The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1916-06-08
TO TRY EIGHT
BUTLER COUNTY
TAX SUITS HERE
Carl C. Arlington Seeks To
Retrieve $4,000 Collectors
Commissions.
FIGHT OUTGROWTH OF
TOWNSHIP ARGUMENT
Two Men Claimed Key To Cash
Drawer - Supreme Court
Picked Arlington.

The trial of a series of eight cases
each growing out of township manipu
lations in Butler County in the last
four years, will be started this morn.
ing in Common Pleas Court, wher
Carl C. Arlington, County Collector
of Butler County, will seel. to retrieve
approximately $500 from township col
lectors who took in the money.
The history of the township manip.
ulations traces itself back to the time
when Butler County adopted TOWNSHIP
organization and then, on resubmis.
sion, kicked it out. The wrangle over
tax commissions followed when two
sets of collectors were on the job.
The position of the township officers
was tested in the Supreme Court and
it was found that they were without
standing.
In November, 1912, at the general
election, Butler County adopted what
is known as the township organiza-
tion. Accordingly, township collectors
to take in the taxes were elected and
they remained legally in office until
November, 1914, when the question of
township organization was again sub
mitted to the voters and it lost.
For several days after the election
the outcome thereof was unknown, and
IN the meantime the township collec-
tors continued to exercise the func-
tiors Of their Offices under the town
ship organization.
As soon as It was determined that
the township collectors had been done
away with, it became necessary to
have county collector. There was no
difficulty about that, for almost over
night the county was furnished with
two collectors.
The county court declared the right
to appoint collector under those cir
cumstances was vested in that tribunal
and proceeded to name Harry I. Dun
can Of Poplar Bluff for the place.
However, Governor Major was con-
WINGED that he possessed the appoin-
tive power and he named Carl c. Alb
bington of Poplar Bluff, Democratic
lawyer and a brother of Edward L.
Arlington, well known Democratic
politician.
The two collectors-Duncan and Alb
hingtcn-proceed to question each
others rights to handle the county's
cash drawer and within a short time
were at logger-heads. Arlington ap-
pealed to the Attorney General, who
instituted a quo warranto proceedings
in the Supreme Court, making all the
township collectors and Collector Dun
can parties thereto.
The Supreme Court held that the
voters had turned down the township
organization and likewise held that the
Governor Of the State had the authori-
ty to name the county collector.
Mr.. Arlington forthwith filed his
bond as collector, which was on April
Is, 1915.
During the litigation the "cream" of
the tax money had been paid into the
county treasury through the township
collectors. The month of December
following the election had been par
ticulariy lucrative and the collectors
commissions were substantial.
This thing had continued from No,
vember, 1914 to April, 1915, when Mr.
Arlington filed his bond. The men
who held the purse strings and col
lected the collectors commissions and
who were made defendants in suits tc
recover the commissions by Mr.. Alb
bington, are as follows: ]. r. Ratcliff
jay Reading, Of Rombauer; ]. H. Har.
well, Of Hendriekson; Henry Phillips
of ronton; M. L. Deaton; Max Berger
of Qulin; /. H. Barnhill and ]. A
Gardner.
The defense offered by the severa
township officers is that Mr.. Abiding
ton did not become collector and wa:
not entitled to the commissions unit
he had filed his bond.
The position as county collector vii
be filled at the general election thi'
fall and John Harwell is candidate
for the Republican nomination. Thu
far there are no Democratic aspirant
ALa iok o-d e 70 Soid tha nnllnt,