USA > Iowa > Warren County > The history of Warren County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c., a biographical directory of its citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion, general and local statistics &c > Part 46
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That at said election fifteen hundred and thirty-one of the legal voters of said county voted for said incumbent for said office. That the board of county canvassers of said election in said Warren county canvassed said vote and certified that at said election the said incumbent received a majority of one hundred and twenty-one of the votes cast for said office at said election.
That said contestant, H. A. Huff, is a man, and was at the time of said election an elector in said Warren county, and had resided therein for the twenty years last past, and is a citizen of the United States.
That said incumbent, Elizabeth S. Cooke, is a woman, and had resided in said county for about seven years next preceding said election. That she is still a resident therein.
That the contestant was at the date of aforesaid election of the age of thirty-nine years. That the incumbent, at the time of said election, was of the age of twenty-one years.
It is further agreed that the clerk of the District court of Warren county, Iowa, may administer the oath of office to the judges of this court.
It is further agreed that the incumbent was born in the United States and has ever since resided therein.
It is further agreed that this is a real matter of litigation for the purpose of testing the question at issue between the parties as shown by the pleadings herein and the above state- ment of facts, and this agreement is made for the purpose of saving the expense of intro- ducing witnesses.
(Signed)
WILLIAMSON & PARROTT,
Attorneys for Contestant. BRYAN, MAXWELL & SEEVERS, Attorneys for Incumbent.
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
The proceedings were opened the first day by Mr. Parrott in a statement to the judges, holding that Miss Cooke being a woman, and not an elector, was not eligible to hold office under the law. To this Mr. Seevers, on the part of the incumbent, replied that the rights of a citizen could not be abridged by implication, and that a woman has a right to hold office in the State of Iowa, unless prohibited by statute or unless the duties of the office are incompatible with the condition or circumstances of the party elected.
The next day the case was continued and Mr. Seevers in his opening argument, in behalf of the incumbent, held that the government has no right to restrict the rights to hold office, even by implication, and while all citizens are not voters the distinction is very marked between voters and those voted for, as is shown by women holding office by appointment under the government in many instances, such as the appointment of postmas- ters and other officials, also the appointment of persons to office who are not naturalized citizens, he argued that it does not require the right of suffrage to constitute citizenship, and that there is no limitation in the con- stitution as to the qualification for this office.
Judge Maxwell took up .the argument for the incumbent, leaving the eligibility of Miss Cooke and discussing the illegality of Mr. Huff holding the office should Miss Cooke be declared ineligible. He cited numerous authorities in support of this position. He also argued at length that vot- ing and eligibility to hold office are not convertible terms. To the support of this proposition he brought quotations from the constitution of the United States and the constitution of this State. His argument, together with a side issue of introducing additional features into the agreement of facts, occupied the entire afternoon of the second day.
On the third day he continued his argument until about eleven o'clock, and he was followed by J. E. Williamson, Esq., in the closing argument on the part of the contestant, starting ont with the following proposition: Is a woman a citizen in a political view for election purposes? He maintained that she must be a legally qualified elector before she can hold an elective office and one held by appointment is very marked. He maintained that to be eligible to an elective office she must be a citizen of the United States and an elector. . He also held that no warrant was found in common law for a woman to hold office, neither in the constitution of the United States, nor in the letter of the law, or in the spirit, neither in the intention of the law. The only authority that could be claimed by the incumbent being that of implication. He argued that nothing of an affirmative character appeared upon this subject in any of the legislative enactments. He also referred to the appointment by the departments of government of persons who never had been citizens of the United States or resided therein, con- nected with foreign consulates, in support of his position as to the distinc- tion between an elective and an appointive office.
During the argument of the case the following additional agreed state of facts was embodied as a part of the evidence:
" It is further agreed that said incumbent was nominated by a political convention, that on the ballots cast at the said election for said incumbent in said county, the name of Elizabeth S. Cooke was printed thereon."
The case was then submitted to the judges, a majority of whom rendered the following verdict:
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
In the Court for Contesting election of County Superintendent of Warren County, Iowa.
HOWARD A. HUFF vs. Judgment Entry.
ELIZABETH S. COOKE.
