New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1916-05-17
COUNTY OFFICIALS
SAFE FOR 4. YEARS
SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS LAW
EXTENDING TENURE FROM
TWO YEARS
PRECEDENT is ESTABLISHED FOR
FURTHER EXTENSIONS BY
LEGISLATURE

IL ne AcC Oh April 20, 1910, Laws
1918, chapter 458, fixing the terms
of certain county officers at four
years, and operating prospectively
is constitutional, and there will be
no election of such officers in 1916.
Order discharged.
With the entry of the above order,
opinion written by Commissioner Homer
B. Dibell, the Supreme Court of the state
dismissed the action brought against
the auditor of Wright county in an at
tempt to force him to accept the filing
OF a prospective candidate for county
treasurer. In the opinion of the Su-
preme Court therefore, the legislature
has the right and power to fix the terms
of county officials for any length of time
it sees fit.
County officers who have been on the
anxious seat for several days because OF
the attack made on the act of the 1918
legislature extending their terms from
two to four years, may again pursue the
even tenor Of their ways, for the supreme
court last Friday decided that the law
is good and that no elections will be neces-
sary this fall, at least as far as county
officials are concerned.
The opinion was written by Commits
sioner Dibell and after quoting the act
attacked, he observes that the con-
stitutionality of the act only is in ques-
ton, as no question is involved of ex-
tending the term of an officer or of de-
priving an Office of it's elective character.
The office is elective, he says, and no one
holds for four years unless elected for
that period.
Under section of Article II Of the
constitution, he declares, is the follow
ing; provision shall be made by law for
the election of such county and town
ship officers as may be necessary.
"That does not determine what coun-
ty officers shall be created, nor does it
prescribe the terms of Office, nor does it
forbid the fixing of terms by the Legis-
lature.
UNLESS there is somewhere in the
constitution provision fixing the terms
of the county officers there resides in
the Legislature constitutional power
to prescribe four-year terms, and that
there is such provision is the precise
contention of the petitioner.
''The argument is that the provision
fixing the biennial election for even
numbered years by implication fixes
the terms of officers whose terms are
not fixed by the constitution at two
years.
''The constitution does not expressly
or by implication fix the terms of coun-
ty officers enumerated in the statute.
whether such terms shall be two
years or four years is question of policy
determinable by the Legislature.
''The act of 1913 is constitutional and
there will be no ection of county off,
GERS in 1916"
Those who have read the decision,
declare that the ruling is more far-reach-
ing than is apparent on it's face. At
some future time county officials may
band themselves together and induce
the legislature to pass law making
the terms of life tenure. Those elected
at the succeeding election will have a
life job, because the statute expressly
states that ar official can not be removed
from office by reason Of the fact that the
legislature has reduced the length of
his term. Under such a law a county
official would serve for life and may then
file for reelection!