People ex rel. Bartlett v. Vass

• Decision Date: 14 April 1927
• Docket Number: No. 17054.,17054.
• Citation: 155 N.E. 854,325 Ill. 64
• Parties: PEOPLE ex rel. BARTLETT et al. v. VASS et al.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

325 Ill. 64

155 N.E. 854

PEOPLE ex rel. BARTLETT et al.

v.VASS et al.

No. 17054.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Feb. 16, 1927.

Rehearing Denied April 14, 1927.

Suit by the People, on the relation of Charles Bartlett and others, against James H. Vass and others.Judgment for defendants and petitioners appeal.

Affirmed.

Dunn and Thompson, JJ., dissenting.Appeal from Circuit Court, Hancock County; Walter C. Frank, judge.

Homer H. Williams, State's Atty., of Hamilton, and Scofield & Bell, of Carthage, for appellants.

O'Harra, O'Harra & O'Harra, and Hartzell, Cavanagh & Martin, all of Carthage, for appellees.

HEARD, J.

By an amended information filed in the circuit court of Hancock county the relators (appellants here) challenged the validity of the organization of Dallas City community high school district No. 308, in Hancock and Henderson counties.To the amended information a plea was filed by appellees, in which they set up in detail the various steps taken in the organization of the district and their election as directors thereof.A formal replication was filed to the plea.A trial of the issues before the court resulted in a judgment in favor of appellees, from which an appeal has been taken to this court.

[1] Several technical questions are raised by appellants as to the sufficiency of the original petition filed with the county superintendent of schools of Hancock county.The statute in force at the time of the organization of the district, so far as it pertains to the petition, provided:

‘Upon the receipt of a petition signed by fifty or more legal voters residing in any contiguous and compact territory, whether in the same or different townships, described in the petition, the county superintendent of schools of the county in which the territory or the greater part thereof is situated, shall order an election to be held for the purpose of voting for or against the proposition to establish a community high school, by posting notices for at least ten days in ten of the most public places throughout the said territory.’Laws of 1919, § 89a, p. 908.

The petition, in fact, contained more than 50 signatures, and contained a correct description of the territory.At its filing the petition included as a part thereof two affidavits, and from the petition, including the statements and the affidavits, the county superintendent of schools found that the petition was signed by more than 50 legal voters residing in the territory described in the petition, that the territory was compact and contiguous, and that the greater part of the territory was in Hancock county, and he entered such findings upon his official records.The requirements of the statute as to a petition were met, and the county superintendent of schools of Hancock county had jurisdiction to order the election.

[2] It is next contended by appellants that proper notice of the election was not given.There is no question but that the requisite number of notices were posted, and that the notices were sufficient as to form.The county superintendent of schools of Hancock county made and filed in his office his affidavit as to posting the notices in ten of the most public places throughout the territory, specifying the places.He also filed in his office his certificate of such posting, and made an official record of his findings in the premises.The evidence shows a sufficient compliance with the statute as to notice.

[3] A large amount of evidence was taken on the controverted question as to whether or not the territory comprising the district was compact and contiguous, and as to whether or not Dallas City, where the high school was located, was a community center.The district as organized contains about thirty-eight and a quarter sections of land, about six and a half of these sections being in Henderson county, and the remainder in Hancock county.The district at its widest point east and west is eight and a half miles, at its widest point north and south is six miles; at its narrowest point north and south is approximately three and a half miles, and at another point north and south is four and a half miles.The district borders upon the Mississippi river, and follows its contour along a portion of the western and northern boundaries of the district.The high school building which is now being used in the district is located in Dallas City, which lies about half way between the east and west lines of the district and on the northern side of the district, next to the Mississippi river.Dallas City in 1920 had a population of 1,140.Pontoosuc, which also lies within the district two miles west of Dallas, has a population of 199.Lomax, with 211 population, is east, and somewhat north, of the district, and six or seven miles distant from Dallas.Colusa, with 202 population, is...