And now on this day, to-wit: the 3d day of December, 1875, it being the fifth day of the sitting of this court upon the trial of this cause, and after a careful examination of the agreed statements of facts herein, upon which this cause is submitted, and after hearing ar- guments of counsel, and an examination of the authorities cited therein, and the court being fully advised in the premises, it is therefore ordered and adjudged by the majority of the court that the incumbent, Elizabeth S. Cooke, is now, and was on the 12th day of October, 1875, eligible to the office of County Superintendent of Warren county, lowa. That she was duly elected to said office in said county at the general election held therein on the 12th day of October, 1875. It is further ordered and adjudged by the court that the statement of the contestant herein be dismissed, and that a certificate of the election of the said incumbent herein be issued to her as provided by law. That the said contestant, Howard A. Huff, pay all the costs of this contest, and the said incumbent have and recover of said contestant, H. A. Huff, and his sureties on his bond herein filed, to-wit: J. C. Watson and J. C. Clarke, the amount of said costs herein taxed at - dollars, and that this judgment be enforced and said costs collected as provided by law.
SAMUEL IRWIN, Presiding Judge. ALEXANDER BURNS, Associate Judge.
W. H. Schooley submitted the following
DISSENTING OPINION.
"I can not agree with the majority, that, under onr constitution a woman has the right to hold an elective office. Trne, there is no express prohibition except in two instances, and I am admonished that the right of a citizen can not be abridged by implication. Yet, where there is room for a doubt, we may certainly look for light at the intent of the legislator. Is there, then, room for a doubt of this question? The fact that for many years no such right was claimed under our constitution, and that even now the most ultra advocates of so-called 'woman's rights ' are hesitatingly asserting it, is to my mind evidence of very grave doubts. This evidence is strengthened, too, by the opinion of many very able jurists. At the time our constitution was framed the ' woman question ' was not. All our offices were filled by men, and to have included in the qualification for office the word 'male' would have been as superfluous as the word 'adult' or 'sane.' When the constitution had been completed, if any member of the convention framing it had been asked the question, 'can a woman hold an elective office under that constitution,' the answer would have been ' No.' That this was the universally received opinion, I think no one can seriously doubt. Then, in the absence of better light, I must conclude that its meaning must be the same yet, and its interpretation should be the same. But, it is argued, I am restricting the rights of a citizen, by implication. Yes, and you are granting the franchise of office, by implica- tion, and in defiance of what you admit to be the intent of the constitu- tion.
" I find no words in the constitution expressly restricting the franchise of office to adults, except in four instances. Yet I cannot be beguiled into saying with one of my associates, that a minor is eligible to an elective office. If this be admitted it necessarily follows that the babe in the cradle is eligible to the office of chief justice of our superior court, and the very same reasoning will make the lunatic or maniac eligible to the same office, because in neither case is it expressly prohibited by the constitution. The
371
-HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
statement of either of which is its own refutation. I must conclude, then, that the riglits of citizens may be, and are, restricted by implication. And the exclusion of minors from elective offices was no more patent at common law than was the exclusion of women. Again, it is stated that at common law a woman could hold an administrative office, the duties of which were adapted to her sex, and that the office of county superintendent was espec- ially such an office.
"While I grant the first proposition, I cannot agree with the second. Nor does granting the first help the matter in the least. The office of county superintendent takes a wide range beyond and above simply administrative duties. Neither do I consider the daily duties of this office adapted to her sex. If a woman is peculiarly fitted for the discharge of the duties of county superintendent, in the name of reason what office is she not pecu- liarly fitted for, and where can the rule be misapplied.
