Great Falls daily tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1895-1921, 1919-04-06
Refusal Of City Clerk
to Accept Independent
Nominating Petition
/ Bars Candidate.
Attorney General Files
Action Against Treacy
and Staff, Charging
Tarnpering With Vote.

Helena, April 5.-The names OF
W. r. Dunn, for mayor, and of J.
}. Mccarthy, for city clerk, will not
appear on the Butte ballots Monday.
The final obstacle to their certifica-
tion was the refusal of the supreme
court, this afternoon, to make a
decision In the action of the two to
compel City Clerk Charles H.
Treacy to accept their petitions OF
nomination as independents after be-
ing declared by Silver Bow district
court in their contest to have been
defeated in the primary for the DEM
ocratic nominations.
While the supreme court was con-
sidering the mandamus proceedings
hrot BY Dunn and Mccarthy, word
came from Butte that Attorney
General Ford had informations flied
in the district court of Silver Bow
county, charging Clerk Charles
Treacy, Assistant Clerk ]. J. Vines
and Deputy Clerk J. P. Crowley
with misconduct in handling the
returns of the recent primary and
with tampering with the returns.
Bench warrants were issued for
the accused.
COUNTY ATTORNEY BALKs.
County Attorney Jackson, to whom
Assistant Attorney General Franl
Woody brot the papers, declined to sigr
them unless shown the evidence OF
which they were based. This WAS MOI
Forthcoming and Mr.. Woody accordingly
filed the information himself.
The supreme court declined to render
any decision on the matters involved be
cause of the Importance Of questions
raised and the limited amount of time II
which. to consider them. 1t, therefore
ordered proceedings dismissed, An ora
decision to this effect was handed doWI
by Chief Justice Brantly.
Court Desired Week on Case.
The matter was argued three hour;
before the court, this afternoon, and al
4:3O it retired to consider the case
During the hearing. Associate Justice
Holloway remarked that the court SHOULD
have at least a week in which TO con
slider the issues raised and that, what
ever decision it reached today, could
be no more than a guess.
The hearing before the supreme court
attracted a goodlv crowd at the court
room. There were four attorneys rep
resenting Dunn-Donovan and Nolan and
Wheeler and Baldwin-and Treacy was
TcpIESCLLGd DS ~ VI lilfE IltuTy ~.
Smith and Judge w G. Piggott Of Hell
ena. and Attorneys William Meyer and
ID. NJ. Kelley of Butte Dunn and Nc
Carthy appeared On the stand, briefly
testifying as to their length of residence
in Butte. Clerk Treacy and his deputies
were present. but were not called upon,
as most Of the matters at issue were
stipulated, obviating the taking Of tes-
timony.
Dunn Held Ineligible.
Dunn's right to run as an independent
candidate was attacked upon the ground
that al the time he attempted to file his
nomination contest was pending in the
district court of Silver Bow county. in
which he sought to be declared the demo-
cratic nominee as mayor over William
Cults and therefore had waived his right
to become an independent candidate. Sec
ondly. that Dunn had been convicted Of
sedition, this constituting d felony, and
he was therefore ineligible
1t was later argued by the attorneys
for Treacy that Dunn was ineligible be-
cause it had not been proved that he
was % years of age, three years resi-
dent Of Butte and taxpaying free
holder. McCarthy's right To be an in
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