History of Stearns County, Minnesota, Volume I, Part 68

Author: Mitchell, William Bell, 1843-
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago : H. S. Cooper
Number of Pages: 964

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E. H. Morse and L. R. Swift were admitted together and practiced together

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for a time. Mr. Swift is still living in St. Cloud and is now city assessor, but has not been in practice for some years.

D. C. Van Camp is a native of West Virginia, was first admitted to the bar in Indiana and came to Sauk Centre in 1882, at which time he was ad- mitted. He is now in practice at Sauk Centre.

M. C. Kelsey settled at Sauk Centre and is still practicing in that city. He was born in Pennsylvania and came to this county in 1867, being then seven years old. He was a member of the first class which graduated from the Sauk Centre High School. After graduating he studied law with Scarle & Storey and Searle & Tolman.

D. W. Bruckart was one of the picturesque figures of St. Cloud for a good many years. He was an able jury lawyer and an all-round good fellow. He was associated with George Reynolds at one time and also with R. B. Brower. He removed from St. Cloud to the North Pacific Coast, where he died some years since. He was at one time mayor of St. Cloud.

William Westerman was for many years the general agent of the Mc- Cormick Harvester Machine Company and while he never practiced on his own account, he did much of the legal business for his company. He died in California in the spring of 1914.

Harry S. Locke is now practicing in St. Paul. He served for many years as city justice in St. Cloud.

C. A. Lindbergh was a student in the office of Searle & Searle and was admitted here although he practiced at Little Falls. He is the present mem- ber of Congress from the Sixth District.

George W. Stewart was one of the very able lawyers of Stearns county at a time when the Stearns county bar was recognized as the strongest bar in the state outside of the three large cities. Mr. Stewart was graduated from the State Normal School, taught for a time and then studied law in the office of D. B. Searle, with whom he was at one time associated as a part- ner. He was a diligent worker and a stubborn fighter, albeit he was a very pleasant man in the trial of a lawsuit, being always courteous and genial. He was a member of the board of education for twenty years. He was city at- torney for a number of years and served as a member of the State Reforma- tory Board till it was displaced by the Board of Control.

Mr. Stewart died very suddenly while hunting, October 8, 1911.

Mr. Stewart was the fourth eminent member of this bar to be stricken in apparent health, the other three being Judge Searle, Judge Calhoun and George H. Reynolds.

Ripley B. Brower was for eleven years associated with Mr. Stewart as a partner under the firm name of Stewart & Brower. He is a son of J. V. Brower, who has played a very prominent part in the history of Minnesota. He is a graduate of the State Normal School as well as of the Minnesota Uni- versity and is one of the leading practitioners of the present time, being an exceptionally able jury lawyer. Mr. Brower served two terms in the state senate, where he was counted as a leader and was for a short time city attorney of St. Cloud.

George H. Reynolds was a son of Judge Reynolds of the Eleventh Judi-

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cial District, of Minnesota, and was a Michigan University man. He began practice at Alexandria as a partner of the Honorable Knute Nelson, now United States senator. After coming to St. Cloud he was associated first with Mr. Bruckart, then with Mr. Stewart, and finally with Judge Roeser. Mr. Reynolds was not only a first-class lawyer but he took a lively interest in the higher things of life and was literary to a marked degree. He never served in public office, except as a member of the Library board, but he always took an active part in the affairs of the community and his death was a dis- tinet loss. On the day he died, he had argued a motion in a matter then pending in District Court. He went home at noon apparently in his usual health; an hour later he was dead.

George S. Spencer never practiced law but he was one of the well-known and well-beloved citizens of St. Cloud until he moved to New England some four years ago.

P. B Gorman was county superintendent of schools for some years be- fore he began to practice law. He served several terms in the legislature and has always been specially interested in civic affairs. He is the sole remain- ing veteran of the Civil War, in the ranks of the Stearns County Bar.

