The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-10-25

Court today affirmed the decision of the lower cou.t in the Chicago teachers case, in which they insisted that the capital tock of corporations should be assessed. The ruling wi add over $1e0, 100000 to the taxable property in Chicago.
 Chicago. Oct. A.-The tax decision given today by the Illinois Supreme Court re- lates to tive enty-three local corporations enjoying municipal franchises, including ,ral ton companies, gas companies and electric companies, whose total stock was estimated to be worth $36S. .oOO, 900, all of which had escaped taxation previously and was likely to be omitted again by the State Board, which adjourned last December without assessing this vast amount of property.
 The tIiil of the case was begun before Judge Thompson in Springfield, March 23, and the decision was handed down May 9 commanding the board to reassemble June 13 and assess these corporations in accordance with the rules of the board in regard to assessment of the capital stock But the board not only neglected to make the assessme mt, but repealed the rules of Iile DOdFu OH tne SuUJeCt WHICH nave been in force for thirty years and had been sustained by the United States Su- preme Court as the only legal plan of assessment. What was considered the weak point in the teachers case was that the mandamus wal asked while the board was still in session and while it was protesting that it meant to do the very thing the mandamus required. The teach CTS contention was that of a continuing body and that 1t had refused for years to make these assessments and that if a mandamus could not issue until after the board had adjourned it might as well never be issued at all, and there was ab- solutely no way to compel the board to perform its manifest duty. The teachers view of the case seems to have been stis- tained by the Supreme Court.
 Broad as Is the sweep of this decision in itself. It's logical results are much greater as the decision. it Is said. really applies as well to railroad corporations and every other corporation in the State ard may lead to the collection of back taxes.
 Levy Mayer who is attorney for two of the traction companies concerned said {: If the equalizers follow strictly the rule of the court the result will be appalling. There is such thing as taxing corpora tons out of existence. The well known position of the Supreme Court in regard 
 lieve that the celebrated case Is at an end"
 Concerning the decision of the Supreme Court to compel the equalizers to list the stocks of corporations, Attorney Green acre. who acted for the Teachers Feder- ation in the courts. said today "'Fhe de- cision shows that the methods of corpo- rations must be open to public inspec- tion; that the taxes of home owners will be reduced from $ to $4. and that the deficits annually confronting the county and city governments will no longer ap- pear. Streets can be improved. bridges built, and the schools and other public institutions maintained in proper man ner. By this decision anarchy in Illinois is deprived of It's only excuse"
 Mayor Harrison said: ''rhe decision adds sS.O0oOCO to the funds of the State, and of this $2, OOO GOO will come to Cook County where the teachers started the fight It is now up to the Board of EGual- ization to bow to the dictates of the courts. One effect 1t will have probably will be to squeeze a lot of the water out of the stock of various corporations and it may drive some of them out of the State to fairer climes-New Jersey. for instance"