Jasper County Democrat, Volume 6, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 May 1903 — ABOUT THE COURT HOUSE. [ARTICLE]

ABOUT THE COURT HOUSE.

Item* of tatMMt OotfcsrsS tatheOffice* Ms Corridor* of Iks Caaaty Capitol. The Halligsn cattle case pending in the supreme court, has been transferred to the appellate oonrt. - ~— oIn the case of Howard F. Chap* Sill vs. Jasper • County Oil and as Co., appellant’s motion to retax costs, was granted in the appellate court Thursday. The petitioners in the old Iroquois ditch improvement are askk ing a re-hearing of the case in the supreme court, where it was lately decided adversly to them. —o — The Longoliff asylum authorities write that they have no room at present for George Hellengreen, the young poor asylum inmate recently declared insane, therefore his removal must be delayed until such time as the asylum has room to receive him. The county board of health has issued an order that every one in the county who has not been vaccinated in the last five years must be vaccinated. Those preferring to pay for the vaccination can have the job done by the doctors engaged to do the work at 25 cents, and those who are unable to pay for it can have it done free. The next small-pox wave that passes over Jasper county will find mighty slim picking. Newsuits filed: No. 6501. W. W. Burns et al. vs. Samuel B. Nichols; appeal from commissioners’ court. This is a long-winded ditch case from Barkley tp., on which costs to over $240 have already accumulated in the commissioners’ court. Nichols was a remonstrator against some of the assessments on the proposed ditch, and appeals from the order establishing the same. No. 6502. Morris Glass Vs. The Indiana, Illinois & lowa R. R. Go.; appeal from Justioe Coffin’s court in Kankakee tp. It seems that plaintiff had a cow killed by one of defendant’s trains, the value of which was S3O. Three trials were had, in the first two the jury failing to agree, but in

the latter a judgment for S3O was given plaintiff. From this judgment defendant appeals tothe circuit oourt. The case originated in Squire VanDoozer’s court at Wheatfield. The costs have already reached sll4. The supreme court on Tuesday reversed the case of R. A. Parkison, treasurer of Jasper oounty, vs. the Jasper County Telephone Co., taken up from the White circuit court some two years ago. In this case the secretary of the telephone company had returned, to the state board of tax commissioners, three miles of lines in Rensselaer for taxation, which was assessed $25 per mile, this being the total amount of the said corporation’s assessment in-this city for several years. Through agitation, the county assessor, about three or four years ago, placed about $17,000 on the duplicate against said company for some years back, which it was claimed covered instruments, etc. that had not been assessed at all for those years, the tax on which amounted to several hundred dollars. A ohange of venue was taken by defendant to White county, and the court there held, as we remember it, that the contention of the defendant, that the local taxing officers bad no authority to make any assessment against it, for the reason that, being a corporation, only the state tax board could make assessments. In reversing the case the court held: Where tbe state board of tax commissioner* assessed the property of a telephone oompany on returns of Its property made by its secretary for a—series of years, and it was assessed locally for property of a local nature, such as office furniture, and paid all such taxes, the county assessor and county auditor had authority, after notice to the company, to add to its assessment the Value of tangible property owned by it in such years but not returned to the state board nor taken into account by it in making its assessment, although such property, consisting of telephone instruments, switch board, etc., may not have been primarily assessable by the local authorities. Butaaid local officers had no power to assess the “local franchise," nor any of its capital stock for back taxes merely because they were not properly listed or fully assessed In She schedules returned from year to yesr to the state board. The state board has no jurisdiction to add “ommitted property" of former years to its current assessment and charge the same with baek taxes, but that power belongs to the local auth rlties.