Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1894-01-25
The Tax Case.

A. Mercer, county treasurer, injunc-
ton, the first of the noted cases IN
which the Long Island bank is con.
nected aud which has attracted so
much attention in our county the past
year and even been published abroad
quite thoroughly, came up for a hear
ing last Friday morning. q. A,
Spaulding and O, A. Lewis appeared
for the plaintiff and Stinson Il Stn-
son and 9. Angevine for the defend
ants.
The case is of so much Importance
that we deem it proper to give a
short history of 1T; The Commercial
State Bank of Long Island, as was
the custom with it as with other
banks, in the fall of 1892 received
money from taxpayers who preferred
not to 60 to the county seat, and just
before December 20, the time for
taxes to be paid, drew drafts for
$2,744 on the Capitol National Bank
of Lincoln, Nab., and sent Mr.. Mer-
Ger together with a list Of the lands,
property, etc, on which the tax had
been received by the bank.
This drift Mr.. Mercer deposited
for collection in the Phillips County
Bank Of this city about January 20.
Surprising that the draft would be
paid, Mr.. Mercer went on and issued
tax receipts to the persons whose
names were sent in the list. But
about IA days later the draft returned
protested, as the Capitol National
Bank had failed.
Acting on the advice Of his attor-
neys, Mr.. Mercer cancelled the taxes
marked paid on his books on the
ground that he had received no mon
ey, and notified the persons whose
tax had been so paid. A large num-
Der of these came in and paid the tax
to the treasurer under protest, ex-
pecting to get back what they had
paid the bank. The balance, by in
junction suits, sought to prevent the
treasurer from collecting the tax.
The case has attracted a great deal
of attention, not only in this section
but all over the state. These injunc-
ton suits, while brought IN the name
of the owners of the land, were really
prosecuted by the officers Of the bank.
During this time the HERALD has in
sisted that there was but one way to
pay taxes, and that is by rendering
the treasurer at his office the amount
due in cash. Almost the entire town,
headed by the Dispatch, claimed diff
ferently. When the case came on for
hearing the HERALD's position was
found to be the right one, as the at
attorneys for the bank took another
tack and attempted to show that the
drafts in question had been paid and
that Mr.. Mercer had received the
money upon them. Mr. Culbertson
in his testimony shows how this was
done. The following synopsis gives
the many points in the evidence:
EDITOR HERALD-DEAR SIR:-In re-
spouse to your request for a synopsis
of the evidence in the case of M. nj.
Barnard against j. A. Mercer, county
treasurer, beng the case used as a
test case of the injunction against the
treasurer, I herewith submit the fol-
lowing outline of the evidence intro
duced:-
The case was finally reached for
trial on Friday, January 10, at 2 p.
m. Some time was taken up in ar
guments and objections to the intro
duction Of deposition of Richard 9.
Outcalt, which was ruled out in the
main. The plaintiff then stated her
case to the court by her attorney, G.
A. Spaulding, In substance as follows:
On the Goth day of December, 1892,
the plaintiff through the Commercial
State Bank of Long Island, Kansas,
paid to the county treasurer of Phil
lips county the amount of taxes due
upon her lands; that she received a
receipt for the same; that the defend
ant, j. A. Mercer, is proceeding to
again collect the taxes. Hence this
by Mrs. Barnard to pre-
vent the collection a second time.
To the statement of plaintiff the
made answer by stating
that Mrs. Barnard had never paid
into the county treasurer any money
Of any kind in payment Of her taxes.