Dennis v. Bennet

The City of Ottumwa, Iowa, is a municipal corporation organized and operating under the commission plan. Defendants were members of the city council. One of the members of the city council serves as superintendent of public safety. Plaintiffs Paul Dennis, Robert H. Knox and Hubert L. Smith, each being a member of the fire department and a war veteran, together with Hugh Stufflebeam, a member of the fire department but a nonveteran, were all on the chief’s civil service eligible list. Save and except for the matter of veterans preference, each of these applicants had equal qualifications for…