E. W. Taylor was a son of Oscar Taylor and is now practicing in Kansas City.

Since the death of D. T. Calhoun it has been difficult to place with exact- ness the leader of the Stearns County Bar, but that distinction would prob- ably be conceded at the present writing to John D. Sullivan. Mr. Sullivan is a Canadian by birth and was educated in Canada. He was elected to the office of county attorney in 1890. Oscar Taylor was then county attorney and denied the right of Mr. Sullivan to take the office because he was not qualified under the constitution to hold the office at the time of the election in November. Mr. Sullivan conceded that on account of his Canadian birth he was not qualified in November to hold the office but contended that he would not under the statute take the office until the following January, and that before that time he had complied with the naturalization laws and so was eligible. The matter was considered by the Supreme Court, Taylor vs. Sullivan, 45 Minn., 309, and is one of the leading cases. They decided that he must have been qualified at the time of the election in order to hold the office, and that the subsequent qualification was not sufficient. As a result of this decision Capt. Taylor held over. At the next election, however, Mr. Sullivan was elected and was re-elected for five successive terms. He was city attorney for some years and is now serving his second term in the State senate, where he is recognized as one of the strong men of that body.

Charles W. Hoyt was a brother of Dr. F. A. Hoyt, of St. Cloud. After practicing in St. Cloud and Duluth he moved to Spokane, where he died some years ago.

T. H. Van Dyke left St. Cloud shortly after his admission and is now practicing at Long Prairie.

L. S. Thomas practiced in St. Cloud a few years and then went to Seattle. Charles H. Foot was at Royalton for a time, and is now in Montana.

W. H. Thompson never practiced on his own account but he was for a

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good many years in the employ of the McCormick Harvesting Machine Com- pany and the International after the reorganization, in charge of collections.

John E. C. Robinson was born in Ireland in 1865. After coming to this country he served in the United States army; and in the Ute campaign in New Mexico and Colorado, he was made first sergeant of his company. He studied for the priesthood but decided to take up law instead, and registered in the office of Taylor, Calhoun & Rhodes. He was a member of the library board, city assessor, mayor of St. Cloud four terms, state senator and city attorney. He died in February, 1912.

There were a number of lawyers who have at one time or another prac- ticed in this county who were admitted in other counties.

Perhaps the most picturesque among thiese was H. L. Gordon, known as "Thundering Gordon." He came to St. Cloud from Wright county and was very successful as a criminal lawyer. He was not only a lawyer but a poet, and some years ago published a volume of his writings, among which are a number of poems written while in St. Cloud. He is now living in Los Angeles.

N. H. Miner was for many years the leader of the Sauk Centre Bar and one of the strong men of the county. He was born in Vermont in 1833, ad- mitted to the bar in 1856 in New York, and died at Sauk Centre, in 1905. Mr. Miner was a member of the famous First Minnesota Regiment in the Civil War, but did not come to Sauk Centre until 1866. From that time until his death, a period of nearly forty years, he practiced law in this county. D. T. Calhoun was, as a young man, associated with Mr. Miner, and speaking of him, Mr. Calhoun said: "If, as has been said, the law is a jealous mistress, she had no cause for complaint against N. H. Miner. During his long life he devoted himself to the business of his profession and to no other. Finan- cial rewards seem to have had but little temptation for him. He had a fine legal mind, was modest, unassuming, and though non-assertive for the most part, no lawyer was ever more loyal to the interests of his clients. No man ever left Sauk Centre more generally and genuinely regretted." Mr. Miner was at one time mayor of Sauk Centre and served two terms in the legisla- ture.

Andrew C. Robertson was, for many years, a practicing lawyer in St. Cloud. He was extremely methodical in all his work and conscientious to a fault. From choice he never appeared in a contested case, but by reason of his painstaking care in all details he acquired a large clientage in probate practice and real estate law. He removed to Los Gatos, California, some years ago on account of his health and died there.

James A. Martin, now practicing in St. Paul, was for twenty years or thereabouts, a prominent figure in local and state politics. He was gradu- a'ted from the St. Cloud State Normal School and for a time taught in that institution. He was city clerk and city justice for a number of years and in active charge of several political campaigns. He was executive clerk to Governor Van Sant and for a time a member of the State Board of Control. After the Collins campaign for governor Mr. Martin opened an office for the

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practice of law in St. Cloud, the firm being Collins, Martin & White, but soon he moved to St. Paul, where he has a very good practice.

The latest man from abroad is W. W. Barron, formerly of Brainerd, who came to Albany two years ago to conduct the county seat fight in behalf of that enterprising village, and still remains there.

BAR ASSOCIATION.

