The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-12-19
An Interesting Situation.

IlllnOlS mas a law undef WnlCn any tND
or more persons or corporations may APP
pear in person or by attorney, in any cir
cult court or in the superior. court Of Cook
county, and submit to any judge thereof
orally and without formal pleadings,. any
matter in controversy; having first entered
into a: written agreement, to be made rec
ord of, and substantially to the effect
that the parties agree to submit the mat
ters in controversy, that the judgment or
decree shall be. conclusive, land that they
will abide by the result, such judgment
being enforceable in like manner as other
judgments of the court. The law makes
it the duty of any judge to hear and give
Judgment. "
The teachers of. Chicago some time ago
engaged in work of securing enforce
ment of the tax laws of the state, and as
a result Of: their efforts the municipal corr
porationsIof Chicago paid into the school
fund some s249;OOO Of back taxes for the
year 1900. This sums is tied up by in
junction pending a decision of the court
as to whether, the board. of. education has
a right to appropriate this money for: other
purposes than paying to the teachers the
amount lost through the cutting Of, their.
salaries in the year 1900. The teachers
are hired at the beginning of the school
year for, as they claim, a stipulated sal
airy, but for some years past the board has
reduced this agreed sum in the middle Of
the year. This reduction has been on the
ground that there was no money. The
teachers claim that the city owes them
back wages, and these back wages having
been lost through failure to collect taxes
due, and the teachers having been instruzz :;
mental in putting into .thej treasury ;s249;;SS
200 of back take s. they now demand
that this amount be pa to them i1l> dis,
charge of the,debt which they claim the
city owes them. through reducing their,
wages The teachers have proposed to
the board of education that the whole
matter be sads.n ttted5r1to Judge Tuley or
some other Judge: under The Tuley law.
This the. boardsdeelines toSdo.
| 1t appears that the county collector is
allowed 81, 1850 as fees flor collecting
IstheseE back taxes from the franchise cor
|, porations. The teachers argue that it is
much more reasonable and fair thatsthesr
should get the benefit of the taxes, which
they succeeded in making it posibleafeF
the city to collect than that the >conlltyt
collector should have a large fee for
merely receiving the. money. Of course
the legal aspects, of the case may shutsesit
the teachers entirely, but from the stand
point Of a layman and on4the ground of
ordinary common sense, it would certainly
seem no more than fair that the teachers
should get the benefit OF at least aHlarge
portion of the money which they made: it
possible for the city to secure through
their action, and which would not other
wise have been obtained. 5 At any rate,
they made the proposition to the board Of
education to submit the matter to Judge
Tuley, but the board has quietly ignored
their request and has apportioned the
money among various funds. When the
teachers of Chicago think about this they
applaud their own action! in forming an
alliance with the federated labor unions
Of Chicago, believing that it will enable
them to exercise a more potent influence
upon public financial affairs affecting their
own interests. And there is something in
that.