Show THE PROPER PROCEDURE THE question has been asked in connection with our article of feb am on the organization of the new city council what should have been the procedure we will endeavor idt avor to reply and to incidentally show the difference between what was and what should have been dooe and the principles of law and justice involved the members of a a legislative body consisting of rep of the people elected by the people comprise the maw mass of the community I 1 in a a certain sense they are the people in a condensed form now the people are pro pre fumed to know whom they have chosen to make the laws and they have a right to determine the claims of every man pretending to such power no single official no one man no matter what his office may be has a right to take from the people the privilege of judg I 1 ing whom they have chosen as their lawmakers law maken this is the philosophy which underlies the rule that makes parliamentary parl lami neary bates b alies the judges of the election and qualification of their own members in other words the rule makes mabes the people the judges as to whom they have elected to legislate for them trued true questions of this character are often carried into and determined by the courts but the rule must first be applied and exhausted without producing a satisfactory result indeed the courts merely define and enforce the rule the procedure in organizing a newly elected legislative body must be of a character to conform to the above doctrine otherwise the validity or at least the regularity of the organization is open to question almost any gramme pro which recognizes these principles would be unobjectionable so long as it ft allowed tle the body to determine who should be seated not until this has been done can the members properly take the oath of office in tills this city the mayor is the p eirl siding aiding officer of the city Coun council and atts acts until his successor is sworn in so with the members of the council each member holds office and continues to act until his successor cessor is seated mated such are the provisions of the law jaw there to is no break between mayors or councils section 19 of the city charter provides said council shall determine the rulea of its ito own proceedings and be judge of the election and qualification of its own members af now as the old members comprise the council until the new members are seated mated it devolves upon them to determine who are entitled to seats mats they have a right prescribe to the method by which they will proceed and the usual way is to act upon the contested seats last if it be determined to seat the new members one at a time of course the new dew members by a gradual process would become a majority but the old council might decide on the election and qualification of the new members in a body in ease case of a contest the body has an investigation made causes the findings of fact act and law to be laid before it and de determines the matter by vote seating tb the e member whom it concludes to be best entitled to a seat in the organization of the city council on tuesday feb the body was ignored so far as its ita right to judge of the clai claims me of members to seato mats was concerned parliamentary law custom and coia courtesy reesy were utterly disregarded the new recorder without a motion being put or a word being said odd constituted himself a committee on credentials though not a member of the body at all he then rea rendered dered a report upon which the body took no action whatever not a member uttered a word respecting it tile the now new mayor received and adopted it and dictated action in accordance therewith thus usurping the functions of the whole body mr youngs remarks were addressed to the presiding officer because that is the parliamentary method of communicating with the house the mayor made a personal reply and on his own res responsibility ability refused both requests made by mr young instead of so doing he should have asked the pleasure of the house upon each request announcing noun cing that a motion upon the subject was in order T r imagine for a moment what the result would have been of such a course by the presiding officers of the two I 1 auses of the montana legislature latu re d during u ring the contest for seats I 1 in n that bouy body imagine the furore that would be raised were the president of the united states stales senate to declare either the republican or demo lemoi batic claimants clai manto from mon tana to seats in that body entitled thereto without permitting a senator to say a word 1 or cast a vote upon the subject revolution Is a mild word with which to describe such a eom complete overthrow of parliamentary law usage and authority as such a proceeding would involve yet tills this identical proceeding was gone through by mayor scott in the organization of the I liberal city council on february it may well be deemed ominous of evil to fair metropolis and yet the summary denial by a one man power of peoples peopled party mem lers to seats to which they bad been by a j judicial ud acial proceed I 1 ing dg fou found nd to be entitled is strictly in keeping with the methods by which the liberal ticket was elected and is strikingly illustrative of the tendency to anarchy of that party the procedure of tuesday feb 18 is a logical sequel to the registration car which ran over the rio grande western to the assumption of supreme judicial authority by the registrars and to the numberless acts of arrogance and injustice not to say downright lawlessness by which the peoples peopled party majority was fraudulently overcome the claim is made in defense of mayor scott by the organ of the conspirators that there did not happen to be any parliamentary body around him and no DO one but him to decide who should be F sworn in I 9 section 4 of the city charter provides that the members of the city council shall hold bold their offices for two years and until their successors are elected adf and I 1 9 taking the oath of office is apart a part 0 of r the qualifying process and the old parliamentary body exists and acts until the new members have taken the oath As above stated there is no break the assertion that there was no cne but mayor scott to decide who should be sworn in is such a flat contradict contrada cont radic radi c bior of the statute that it is a marvel it should be put forth by no possible concurrence of circumstances j under the present law could he legally exercise such power rn in further defense of his it is urged by the Ll liberal beral organ 6 and speaking of the house of representatives and its rules the clerk places the name of every man who has a certificate on the roll and none others and that is what mr scott ordered done the clerk of the house of representatives senta tives acts in accordance with the requirements of the statute mayor scott usurped authority in defiance of those requirements |