On April 25, 1885, pursuant to a call issued by A. Barto, L. R. Storey, N. H. Miner, Oscar Taylor, and D. B. Searle, practically all the lawyers then practicing in this county met and organized the Bar Association of Stearns County. The meeting was called to order by Captain Taylor, Governor Barto was temporary chairman, and after the adoption of a constitution and by- laws, officers were chosen as follows: N. H. Miner, president ; F. E. Searle and L. T. Storey, vice-presidents; O. W. Baldwin, secretary; Peter Brick, treas- urer. The object of the association, as stated by the constitution, is: "To cultivate the science of jurisprudence, to promote proper reform in the laws of this state; to facilitate the administration of justice; to elevate the stand- ard of integrity, honor and courtesy in the legal profession; to encourage a thorough and liberal education; and to cherish a spirit of brotherhood amongst the members thereof." For a period of something over ten years regular annual meetings were held, at which various matters of interest and value to the legal fraternity were discussed in papers and addresses, and the association took an active interest in promoting the objects stated in its constitution. A banquet was a regular feature of the annual meetings and the following account clipped from a newspaper of the period indicates that these occasions must have been both pleasant and instructive :

"In the evening twenty of the legal lights attended a banquet at the West house in honor of the memorable occasion. Col. Peteler had prepared a very tempting array of good things with a little something at intervals to sharpen the appetite, and a very happy evening was passed. F. E. Searle presided as toast master and called upon the following gentlemen: Judge Collins, "The Judiciary ;" H. Jenkins, of Alexandria, "The Bench and Bar;" Senator Waite, "The Lawyer and the Statesman;" the Hon. D. B. Searle, "The Federal Court;" L. T. Storey, "The Senior Bar;" Capt. Taylor, "The Junior Bar;" D. W. Bruckart, "The Bar of Stearns County;" Col. C. D. Kerr, of St. Paul, "The Seventh Judicial District;" Col. Westerman, "The Bar at the Bar;" the Hon. A. Barto, "The Ladies." The other attorneys present were: Messrs. Steel, M. D. Taylor, Miner, Baldwin, Locke, Tolman, Gates, Street, and Judge L. A. Evans."

Following Mr. Miner the following have acted as president under the old regime : Oscar Taylor, D. B. Searle, A. Barto, D. W. Bruckart, Theodore Bruener, D. T. Calhoun, John D. Sullivan, and George H. Reynolds. The secretaries during the same period were: O. W. Baldwin, Hubert Hansen, E. G. Mills, R. B. Brower, J. E. C. Robinson, James A. Martin, and John A. Roeser.

From 1895 down to December, 1914, no regular meetings were held. The association was called together on the occasions of the death of members

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and a few times for social occasions, most notable among these being the banquet tendered to Judge Taylor upon the occasion of his retirement from the District Bench to become Commissioner of the Supreme Court. Aside from these occasional meetings the association was inactive, though the regu- lar organization was kept up for many years by George H. Reynolds.

On December 23, 1914, at the suggestion of Judge Roeser, the association was resuscitated. R. B. Brower was elected president and James E. Jenks secretary.

An effort is now being made to obtain for St. Cloud the annual conven- tion of the State Bar Association for 1915 and it is hoped that in June, 1915, there may be a regular old-fashioned annual meeting with a feast of reason and a flow of soul.

LEADING CASES.

Stearns county cases appear with considerable frequency in the State Supreme Court Reports after Volume 12. Some are of considerable impor- tance as leading cases and others are of interest by reason of the peculiar facts involved. An interesting and instructive volume might be written re- viewing these cases but the compass of this chapter forbids more than a passing glance at a few.

The county of Stearns, as a municipal corporation, does not often appear as a litigant in the printed reports. Most of the cases where it does are tax cases. One, however, out of the ordinary, is County of Stearns vs. St. Cloud, Mankato and Austin Railroad Company, 26 Minnesota, 425, in which it was held that the county had the right to enjoin a railroad company from con- structing and maintaining its road along and through an established and traveled highway.

The City of St. Cloud appears as a litigant in a variety of cases. One of these is Wright vs. City of St. Cloud, 54 Minnesota, 94. In the opinion in this case the rule is practically established that if one insists on living in a country where weather conditions are as uncertain as they are here, he must take a chance on what will happen, and cannot recover from the city for in- juries sustained in falling on a slippery sidewalk.

