The daily morning oasis., 1919-12-16
TANCLE IN THE
ROAD AFFAIRS OF
COCH|SE COUNTY.
WERE UNRAvELED.

near case IN the place OF Judge A.
c.. Lockwood of Cochise county, in
which the latter was disqualified.
And it was quite a case.
The case was known as the "Co-
chise county road muddle," and, as
gathered from Cochise county news
papers it is quarrel between the
Board of Supervisors of that county
and the road commission that had
been appointed by that same board.
AS the story is told: Under the
law the preceding board of supervis
ors appointed the first road commits
sion of Cochise county on the fourth
day of September, 1917, to serve a
term of two years. The various mem
bers filed their bonds and qualified
as of that date, and drew pay from
that day; but their bonds, which had
to go and receive approval from the
chief office of the bonding company,
and then return for approval by the
board of supervisors, did not receive
approval by the board of supervisors
until eight days later. (There's
poir to bear in mind.)
Two years later, viz, on the fifth
day of September, 1919, the board of
supervisors appointed another board
of road commissioners for another
term of two years, to date from that
day, or the preceding day. The mem
bers so appointed were present, their
bonds were ready, and were filed,
they took the oath of office and en-
tered upon their duties; and the
bonds were sent for approval by Of
ficers of the bonding company.
When the new board of road COM
missioners was appointed the board of
supervisors instructed them that they
should appoint certain man county
engineer and moreover that = they
should not appoint certain other
man, who held the office under their
predecessors. The board of road
commissioners said they would ap-
point the man designated as county
engineer.
When the board of road commission
ers met to select a county engineer
they appointed the man they had been
instructed to appoint; but they gave
him an assistant and as assistant to
the county engineer they appointed
the man they had been instructed not
to appoint as county engineer-J. G.
Ryan.
The bonds of the new board of high
way commissioners had not been act
ed upon by the board of supervisors,
nor were they acted upon when they
returned from the general office of
the bonding company. \
On the fourth of October the board
of supervisors went to Bisbeel and de-
manded of the board of road commits
sioners that they oust Mr.. Ryan from
the post of assistant conuty engineer.
That the board of road commissioners
refused to do, one member, however,
stating that he would stand for the
demand. Upon refusal of the board
of road commissioners to do the bid
ding of the board of supervisors, the
latter body informed them that they
were ousted on two counts: First
the term of their predecessors had
not expired when they were appoint
ed; second, the bonds they had given
had not been approved by the board
of supervisors. The county board
returned to Tombstone and carried
out their announced program by ap-
pointing new board of highway
commissioners, naming as one of the
their bidding, and four others. And
a member of the board of supervisors
took from the files of the clerk the
bonds of the highway commissioners
they sought to oust, returning them
to the agent of the bond company.
The newly appointed board of high
way commissioners qualified and made
demand upon the other crowd to va
cate their offices, which was refused.
Then quo warranto proceedings were
inagurated in the superior court to
GUST the recalcitrant four on the board
of highway commissioners.
The tangle described in the fore
going paragraphs is what Judge w.
A. O'Connor, of the superior bench
of Santa Cruz county was called to
Tombstone to unravel, last Saturday
After hearing all the evidence and
argument Judge O'Connor held that
when the first board of highway COM
missioners was appointed on Septem-
Der 4th, 1917, their term of office be-
gan, and that approval of their bonds
cut no figure, that such approval was
purely ministerial, and was to assure
good bonds being given, that in alb
Continues on page s;x.)