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Would Oust City Officials

SWIFT, MORSE, CASTEEL, BILLINGS, ISBELL, HATFIELD, MCNEAR, HINKELMAN, MARKLAND, BRADY, SEARS, DARROW

Posted By: Ken Wright (email)
Date: 3/31/2014 at 20:15:12

Bellevue Leader, Nov. 19, 1925

WOULD OUST CITY OFFICIALS
Proceedings filed in District Court against officials of Maquoketa
Bad state of affairs said to exist at county seat-ill feeling engendered

According to the Maquoketa Excelsior, ouster proceedings were filed Friday in the District Court against F. J. Swift, Mayor, G. O. Morse, City Manager, who is also City Clerk, Councilmen Walter Casteel, Harry Billings and E. P. Hatfield, the signers to the petition being Frank McNear, Carl Hinkelman, Park Marland, Scott Brady and Frank Sears, all citizens of Maquoketa. The charges in the petition claim willful misconduct, habitual neglect and refusal to perform the duties of their respective offices. It is specially charged that the city council illegally fired the city attorney in 1924 and have been without one since that time. It is also charged that a large fee was paid Clarence Darrow-he of Tennessee's monkey trial fame-for advice concerning the legality of the bonds to be issued, and that Mayor Swift, in accepting a salary of $400.00 per year, has collected illegally several hundred dollars during the past year or two that does not belong to him with exception of about $70 in fines.

There have been many reasons given in the different daily papers around this part of the state concerning the action of the petitioners in this matter, and regardless of which is right or which is wrong, the fact still remains that a real legal battle is now on which will doubtless be an extended affair and which will cost somebody a lot of money and engender bitter feelings. The case will doubtless come up for trial at the November term of court, but in all probability will not be tried until a later date. The local attorney for the petitioners is C. W. Farr, while the accused have retained the services of Ely & Gregory.


 

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