Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 44, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 February 1916 — HIGH SCHOOL FOR UNION TP. ORDERED [ARTICLE]

HIGH SCHOOL FOR UNION TP. ORDERED

Judge Hanley Holds For Plaintiffs In Proceeding Mandating Trustee Hammerton. . The proceeding begun some weeks ago by R. L. Budd and County Superintendent Lamson seeking to mandate Trustee Hammerton, of Union township, to build a high school building in Union township, came up for trial this Monday before Judge Hanley and Attorney John A. Dunalp appeared for the plaintiff and Attorneys W. L. Wood and Geo. A. Williams for the trustee, who objects to the erection of the school house for the reason that a very small per cent of the taxpayers of the township seem to want the building, owing to the great expense of its erection and maiftte/ance and the small number liable to use it.

The law clearly imposes the duty on a trustee to build a high school when there have been a certain number of graduates from the township and’ivhen there is no high school within a certain number of mile*. Union township presents the conditions which the law says require a trustee to erect a high school. The taxpayers have not signified in any that they want a high school until the mandamus proceeding was started by Mr. Budd. Judge Hanley held for the plaintiff and ordered that he proceed to secure a site and erect a high school. The defendant made motion for a new trial and failing in this will take an appeal. It is believed the higher court will declare the law unconstitutional as it leaves the taxpayers or residents of a township no right of remonstrance. The law was one of the freaks of the legislature and should be repealed and probably will be by the next legislature and an appeal will probably not be reported on until after the legislature convenes, so there is not much chance of the taxpayers being burdened by the cost of a new building.