Omaha daily bee., 1909-10-09
Nebraska
CORPORATION TAX HOLDS
Democratic Candidate for Supreme
Judge Fails to Break Law.
NANCE IN STATE TREASURY
Comes In 20 Take Up War
= Registered the Day Before
because Of Lack of Funds
60 Pay Them.
a stnff Correspondentl

from a Staff Correspondent)
EOLN, oct. S-(Special)-Judge J.
khvan. democratic candidate for the
fme bench OF Nebraska. has been I'M
sstul In his attempt to prevent the
ttion Of a tax on corporations under
ct introduced by Senator King and
d by the 1909 legislature. The case
Hlvlng the constitutionality Of this law
a decided today by Judge Frost OF the
caster county district court, holding 1t
be a valid enactment and sustaining
e demurrers Of Secretary Of State Jun
I'm, against whom the proceeding was d.
rected by the two corporations which
brought Il.
The suit was co umenced by the Mer-
camille Incorporating company Of Omaha,
which had paid a tax Of IS to the secre-
tary Of state under protest, the purpose
OF the action being to recover the money.
j. W. Battin and W. w. Slabaugh Of
Omaha were its attorneys. Later the
Erie Iron Works Of Erie. Pa, interviewed
with Sullivan as its lawyer. also attack
ing the measure. There were no oral
arguments and no testimony was taken,
but the case was submitted before Judge
Frost on a stipulation Of facts and the
briefs Of the counsellors.
Judge Sullivan and his legal confreres
will not stop with this decision. but will
take the case to the supreme court in
their endeavor to have the corporation tax
knocked out.
Deficit Is wiped out.
state Treasurer Brian yesterday evening
reported that the state had been plunged
INT" debt TO the extent Of 1000. but this
morning when he opened his mail he found
$4,000 to the good" The money racaiyad
goes to the general fund and the fund for
the redemption OF outstanding state war
rants and will be used to take up warrants
mat are presented to the treasury for
payment.
On the previous day the general fund
and the redemption fund were exhausted
ana "hen warrants were presented for
payment the treasurer was obliged to buy
them with state school funds and other
state trust funds. Such warrants are regis
tered in the name Of the trust funds and
the 4 per cent interest, when paid, goes
to the credit Of the trust funds. Yet regis
tered warrants, though they are owned
oy the state, are a state debt because the
state must pay interest on all registered
warrants. II county treasurers pay to the
state all that is due it October 10. Treas
urer Brian believes the state debt in the
form OF registered warrants will be kent
down 10 little or nothing until December
when new taxes will begin to come in.
The state takes up all state warrants and
gtaA9 " permitted any
Individual holder to register any. No war
rants were registered even in the name of
state trust funds from June "a to October
Z Of this year.
Malone is Acquitted.
Al the afternoon session Of the police in
Vestigation the excise board sustained a
motion Of Attorney Strobe to dismiss the
charges against Detective Malone, on the
ground that the evidence disclosed that all
he had done in the matter was In obedl-
ence to instructions from his superior off
Ger.
Testimony to show that Chief Of Police
Rlckard and Detective Malone had issued
srict orders to Keep watch on the houses
o. ill-fame in the bottoms after the county
attorney had closed them up. TO report
anything suspicious and to prevent the
sale Of lntoxicants was given this morning
by Policeman John w. Garrett and Adam
L ntz, a plain clothes man, at the hearing
lefore the excise board.
New Turn in Case.
In ordgr to meet the demurrer Of At
torney General Thompson, the American
Surety company has amended It's pleadings
In the federal court so as to allege that
the rates fixed by the state bond board
are confiscatory The company is trying
to secure a restraining order to set aside
the law passed by the last legislature,
under which the board has been acting. It's
Y lawyers forgot to claim that the rates
fixed we're inadequate to the cost
OF insurance and Attorney Cen
eral Thompson called attention to this