Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1921-05-05
WEHE CONTINUES
TO Be THORN in
GOVERNORS FLESH
Wins Another Lawsuit in Dis
trict Court Involving Pay
ment of Salary For Month
of April, l920-May Be
Carried to State Supreme
Court

1lSIlliECR, n. L., -hdy o.--t topC-
ciaD Il. j. Wehe continues to be
u thorn in the flesh Of the state adj
ministration, and if he keeps on win
ming law suits he may. finally estab-
lish his contentious made after he
was kicked off the workmen's COM
pensation commission over a year
ago.
Judge Nuessle, Of the district
court, has handed down Il peremp
tory mandamus order commanding
the WOrkmen'S compensation bureau
to pay Wehe $20S.33 as salary for
the month Of April 1920. Wehe al
50 has a suit pending to collect ST.,
291.G for his salary for the months
from May, 1920 to February, 1921,
inclusive.
These lawsuits, it is supposed, will
be carried othe supreme court by
the administration, if necessary.
Perhaps the most serious trouble
caused the administration by the
Governors failure to observe the re-
quirements Of the law when he want
cd to get rid Of Wehe was it's effect
on the minimum wage decisions OF
the compensation bureau, acting as
minimum wage commission.
The minimum wage commission
was preparing for a conference in
Fargo in April 1920. a. c. Town
ley appeared in town. About 80
minutes before Wehe was to take a
train to Fargo to participate in the
minimum wage deliberations lie was
served with an order of removal by
u representative OF the Governor.
Wehe has claimed that he was re-
moved because it was known his
did not square with those Of S. S.
Mcdonald. II this is true the true
purpose of the dismissal Of Wehe
was defeated, and Mr. Wehe may
laugh up his sleeve between his fire.
quent court battles when he thinks
of it.
The minimum wage as far as it
affected six classes of the orders was
attacked in three suits. One of the
principal grounds was that there was
not full, legal board. due to the
suspension Of Wehe. SO. while the
administration presumably gave
clear path to the minimum wage
rules it wished to promulgate the
whole thing was defeated by the
things the administration did.
The district court, in granting an
injunction against the enforcement
Of the minimum wage classes, which
decision was affirmed by the district
court, said: "The ground for my
holding is the one on which the most
stress was laid at the time Of the ar
gument and in the briefs. That is,
that by reason Of the suspension and
attempted removal of Mr.. Wehe the
Bureau was not constituted as re-
quired by law and all Of the acts done
by the two members, Mr.. Mcdonald
and Mr.. Hagan. were wholly inef-
fective and void in so far as they
purport to act as a bureau in deter
mining the wage matter"
The orders were promulgated as
of August 16, 1920, but the officials
were restrained from enforcing
them.
1t was not until Nov. II, 1920 that
C. A. M. Spencer was appointed as
Wehe's successor and he did not file
his bond until Dec. 4. No law suits
yet have been instituted other than
the minimum wage in which the
validity of the boards acts are at
tackled because OF Wehe's absence
from the board.
However, since Judge Nuessle, Of
district court, held in determining
the first Wehe wage case here that
the appointment of Spencer was void,
as was the second attempted removal
proceedings held after the supreme
court had decided Wehe was entitled
to the office and the district court
ordered the Governor to resist in the
hearing, there is q probability that
the Wehe case will bob up again to
worry the administration.