One of the most important decisions involving the City of St. Cloud is that reported in 88 Minnesota, 329-City of St. Cloud vs. Water, Light and Power Company. This was an action to annul the franchise granted to the defendant, for the reason that the water furnished to the city and its in- habitants was not pure. The franchise ordinance provided that the water should be obtained from the Mississippi or Sauk rivers, or from springs, and be filtered or purified before being pumped into the mains. The water company contended that the city must show a standard of purity established by the State Board of Health and failure to meet that standard before forfeiture could be enforced; and that the city had put up with the same kind of water for fifteeen years, during which time the company had greatly extended and improved its plant at great expense, so that it could not now be heard to complain. The Supreme court held with the city, that the water company must furnish pure water or quit; and that it was not necessary to have specifications from the

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Board of Health. The result of the litigation was that the city itself took over the waterworks plant at an extremely favorable figure.

Another branch of the same controversy was involved in Sykes vs. City of St. Cloud, 60 Minnesota, 442. Here the court held that the failure to supply pure water did not relieve the city from paying for water furnished for fire protection.

Powell vs. Heisler, 45 Minnesota, 549, involves an interesting situation. In 1878 a special law was passed enabling the town of Lake Henry to issue town bonds for the purpose of raising money to supply seed wheat to suf- ferers from the ravages of grasshoppers. These bonds were issued and sold to Charles F. Powell by Martin Heisler, acting as chairman of a committee for the town. The money except $256 was used by Heisler to buy seed wheat, which was distributed to the Lake Henry farmers. Powell sued Heisler to recover the whole sum, but the court held he could only recover the amount not spent for wheat, as he was not individually responsible.

Another bond case of interest is Rumsey vs. Sauk Centre, 59 Minnesota, 316. In this case the town of Sauk Centre issued bonds for $12,000 to aid in the construction of the Little Falls and Dakota Railroad Company's line. When the village of Sauk Centre was organized in 1875, the legislature ap- portioned the burden of these bonds between the town and village in pro- portion to taxable values. In 1889 the city of Sauk Centre was organized out of the territory formerly occupied by the village, and 880 acres of the town outside the village. It was contended by the city of Sauk Centre that the special law apportioning the burden of the bonds was void; and further that it was impossible to ascertain what part the 880 acres in the city, but not in the village, should bear. The Supreme court held the city liable.

One of the most hotly contested cases in the records is Will vs. Sisters of the Order of St. Benedict, 67 Minnesota, 335. This case went through six different courts before final determination and is a leading case. Sister M. Julia Will was a member of the Order of St. Benedict at St. Joseph. Prior to her death she made a will, giving all her property to the order. This was contested by her brother, Frederick J. Will, on the ground that the will was made pursuant to a vow of the order that she should serve without compensa- tion and give all her property to the order; and further that it was witnessed by two sisters of the order, and that as they were members of the corpora- tion and therefore interested, the corporation could not take. The Supreme court held that since the witnessing sisters had under their vows given all their property present and future to the order, they could have no such per- sonal interest as would disqualify them as witnesses. It further held that the vows of the order were taken freely and voluntarily after three years of probation, and that there was nothing to indicate that she would not have made the same will in any event, so that the making of the will pursuant to the vows of the order was no indication that it was made under undue influ- ence or duress.

Perhaps the most celebrated case from Stearns county is that of Kray vs. Muggli, 77 Minnesota, 231 and 84 Minnesota, 90. This arose out of an attempt of some forty farmers living along the Sauk river above the Cold

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Spring dam to remove the dam, thus draining and reclaiming a vast quan- tity of land. In one phase or another practically all the lawyers in the county were involved in this law suit. The main action was tried twice in the Dis- trict court and twice in the Supreme court. It was eventually held that the dam could not be removed. Judge Searle, when the case was first tried in the District court, held that the dam could not be removed. On the first appeal Judge Scarle was reversed on a three to two decision, the majority holding that the dam could be taken out. Judge Collins, then on the Supreme bench, wrote a very vigorous dissenting opinion, insisting that the dam could not be removed. The case was sent back for a new trial and after the sec- ond trial in District court, was again appealed. On the second appeal the Supreme court adopted the reasoning of the Stearns county jurists, Judges Collins and Searle, and held that the dam could not be removed. On pages 93 and 94 the court says: "When the action was here on the former appeal it was determined adversely to plaintiff on the theory of comparative equities.

* * * The reasoning of the opinion on the former appeal we are satisfied, * after mature reflection, was erroneous and cannot be followed. * To follow the reasoning of the former decision would result in confusion and flagrant inconsistencies." The dam was built more than forty years before the law suit and the final determination was that the right to maintain the dam was acquired by prescription and that there grew out of the relations beween the parties reciprocal rights and privileges-the right on the part of defendants to maintain the dam, and the right on the part of the plaintiff to insist that it be maintained.

