The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1911-12-01
SAY CONTRACTOR ADVANCED
MONEY TO CITY OFFICIALS
Used By Them In Paying Salaries
and Other Charges Against
City, is Claimed

Last Tuesday a hearing was begun
in the district court before A. II
Huston, upon the motion Of j. f. Hill,
Of Chicago, to dissolve or modify the
injunction heretofore granted against
the sale OF real estate in this city for
paving tax assessments.
The injunction mentioned was an
ancillary proceeding in the suit of J..
+. Schultz and very large number
OF Gutnrie citizens to remove a cioud
from the title TO their property, cast
thereon by the filing of the clerks
certificate in the county treasurers
office, etc. In the latter suit Schultz
ct al, attacked the paving tax act Of
the Oklahoma Legislature as never
having been legally passed as being
unconstitutional on several grounds,
and an effort to take their property
without due process of law etc, ana
in the alternative they asserted that
even Ii it Should be held that the law
was constitutional and valid that
tlley. haa. lust discovered that the con-
tract was fraudulent and Illegal in
that the contractor advanced large
sum OF money to the city officers to
be used by them in paying salaries
and other charges against the city at
large, Under an agreement that per
cent was to be, AMI was, added to the
aggregate amount of the contractors
bid and an estimated sum to cover in
cidental expenses. thus making these
owners in the paving districts through
a tax on their property pay charges
which the city at large should pay
In addition to this illegal per cent
Another Illegal charge
they also attacked an illegal excess
of one per cent in interest above the
six per cent allowed by the statute
up to a certain time; they also at
tackled the is per cent penalty claim
ed because the property owners had
not promptly paid the paving assess
ment when due. they also attacked
tne record lien and cloud on their
title in the county treasurer's office,
because as a matter of fact the
clerks certificate was not filed with
the county treasurer on or before
Sept. 10, as provided by the manda-
tory terms of the statute, but in fact
was filed on october 81 There We're
other questions but the above were
the principal ones. Mr.. Hill was rep
resented by Mr.. Parker Hoag, OF OH.
cago, and Tibbets & Green, of this
city City Attorney James Hepburn
appearing, for the city at large, ana
Milton Brown representing Schultz
and the other taxpayers. On We'd
nesday morning the court informed
counsel That he desired some author
tiles on certain points, and Schultzs
attorney asked leave to have the sec
retary of state certify to the court
the endorsements on the bill showing
the date of final action in each house
The court made no definite ruling on
the motion to dissolve or modify the
restraining order, but indicated tnat
even IL the law was valid, the one
per cent of excess interest could not
be upheld. nor could any amount III
excess of the contractors bid, plus
the incidental expenses, incurred by |
the city and ascertained before the
appointment of the appraisers, nor
could the property owners in the
paving districts be made to pay any
thing which could be general charge !
against the city; nor was there any