The morning times., 1896-07-21
OWNERS AGAIN PROTEST
Attorney Files a Brief in the
Matter of ReaSseSSments.
POINTSTo BE CONSIDERED
Prior Law Held by the Court of APP
peals TO BE Unconstitutional, and
Later Law Passed an Enabling Act.
Reassessments Illegal Unless Due
Notice he Given.

Property owners who protest against the
reassessIneDt oI properly Lnuer Tie recent
enactment wLe1coy Tie Commissioners seek
TO recover taxes levied ior improvement, IS,
but Which The tourts set aside as invalid,
have filed brieI with The board through
Attorney Malcolm Hufty, setting forth
their objections i'll detail.
The history is given Of assessm ents prior
to the enactment OF the assessment and
permit work" clause Incorporated in the
appropriation act of Augus0 4, 1894, and
the law which then governed was cited as
unconstitutional, and it is dc c!aTed that the
court of appeals had SO held in the case Of
Altman VS.. the District.
The court held unanimously in that case,
the attorney says, that such a method OF
charging property with special improve
meDt taxes was equivalent to a taking Of
private property and was not due proc ess
OF law
NOTICE MUST BE GIVEN.
Further, the court held that statutes i'm
posing special assessment tax eS are to
be stlictly pursued in favor Of lLosc on
WHOM they operate, and that in tie levying
Of such taxes and the making Of such i'm
proveIneDts reasonable and seasonable
notice to the property owners Is lndis-
pensable to their validity.
LIS CttlSlbD luTtiIeT lcSlSlotlbl
necessary, ami in tie next appropriation
bill, in order 10 render subsequent assess
ments valid is provided that the C,mmis-
sioDers should give notice by advertise
meDt twice week in some newspaper pub
lshed in the District OF any asscssii:e nt
work proposed to lie done, designating Tie
location and the kind of work to lie Gone,
specifying the kind of materials to b. used,
the estimated cost OF til e improvement, and
fixing time and place wien and whcre
property owners TO be assessed could ap-
pear and present objections.
a nd here lie other grounds for protest.
The Supreme Court OF the United States,
in Earle VS.. Doe, held that a notice twice
a week for two weeks means that the full
number OF days contained in two weeks
must elapse between the first day of the
notice and the date Of proceeding pursu-
ant to same, and this the Commissioners
failed to do. This is cited as a fatal defect
in the proceedings
TAXES RENDERED INVALID.
The law of April "a, 1886, was passed
to give the Commissioners authority TO re-
assess thereafter special assessment taxes
rendered invalid by reason Of the assess
nIent not having been authenticated by the
proper officer" or for any Technical
reason other than the right OF the public
authorities to levy the tax or make the
assessment.
The attorney cites, however, that in
the contemplated procedure TO reassess
under this act such ta8es as have been set
aside because OF a defective notice, the
Commissioners are atteIupiing 10 enforce
the very exception named in the reassess-
meDt act, evidently uIon the assumption
that the giving OF notice In accordance
with the act OF August :, lS94, after the
work is done is compliance with that
act, and is authorized by the act OF April
"a.
The point raised 10y the attorney is that
Il notice given now allows the property
holders no opportunity TO take advantage
Of objections which he might have been
allowed to present under the act OF August
Z, 1894, in regard to the desirahility OF
the Improvement. the materials to he
used, the estimated cost or any OF her mat
ter.
RIGHT OF PROTEST.
How can this avail him, IL is asked, when
the work is already done.
1f the court Of appeals holds that notice
is Indispensable and an act OF Congress.
is passed provi ding for notice which is not
given in compliance with the act, the at
torney desires to know n Congress can
pass another act declaring in effect that
notice is not Indispensable 3D..
This whole matter. las' has teen stated
in The Times. will in Ill probability he
reviewed in the courts. The papers were
ready for presentation yesterday, but il
happened there was no Judge in town to