Weekly journal-miner., 1909-11-10
FAMOUS TAX ACTION
 BEFORE SUPREME COURT
From 1'rlday's Daily,


 in various forms was brought to the supreme court yesterday by the terri tory ex rel J. N. Gaines, collector for Cochise county, Judge Doan at the last term of court having given judg- ment for the Copper Queen Consoli- dated Mining company in the case brought by the territory to collect back taxes amounting to more than $120,000, says the Phoenix Republi- can.
 In 1901 the county assessor of Co., chise county assessed all the property of the mining company at $36S, ,139 This amount included 50 mines and mining claims, all patented, aggregat- ing 636 acres. They were put in at $ an acre. The other property con sisted of real estate and personal property and stocks of merchandise at Bisbee and Naco.
 The. supervisors of the county, sit ting as board of equalization at the July meeting of that year slightly changed these figures. The mines were raised to 3,26O,OOO; the stocks of merchandise were increased by about 800 per cent and in other respects the board indicated that the assessor had been rather remiss.
 On this latter assessment at the rate fixed by the board for county purposes and the rate fixed by the territorial board for territorial pur- poses, the tax of the company amount ed to something more than $125,000. The company refused to pay it but rendered 14,133.12 which would have been the tax on the first assessment. In the meantime the company had brought suit against the county ask ing for an injunction to prevent it from trying to collect on the raised assessment. The restraining oroer was granted and in March under some agreement the company made another payment which reduced the amount ot the delinquent taxes to a little more than $99,00O. By January l, 1904, the delinquent fees and interest had increased the amount of the delin- quency to s215,7OO.79. About that time the company entered into some sort of a compromise with NJ. D. Scribner, the then collector, the na- ture of which is not disclosed by the documents on file at the office of the supreme court clerk but the company paid S5,OO0 in addition to s66ll44 the
 The matter was then allowed to rest until Collector Gaines, acting un- der the back tax law employed an at- torney to collect all such long due taxes and then the present suit was begun.
 The company demurred to the com plaint in 16 special demurrers in all of which it was denied that the prop erty had been properly assessed in the first place; the descriptions were said to be so inadequate that it would be impossible to establish a lien on any particular piece of property for the taxes.
 It was further contended that the raise had been discriminatory; that the general practice had been to as- sess mining claims and mines at $ an acre and that elsewhere, even in Cochise county that practice had been followed that year.
 The fact was mentioned that the owners of the mining property were nOn-residents in that the company had been incorporated under the laws of New York. This paved the way for recitation of that provision of the organic act which requires that non resident property owners shall be treated as well as residents. The action of the territorial board in recognizing the action of the eoun- ty board was declared to be in con-
 
 ment to the consultation of the United States which provides that all persons i shall enjoy the same protection as to life, liberty and property. Such pro tection it was declared had been de- nied the defendant by the territorial authorities
 The fact of the former resting or der was recited and it was pointed out that the defendants had complied with the affixed conditions as to the additional amount of taxes that should be paid.
 In rendering judgment, Judge Doan dealt only with the contention of the defense that the original assessment had been improper in that the prop erty had been so indefinitely describ- ed that any raise by the board of