Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-11-29

JldIs Aldsrsen's Ds:Isiol h tn
School III Case.
A LENGTHY JUDGMENT.


fand as they involve substantiaIl
the same questions and must be di
posed OF In the same way, thew wi
he considered together in this opiI
ion.
The material facts averred in Ii
complaint are in substance tn,
prior to March 18th, 1890, the CITY I
Salt Lake was divided into twenty
one Independent school district,
That in the month Of Decembel
1883, 1.-the trustees or the quail fed vo
iers OF each Of these several district
: except the 18th and 18th district,
PURSUANT to the law then in forcs
levied OF voted tax for school pu,
poses on the property Of said di.
triets for the school year beginnin
July LIST, 1880, which taxes wer
placed upon the tax books, IA
the year 1880, and tina
the defendant Hardy il about /
proceed to collect tie same; that sal,
taxes were to be levied and wen
ievi-d on the assessment Of propert,
made in 1880; that the percentag
OF tax levied by the several schoo
boards varied from q mills on escl
dollar on some districts to l2i mill
In others, while in districts 10 au .
is no tax was levied. That by
reason Of a sudden aud unexpected
rise in the value OF real estate be
tween the time when said taxes
were levied aud the time when the
property was assessed in the month
OF January, 1880, said levies will
produce more money than will bs
needed for school purposes in the
districts that levied the same, snt
that the excess is SO great as to bs
oppressive; that on the 18th day OF
March, 1880, the Legislative Assem-.
bly, Of Utah passed an act making
the entire city Of Salt Lake one
school district, and embracing
within the same all the Territory
within said twenty-o one districts, and
abolishing said districts, ana pro.
viding that the school houses and
other school property, belonging TO
said several school districts, shall
become the property Of the newly
created school districts In Salt Lake
City, and that any levy OF taxes
ana assessments for school purposes
that have been or was then being
made should be continued and COM
pleted and the taxes should be col
lected and used by the board Of
education Of the school district of
Salt Lake City for school purposes;
that by reason Of unequal percent
age oftsxes levied by the several dis.
tricts, the burden Of taxation for
the support of the schools in the
new district OF Salt Lake City, for
the school year beginning July
LIST, 1890, is rendered unequal,
and that taxes levied for the
special use and benefit OF the dis
tricts will, under the present Law, be
used for the benefit of PORTIONS OF
the new district in which but q
small levy, or none at all, was
made; that the comllainants are
residents and Taxpayers owning
property within certain of the old
districts Of said city, ami they ask
that the defendants be restrained
from collecting said taxes, and that
the tax be cancelled. In the case
of James Lowe ct al. vs.. l.. q.
Hardy ct al, the complaint alleges
that the complainants are taxpayers
in what was formerly School Dis
trict No. IL in said district; that in
December, 1859, the people of the
district voted levy of 10 mills on
the dollar for the purpose Of paying
of debt OF $500 then existing
against said district, and which
would have produced under
former valuations the amount
required, but that owing to the great
advance iu value, under the assess-
ment made in 1880, $40. 92T in excess
of the amount necessary to pay
said debt will have to be paid by
the taxpayers OF said district, ami
which, If collected, will figure TO the
benefit of the entire new district of
Salt Lake; that a levy Of four mills
ON the amount Of the assessed valua
ton Of the property Of said district,
for 1890, would raise sufficient to
pay off said debt, which amount
complainants aver a willingness to
pay. and ask that the other six mills
Of said levy he cancelled and its
collection enjoined.
Upon presentation Of these COM
plants atemporary restraining order
was issued and served on defendants,
and they were also required to APP
pear and show cause why an in
junction should not issue restrain
ing them from collecting said tax.
The defendant appeared and filed a
demurrer TO the complaint In each
case, upon the ground that the COM
plant did not contain facts sufficient
to constitute a cause of action or to
entitle the plaintiffs to the relief de-
manded, or any relief whatever.
1t will be impossible to discuss all
the points urged by the very able
and learned counsel for the plain
tiffs against the validity of these
taxes, without extending the opin-
ion to too great length.
shall content myself, therefore,
by briefly referring TO those princi-
Piles relied upon.
First-it is contended that by
abolishing the several school dis
tricts, and the repeal of the law I'M
,4ar ,rb;cb the taxa. uar, l.,-;,.l o.,
ssssssad and hef - tha e a ,eu ant
hal been comnlet.d and ,bn tan
niaced on the tsx coIisctor,s LooSs
hat ,bs tavas tbsns.'I,.ss 49, all,
ishe,i an; all f,rther nr no III T.,
relation 70 said tares Yer. rem israd
iIlegaI and yoid
Second~Tbat the legislature had
mo nower In aI,nronriate tares Levied
Inin thrmseIyes Inv tbe old school
,i,str;ct for their own nse and not
VET collected Ia the use and henefit
Of the new district comnosed in
mart of the territory not contribut.
INC thereto.
fhird-That the taxi illegal and