Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1904-02-18
TAX FERRETS
| KNOCKED OUT
Famous Hardin County Tax
Ferret Case Finally
Comes to an End.
THE TRIAL JUDGE SUSTAINED
Holds the County Had No Authority
for Making the Contract, and
AlIbrook Must Pay Large Sum
Back Into the Treasury.

Des Moines. Feb. 15,-The famous
Hardin county tax ferret case, which
has been heralded far and wide and
which has already resulted in the
political overthrow of some Of the
politicians concerned in 1t, has finally
been settled by the supreme court,
1 a decision handed down Saturday.
ny the terms of that decision, Judge
w, S. Kenyon of Fort Dodge is sus-
tanned, the contract into which Hardin
county entered is abated and former
County Attorney G. E. Allbrook OF
Hardin finds himself in the uep, OF
the county in the sum of $6,5S6.37.
1t was this case which figured SO
largely in the political struggle of last
fall in Hardin county, when ex-Speak-
er ]. II. Funk of Iowa Falls bolted the
ticket and secured the election of
William Weldon of Iowa Falls as re-
preventative over Mark ]. Furry, the
regular nominee.
The fight was really directed
against the supervisor who had been
On the board when the contract In
question had been made, and he was
not returned. 1t was used to good
effect in the ex-speaker's fight against
what was termed the "Eldora ring"
The case was one of many difficult
ties which originated out of the tax
ret x 'atlon. On May Z, 1900, the
firm of Fleener, Carnahan & Bidder
back, entered into a contrac. with
Hardin county to look up unpaid and
uncollected taxes, receiving for it's
services 10 per cent, the sum allowed
by statute.
Then comes the second chapter in
the story. c. Z. Allbrook, we'll
known attorney at Eldora and then
county attorney of Hardin county,
was employed in an advisory way.
He was to give advice. on points of
law, assist in the work of ferreting
and collecting, and was to receive dn
additional Is per cent. 1t appears
that he had made an arrangement with
Fleener, Carnahan & Bilderback, by
which he was to pay them twu-tnn us
Of the money so received by him.
Many notices were sent out and IN
most cases, the men so notified ap-
peared and settled without the neces-
sity of legal action.
Incidentally, a fact which does not
appear in the finding, 1t was charged
at Eldora, that the contract with All
brook and been entered into secretly
by the board and had not been pub
lished in their official proceedings.
AS his share in the services per-
formed, Allbrook received an agsIe
gate sum of $6,5S6.57. Or this he
turned over to Fleener $4,344.24, thus
making it possible for the firm to re-
ceive more than the Is per cent al
lowed 1t by law. 1t is also noted that
the money paid AhbrOoK was paid
upon the cognizance of the auditor
and treasurer and without further re.
ference to the supervisors.
r. J. Heath and others brought &C
ton to recover the amount paid ALI
brook. The case VAS hearu belu:e
Judge Kenyon. The final hearing dis
covered a verdict ordering AIlbrook to
pay back the $6,5o6.37 paid him and
also authorizing the recovery of the
$4,344.24 paid by Allbrook to Fleener.
The decree provided that payments
made by either Allorook or Tleener
shall apply in satisfaction of the judg-
ments rendered against the other. ALI
brook and Fleener appealed.
Judge Bishop, who writes the decis-
ion, first takes up the matter Of the
validity of the contract. He holds mat
the county is authorized to employ
Allbrook in the prosecution or collec.
tons and that Allbrook would be en-
titled to receive compensation for ser.
wees in such cases where prosecu.
tons were brought. However, he
holds there Is no authority for paying
Allbrook for moneys that were volun'
tarily turned into the treasury. The
decision riddles the claim that the de-
PENDANTS did not know the scope OF
the contract under which they were
| working and into which they had en-
tered Anbrook, he insists, was a
lawyer of acknowledged ability, and
therefore must have known the con
tents and meaning of the contract
He holds the county had no authority
for making the contract which 1t en-
tered into, and therefore upholds the
original verdict, adjudging Allbroof
TO be in illegal possession of the
money.