The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1899-09-01

Shortly after Gen. Tsylor's term OF
Office commenced be discovered the
fact, and at once said to the members
Of the present board that the railroads
were liable under the law for this
franchise tax. and that It was the
duty Of the board to make the assess.
ment. The roads ior some time re,
sisted and insisted that the rulings Of
the old board on the subject were cor
rect. The present board. following
the written opinion Of Gen. Taylor.
finally made an assessment for each
year since the present administration
began. A soon as the assessments
had been made complete the railroads
Of the State yielded. aud without even
Offering resistance Ia the couits. paid
Into the State Treasury franchise
taxes aegregati NC about 100000.
Another important case successfui.'
~ prosecuted vas that ms tituted
against the Frankfort Chair Company.
which finally resulted, aiter the most
stubborn litigation through all the
courts. In a recovery OF aud payment
into the State Treasury ofabout 500. 4,
900. The chair company was repre-
scented by Senator Lindsay, Judge
Pryor. T. l.. Edelen snd W. NJ. Smith;
the State was represented BY Gen.
Taylor alone. In this case the State
achieved an important victory, not
only on acco unit Of the large sum Of
money Involved. but because ofthe
vital principles oilaw to be determined
as we'll. In this case tor the frat
time Ia the history Of this State. the
Appellate Court held that debtors Of
the State could not plead In satisfac-
ton Of their indebtedness set offs;
this, too. Notwithstanding the fact
that thousands Of dollars Of indebted
ness to the State had heretofore been
extiuguished In various litigations by
such pleas Not before In the history
Of the State had any suit, involving
50 great an amount been prosecuted
IN behalf Of the State by an Attorney
General without assistant counsel.
Another important suit managed
by the Attorney General was the noted
case ofthe Commonwealth W. the
Louisville Street Railway Company.
the company being represented BY
the Hon. St. John Boyle, the State
finally succeeding In securing the
payment into the treasury Of over $780,
600. >
In 1897 q number Of corporations Id
Tennessee instituted suit In the United
States District Court before lodge
Clark seeking to enjoin the collection
Of taxes on over 70 per cent of theiI
valuation, alleging no reasons there.
for that other personal property and
lands Of that State had not been listed
at more than 70 per cent Of their cash
value. In this case the corporation
succeeded III procuring the INDUCTION.
aud Tennessee lost thousands Of dol.
lars Of taxes. Some corporations In
Kentucky. encouraged by the success
Of those In Tennessee. instituted sim
liar suits against the Kentucky Board
Of Valuation and Assessment In the
United States Court, and they were
referred to and tried by Judge Clark,
before whom. Notwithstanding he had
sustained the corporations in the Ten
nessee codes. and that many features
Of which were exact parallels OF those
Of the Kentucky cases. Gen. Taylor
won the cases for Kentucky, and the
tnjunctlonS were dismissed. His sue.
cess was attributed TO his thorough
work In getting up proof a. to the as
sessments In this State. II he had
pursued the course followed by the
Attorney General OF Tennessee, Ken.
tucky would have undoubtedly lost
the suit and thousands OF dollars ol
taxes. In Tennessee the Attorney
General relied alone on the law of the
case. while In Kentucky Gen. Taylor
most thoroughly prepared his case,
and by great effort sustained his con
tentiou with an abundance Of proof.
It would be difficult to determins
the exact amount of taxation recover.
ed into the treasury Of Kentucky and
directly attributable to Gen. Taylor'G
efforts. It Is sale to say. however,
that Il does not fall below $3.50, 600
audit Is estimated II win aggregate
nearly half a million dollars for the
term Of Office. AS large as the SUI
Is. Il Il dwAried into insignifcaneS
when compared with the benefits d
accrue &c the State hereafter. ueces-
sarily resulting from the decislOns al
ready Obtainsd and the construction
Of rights won BY Gen. Taylor's In
domitable courage and application.
-
SPANS Greatest Need.