"The duties of county superintendent compel her to be traveling over the county at least two hundred days in the year. The meagerness of the pay compels her to travel alone and unprotected. While we may hope she may escape repeated insult, and may confidently trust that in this county, at least, she will be safe from open violence, yet we can scarcely say that such hope and confidence are based on the record of our public prints. What husband or father, knowing the criminal history our State is now making, would wish to have his wife or danghter engaged in a business that must compel her to travel over the county alone. What tender, loving mother, can consent to have her danghter exposed daily for years to the mercies of the vagabond tramps that are now cursing our country. If nature has fitted her for battling with the elements, which can hardly be claimed, it has not fitted her for exposing and protecting herself alone among all classes of society. I think it must be admitted that woman is peculiarly and emphatically unfitted for the faithful discharge of the duties of this office. But it is claimed that there are precedents that should control. Counsel for incumbent have not adduced, and have failed to find a single precedent wherein an elective office has been held by one not qualified to vote for such office. Nor have they adduced a thoroughly contested and carefully adjudicated case wherein a woman has been held eligible to an elective office. Hence, I say we are without precedent, and their claimed analogies have, to my mind, been a failure. I can then but conclude, that, viewing the question under the constitution, with the ordinary rules of in- terpretation, giving due weight to the intent of its framers, strengthened by common consent for a very considerable number of years, taking into account the nature of the office, the executive and judicial duties connected with it, the amount of exposure to the elements that its duties entail, the defenseless condition of a lone woman, the lamentable state of society, the significant dearth of precedents, the settled fact that woman has not the dective franchise, the relative rank of the elective franchise and the fran- chise of elective office, and taking an unimpassioned and reasonable view of the entire case, I can but conclude that the incumbent is not eligible to the office of county superintendent.
"As to the fourth question: 'Is the contestant entitled to the office?' circumstances have rendered it unnecessary for me to examine it, and I have spared myself the trouble of even settling it clearly in my own mind. "W. H. SCHOOLEY,
" Associate Judge."
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372'
HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
The case was appealed from the decision of this court to the March term of the Circuit Court of Warren county, Judge John Mitchell presiding. After full argument on the agreed statement of facts, the Judge decided that Miss Cooke was ineligible to the office of superintendent of common schools because she was a woman, but that Mr. Huff could not, because of this, continue in the office, because he had not received a majority of the votes cast for superintendent, and was, therefore, not elected to that office.
This decision was announced the day previous to the adjournment of the Sixteenth General Assembly, so the following bill was introduced and passed on the last day of the session:
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Iowa.
SECTION 1. That no person shall be deemed ineligible, by reason of sex, to any school office in the State of Iowa.
SEC. 2. No person who may have been. or shall be, elected or appointed, in the office of County Superintendent of Common Schools, or School Director, in the State of Iowa, shall be deprived of office by reason of sex.
The law was thus made retroactive and when the case was appealed to the Supreme Court, Miss Cooke was confirmed in her right to hold the office, because of the operation of this law.
JUDGES AND JUDICIAL DISTRICTS.
. As mentioned elsewhere the first judge to hold court in Warren county was the Hon. Wm. Mckay, of Des Moines. Hon. P. M. Casady was elected as his successor April 3, 1854, but resigned before holding a single term of court. Hon. John S. Townsend was the next judge and served until 1857, when he was succeeded by Hon. Wm. M. Stone, of Marion county. Judge Stone was elected April 6, 1857, and commissioned April 23, and served until January 1, 1859.
By the constitution of 1857 Warren county became part of the Fifth Judicial District, in connection with Adair, Guthrie, Polk, Dallas and Madison counties, which position it still holds.
Hon. John H. Gray was the first judge of this new district and served more than seven years, until the date of his death, October 14, 1865. His memory is still revered as that of an able and just judge.
Hon. Charles C. Nourse was duly appointed his successor by Governor Wm. M. Stone, October 16, 1865; qualified October 20, and in less than a year resigned; this resignation took effect August 1, 1866.
Hon. Hugh W. Maxwell was appointed to fill the vacancy until October 9, 1866, when he was elected by the people, and was re-elected October 11, 1870, serving out his second full term of office, and occupying the position more than eight years. Judge Maxwell was elected from this county and made his mark . upon the bench as a just and upright judge. He was the great enemy of violators of the liquor laws of the State, and his judg- ments, though warranted by the law, were often thought severe. Since his retirement from the bench Judge Maxwell has removed to Des Moines and engaged in the practice of his profession, having built up a lucrative and honorable business. He is held in high esteem in Warren county as a man, a jurist, and a citizen of the State.
His successor was Hon. John Leonard, of Winterset, who was one of the best qualified men who have ever occupied the bench in this district.
