Omaha daily bee., 1899-11-28
CITIZEN PUNISHED FOR ZEAL
schfeffer Claims to H vs Suffered for Paying
Taxes Promptly.
DELINQUENT FRttHolDtRS ESCAPE LEVY
Grading Ordinance is Declared illegal
After Mnny citizens Have Paid
Their share, Leaving De-
linUucnts to Rejoice.

The city council held a long informal ses-
eion Monday afternoon in the effort to un-
raycl two snarls Judge Gordon's salary
claim and the petition Of Walnut Hill tax
payers for the return Of money paid on a
grading levy since declared illegal. The
former matter was taken up at length ana
the details reaited as already p"blished'
1t will come up tonight for settlement.
The grading tax was the subject Of vio-
lent discussion, in which City Attorney Con-
nell, City Engineer Rosewater Councilmen
Mercer and Stuht all took a hand. The
case was that OF Herman Schaefrer, Walnut
Hill frceholder, who asks that he be re-
imbursed in the sum of $l952S paid by him
into the city treasury in accordance with a
levy imposed by the council in 1890. A
large amount of grading was done under the
ordinance throughout the Walnut Hill dis
trlct that the property owners paid their
assessments to the amount of alb ut $15,-
OOO The improvements were originally OBJ
tanned by public petition and the grade was
later altered in a number of respects by a
similar agency.
Ordinance Declared Illegal.
When the work had been completed parties
who objected to the payment Of the tax
contested the legality of the ordinance before
the supreme court and won their suit. Their
contention was that the changes in grade
were introduced after the petition had been
submitted and that the work was illegally
done. Tho property owners who had not
paid the tax therefore felt discharged from
the obligation while their more prompt
neighbors have been making efforts for two
years to recover their money. The most i'm
portant claimant is the Missouri Pacific rail-
road, which had paid $1,000.
City Attorney Connell takes the position
that it will be impossible to equalize the
burden by a new levy, refunding in part
the money received and making up the
amount by assessing property benefited. He
says the injured parties could not be salts
fed without financial loss to the city aud
that corresponding amounts would prob
ably never be collected from the delinquents.
Many titles have changed hands and his so
luton is to let the matter rest as it stands.
Two Lcyics Are Defeated.
City Engineer Rosewater, on the other
hand, believes that an effort should be made
to equalize the burden by new levy. He
pointed out. however. that two such meas
ures which he had prepared under instruc-
tious from the council had been defeated
by the efforts of member, who, he said, was
personally concerned in the tax levy which
had been overthrown.
Councilman George Mercer responded
that damages were due the Mercer
property which was alleged to have been
benefited by the grade. One tract, he
said, had been taxed on the ground OF ben
eft accrued which was under ten feet
OF water. The contract which had originally
provided for the expenditure of $4,000 had
subsequently been increased to 100000 to
serve the selfish ends Of contractors and he
felt justified, therefore, in assailing the
ordinance which he had supported at its
inception.
A motion OF Councilman Bingham was
adopted that the controversy should be re-
ferred to the city engineer, the city at 4
torney and the finance committee with in
structions to obtain from the treasurer lists
of the freeholders who had paid and escaped
the tax. His motive in so doing was to
provide some means of making the burden
uniform. 1t was his opinion that the grad
ing had been originally secured by parties
10 advance the value of real estate and that
when this speculative design failed by reason
of hard times they strove to escape the pay
ment of the tax.