The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-10-24
WATER MUST PAY
Contention of Chicago School
Teachers Is Sustained.
Supreme Court UphOlds Deci-
sion of Court Below.
MILLIONS ARE ADDED
To the Taxable Property of the
Western Metropolis. :
Capital Stock of Corporations
Declared to Be Asses sable.

Springfield, ILL.,, Oct. 24.-The supreme
court today affirmed the judgment of
the circuit court of Sangamon county
in what is known as the Chicago teach
ers tax case. This in effect awards
writ OF mandamus against the state
board of equalization, to compel it to
assess the capital stock including fran
chises of 20 Chicago corporations, the
fair cash value of whose capital stock
including franchises over and above the
value of their tangible property, is al
legged to aggregate $235. .000. 600. Following
are the corporations directly affected:
Chicago City Railway company; West
Chicago Street Railroad company;
North Chicago Street Railroad COM
pany Chicago Union Traction company;
Peoples Gas, Light & Coke company;
Chicago Telephone company; Chicago
Edison company; Chicago Consolidated
Traction company; Chicago Electric
Transit company; Chicago & Jefferson
Urban Transit company; Evanston
Electric Railway company; Cicero &
Proviso Street Railway company North
Chicago Electric Railway company;
North Side Electric Street Railway
company; Ogden Street Railway COM
pany; Chicago North Shore Street Rail-
road company; South Chicago City
Railway company Chicago West Divis-
ion Railway company; Chicago Passen-
ger Railway company and North Chi
cago City Railway company.
This case was instituted by the states
attorney of Sangamon county at the
instance of the Chicago Teachers Fed
GRAFTON 1t was for a writ of n nanda-
mus to compel the state board of
eQualizatiOn to assess the foregoing
corporations, which it was alleged, had
hitherto escaped taxation by the board.
The court holds that the board in as
sessing corporations does not act as a
board of review. but as an original as
SCISSOR and that the performance of it's
duty to assess the fair cash value of
capital stock, including franchises over
and above the value of tangible prop
erty, may be enforced by mandamus.
Instead of making a proper assess n ent,
the court says that the board arbitrari-
ly and wiltully failed to follow proper
and long established rule in force in
this state for making such assessments,
by refusing to take into conSfdera-
ton, in making such assessments,
the bonded Indebtedness of said cor
porations. They also disregarded all
other rules for the making of such as
sessments in force at the time of this
petition and for the purpose of evading
their duty, sought to pass new rules for
their government in making said valua-
tionS and assessments, and refused to
consider the information then before
Them furnished to them by the asses
sors as provided by statute and assess
ed the capital stock and franchises of
said corporations at a nominal sum, in
stead of at the fair cash value thereof.
The opinion quotes the order of the low
And it is further considered and direct
ed by the court that you, the said state
board and the members thereof, be, and
are nerepy Comma bld0 To the cn
of Sangamon, and that you there forth
with value and assess the capital stock,
including the franchise, of each of said
companies herein named as of April l,
1900, in the manner provided by law. so
as to each of said corporations the fair
cash value of it's capital stock including
1o1a1 -ae.1
value of the tangible property of such
company for the year 1900
such valuation and assessments of the
capital stock including the franchises of
said board and each member thereof shall
from the best information obtainable
tfon, among other things, to each
poration as the same was on the first day
no market value. then the fair cash value
of its shares of stock and the total
indebtedness for. current expenses. ex-
cluding from such expenses that amount
of property and the assessed eQualized
valuation of all tangible property of said
l. 1900 and you are further commanded
to direct the respective assessments so
Of PUBLIC. accounts to the county clerk of
Cook county that the taxes Tor all pur-
ccerk cpsI FOR the year @ 1900. You are further
commanded to make return to this court
nn 5ne on yon haye hay 9 eonpied With this or
der; The court does not by its said order
and Judgment undertake to control the
in the valuation or assessment of the cap
itaI stock including the franchises of said
corporations. 1t only lays down the rules
of law which govern and the methods
to be pursued by the respondents in max
ing such valuation and assessment This
we have been asked by the petitioner to
fix the date when a return to the writ
should be made. Such order is not neces-
sary. Under section 30 of the Practice
Act" upon fling in the trial court GER
the same win operate as precedence and
that court will become reinvested with
no appeal had been taken Finding no re-
versible error in this record the judgment
of the eirepit r4 ft court 6 VII 4 be affirged
Chicago, Oct 24.-The tax decision given
today by the Illinois supreme court re-
lates to twenty-three local corporations
enjoying municipal franchises, including
traction companies, gas companies and
electric companies, whose total ca capital
O00 all of which had escaped taxation
previously and was likely to be omitted
journed last December without assessing
this vast amount of property
Judge Thompson in Springfield, March %.
and the decision was handed down May
2. commanding the board to reassemble
accordance 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 sustained by the United States
supreme court the only fair and legal
What was considered the weak point in
the Teachers case was that the man.
damus was asked while the board was
that it mea MT to do the very thing which
the mandamus required The teachers