City Council Abolishes Poundmaster Role to End Lawsuit
In a four-minute legislative maneuver, the Walla Walla City Council eliminated the position of poundmaster to neutralize an ongoing legal dispute.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Within the brief space of four minutes, the council last night abolished the office of poundmaster and wriggled out of any possible connection with the suit recently brought by E. R. Harding against H. A. Crowell, seeking to oust the latter gentleman from the office. To the few spectators present, the action of the board came with little surprise, as the ordinance had been introduced at a previous meeting. When the matter came up, Councilman Smith moved that the ordinance come up as if it had never been discussed, clearing a path for final passage. Glasford, Boyer, and Martin voted against the measure, but it passed by a one-vote majority, with McLean, Brewer, Smith, and McKean in favor. The action will likely end Mr. Harding’s suit against Mr. Crowell.
“Within the brief space of four minutes the council last night abolished the office of poundmaster and wriggled out of any possible connection with the suit.”
Local government bodies using procedural loopholes to evade litigation remains a staple of municipal politics. This 1903 maneuver effectively killed a suit by legislating the object of the dispute out of existence.
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