Bisbee daily review., 1919-12-14
Court Refuses to
 Dust Highway Board
tContinued from Page One.l

| was also appointed Dy the SuperNlSOrs as member of Commission No. 3.
 The four defendant victors in yes terday's legal battle were, with Fulg hum, appointed highway commission by the board of supervisors on Sep tember D.. the day after the two year | term of office of the original county highway commission, appointed Sep l tember 4, 1917, expired Their reten- | tiOn in office by Judge O'Connor's s ruling yesterday is a defeat for Su- pervisors C.. M Roberts and I. c. E. Adams in their efforts to supplant this commission of their own appoint ing with new one. when these com missioners refused to accept their dictation.
 Refused to Dust Ryan.
 In the first week of October the defendants were called upon by the supervisors to dismiss the late Dick Ryan as county highway, engineer. This the commission refused to do and as result of their action the supervisors named w. H. Fisher NJ. F. Dicus, T. S. Bowen, Dan B. Seed and Thomas Fulghum as a succeed ing commission, known as Commis- sion No. a With the appointment of this last commission the board of su- pervisors called upon the former body to surrender the offices, records and business of the commission to the newly appointed members. The fou' men, made defendants in the suit that was tried yesterday, acting in their capacity as highway commis- siOners. declined to turn over the busi- ness of their office to the new group.
 Suit was filed October Is in behalf of the newly appointed group for the purpose of gaining possession of the commissions offices and to oust the members of the first appointment body, excepting Thomas Fulghum who was also named to the last group.
 It was brought out in the trial yes terday that upon the refusal of the acting commission to dismiss their county engineer the board of super visors practically rejected the mem bers' bonds in that they declined to approve them. Evidence submitted in court showed that on September 13, seven days after their appointment, l. w. Wallace. William Reay, A. Y. Smith and Emil Marks took oath of office and filed their bonds in the sum Of S5000. according to the law.
 The point was also brought out that the supervisors themselves secured the bonds for the commissioners. Sub sequently, however, the bonds were held in the safe by the supervisors until October 10 when. without con sent of the commissioners the bonds were returned by Supervisor Charles Roberts to the bonding company from which they had been secured
 After hearing the argument by the counsel of the parties involved the court immediately decided the case in favor of the defendants. holding that they had been regularly appointed to the office September ,. and that they could not be deprived of their office by the board of supervisors in "arbi- trarily refusing to approve good and sufficient bonds'.
 Judge O'Connor presided at the hearing yesterday by reason of Judge Lockwood having been disqualified through legal action brought by the defendants.
 Cannot Be Ousted
 The ruling yesterday was made after the closing arguments by coun- sel. Attorney Frank E. Curley of Tucson presented the side of the de fendants, contending that the defend ants were the duly appointed county highway commission, holding office for two years from the date of their ap- pointment. September ,. 1919, who had taken the oath of office and filed proper bonds, and who could not be restrained from acting as such ocm mission without legal course. This is the position taken by the court in making the decision in favor of the defendants, whose case was ably handled by Attorney Curley through out the proceedings.
 The legal representatives of the su pervisors were Attorneys E. J. Flani- gan and Alexander Murray. Witnesses called upon to testify were A. Y. Smith. l. w. Wallace. William Reay. MT. Merrill, bonding agent, J. N. Gaines and l.. E. Kuchenbacker, clerk of the board Of supervisors.
 The court decision ends a warm and dramatic battle of months be- | tween Highway Commission No. and | Super isors Roberts and Adams by i