfreQuently
happened that comrades i'm trouble
sought the advice of the editor of
this paper. But your editor is not a
lawyer, nor has he the time to devote
TO such matters, SO from now ON our
readers are invited to address all
questions involving points of law TO
e6mrade Peter HUSKY Room 200
Stokes Bldg, 1916 10 Hewitt Ave,
Everett, Wash.
Q.-Comrade b. tells me that you
are willing to advise If needed, for
which I thank you most heartily, The
newly elected city attorney is my
enemy, first, because I am a Social
list. and second, because | am man
and he is not, so | cannot trust him.
VIII you give me an opinion on the
following two questions? This is o
city of the third class. First, can the
mayor fill the appointive offices with
is, has it the right against the mayors
wishes to reject his appointments?
Second, can an elective and an APP
pointive office be legally combined?
For instance, could the clerks office
and the office of police justice be
combined? S. c.
A.-First: Yes, the council can re-
fuse to confirm the appointments of
the mayor. If it does reject his APP
pointments, then he must make an
other within week, and continue un-
til his appointment is confirmed. If
the mayor does not make a new APP
pointment within one week after the
council has refused to confirm, then
the council may elect a suitable per
son to fill the position.
Second: Strictly speaking, an cleo
tive and an appointive office cannot
be legally combined. However, unless
the charter of your city expressly pro-
hibits an elective officer from holding
any other office or position, then the
mayor can appoint an elected officer
to an appointive position, if the two
offices are compatible. Or, the coun-
Gil may by ordinance add the duties of
the appointive office to those of some
elective office or to some other ap-
pointive office. This power is given to
cities of the third class by statute.
Unless it be the charter of your city,
there is nothing to prevent the mayor
from appointing the elected clerk to
the office of police justice.
Q-Comrade, I would like advice
About three years ago our school dis
trict voted to have free textbooks
furnished by the district. OF course,
am a Socialist kicker, and am to
blame for getting the vote through.
Nov, it seems that we are obliged to
furnish dictionaries if our children
need them, which / refused to do. l
wrote to the state superintendent and
she referred by letter to the county
superintendent. I think l will have to
go higher than the superintendent to
get a decision. How can I do it?
don't care a blank for the price of a
dictionary, if it is my duty to buy it,
but if it is the duty of the district to
furnish it I want them to do so and
obey the will of the majority Of the
people. The question I asked the state
superintendent was: "What is meant
by free textbooks? Does it include
dictionaries?" enclose the an
swers. They are not satisfactory.
J. G.
Am order to get an official opin-
ion on your question, you should sub
NIT it to the prosecuting attorney of
your county, or to the attorney gen.
eral. On the other hand, if you take
exception to a decision of the school
directors, you must appeal to the coun-
ty superintendent, and appeal from
that official to the superintendent of
public instructions, from whom there
is no appeal
1t is clear that free textbooks" does
not include dictionaries. A dictionary
is not a textbook, however necessary.
The law provides that the directors
may provide free textbooks and sup
plies to be loaned to the pupils of the
school," Dictionaries would have to
be classified as supplies and as such
the directors may furnish them. But
an authorization to furnish text
books" Gf that was all your district
voted for is not an authorization to
furnish supplies. However, the di-
rectors can furnish such supplies,
when in their judgment the best in
terests of their district will be sub
served thereby, without any special
authorization.