The Washington times., 1913-09-17
MANUFACTURING A SCARE.

Ever since The Times pointed out that the Even.
ing STAR in attacking Assistant Assessor Oyster, was
in fact assailing the entire civil service population
of Washington, our contemporary has been explain.
ing 1t couldn't afford to rest its opposition to Oyster
on the ground solely, that he had voted in Pennsyl
vana To do that would array the entire civil service
population against the Star.
So the Star has painfully tried to shift its ground
get from under ire of the civil service people, and
take the position that Oysters appointment is very
dangerous business.
Should Oyster be held ineligible to be Assistant
Assessor, the Star insists the whole assessment OF
this year might be invalidated; the town might be
left without revenues and a very awful situation
would, of course, arise.
So it would, if there were any possible chance OF
such thing happening. But there is none.
Mr. Oyster is de facto Assessor, duly sworn in by
the proper authority and in possession of the Office
performing its duties. The authorities and the cases
are very near unanimty in holding that the act of
de facto officer is good and binding. There are, in
deed, few legal questions on which the authorities de-
velop less divergence of view In "Constantineau on
the De Facto Doctrine one of the most recent pub
locations and leading authority on this subject
after thorough investigation he draws this conclusion
'arhe prevailing rule is that the validity of tax
beimpeached the ground that it assessed
levied. or collected by de facto officers"
and proceeds to quote the case of Morris VS.. Turner
43 Ark, 243 as follows:
Every consideration public policy upon which the
rule of law is grounded with the character of officers
de facto shall not be questioned in collateral proceeding
applies with equal if with greater force to the Of
fcers engaged in the collection of revenue 1t is es
sential well being of the whole community that
collections should be made promptly to meet the exgen-
Of Government EndlaSS embarrassment
administration of the law and in maintaining the public
credit might if each and every taxpayer the
eve of the collections might impede them by question
ing the Official character of concerned in the
chain Of legal formalties through which taxes are
exacted .-.
careful examination of the authorities of the
States will show an abundance of authority in sup
port of the fact that assessments made by de facto
officers are valid ....-.
The Corporation Counsel, investigating the au-
thores in this very case, has been unable to find
any Supreme Court decision which holds the con-
trary-that is, which overturns the otherwise regu-
lar act of an official on the ground that he was
de facto official only.
The Evening Star has editorially proclaimed that
there is Supreme Court decision under which an
assessment made with Oyster on the board would
be invalidated.
The Corporation Counsel have been utterly un-
able to find such decision.
They have appealed to the Star to furnish a ref
erence to the case which that newspaper claims to
have up its sleeve. The Star has declined to furnish
the information s
Whether the Star refuses because it is acting as
counsel against the city, because there is such
case, and it knows il, can only be guessed.
The outward indications that the Star has
been blufng that it has been caught; that it tried
to scare the town with the bogie of an invalid as
sessment and no revenue; and that it doesn't know
of any such Supreme Court decision at all.
Even if there is a case liable to such construc-
tion it is opposed by scores that have been de-
cided the other way. The doctrine of de faeto Of
cers is thoroughly and completely established The
Star either has been imposed upon or else is trying
to impose on the community with a scare that is
utterly groundless.