The evening times., 1896-09-25
REGARDED As. UNLAWFUL
Suit Against the. District Over
Certain ReasseSsments.
WRIT OF CERTIORARI ASKED
1t Is Claimed Charges Were Made
Under the Supposed Authority of
Acts of COngrrss-Award of Con
tracts-orders- for improvements.
Minor District Matters.

| Suit has been entered in the supreme
| court nI the; district in behalf of Jerome
| Wise, hy Attorneys Earl X Baker aDd
| haicolnl Huity, for the quasLing Of Ger
tam reassessnients for improvements made
| 10y authority of the Commissioners against
| the petitioners property. tEe action oi
| the District authorities being regarded as
| Illegal.
| Mr.. Wise asks for a wit OF oertiCrari
COMMANDING the Commissioners toCefIify 20
the court copy of ali records in their pos
session relating in any manner to the cha Iges
and assessments objected TO by him, and
/ also all papers relating TO the quashIng
of the original assessment, and al! other
papers in their possession which i'll any
wise affect the issues involved.
The Petitioner alleges that he is the
owner OF lots 62 to 81 Inclusive, i'll square
rs in this city, and that there are now
borne upon The tax Records of the District
cerIalu unjust charges against the property,
il amounts as follows:
Against lot g., for paving sidewalk ano
curb, "a total of SIS Al; lot 63, for same
improvements S22 .5S; lot Ga, same improve
ments. S2i ,55; lot 65, same, SCI %: lot66
same, SCI 90, and lot ca, same. SCI
a total of S209.IS.
SUPPOSED AUTHORITY.
These charges, it is claimed. were made
under the supposed authority OF acts of
Congress Of August !. S9I, and March 2,
1895, and also an act of Congress, relating
to the reassessments of taxes, approved
April "a. 1896.
The work was done, 1t is alleged, under
SUprosi' iiiuus authority, and the original
Char rsas Were quaShr,i and declared to be
null and void in cum'> by proceedings i'll
Certiorar ri ON account oil detective notice anI
want of jurisdiction in the Commissioners
The act of April "a alluded to, relat-
ing TO reasscssnients, is alleged to be in
applicable to the present case, it being
intended to cure, If possible, such cases
wherein, on account of some technical
defect an assessment was set aside.
1t is claimed that the act did not in any
way a;tcmptto cure any defect in substance,
if the same could lie cured, aud the charge
is made that the act is unconstitutional,
aud That the authority which it attempts to
give to the Commis sioUers is unwarranted.
ATTEMPTED TO REASSESS.
Not wirhstanding these premises, the pc
titioner AYERS. the Commissioners, without
competent authority, have attempted &c
after the same had been quashed for want
of proper authority and jurisdiction.
The grounds for this assertion are stated
10 be that the act did not provide for a
proper notice to he given / o the property
owners. Also that the Commissioners did
not make. nor have they made, any rules
or regulations in regard to notification of
the petitioner that reassessment was to be
,rI. aud ttaf lar. ha ft'
be heard in his own behalf respecting any
Observation-Disclosures OF the charges.
the aiIcga ton is II ace that the CommiS-
sioners never made a valid charge against
wise's property; that they have never re-
cast the original assessment, nor inquired
nto the reasonablene Is of the charges, but
that they have arbitrarily proceeded in the
matter to the petitioners detriment.
Reference is made in the petition TO the
threat OF the Commissioners TO sell the
petitioners property 10 satisfy the demand
under the reassessmcnt, and this, it is de
clared, has the effect to throw clou'
upon his title.
PROPOSALS ACCErTED.
Awards of contract Were made today as
follows, where the lowest proposals were
equal: To Thomas sumcrvilIe & Sous, for
o,fDu cl tlSH'-IbCt pipe' dt ttHtS PEI
foot: to Potomac Terra Gotta Company,
for 16 coo feet Of tweIeve-inch pipe at 13
cen 5 per foot; . eco feet offifteen inch pipe
at g cents per foot, 6 leo feet of eighteen
inch pipe, at &c cents per foot; 7C0 feet
oftwenty- -fourincb pipe, at so cents per foot
SEQ 10 by inch Y branches, at 45 cents
each.
Orders were issued today by II. Bis
trict Commissioners for a large ,mount
of work under the provisions of the
sessment and permit system, which is
distributed in the various sections of tie
city, the total expenditure authorize
Hereunder being about S45 ,0cO.
The cement work is that for which bids
were recently received, Kemp & Son. OF
Ohio, presenting the lowest. The Crawford
Paving Company lately asked the Com
nissioners TO permit property owners to
select their own contractors to do this
work as noted in TIE Times. and the propo-
sition is still pending. 1t is not believed