The most recent leading case from Stearns county is State ex rel Stearns County vs. Klasen, 123 Minnesota, 382, which was a proceeding to test the validity of the so-called Mothers' Pension Law The decision sustains the law and outlines the methods of its application. It is of interest to note, as stated in 49 L. R. A., N. S. 597, that this case is the first in the United States in which a law of this kind is passed upon.

CONCLUSION.

In the course of sixty years a multitude of incidents have arisen in con- nection with administration of the courts of this county; some sordid, some dramatic, some humorous, many of more than passing interest. It has been impossible to give in this article much attention to the side lights, which are often more interesting than the main facts. Only an outline account of the courts, the judges, the lawyers and the cases has been attempted.

The writer acknowledges his indebtedness to the practicing lawyers of the county for help in various ways; and to General C. C. Andrews and Gov- ernor C. A. Gilman for accounts of early day conditions and men.

BIOGRAPHY.

Dolson Bush Searle. When in the history of any locality, there is a cer- tain individual who goes his quiet, unostentatious way; conscientiously, faith- fully, cheerfully, following his duty; and by so doing, infuses his own splen- did personality into the very spirit of the community, attains the highest suc-

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cess in his chosen profession, excels in several other lines, and puts into his own life and the lives of those with whom he comes in contact, the fullest and richest of meanings; it becomes the duty of his contemporaries to pre- serve for future generations the details of his career; that young men and young women, in the years to come, studying his aims, motives and results, may be inspired as was he, to make the world a better and happier place in which to live. To do his work day by day, never shirking that which was difficult, to lend a hand wherever help was needed, to give brightness, cheer and succor whenever he found the necessity, even though himself bowed with sorrow and care; to put into every task the best that was in him, to carry everyone a little further along the path than he found them, to bring every venture to a higher development than when he first undertook it; and to do all with the most modest self-effacement-this was the spirit that prompted the career of Dolson Bush Searle, jurist, stock-raiser, and useful citizen. His record was replete with honorable achievement, his character irreproachable, and in his judicial capacity he was acknowledged to have no superior in the state.

Judge Searle came from the sturdiest stock, his two grandfathers, Elijah Searle and John Scott, both of whom were pioneers of Whitehall, New York, having fought in the War of 1812, while two of his great-grandfathers par- ticipated in the Revolutionary and Colonial wars. His father, Almond D. Searle, was a prosperous farmer living near the village of Franklinville, Cattaraugus county, New York. The Searle family is of English descent and was prominent in the history of England, the first Lord-Mayor of London having been a Searle. The mother of the subject of this sketch, Jane Ann (Scott) Searle, was of Scottish extraction, a lincal descendant of Sir Walter Scott, and lived to the good old age of eighty-four years.

Dolson B. Searle was born June 4, 1840, on the family homestead near Franklinville, New York. His boyhood was passed on his father's farm, and in attendance at the district school, as well as in the academy, in his native town, from which he graduated. He was one of the first to respond to the call for men when the Civil War broke out, and enlisted in August, 1861, as a private in Company I, 64th New York Volunteer Infantry. During his term of service, which continued for about two years, he was engaged in the following battles: The Seven Days' Fight Before Richmond, Fair Oaks, Seven Pines, Gaincs' Mills, Savage Station, White Oak Swamp, Malvern Hill, the Second Battle of Bull Run, the Battle of Antietam, and other notable engagements. At the Battle of Fair Oaks he was acting as orderly sergeant of the company and stood close to General O. O. Howard, then in command of the brigade, when that officer lost his arm from an exploding shell, and had a horse shot from under him. Hc helped to carry the general to the rear. Then, the three commissioned officers of his company being disabled, he as- sumed command. The fight began early in the morning and lasted until the middle of the afternoon, when the Confederates were driven from the field at the bayonet point. The losses on both sides were severe, his company went into the fight with eighty men, and only eighteen answered to the roll call at the close. In the spring of 1863 he received his discharge by reason of dis-

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History of Stearns County, Minnesota, Volume I, Part 68

Author: Mitchell, William Bell, 1843- Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Chicago : H. S. Cooper Number of Pages: 964

Author: Mitchell, William Bell, 1843-
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago : H. S. Cooper
Number of Pages: 964