Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-08-01
$1,000 LEGAL ] ! ! !
Limit OF COS
OF CITY HOMES !
Brinton Has Right to Seek
to Prevent Ler1lke Get
ting House.
NUESsLE OVERRULEs
DEFENSE DEMURRER
Attorney General Has 80
Days to Answer; Case to
Be Heard on Merits.
(Herald Special Service,

(Herald Special Seryice) 8a
Bismarck. Aug 1.-The industrial
commission violated the law OF North
Dakota every time it permitted the
state aid to the building of a house cost
ing moresthan 5000 in city, or &c.,
600 in the country. This is the hold
ing of District Judge w. L. Nuessle,
expressed today in the suit of j. w.
'Brinton, as a taxpayer, to restrain the
home builders from continuance OF
work on the house Of Attorney General
William Lemke in Fargo, which Brin-
ton alleged cost $4,000.
The industrial commission ought to
be restrained from violating the law in
any manner in the future, Judge Nues-
sic further declared The method
pursued by the state, he said. not only
violated the law, but in the state lend
ing its aid to the building of an expen-
s1ve house it may have cheated some
renter whom the law was intended to
benefit to realize that benefit.
Whole Bunch Present. ~
The action before Judge Nressle was
more or les informal. John F. Sulli-
van of Mandan appeared as counsel
for the plaintaff, while all of William
lemke's assistant attorneys general
w. A. Anderson. Geo. 4. Foster ana
Geo, Reimstad-were present for the
defense
The situation when the hearing ad-s
journed was this: Judge Nuessle over
ruled the demurrer Of the defendants
and held Brinton had sufficient cause
OF action. He said he would not grant
Temporary restraining order in the
case OF Lemke's house because Brin-
ton had sat silent while the house was;
being built Assistant Attorney Gener-
al Foster informed him the house was
completed and Lemke was living In IT.
The defendants were given 80
days in which to answer this complaint
after which the case will be argued on
its merits and an order issued.
| To Help Poor Men. s..
| Judge Nuessle declared with posi-
tlveness that it was his view of the law
that the legislature contemplated that
it would help the man of small means
get home. and that the legislature
placed the limit of $1,000. on the cost
i of city home because of this. Judge
Nuessle declared that he believed that
the law as it had might defeat the
beneficent purpose and intent of this
act =.
This act was to help the poor man,
the renter, to get home of his own,
and it seems to be that if man can
go to the state and get $4,000 to build
home that costs great deal more,
it may defeat some man who wants to
build the kind of home the law con-
templates. It is s-lf-evident that a
man who can raise S$21,0O0 and get
$4,000 from the state could easily get
| the balance of the loan"
Cannot Override Law.
/ Judge Nuessle declared that the
| mere fact that the industrial commits
sion had seen fit to construe the law
differently ought not to make any diff
| ference when the wording of the stat
! ute is so plain. The statute is manda,-
tory, he declared, that however high
places the members of the industrial
com mission hold it is but an agent Of
the state and did not have power to
! override the plain intent of the law
by its construction of the law"
i When the case came up before the
court George X. Foster, assistant at
torney general, inteSposed demurrer.
holding Brinton did not have a spe-
cial interest in the matter.
SulIvan's Contention.
MIR. Sullivan, speaking for the plain
| tiff's position, declared that he believ-
ed the legislature in enacting the home
builders law did not have in mind
people who wanted to build homes
costing $4,000, 100000 or $S0,eo0,
but he believed it had in mind the
presence of small means. and that was
the reason the limit the cost Of house
the legislature distinguished between
J. the cost of city home and farm
home as supporting his position that
the legislature had in mind limiting
the cost.
! This act should not be construed so
that the industrial commission can
Iloan $4,000 to men building homes
costing 5000 he said.
Home Owners Must Pay.
1 One Of the matters brought out in
4 Judge Nuessle's discussion Of the case,
which he said was partly for the pur-
pose of informing attorneys on his po-
sition on matters involved, though
4 perhaps not at issue just now, was
!! Lemke's.
Judge Euessle pointed out the posi-
I ibility that all the home owners in Far
|. go. Mandan and Bismarck might b
behind the suit to escape payment.
II Conducted Inefficiently.
u Judge Nuessle declared his belief
that although the industrial commis-
tsion violated the law in making the
contracts for houses costing more than
IS, 900, the persons. for whom the hoais-
Les were built must pay the cost OF
them as contracted. Reports. he said.
'iwere that the home builders ass0cia-
tion had been conducted inefficientiy
land the houses would cost more than
contemplated. II the persons for
whom they were built could escape
payment the state would be left with
over-expensive houses on Its hands he
/ held. s. 81
y MINERS GO BACK.
Nottingham, Aug, Coal niineN
4 went back to the pits after their -
weeks, strike. 1t has developed herA
oily 10 discover that their hands had
become too soft for the work