Clipped from US, Ohio, Athens, Athens Messenger and Herald , March 4, 1897
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* t city. According to an act passed by tl *• Ohio legislature on April Jd, isss,•ferenee was given soldier*, sailors and . rirtes in appointments or employment. T;.is law applied toa)l soldiers who fought ..r the I”11ion in the late rebellion and . - n were honorably discharged. When j •act passed it was found that no penalty j v; - attached for the violation of it, and j sequently wasof.no force. On March I !*%. this law was amended and a pe n-1 tv was fixed for its violation. 1-liortly aft^r JMen Moore appliod fori v • position as night policeman of Nelson- j . David Wallace \v;e appointed to j* nusition bv Mavor Buckle\ with the : icuvrenco of tlte councilmen. fr. S. |*: sser, John Pattern. (J. s. Wilson. L. W. j drtnm, J. M. Parker and .1. W. John-k' . For this alleged unlawful appoint-j » nt the mayor and councilmen were ar-1 ted and trieii before Ksquire J. J. Lane , *' Neisotiviile. The trial resulted in each■ ug required to give bond in the sum oi- ‘o for his appearance at the May termcourt. PW. On the bth of May the ..nd jury of Athens county returned an ■ictment against Mayor Buckley and ! the six councilmen.Just nine days later, May Pth, the* ndaur* filed a demurrer to the in- j• tment. The case was postponed from u- to time, and at the November termourt. it was again brought up for con-- -ration. The case was argued by the, use is lor the defense and prosecution,I not until Thursdav of last week was cordon flhallv rendered. In his decision »ge Coultrap sustained the demurrer ISKXATOK J. B. IT)d by the defendants. Mayor Buckley 1 the councilmen, and held that the law -Mug preference to soldiers, is uncon-: tutimial. His grounds for sustaining objection to the indictment are that i ■ legislature has no right to deprive an *«. utive ofticer of the appointive power; -t the act is a piece of classlegislation,■ d that it unwarrantably abridges the lt;rogatives of an executive ofticer. In dering his decision Judge Coultrap s ‘ The facts stated in the indictment not constitute a punishable offense by »e law 4t the state of Ohio, and that the* v of March rd. IstMJ, entitled an act t4end the act passed April 2kl, lsss, en-fied *ui act 1give preference of ap-.ntment «»r employment tlt;» honorably charged S4»ldiers§, sailors and marine#o fought for the Union in the late aelllon, under which the Indictment is aid, is unconstitutional and void.”his decision, then, settles the question ‘ar ,is tip* court ks concerned, but it b•hable that the case will be appealed toigher court.Demurrer to the Indictment AgainstNelsonville’s Mayor isSustained.,T. ‘nr Coultrap Holds That tho Act tiiviug lrrrrmirr to Soldiers In Appointments Is Unconstitutionaland Void.ommon pleas court was convened but r *hort time Thursday morning, with .[ Ige Coultrap on the bench, and tlienadjourned until Monday..! ;lge Coultrap rendered a decision in the c;eof the state of Ohio against Mayor Asher Buckley, et al.. of Nelsonville, for cv lawfully appointing a policeman of that Pity. In April. ISM, Eden Moore, a resi-d it of Nelsonvtlle, presented a written i;lication to the mayor and council for A • appointment as night policeman of
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