373
HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
Many important cases came before. Judge Leonard, and none of, perhaps, greater importance than the trial of the so-called Tear Down murder cases in this county, and in the last trial of this case since leaving the bench Judge Leonard assisted the District Attorney in the prosecution on the part of the State. Throughout his career Judge Leonard sustained himself nobly and reflected honor upon himself and his county. He held the rules of law with great strictness and unwavering impartiality, while as a man his character is unimpeachable.
Hon. W. H. McHenry was chosen his successor at the general election of 1878. He is an old citizen of Polk county, and is well known in Warren county, having practiced his profession here for many years. He has oc- cupied a seat on the bench only since January 1, 1879.
Hon. John Mitchell was the first judge of the Circuit Court, beginning in 1868. He is still acting in that capacity. In 1869 the Fifth Judicial District was divided into two circuits, and Judge Mitchell held court in the first, which was composed of the counties of Warren, Madison and Dallas. Hon. Frederick Mott was made judge of the second circuit, in- cluding the counties of Madison, Adair, Cass, Guthrie, Audubon, Greene and Carroll, and served four years, beginning in 1869, but in 1872 Judge Mott was legislating out of office and Judge Mitchell resumed the work of holding court in the whole circuit. Judge Mitchell is one of the most popular judges in Iowa, so much so that he has never had opposition but once and that not of a serious character.
GRAND JURY FOR 1879, DISTRICT COURT.
J. C. Ash, C. B. Kemple, Lewis Kimmer, N. Corzatt, Fred. Sommers, Oscar Swayne, Robert C. Parr, A. P. Gill, Jabez Burlingame, James Hall, Moses Alfrey, J. W. Wright, James F. Baugh, Wesley Arnold and S. B. Lindsay.
PETIT JURY, JANUARY TERM, DISTRICT COURT.
E. Strube, Jolın Cutter, J. R. Perkins, W. C. Gibbons, D. C. Pearson, O. J. Felton, William Black, Alfred Clark, C. Richey, R. T. Pendry, Michael Cash, Thomas Stewart, John Chew, George Hutt, James H. McEwen, James Mc Vey, J. S. Hnfty, Thomas Duff, J. Hollingsworth, J. P. Crosth- wait, Enoch Grabam, J. A. Henry, James Sherman and George R. Hughes.
PETIT JURY, AUGUST TERM, DISTRICT COURT.
George Stephens, James Laverty, Fred. Johnson, A. M. Badgeley, J. S. Jenkins, Patrick Brownrig, Isaac Peck, C. C. Whitman, Frank Penniston (colored), A Y. Art, William Butler, James W. Dowell, D. Stoltz, C. L. Anderson, Isaiah Starr, H. A. Huff, F. M. Ellis, Wmn. H. Mckinney, J. B. Webster, James McClelland, T. A. Bell, Robert Park, J. H. Johnston and Edward S. Silcott.
MARCH TERM, CIRCUIT COURT.
J. J. Swayne, W. B. Bilbo, R. J. Boone, W. S. Glass, D. M. Miller, Hugh Williams, M. H. Hewitt, Benj. Wade, B. F. Young, W. C. Stumbo, Wesley
374
HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
Van Fleet, J. C. Ferguson, J. T. Bussell, Thomas Barkley, James Cruchelow, Clement Wheeler, A. B. Hastie, S. M. Stark, James Blanchard, William Corbitt, C. B. Kemple, Henry Corbitt and W. Houghtaling.
OCTOBER TERM, CIRCUIT COURT.
V. Cline, Emanuel Shape, Henry Burmister, J. P. Carleton, Ed. H. Jones, M. W. Park, G. K. Reed, W. Ward, Sr., Ephraim Conklin, L. B. Conant, John Lang, John H. Johnston, Byron Stover, John Bainbridge, W. B. Bilbo, John Thompson No. 2, L. Marks, L. W. Bartlett, M. W. Rich- ards, Sam. Martin, M. Hall, C. Neal, Sanford Thorn and R. C. McNeer.
COUNTY COURT-HOUSE.
The pride of the county is its court-house. It is among the finest buildings in the State of this character; and is, indeed, a just source of pride to the people of Warren county. It stands in the heart of Indianola, as near the exact center of the county as it was possible to get it, considering the topography of the ground surrounding the town.
