Jasper County Democrat, Volume 23, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 July 1920 — COURT HOUSE NEWS IN BRIEF [ARTICLE]

COURT HOUSE NEWS IN BRIEF

Interesting Paragraphs From ths Various Departments OF JASPER COUNTY CAPITOL Legal News Epitomized — Together With Other Notes Gathered by Us From the Various County Offices. Attorney A. D. Babcock was over from Goodland on business Monday afternoon. H. E. Adams of Chicago, former manager of the Jasper County Farms Co., was here as a witness in the Ed Oliver case Monday. New suits filed: No. 9211. Edita Limbert et al vs. Florence M. Gribbell; action for partition of real estate. No. 921'2. Juliana Fabijonowicz vs. Dan Bartsch et al; action in foreclosure. Demand S4OO with interest at 6 per cent from Feb. 11, 1919. The adjourned term of court, which convened on Tuesday of last week to hear the Ed Oliver-Jasper County Farms Co. case, adjourned over Saturday, but convened - again Monday, and the case was * still grinding yesterday. Marriage licenses issued: July 10, Lee Sanders of Medaryville, aged 28 Aug. 27 last, farmer, and Rachael Ann Sharp, also of Medaryville, aged 16 April 28 last, housekeeper. First i marriage for each. Female being' under age her father, W. C. Sharp, gave consent to issuance of license. Ernest Davis, son of Thomas Davis of Kniman, was arraigned before Squire Irwin last Saturday on a charge of deserting and failing to provide for his wife and children. The case was continued Mtil this ) Saturday, the young man giving bond in the sum of S3OO with his father as surety. The new north Marion consolidated school building, started last summer, but which was delayed on account of difficulty in getting material, is nearly completed now and will be ready for use at the opening of the' township schools in September. The! plastering has just been completed and with the finishing touches by-) the cafpetners and decorators the building will be ready for occupancy. It is a neat, commodious and up-to-the-minute school building.

Numerous county auditors ano, treasurers have announced, it is । said —including those of Jasper county—that they will resign their offices before they will do the work of figuring out the refunds made necessary by the decision of the supreme court las£ week in declaring illegal the horizontal increases in assessments made by the state tax board last .year. That is, they will resign unless extra pay is given for the tremendous amount of work necessary to figure out these amounts to the individual taxpayer. In Rensselaer, as an example, the real estate was raised 10 per cent and personal property 40 per cent. Everybody—or nearly so—has paid the first installment of the 1919 tax which includes this illegal raise, and many have paid both installments. Just imagine the amount of work required to figure out this refund! And there are 90 or the 92 counties in the state that are affected by this decision, too! In speaking of this matter of refund she Indianapolis News says editorially: “The law provides recourse for persons whose property is overtaxed,. but such a provision contemplates comparatively rare and accidental Cases, and not those which, as in the present Instance, can be foreseen. Many of these cases, while amounting to a large sum in all, would be of such insignificance separately as not to justify the time, labor and expense necessary to obtain a rectification, and the state —and those who are undertaxed—would thus be profiting unjustly. Furthermore it is unfair that unofficial citizens should be punished for the delinquencies of the taxing officials over whom they have no control.”