The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-10-25
GOOD FOR TEACHERS
ILLINOIS SUPREME COURT UPHoLDS
THEIR CONVENTIONS.
CORPORATIONS MUST PAY
BOARD of EQUALIZATION ORDER
ED TO ASSESS THEM.

The Chicago Teachers Win Out in
Their Case Against the state Board
of Equalization, Which Has Refus-
ed to Properly Assess Large Cor
porations With Property Valued at
S235,OO0, ,oO0-rhe Assessors Were
Evidently Acting in the Interest
of the Corporations.
Springfield, ILL.,. Oct. 24.-The Su-
preme Court this morning affirmed the
judgment of the Circuit Court of San
canon county. in what is known as
the Chicago teachers tax case. This,
in effect awards a writ of mandamus
against the state board of equalization
to compel it to assess the capital stock,
including franchises, of twenty Chi
cago corporations, the fair cash value
of whose capital stock, including fran
chises over and above the value OF their
tangible property, is alleged to aggre-
gate $2S5, ,O0O, 900.
directly affected: Chicago City Rail-
way Company, West Chicago
Street Railway Company, North
Chicago Street Railroad Com
pany, Chicago Union Traction
Company; Peoples Gas Light and
Coke Company; Chicago Telephone
Company; Chicago Edison Company:
Chicago Consolidated Traction Com
pany; Chicago Electric Transit Com
pany; Chicago and Jefferson Transit
Company; Evanston Electric Railway
Company; Cicero and Proviso Street
Railway Company; North Chicago
Electric Railway Company; North
Side Electric Street Railway Compa-
ny; Ogden Street Railway Company;
Chicago North Shore Street Railway.
Company; South Chicago Street Rail-
way Company; Chicago West Division
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 Teach
ers' Federation. 1t was for a writ of
mandamus to compel the state board
of equalization to assess the foregoing
corporations which, it was alleged,
have hitherto escaped taxation by the
| board. The court holds that the board
| in assessing corporations, does not act
as board of review but as an original
assessor and that the performance Of
its duty to assess the fair cash value
of capital stock, including franchises
over and above the value of tangible
property, may be enforced by man
damus. Instead of making a proper
assessment, the court says that the
board arbitrarily and wilfully failed to
follow a proper and long established
rule in force in this state for
making such assessments, the
bonded Indebtedness of said incorpora-
tions. They disregarded also other
rules for the making of such assess
ments in force at the time of filing of
this petition, and for the purpose of
evading their duty, sought to pass new
rules for their government in making
said valuations and assessments and
refused to consider the information
then before them, furnished by the as
SCISSORS, as provided by statute and as
sessed the capital stock and franchises
of said corporation at nominal sums
instead of the fair cash value thereof.
The board is ordered to convene
forthwith at Springfield and assess the
capital stock, including the franchises,
in the manner provided by law.
VIII Help Private Taxpayers.
Concerning the decision of the Su-
preme Court to compel the equalizers
to list the stocks of corporations. At
torney Greenacre. who acted for the
Teachers Federation in the courts.
said to-day:
THE decision shows that the meth
DDS of corporations must be open to
public inspection; that the taxes of
home owners will be reduced from IS
to 81, and that the deficits annually
confronting the county and city gov
ernments will no longer appear
Streets can be improved, bridges built
schools and other public institutions
maintained in a proper manner. BY
this decision anarchy in Illinois is de-
prived of its only excuse"