The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1884-07-08
this dec'aion Of tho Supreme Court, and
suggested ibnt the law should be made TO
conform thereto. Most Of those present

|
suggested that the law Bbenld be made 1
conform thereto. Most Of those preeen
approved this suggeslion, but thought thu
at that time In The session a proper bil
could not be passed, while aome though
that In view oflhe decision OF tho Court Q
las. resoE! That further legislation was IN
necessary. They all, however, approved o
the BuRgeetion that tho Governor ahoult
address each lss.er Ps he al.erward
wrote to tho Auditor, and that tho Auditor
should Issue circular 10 the Assessors, in
stracting them 10 assess all property no
legally exempt from taxation. Three O.
the judges Of the Court Of Appeals wert
consulted as to the scope Of their d. cision
and to them were submitted the letter and
circular, which they examined, reyised
and approved" ,saE. ~ ! ,5. u,
Letters patent ought to have been 80.
cured on device Of this kind before civ
ing It 10 the world. The irreducibte school
fnnd was exhausted; The State owed $l4O,.
0o0 10 Wheeling bank; the previous Leg.
islature had lodged q tax levy and ordered
q reaBseeament; there were no more funds
to be taken contrary to Law; the sitting
Legislature was as lacking In courage as its
conSpicuously cowardly predecessoi;"it was
apparent that unletB the revenue was in.
creased there would not be funds sufficient
In the treasury to meet the appropriations
which the Legislature had already made"
And what was 10 be done When West
Virginia Democratic politicians are about
70 DO anything Of momenl-to 'slate", q
United States Senator or fix up q tax Job
they call CAUCUS, not large enough 10 be
troublesome, ol u nice, handy, manageable
size. This tax caucus seems To have been
q select affair. The Governor, the Auditor,
the chairman of two committees, the lead.
ing Democratic members OF the Legisis-
ture-there were not many Of these II they
were all callsd-and three judges OF the
Supreme Court -5gs, !,---,,', :, q,
We are very glad that this painful stste-
ment does not com6from Republican
newspaper, which might be suspected Of
e1ulting in the Ssate's shame because OF
the partisan advantage that might result.
II three judges Of the highest legal tribunal
in the stste did consent to 70 into secret
political caucus on a matter which might
be submitted for the Judgement OF their
Court, 1t is well that the rev station ia made
by. ono IN political sympathy with those
judges, with the caucus in which they took
u prominent part, and with the outcome Of
that novel meeting. Istakes nothing from
the Disgrace, OF the proceeding that the
three judges are not said to have eat with
the members Of the Legislature. The
Governor and the Auditor were the con-
Meeting links between the Legislature and
the judicisl ends Of the mixed caucus. The
managers had decided what to do and how
to do it, and the judges ''sxamined REVISED
and approved" the how. ,6. IN IA
Here was proceeding Of which the pub.
lie Was ignorant. Not even the Legislature
knew what was going on. Not even the
Democratic side Of that Legislature was ad.
vised, only the two chairmsn. and "the
leading Democratic members" The
double ended caucus agreed upon way to
help it's party out OF the mire OF financial
diticulty-tbree judges Of the Supreme
Court said It wss q goo1 enough way-and
soon the ediet wen! iofth. i might be
thought that the Attorney General would
have been the proper person to ''examins,
revise and sppyove" circular, which was
to declare to Assessors that certain per-
sonal property previously exempt was to
be taxed by the Dsmoeratia party in eau.
Gus assembled. The Attorney General
would have done we'll enough for an or.
dinary occasion, but here was something
more than the mere giving an opinion
which the Supreme Court might 1sverso.s
Something more than framing q circular
to put into execution well.defued law.
In the Chesapeake & Ohio case the Su.
preme Court had passed upon that case and
nothing more. Nothing more gap before
tho court. The officials in chsrge OF the
State finances wanted to know where the
court would stand on the act to exempt
certain products OF the Workshop and farm,
and three OF the four. judges Of the Su.
preme Court OF Appeals-mark the very
great presence Of mind in committing .
good working msjority-said that the eau
cus, wsa on the right track, that the e1-
empied properly couldn't be exempted,
and then and there declared what. the
judgment of the court would be If the
question were to come before it. Here ia
at least one important case settled, so far as
The Supreme Court Of Appeals can settle it,
in secret and with no Argument except that
Of partisan expedisncy.' ,i,fit fitSsssj;5S.5l
Perhaps there ID no truth whatever in
the report OF this dlsgracslpl proceeding.
But 1t comes from respectable Deppcratic
newspaper which seems to speak by Ru-
thority, and it is made in defense OF the
party, not to destroy it or any public off,
GERS for whom 1t is responsible. No chapter
Of recent reasseesment history isso shame