The San Francisco call., 1901-10-25
MUST PAY TAXES
ON FRANCHISES
Illinois Supreme Court
Renders a Sweeping
Decision.
Gas, Electric and Traction
Companies Are Dealt a
Severe Blow.

SPRINGFIELD, ILL.,, Oct. A--The Su-
preme Court to-day affirmed the Judg-
ment of the Circuit Court OF SangamOn
county in what is known as the Chicago
Teachers Tax case This, IN erect,
awards a writ of mandamuS against the
State Board of Equalization to compel ut
to assess the capital stock, including fran
chises of twenty Chicago corporations,
the fair cash value of whose capital stock,
including franchises, over and above the
value of their tangible property is alleged
to aggregate $235, ,OUO,OOO-
The suit was instituted by the state 3
Attorney of SangamOn County at the m
stance of the Chicago Teachers Federa-
tion.
The court holds that the board in assess
ing corporations does not act as board
of review, but as an original assessor IN
stead of making proper assessment, the
court says that the board arbitrarily and
willfully failed to follow proper and
long-eSta bLshed rule in force IN this
State for making such assessments, Dy re-
fusing to take into consideration the bond
ed ndebtedness of said corporations. They
also disregarded all other rules In force
for the making Of such assessments,
rnent, refused to consider the information
furnished them by the assessors, as pro-
vided by statute and assessed the company
stock and franchises or said corporations at
a nominal sum instead of at the fair cash
value :<ereOf. For these reasons, the de-
cfsion says, 1.-The court is justified in hold
ments has been established and such pre-
tended assessments may be properly dis
regarded and treated as noassessment and
such board be coerced by the writ OF man
danuS to assess such property.
The opinion quotes the order or the
lower court, commanding the members or
the board to convene forthwith at the
Capitol building in the County of Sanga-
mon and value and RasSess the capital
stock, including the franchises of the
companies named in the manner provided
CHICAGO. Oct. 24-The tax decision
given to-day by the Illinois Supreme Court
relates to twenty-three local corporations
enjoying municipal franchises, including
traction companies, gas companies and
electric companies, whose total capital
stock was estimated to be $368 900 900, all
of which had escaped taxation previously,
and was likely to be omitted again by the
State board, which adjourned last Decem-
Der without assessing this vast amount OF
The trial of the case was begun before
Judge Thompson in Springfield, March %,
and the decision was handed down May ?,
commanding the board to reaSSemble June
13 and assess these corporations in accord
ance with the rules of the board in regard
to the assessment of capital stock. But
the board not only neglected to make the
assessment, but repealed the rules Of the
board on the subject, which had been in
force for thirty years and had been sus-
tanned by the United States Supreme
Court as the only fair and legal plan Of
assessment.
w nat was cOnS1Qereo Cne weak point IN
the teachers case was that the manda-
mus was asked while the board was still
in session and while it was protesting that
1t meant to do the very thing which the
mandamus required. The teachers conten-
ton was that the board was a continuing
board and that 1t had refused for years to
make these assessments and that IL a
mandamus could not issue until after the
board had adjourned it might wen
never be issued at all, and there was alb
solutely no way to compel the board to
perform its manifest duty. The teachers
view of the case seems to have been sus-
tanned by the Supreme Court.
Broad as is the sweep of this decision
in it's effect, its logical results are much
greater, as the decision, 1t is said, really
applies just as well to railroad corpora
tions and every other corporation in the
State and may lead to the collection Of
back taxes.