Ex Parte State Ex Rel. Breitling

Under the provisions of section 8967, Code 1923, appellant’s suit commenced upon the filing of his complaint in the office of the clerk, and the result of this appeal turns upon the proper construction of this statute.

Confessedly, the complaint was not filed in the clerk’s office on the date insisted upon in this proceeding, but was placed in the mail and remained at the post office, doubtless in the post office box of the clerk. As pointed out by the authorities, the word “file” is derived from the Latin word “filum,” a thread, and its application is drawn from the ancient practice of…