Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1916-10-18
CAN AN OFFICIAL SELL
MERCHANDISE TO CITY?
WOODMAN CITIZEN THINKS NOT.
AND HE SUES TO RECOVER
FROM TOWNSHIP CHAIRMAN.

DAY morning resulting after much ar
gument pro and con, in verdict for
the defendant.
To be explicit, it was the action
brought by David Arbuthnoth, de-
termined look Woodman township
farmer, against John Kelley, chairman
of the township, for return of monies
paid to Mr.. Kelley for goods sold to
the town during his incumbency as
head of the board.
| Mr.. Arbuthnot alleged that during
the year 1914, and following, Mr.. Kel-
ley's election in April, that the latter
had sold the town hardware, building
material and cement to the amount
of $574.18. Mr.. Arbuthnot further
more averred that Mr.. Kelley had pre-
sented the bill to the board at the De-
cember meeting and had received the
money for same. Claiming violation
of the Wisconsin statutes Section
4549-which more or less specifically
defines the relations of a municipal
officer in commercial way toward
the municipality he is serving, Mr..
ArbuthnOt through his attorneys, con-
tended that Mr.. Kelley had no right
or authority to sell the town materials
and having done so, should, under the
law be compelled to return the amount
paid him. Mr.. Kelley did not agree
with Mr.. Arbuthnot's point Of view
and declined with thanks to make such
restitution. So they all came to Ian
caster Friday morning.
1t was brought out at the trial that
Mr.. Kelley made no attempt to dispute
having sold the town the material in
question. He testified so himself and,
to be exact, read an itemized state
ment Of the goods sold during the
period in question. The articles did
not seem to be priced any higher than
what any other store would have sold
them for and consisted chiefly of num-
erous small items.
1t was not proven that Mr.. Kelley
had personally sold the goods or that
he had in anyway solicited directly
or indirectly for the business. ~
/ 1t was shown that Woodman village
lis the only settlement in the town
ship where goods of this character
could be bought and for the town to
have gone to the two nearest trading
points Boscobel or Fennimore -
would have increased the cost by adj.
ditional carriage without having re-
duced the initial price of the articles,
to saysnothing of the loss of time.
Mr.. Arbuthnot it. seems, came to
Lancaster day or so prior to the 1915
spring election and endeavored to
have the district attorney take the mat
ter up. He was unsuccessful and in
May of the same year took the matter
up with the town board asking that
they bring action for return of the
money. He was unsuccessful here al
so. Mr. Kelley testified that he had
conferred with the other members of
the board at that time but took no ac-
ton. Last fall suit was filed on the &C
ton which came to trial Friday Mr..
| Arbuthnot stated that he was a tax
payer in the town Of WOOdman and had
always taken a keen interest in the
financial affairs of the town He said
that he as a taxpayer and electOr of
the town had brought the action in
his own name, but intimated that 9TH
er citizens paying tax in the aggre-
gate of around 81 100000 were stand
ing behind him.
Mr.. Graves, the plaintiffs attorney,
was unsuccessful in obtaining list of
at the time he received payment Mr.
Kelley testified that he had failed to
find the charges which made out on
slips similar to those used in the Nc
! Casky system and he was corroborated
in this by the present town clerk, Mr.
Lull and the clerk during 1914, Mr..
Heller.
1t seems that the slips were turned
in for audit and later mislaid. Mr..
Kelley testified that he had also at
various times advanced money to men
doing town work and that the money
paid him by the town was in part for
cash advanced.
Judge Clementson in dismissing the
action held that the statute was sub
ject to reasonable latitude and did not
in his opinion apply to the Woodman
case That the town roads were of a
rugged nature and the village an isO-
lated one. That buying materials at
either Boscobel or Fennimore would
be expensive and involve severe
time loss. That the law had in mind
more directly a case where town Of
fetal used his office for making pro
fit for himself to the disadvantage Of
other dealers engaged in similar bus
mess. That the items were trifiing,
involving small amounts, although
they filled three pages of Mr.. Kelley's
memorandum as he read them on the
stand. That it had not been proven
that Mr.. Kelley had solicited the bus
mess or personally sold the articles.
That it would not be common sense,
for instance, to enforce that section Of
the law which would send merchant
who was also town official, to jail,
where various men came in for articl-