Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1903-07-07
AN IMPORTANT TAX DECISION
Another Important Tax Decision in Stuts=
man County Case is Handed Down by
Supreme COurt-ACtiOn Dismissed.

original of which is available. is not
the best evidence and is incompetent.
10. Under the maxim that that is
certain which can be made certain,
1t is held that the 1897 and 1898 state
tax levies which were made by fixing
percentage Of the aggregate value of
the property in the state, as equalized
were in legal effect levies of spe-
cific sum- Following Fisher VS.. Belts,
decided at the present term
H. Certified copies of official rec
ords are essentially secondary in char
acter and the right to introduce such
written copies in evidence exists only
by virtue of statute and to authorize
their admission they must be certified
in the manner required by the statute.
Il. Section 500, Revised Codes,
provides that 'the certificate must
state in substance that the CODY is
correct copy of the original or
specified part thereof, as the case may
De. Under this section
the authority of the certifying officer
is limited to certifying that the copy
is correct copy of an original rec
ord or specified part thereof and
the section does not authorize aim to
certify that any fact does or does not
appear of record or give him author
ity to substitute his judgment for that
of the court and certify what the rec
ord pertains to.
-. The plaintiff introduced in evi-
dence paper for the purpose of es-
| tablishing the invalidity of county
| tax levy. There was attached to it
the county auditors certificate that
the above is a true copy of all that
pertains to the county tax levy for
1887 as the same appears on record of
the county commissioners in my Of
the exhibit was mot the best evil
dence and not properly certified"
should have been sustained by the
trial court, and will be sustained by
this court and the evidence disre-
garded
a. The best evidence of the exis.
tence or non-existence of entries in
public records is the records them
selves. When, because of the vol
| luminous character of the records to
be examined, or for other sufficient
ol>J
to show the absence of an entry, it
g should be given by the legal custodian
r and then only after showing di :
, gent search Oral evidence of another
o than the custodian is not the best evi
@ dence or competent when the testi
II ony of the legal keeper can be had
Z Is. In this state the settef rule is
t that the person attacking the validity
d of taxes and tax Sd es has Il e burden
o of sustaining his attack The presump
ton is that a tax is valid and that
6 presumption continues until over
V thrown by the party assailing It.
@ 16 In this case plaintiff attacks
) for the years 1898, 1898. 1899 and
1900 and asks that they be cancelled
? and declared void, alleging as grounds
for such relief that the assessments
and levies were void. 1t is held on
a trial de nOvo of the entire case,
, that r;aintiff mas failed TO sustain the
burden of his attack and the action
should be dismissed.
, (SylIabus by the Court }
; Appeal from a judgment OF the dis
trict court of Stur;man county Hon.
s. L. Glaspell, Judge.
I Marion Conklin and Ball, wilson
and Maclay, attorneys for appellant.
J. E. Robinson and S. f. Els
; worth. attorneys for respondent
2 Young. G. ].