The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-09-25
The Township Trustee Frauds

MS affairs"
The Township Trustee Frauds.
TO tho Editor OF the indianapolis Journal:
Considering the statutes in force, it is mat
ter Of real surprise that men with money to
handle should have been victimized to the ex
tent they were by the rascally township trustees
ard their confederates. Mark the statutes:
Section 6006. Whenever it becomes necessary for
the trustee of any township in this State incur on
behalf of his township any debt debts whose aggre
gate amount shall be in of the fund hand to
which such debt debts chargeable, and of the
fund to be derived from the tax assessed against his
township for the year in which such debt is to be in
Cured such trustee shall first procure order from
the Board of County Commissioners of the county in
which such township is situated, authorizing him to
contract such Indebtedness.
Sec. 6007 Before the Board of Commissioners shall
grant such order the township trustee shall file in
the auditors Office of his county petition setting
forth therein the object for which such debt debts
are to be incurred and the approximate amount
quired, and shall make affidavit that he has caused
notice to be given of the pending of such petition by
posting notices. m not less than five public places in
his township at least twenty days prior to the first
day of the session of said boardRevised Statutes of
Indiana. 1881, p. 1887.
An Act touching the duties of township trustees with
reference to iquidating and contracting indebted
of townships in certain
fApproved March 5. 1881
Whereas Many townships in the various counties
in the State of Indiana have become indebted to
amount in of their present ability to pay and
at the same time keep up current expenses with the
amount of taxes authorized by law to be Levied
therefore,
Section 1. BE it enacted by the General Assembly
of the State of Indiana That in any such township
the trustee thereof shall have the power to levy in
their respective townships taxes sufficient to pay such
Indebtedness; but the taxes herein authorized to be
levied shall not In any year exceed the sum of
20 cents each 800 valuation of taxable property.
in such township and rs cents each taxable poll.
Cor the debt of the school township. and like amount
For the civil township Gas the may required, in
addition to the amounts authorized by law to be
levied and the arising from the taxes herein
authorized to be levied shall in be diverted
used for any other purpose than the liquidation of
Aueh Indebtedness.
Sec 2. And it is further provided that any town
ship trustee in any county of the State of Indiana
who shall contract any debt in the in behalf
of any civil or school township of which he may be
the trustee, contrary to the provisions of Sections
and z of An act to limit the powers of township
trustees in mourning debts, and requiring him to des
sgnats certa days tor transaetng township bust
6006 and G007 of the Revises Statutes of the State
Of ndisna), shall be personally liable his official
bond to the holders of any contract other evidence
1T such Indebtedness for the amout thereof.
How could common sense have escaped the
following conclusions
l. That under Sections 6006 and 60O7, consid-
cred alone, it was not competent to township
trustees, acting upon their own hook. to con-
';ract debts binding upon their townships unless
shey bad on hand at the time of contracting
such debts, fund against which such debts were
properly chargeable, or would have such fund
tracted such debts.
, That the only debts which, under those re-
strlctlons, 1T was competent to township
trustees of their own motion to contract. as
20 bind their townships, were debts resting upon
proper and adequate consideration gone to the
benefit of the townships.
) That so far as. the holders of notes evidenc-
ing such debts as those had the townships to
look or resort to Tor their payment they were in
precisely the position as if the notes they
held had been so drawn as to embody the full
substance of those Sections 6006 and 6007.
T. That notes evidencing such debts as those
could have no more validity in the hands of any
eransferee than they had in the hands of the
irst holder.
b That by the act of 1883 the Legislature
merely provided special means for payment of
iebts of the above character already contracted
~ township trustees in violation of sections
o006 and 6001 and guarded against any future
violation of those sections by township trustees
by combining all liability for debts contracted in
such violation to the township trustees person
ally and to their bondsmen.
G. That the act of 1883 did not warrant any
future violation by township trustees of sections
6006 and 600I, or provide means for payment
out of the public'S money, in case of any such
future violation.
{. That any notes issued by such township
trustees, IN league with persons named as payees
therein, in cases where no proper and adequate
consideration has Injured to the townships to
create any debt on their part, whether such
notes were in the hands of such rascally payees
or in the hands OF their victimized indorsers for
value, wouid be mere waste paper. as concerns
any liability of the townships for their pay
nent.
8. That as between the payees of any such
notes and the township trustees, as individuals
such notes would be mere waste paper if the
rascally payees could be supposed to have the
courage to go into court with a claim that
their confederates were personally liable thereon
y That as between persons deriving title to
such notes by Endorsement in good faith and for
value. and The TOWNSHIP trustees, as individuals,
the latter might be individually liable thereon,
because of not being allowed to take advantage
Of their own fraud, while the indorsers might be
personally liable thereon, because of their in
dorsement standing an independent substan-
tive contract, unaffected by the fraud of the
township trustees.
10. That upon such notes the sureties on the
official bonds of the township trustees would not
% liable to any one, and could not be held So
because their contract with the State is strictis-
'lmi juris, and has to do with acts of NAL
.easance, mlsfeasance, or nonfeasance by their
principals in the performance of such duties
only as the statutes expressly, or by necessary
implication, impose on them.
Ii common sense could have had any doubt as
70 the correctness of any of those conclusions,
conclusion would likely have been the one
For the doubt would have been whether the in
lent or the Legislature, gathered from the
preamble and the first section of the act of 1888
was not simply to provide means of paying
existing debts which township trustees had
legally eontracted-that is contracted by author.
ity OF boards OF county commissioners, obtained
pursuant TO the requirements of sections 6OO6
and G007 of the Revised Statutes Of the State of
Indiana. u. j. HAMMOND
INDIANAPOLIS, Sept a.