For many years before 1864 the want of a court-house had been strongly felt, but the people of the county came here poor, and it seemed a hardship to make even those public improvements, the necessity for which existed even so strongly. Then, too, the northern line of townships, comprising the "strip " never felt that interest in the county which in their view would warrant them in voting many thousands of dollars out of their pockets " for the benefit of Indianola," as they narrowly expressed it. That section was not only the first settled and oldest, but it was and is the section con- taining more wealth than any other portion of similar size. Therefore, although the question. had been agitated for years, it was not formally sub- mitted to the people until the election of November, 1864. At this election the vote resulted as follows: "For a court-honse," 526; "against a court- house," 1,070; so that although the soldier vote was almost solid in its favor, it was defeated. "For a tax to build a court-house " there were 394 votes, and against this branch of the proposition, 1,101 votes. The friends of the measure were in nowise discouraged by this result, so they began at once to agitate the question again and to secure its submission to the people at the next election in October, 1865. So at the meeting of the board of supervisors on the 5th day of September, 1865, Supervisor Ball introduced the following resolution, which was adopted:
Resolved, by the Board of Supervisors of Warren county, That there be submitted to the voters of said county, at the October election, 1865, the question of building a court-house at the county seat of said county, and also the question of a tax of forty thousand dollars with which to build said court-house. The question shall be submitted in the following form: "For a court-house," " Against a court-house," "For an annual tax to build court- house," "Against tax to build court-house." Said tax, if voted to be levied as hereinafter pro- vided by said Board of Supervisors, and that the clerk be directed to give necessary notice for the purpose of carrying out the intent of this resolution.
The submission of the questions at the October election, resulted as fol- lows, according to the official canvass of the votes, by the board the 16th of October, 1865: "For a court-house," 1353 votes; "Against a court- house," 423 votes; "For an annual tax to build a court-house," 1392 votes; "Against a tax to build a court-house," 392 votes.
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375:
HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
On January 6th, 1866, the following resolution was adopted:
Resolved, by the Board of Supervisors of Warren county, That the committee on court- house be, and they are hereby, authorized to enter into and perfect a contract with some suit- able contractor for the erection of a court-house in Indianola, on the plan now adopted by the board, provided they can contract by the issue of bonds not exceeding forty thousand dollars in amount; and be it further provided that in case a contract cannot be effected on the plan above referred, when the specifications shall be received, then said committee are hereby authorized to contract on an abridged plan; and said committee are hereby authorized to have issued honds drawing eight per cent interest; to have twenty thousand (dollars) issued within the first year, and twenty thousand (dollars) within the second year. Said bonds shall be issued by the clerk of the board of supervisors by the order of said committee, and bonds to the amount of $11,000 shall become due by March, 1867, and $7,000 shall become due by March, 1868, and $7,000 by March, 1869, and $8,000 by March, 1870, and the re- mainder shall become due in 1871.
On the 8th of June, 1866, the following appears of record:
The undersigned committee on public buildings would respectfully report to the Board of Supervisors of Warren county, Iowa, that on the 6th day of February, 1866, we met at Indianola, and examined the abridged plan for a court-house in Warren county, submitted by C. A. Dunham, architect, and after due deliberation ordered the same to be open for sealed proposals until Monday, the 2d day of April, 1866, at which time we met and awarded the contract to Jacob Reichard, of Marion county, Iowa, for the sum of thirty-seven thous- and and fifty dollars for the contract, plans and specifications in the clerk's office. The said . Jacob Reichard gave hond to the county in the penal sum of twenty thousand dollars for the. faithful performance of said contract, with securities which your committee considered amply sufficient, which bond we submit to the board for approval. We also recommend the board to change the rate of interest on the court-house bonds from eight to ten per cent per annum, believing that it would be a saving of money to the county in the end.
(Signed)
JAMES LAVERTY, N. GUTHRIE, W. J. COCHRANE, Committee.
The foregoing report was received, and the recommendations therein adopted by the Board, with instructions that the clerk issue the bonds of the county, for the court-honse, to draw ten per cent interest.
On the 17th of July thereafter, the following resolution appears:
Resolved, by the Board of Supervisors, That the court-house committee be required to contract with the court-house builder, Mr. Reichard, to enlarge the same to original plan shown to the board at the January session, 1866, the same being about 109 feet in length, provided they can contract for the work at the same rate as that already let out.
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