Rocky Ford enterprise., 1913-12-12

jury. think the parties should lie
in the bed which they have made, and
that the Court should decide the is
sues presented upon the trial of this
case.
Is this tax which has been imposed
upon the property of plaintiff for the
support of the high school in question,
legal? While some of the so-called
records which were offered in evil
dence by the defendant to show the
manner of organization of Union
High School No. of Otero County"
were excluded for incompetency in
not being properly authenticated, yet
sufficient appears from the evidence
as whole to disclose that, in 1895
the school board OF common school
district No. IL of Otero County-that
being the district in which La Junta,
the county seat, was wholly included
proceeded to organize high
school under the provisions of the
law of 1889. In 1877 law was pass
ed providing for the organization of
union high schools in certain contig-
uous districts. and that law was
amended in 1880 SO as to provide al
SO for the organization of county seat
high schools. AS the supreme court
said in Money VS.. McCauley, A Colo.
272, THE section of the school law
above quoted relates to two distinct
classes of high schools: The first, to
those established in two or more
contiguous school districts; and the
second. to those which include but
one district, embracing the county
seat of county. The high school
involved belongs to the latter class"
1t is urged by the plaintiff that this
tat <Nf H..
organization OF county high school
district such as Union High School
No. l is now claimed to be, and
rather agree with this contention of
the plaintiff. The law provides in
the first place, that two or more ex-
isting contiguous districts may estab-
4Hsh.a union high school for such uni
ted district; and, in the second place,
that an existing county seat district
may have the same powers of estab-
fishing and organizing high school
as are thereby given to the two or
more contiguous districts. This
seems to me plainly to contemplate
a district high school at the county
seat. 1t is true that the act later pro-
vides that high schools formed un-
der its provisions shall be open to all
qualified children of the county, but
that applies equally as well to all
the union high schools involved and
is difficult to understand. Under the
act, the school board of minority
district has been certifying up taxes
to be levied on all the property of
the county without the qualified elce-
tors OF any part OF the county out
side of district IL having had any
voice whatever in the question OF the
organization of the school or district,
and without their having had at any
time. any voice in the amount OF tax
es they were to pay. or in the distri-
button of the same. Such high
school system is an anomaly, to say
the least. 1t seems to contravenc one
of the fundamental principles of dem
ocratic institutions. As said by the
supreme court of Michigan. in the
case of the People VS.. Common
Council OF Detroit. 2S Mich, 22s,
From the very dawn of our liberty
the principle most unquestionable of
all has been this: that the people shall
vote the taxes they are to pay. or be
permitted to choose representatives
for the purpose
In the case of every other high
school district known to our laws.
whether it be union high school
properly so called, or county high
school, the qualified electors of the
entire district concerned, or their rep
resentatives, are given the right to
determine in the first instance wheth-
er such a district shall be organized.
Be that as it may. high school was
organized under this law. by the
school board OF district IL, in 1895,
and for years has been supported by
a tax upon all the property of the
County of Otero. But there is other
legislation on the subject to be con-
sidered. Acts affecting county high
schools were passed by the legislature
in 1890. 1907 and 1909. Counsel for
plaintiff contend that the law of 1909
repealed or supplanted the Acts of
1899 and of 1907 and that the defend
ant must rely upon the law of 1000
and particularly upon section l6 there.
of-for his authority in support of the
act reads as follows: "The county
in is a high school district heretofore
organized according to law, or where
any high school district is organized
under the provisions of this act, or
heretofore organized as union high
school at any county seat. under sec
ton $3.50 of the Revised Statutes of
Colorado of 1908, shall levy annually
at the time of levying taxes for 9TH
er purposes. 4 high school tax on all
the taxable property of the county,
said tax not to exceed four mills on
the dollar of the assessed valuation"
etc. Here is literal statement that
the county commissioners OF any