The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-01-30

The supreme court heard the argu-
ments on the application Of S. F. Fen
ton, doing business under the name of
the Intermountain Electric company,
for a writ of mandate against the mem
bers Of the Salt Lake county court to
compel them to pay the sum of $464SO
for material and labor furnished by
plaintiff Ito the county between NoVem-
Der Is and December II, 1894
The contract was made by the old
county court and the new county court
refused to pay the bill. giving as a rea-
SON that the limit of indebtedness that
could legally be incurred by Salt Lake
county had already been exceeded
when the contract was made, and for
the further reason that there is no
money in the treasury. The total in
debtedness in excess of the funds is
S454, 564 Sc and it is considered by the
present county court that any indebted
ness above 1926, 74S.06, the amount of the
cash receipts of Salt Lake county from
all sources for the years 1892 and 1893,
is illegal. The case was submitted on
an agreed statement Of facts and coun-
sci argued the legal points.
L
Attorney w. H. Dickson made the
opening argument on behalf of the pc
| titioner.
Counsel agreed that the first question
! involved the Interpretation of sections
and 81 of the act of the legislature
/ of Utah, entitled, can act to establish
a uniform system of county govern
/ ments, Of March s, 1885, the material
part of which reads as follows:
No county shall incur any indebted
ness or liability in any manner. or for
any purpose, to an amount exceeding
/ in any year THE total amount of its in
come and revenue for the two fiscal
years Immediately preceding the in
curing of such Indebtedness. Any in
debtedness OF liability incurred con-
trary to this provision shall be void"
The other section is as follows:
1.-THE court must not. for any pur-
pose contract debts or liabilities, ex-
cept in pursuance Of law, nor shall
such Indebtedness or liability in any
manner or for any purpose exceed in
any fiscal year the income and revenue
of such county for the two fiscal years
Immediately preceding the incurring o!
such Indebtedness.
Under these provisions, said counsel
1T is claimed by defendants that the
mot at any time exceed the amount OF
1.-THE income and revenue of the county
for the two years Immediately pre-
lceding the mourning thereof.
The plaintiffs contention is, that the
object of these statutory provisions
was to preclude the county court from
Iincurring in any one year an indebted
ness in excess of the revenues of tbs
county for the two preceding years
and that no matter what the indebted
ness of the county may be at the COM
mencement of any given fiscal year
the county court may during tha'
year lawfully create an indebtedness:
against the county equal to- the SUM Of
the county's revenues for the tWC
preceding years; provided, of course
that the total of the county's indebted
ness shall not at any time exceed thu
limit prescribed by section 4 of an ac
of Congress, entitled can act ITO pro
hibit the passage Of locab or specia
laws in the territories of the United
States to limit territorial indebtedness
and for other purposes, approved Jul!
80, 1885, which provides that no politi
cal or municipal corporation in any o
; the territories shall become indebted
: to any amount in the aggregate, in
; Guiding exising Indebtedness, NOR
than per centum of the taxable prop
erty within such corporation or county
| From this counsel argued that
= debt of S1,93S,673.16 might be legal,
: contracted by Salt Lake county.
The territorial statutes could not b
taken as repeating the act of Congress
l but the two must be construed tic
2 gether The object of the one is t
limit the total indebtedness which ma
be lawfully contracted; the object G
the other is to limit the total of tn
Indebtedness which may be created i
:. one year. Counsel held that the sun
!. of S11, 234.50 paid to the county, in la
! Dor, for poll tax should be counted a
part of the resources. Counse
: then assuming that the revenue
S of the county for 1892 and 1898 WEI
S337. 992. Sc and the total indebtedness
U created in 1894 did not exceed 1894, 917. 4
:, therefore the Indebtedness is about So
b COO Tess than the revenues. but thel
d were warrants outstanding for the yea
n 1893 amounting to about $4,000 Whtc
e were paid out of the revenues OF lS9
e so that the Indebtedness created in 10
g was about $4,000. we'll within the linn
u prescribed by the law,
s In conclusion counsel held that tt
5, statutes of the territory allowed the !
suance of warrants even II there We
d no money in the treasury.
!. The County Courts Contention.
# County Attorney Whittemore, repl,
- ing to Mr.. Dickson. said that if Il
IS current revenues were taken to pc
f1on