Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-02-09
.ROAD Taxes EXPLAINED
Attorney General Mullan Gives
Good Interpretation of the
New Iowa Road Laws
PRINCIPLE OF THE AMENDMENT
Both the Road Tax for 1903 as Provided
for in the Code Before Amended, and
the Tax for 1904 Must Be Levied in
the Spring of 1sos-War Claims
Nearly Settled.
Special to Times-Republican.

/
| Des Moines. Feb. "a goodly num-
Der OF inquiries continue to come to
state officials as to the Interpretation
| of the new Iowa road laws, indicating
| that the new law is not quite as clear
as it might be. One of the puzzling
things about it is the provision for
changing the method of collecting the
taxes. Heretofore road taxes have been
| Icollectable the next summer after they
are levied, and within a few months
after the assessment work is COM
plete. With the change to the ordinary
mode of collection of road taxes thru
| the agency of the treasurers office, and
| subsequent distribution to the town
ships in the ordinary manner, the road
taxes will not be available until a year
| from the time levied. In making this
| change it was at first thought that
there would be danger of leaving one
year without any road taxes. The leg
islature foresaw this danger and pro-
yided against it. In reply to an in
| of supervisors of county in south
western Iowa the attorney general of
1.-THE state explained this matter so clear
lily that all might know exactly what
lis intended in the law. Mr.. Muilan
said:
Under Section 1910, as amended by
the twenty-ninth general assembly, |
| think the township trustees must levy
| the property road tax for the year
| 1903 as provided in that section of the
code before the same was amended.
This tax is to be paid in cash and is
| to be collected and expended during the
year 1903. They must also in the year
| 1908 levy the road tax for the year
! 1904, which shall be certified to the
county auditor and be entered upon the
tax books and collected by the county
| Treasurer as other taxes. the leyies
Tor 1908 and 1904 must both be made
in the spring of 1903, the first levy
to be collected and expended as pro-
vided by Section 1910 of the code dur
ling 1903, the other levy to be GER
titled and collected by the county treas
urer and be available for the year 1904.
| / see no objection to both of these
|levies being Smade at the April, 1903,
meeting, and at the same time, and l
think this was the intent of the leg
lislature in amending Section 1540"
Township officials who follow this
advice will hardly go wrong. The man
ner in which the road law has been
amended leaves the point touched upon
in peculiar condition. The secretary
of state is soon to issue q small pam
.i,,i, fIa 10 G.
amended and some plain instructions
in regard to it, and this opinion of the
attorney general will be included.
The supreme court of Iowa usually
grants about two or three rehearings
each term out of an average of about
thirty applications for rehearing. 1t
may be said tHuthfullw, however, that
a majority of the rehearings are asked
with no expectation whatever of their
being granted-either because some
lawyer wants to square himself with an
|aggrieved client by attacking the SUI
preme court or to effect a stay of pro-
|ceedings or to accomplish some other
incidental design. But one rehearing
has been granted this term out of many
motions for rehearing. The attorney
general is confident, however, that a
rehearing will be granted in one case
to be submitted some time this week
from Polk county. This is the Brady
case, an insignificant case in itself. but
the principle involved is regarded by
attorneys as highly important. The at
torney general has asked for the re-
hearing, for the court last October
granted new trial to Brady. The prin-
ciple involved is that OF the weight
to be given evidence showing the pos
session of stolen articles by defend
ant soon after the theft of the same
PARTICLES The attorney general, in COM
mon with many other lawyers of the
state. feels that the court went to
far in putting aside such testimony,
and virtually opened the way for every
to claim that in Iowa possession of the
stolen goods is not any proof at all of
guilt. OF course the court did not mean
this, but the attorneys say the opinion
opens the way for it and they want the
decision changed, and this for the ben
eft of every prosecutor in the state
and to the discontinue of every Grim
inal. The argument on this case is like
ly to be very interesting.
The last remnant of Iowa's war
claim in connection with the equipment
of four regiments of the volunteers for
the war with Spain on behalf of a coll
onial dependency seeking freedom, is
included in the amendment to an ap-
preparation bill now pending in cons
gress. giving the state of Iowa S20,445 to
balance the account. If this is appro-
priated it can be said of Iowa, as per-
haps of no other state in the union, that
it has secured the return of every doi-
lar expended for equipment of the VOL
unteers in the Spanish war. AT the be-
ginning Iowas claim amounted to many
thousand dollars. The adjutant general
began preparing proofs of claims, and
these We're presented from time to time
to the auditing officers at Washington.
Claims were allowed, as the proofs were
presented and accepted as final. This
month something over $4,000 In claims
was allowed at Washington. The item
mentioned above is the total OF just
claims for which there is some proof