School Board Must Pay Negro Attorney
TOPEKA, KS – The Coffeyville board of education today was handed a bill for $1,000, the attorney’s fee charged by Elisha Scott, Topeka negro lawyer, for representing Mrs. Celia Thurman Watts, Coffeyville negro, in her suit against the board. The supreme court today allowed Scott’s claim for the fee, but denied his motion to cite the board for contempt.
Mrs. Watts brought suit to compel the school board to permit her daughter to attend junior high school. The supreme court issued the mandamus writ. Claiming that the girl still was barred from the school, Mrs. Watts asked a writ of contempt, which was denied. The Hutchinson News, Hutchinson, Kansas. Friday, July 5, 1924. Page 1. © Transcribed by Darren McMannis for the Kansas Council of Genealogical Societies, Inc.
