Arthur County NeArchives History .....Arthur County "Omitted Figure May Cost County Dearly" January 23, 1914 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ne/nefiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Debra Crosby http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00010.html#0002467 April 30, 2018, 4:50 pm Lincoln Daily News Fri Jan 23, 1914 OMITTED FIGURE MAY COST COUNTY DEARLY ------------------ Election Recorder Left Out "1" When He Copied Returns and McPherson County Stands Chance to Lose Half Its Area ------------------- Years ago--some twenty-one, to be accurate--there was an election held in the counties of Arthur and McPherson, out in the sandhills. It was to determine whether Arthur should voluntarily efface itself from the map and retire in favor of McPherson. There were not very many persons resident in that section, and the vote in Arthur was eleven for and two against annexation to McPherson, while all of the fifty-two voters in McPherson voted in the affirmative. Arthur was declared duly annexed, and ever since then there has been no Arthur county on the map of Nebraska. A year or so ago some ambitious folks over in the eliminated county discovered that the records show that but one vote was cast in Arthur in favor of annexation, and they concluded that as there were two votes against, the job had not been legally done. They proceeded to revive it. Wherefore it was that the supreme court was called upon today to determine whether or not there is in Nebraska any such county as Arthur. The action is one brought by Attorney General Martin questioning the right of a set of officers selected to govern that county, the organization of it having been authorized by the last legislature. At bottom the suit involves whether or not the annexation of Arthur county by McPherson county in 1891 was legal. If it was then there was no Arthur county whose organization the last legislature could authorize. Prior to 1887, the territory west of Logan county and north of Lincoln and Keith counties had been unorganized territory, and not within the boundaries of any county. The legislature of 1887 by two separate acts, established the counties of Arthur and McPherson. A short time thereafter the county of McPherson became fully organized. After the organization of McPherson county, Arthur county became attached to it for election, judicial and revenue purposes, as provided by a law which was in force at that time. On March 17, 1891 there was presented to the board of county commissioners of McPherson county, a petition from citizens of Arthur requesting that Arthur county be attached to McPherson county. On the presentation of the petition, the board ordered an election. This resulted in fifty-three votes in the affirmative and two in the negative--the vote in Arthur, as recorded, being one for annexation and two against. For twenty-two years Arthur has been off the map, while McPherson remained there. The code commission that revised the statues, with the idea that there were no unorganized counties in Nebraska, left out of its report to the legislature of its revised statute the general law relating to the organization of unorganized counties, and their report was adopted. Somebody conceived the idea that Arthur county was still an unorganized county and in order to provide for its organization, the act of April 23, 1913, was passed. Since the passage of that act, the governor has appointed county commissioners for Arthur county, designated a place for a county seat, and an election for permanent county officers has been held, and a full set of officers elected for Arthur county, and they are assuming to perform the duties pertaining to such offices. The attorney general's contention is that the territory named as Arthur county by the legislature in 1887, is part of McPherson county. That it was properly annexed to McPherson county and became a part of said McPherson county, January 1, 1892, and has been a part of McPherson county ever since then and that it has not been severed from McPherson county by any legal methods provided by the constitution and laws. Not Legally Done. The respondents, who are the newly-chosen officer, deny that Arthur county ever became a part of McPherson county. They claim it has been an unorganized county since the act of the legislature of 1887 and has been annexed to McPherson county only for election. Judicial and revenue purposes: the defendants claim as to the election of 1891 for the annexation of Arthur county to McPherson county: That the commissioners of McPherson county in calling such an election acted without authority. That there was no statute permitting the board to exercise such authority. That the board, before calling such election, failed to find that the petition from the unorganized county of Arthur contained the names of a majority of the legal voters within said county, and that therefore the board failed to obtain jurisdiction to call such election. That by attaching Arthur county to McPherson county the area of Arthur county is reduced to less than four hundred square miles, contrary to the constitution. They admit that such question was voted upon, but deny that it was carried by a majority of the votes of both counties, and say that it carried in McPherson county by a vote of fifty-two for and nothing against, and two against and one for in Arthur county. The state submitted evidence of residents to show that the folks in Arthur were anxious to be annexed in 1891; that since then many county officers have been elected from the old Arthur county section, three of the present officers of McPherson being residents of that art; that as a matter of fact eleven Arthur county voters cast affirmative ballots instead of but one, with but two against. Mr. Martin also claims that regardless of the question of whether or not there is a clerical error in the return of the canvassers to the election of 1891, the declaration by the county board, that Arthur county, became, by that election a part of McPherson county, and the organization which took place, thereafter was ratified by the people of the county and by the state. That where a county has been illegally organized, or has not challenged the character for years the acts of the county and its officials cannot be repudiated. He points out that the supreme court, in a criminal case in which this point was raised by the defendant held that the district court of McPherson county had jurisdiction to try the case although the crime was committed in the Arthur end. Not for Arthur to Say. Mr. Martin contends also that as the petition for annexation came from residents of Arthur, it was a question for McPherson county electors only to decide and the law did not require the electors of Arthur to vote. He also contends the act of 1913 is local and special legislation and therefore unconstitutional. The respondents say that if the court should decide that the special act of the legislature of 1913 was unconstitutional, the general statutes providing for the organization of counties would still be in effect. The special act of 1913 was an exact copy of the previous statutes for organizing a county, and therefore, when Arthur county complied with the provision of the general statue which provided for such county organization. In Sandhill Country. They concluded their argument with these declarations: "We believe that the equities in this case are decidedly in favor of the respondents. The territory composed of Arthur and McPherson counties is a narrow strip twenty-four miles wide and some seventy miles long. It is entirely sand hill country and very difficult to travel. The legislature recognizing this condition, divided it into two counties for the necessary convenience of the inhabitants of this territory. They therefore, established two counties out of this narrow strip. But before Arthur county is populated or has the necessary inhabitants to organize a county government, the county of McPherson attempts to grab this territory for itself. As has been before stated the biggest part of Arthur county has been reserved from homestead entry, being part of the national forest reserve. This has kept down the development of that county. Also under the old homestead law which limited a man to a quarter section. There was practically no homesteading in that county. And it was not until after the KinKaid homestead law that there was any attempt to homestead this land. The people who have now gone into this territory and are the ones who are developing it, are at least entitled to the protection of the constitutional rights which prohibited the changing of the boundaries of a county without a majority vote of the people thereof, and agains reducing said county to less than the amount prescribed by the constitution. Is the court going to permit a handful of men to disregard the provisions and intent of the legislative acts? Arthur county has never had an opportunity to organize as have other counties. Before it began to be settled, it was, by an illegal election, made a part of McPherson county. The intention of the legislature has been absolutely defeated. They provided for a county and they expected that such county should at least have the opportunity to become an organized county, and never anticipated or provided that their acts should be changed by a few people residing upon this territory. We believe, therefore, that the court should at least give Arthur county a chance to organize as provided by the legislature of this state. "It is not contended that if Arthur county is now declared a county entitled to be organized, that it will disturb any titles to land or that it will cause any inconvenience or injustice to anyone. We believe, therefore, that the respondents in this action are entitled to hold the offices to which they have been elected, and are entitled to a decree that Arthur county was never legally annexed to McPherson county but is now entitled to a county organization of it's own." File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ne/arthur/history/other/arthurco11gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/nefiles/ File size: 10.5 Kb