Show I I AFFAIRS OF THE COUNTY I COUNTYI I I Commissioners Action Increasing I Liquor License Stands II I I BELATED CLAIMS FOE ILLEGAL SCHOOL TAXES The Little Cottonwood Mining Bee ordsDeputy Assessors Ju tice Appointed Considerable Routine Business Transacted I The county commissioners had a busy session yesterday and considered man matters of Imnortance In the first place they refused to grant the petitions from residents of Eingham and otherplaces in the county asking that the board rescind its action in raisIng the liquor license from 600 to JSOO BELATED CLAIMS A fine legal point came up when I V Mollov called on the board and asked DPrmission to have a number of claims for illegally collected school tax allowed I appears that Mr Mallorj was employed in getting up a list of all taxpayers entitled to a refund Vtoe most of the money illegally collected had been refunded the board passed a resolution to the effect that no school tax would be refunded after Mav 1 Since that date Mr Mallory has obtained ob-tained something like 500 in claims to collect for taxpayers entitled to the refund re-fund and now wants them allowed by the board On May 1 there was a balance of 3800 of this illegally collected tax on hand and after deciding that those who had no previously made application applica-tion for a refund would thereafter be barred the board transferred this amount into the salary fund Now the situation is this The board refuses to allow any claims on the grounds that they had a right to fix by resolution a time within which applications for refund re-fund must be made and that time has now expired On the other hand the court decided the tax was Illegally collected col-lected and technically It does not belong be-long to the county The court in its decision set no limitation of time to the work of refunding the money It is very probable a test case will be made MIXING RECORDS An Important opinion was handed in by County Attorney Van Cott holding that no mining records can be returned to districts unless such an application is signed by 100 actual residents thereof there-of The matter came up on a petition from the Little Cottonwood district concerning which the attorney says With reference to the petition ofT of-T J Anderson et al heretofore referred to us for an opinion as to whether the same is in due form and In compliance with the statute of 1S97 section 12 on page 60 we are of the opinion that the language of the legislature a used In this section requires that the petitioners petition-ers for the return of the district records rec-ords must be not onlv owners of mInIng mus ing property in the district but must be actual bona fide miners residing in the district and therefore that the petition pe-tition sled as this one is by parties who appear some of them to be residents alpear o dents and others to be simply property owners in the district without having a residence there Is not a sufficient compliance with this statute to oblige the county commissioners to incur the expense Involved in copying and returning re-turning the records The opinion was adonted DEPUTY ASSESSORS Assessor Quinn will not be permitted to retain even one deputy after the board pf equalization adjourns which will b about July I When Mr Jennings Jen-nings the present chief deputy in the assessors office was confirmed his term was limited tb June I Mr Quinn finds that It will be impossible for him to get along without a chief deputy and therefore asked permission to retain Mr Jennings Commissioner Hall said he could not conceive of any work In 1 the assessors office after the session of the board of equalization was over to require any assistance whatever Accordingly I Ac-cordingly he moved that the assessor be authorized to retain Mr Jennings until the work of the board of equalization equaliza-tion Is over ton Assessor Quinn notified the board that he had completed the assessment rolls for the present year and turned the same over to the treasurer With reference to the petition of L I G Hardy former county collector to I have the board appropriate the sum or 6515 to cancel a certain Judgment obtained ob-tained by Walter L Price against the collector said judgment being obtained by default owing to the negligence of the former county attorney in not answering an-swering the complaint County Attorney Attor-ney Van Cott sent In a letter which says in part We see no reason why the county should refund to Mr Price money that went to the territory and territorial schools but i Is perhaps right that the money which the county received and which the court has decided de-cided should go back to Price should be refunded by the county rather than by Mr Hardy who got no benefit from I but simply performed his official duties as he saw them We therefore recommend that four ninths the countys share of the taxes of the judgment for J4715 tax and 18 costs be paid by the county amounting to 2895 Upon motion of Hall all action in the matter was deferred for one week and the clerk instructed to notify Mr Hardy to appeal before the board and make an explanation A JUSTICE APPOINTED Justice of the Peace Freeman of Her riman precinct in a letter recommended the appointment of John T Bodell as constable of that precinct as the constable con-stable elected last fall failed to qualify Mr Bodell was appointed Constable Also of West Jordan asked that his salary be increased from 10 to 1250 per month and that he be not required to serve papers outside of his precinct The petition was denied THE OLD BOULEVARD Reporting on the matter of the petition pe-tition of Eliza Shafer to have the county coun-ty reconvey to her some land adjacent the once much talked of boulevard tQ the lake the county attorney said it was entirely discretionary with the county The land in question was conveyed con-veyed Yio the countywithout any consideration con-sideration save a representation that a boulevard would be built and thus appreciate the value of adjSlning property prop-erty This transaction took place in 1891 and the boulevard has not yet been built Mr Van Cott says the county board might do as I deemed best There was however a possibility that the boulevard might yet be constructed and there was no limitation in the agreement The matter was referred to the committee com-mittee on roads and bridges LIQUOR LICENSiS The license question then came up and Hall proceeded to give his reasons why the license should be maintained at 300 per year He said he had made a thorough investigation and found that the liquor license in the county was not out of proportion when compared com-pared with the city Kavlins spoke of the evils of the grog shops and the tendency of low license to reduce the standard of respectability lcense spectability of the saloon if Indeed any of the liquor dispensaries could be so termed He referred to the expense ex-pense which Sunday saloons were now causIng the county and thought the higher ratc mlght be Instrumental inclosing in-closing somgpf the saloons nov in operation op-eration rjf Armstrong said he had been through irfi i Mko several ghts with the liquor traffic and it was a serious matter He did not desire to take issue with his fellow fel-low members b tt was a question whether the closing up of some of the present saloons would not have the effect of driving the traffic into shacks and dark corners Then again ping ham and Murray might Incorporate thus taking control of the business out of the hands of the county which rrJght be a injustice to the taxpayers of the county Rawlins said if Murray incorporated there was no question but that the liquor element would be In the saddle in that town Well then you can see where we will be rejoined Armstrong The financial loss to the county would be of little consequence compared with the fact that we would lose control of the traffic which would be Injurious to the people of our county The members then talked some about postponing action for another week but hell thought those who had petitioned pe-titioned for a reduction in the license were entitledtoknow where the board stood He therefore moved that the petition for a reduction be denied Rawlins seconded it and I was carried by a unanimous vote as Armstrong rq marked I believe we should be united In such matters regardless of what position we take Two of the board a majority have spoken and I am going to stand by the action of the majority |