| Show A VICTORY yoa OUR COOP CO OP institutions THE dispute between the co opera tive institutions of utah and the internal revenue department has hag at length received a judicial decision As W we 0 anticipated at the time when the difficulty first assumed definite shape the decision is in favor of the institutions A brief account of this affair which seriously affects our mercantile i and industrial organizations I 1 in this territory will no doubt be appreciated by the public on the introduction of the coop co op I 1 principle into our establishments for merchandise and manufactures fac tures a great deal of book keep ing was found to be necessary especially bially in those institutions which had many departments because of tife th e scarcity scar cily of cash payments had J to be made in a large degree in the articles produced or kept for sale opening and keeping accounts account with work hands and persons doing business with the institutions lons ions was found to be a task too big to be continued the plan of issuing due bills for definite amounts payable in the products or wares of t the he establishment was i this was found to be very the employees were paid wholly or partly in this papel paper and no individual accounts had to be kept with them they could be used in merent different dif departments if a person I 1 i had a credit of a hundred dollars with an institution instead of drawing on that amount or belag compelled to trade it out in one department ho he could get it indall in mail maii mall sums sum s for use when and where he re quire quiro qui rol roi Z 0 at it and the cooperative institution at brigham city may be mentioned as prominent instances of the adoption and benefits of the due bill system but there was trouble in the air the tiie Col ool leetor leefor of internal revenue ais Als discovered coverd or thought so that lie had an a n opening pening 0 here for the ey er cise else of his balling calling the theban banking king and currency jaws lawa of the united states rec received elyea elVea some amend amendments in 1875 and the act of february 8 of that sec 19 that every person firm association other than national bank A associations and every corporation po ration state bank or state banking association shall pay a ta tax tak ax of ten per on the amount of their own notes used for circulation and paid out by them Ther there was no desire on the part of Z 0 al I 1 or any of thel the institutions n using these due bills to do anything contrary to law or to evade the pay payi ment of any tax lawfully assessed bur it was considered by them that this enactment had bad no reference to their paper and they therefore resisted collection the matter was referred to the commissioner of internal revenue at washington and argued before him by learned coun sel fel he instructed the collector to proceed and enforce lon collection ion if it necessary and the amounts demanded were paid on demand demands Z C al I 1 opened its books to the inspection of the collector and gawe gaVe him every opportunity of finding out their amount of du deebs ebs issued brigham city institution ution same hodi bo did dother dothen other firma firms and corporations I 1 Z G ekr M T r paid to the collector to july and on aig ang aug 28 of tile the same beail year malc making lle lie ff total of 1000 of this finio amount was returned on a showing that the amount charged had been doubled on od a assessment ses seb of nov 80 30 1876 brigham city institution dation paid about at the time of these payments the NEWS simply advised the parties to pay their respective abao amounts unta under protest we took the ground that the assessment was a stretch of the lawand law and on proper adjudication the amounts might be recovered our advice was ridiculed iy ay anti and we remember at the time that an actor d bring uri url ng a play performed lapour in our oun theatre saying pay if 1 under protest 21 was received with much laughter Z 0 at I 1 ban however evar in ill making each ed wing and signed j i coopy CO opy E aler AIER CANTILE institution 1 salt lake nake city august 28 71 10 jr J JloU ister esq collector vot vol lector U S incer Inter infernal nar naZ revenue salt late cirg sir the undersigned undersigner under signed herg herd herewith with makes payment in behalf of zions operative cooperative co mercantile institution of the sum of dollars the amount tem iem remanded by you in your notice of taxes assessed aa against the said institution bea ben bearing date upon its merchandise or orders ders or zi due bills alleged to be circulating fing ting notes first protesting that paid tax is illegal and arrone erroneous ous for that the orders or due bills issued by zions ziona operative cooperative co mercantile institution ution upon which this thia tax was assessed are not notes used for circulation as defined by law and made subject to tax nor were said orders or due bills in fact used for circulation nor paid out oui by sa said sald id institution ution for foe that purpose notice is hereby given that suit will be commenced against you to recover the amount of said tax with interest etc signed tro THO THOMAS mas VAS G W WEBBER ebbett kecty and treasurer brigham city and other co opera tive elve institutions assessed entered similar protests when making payment they all intended to bring the matter to a judicial hearing Z C al 1 I entered suit in the third district court against 0 J hollis ter Collector of internal revenue to recover with interest from date of payment the case finally came off before ju bigej A hunt huntr r and a jury duly being argued on behalf of Z C ati L by J L rawlings esq the defence ce was conducted by the district attorney and his assistant that its merits may oe clearly understood we produce here a copy of one of the transfer checks or due bills that wet e taxed no 22 series A 2 SALT lare LAKE CITY october 6 1876 pay david 0 calder calde r or bearer two dollars in merchandise at retail I 1 G ff SNELL I 1 i aoh to 22 11 lolaw clawson so supt bupt Z C XZ ar r mr fr rawl bawl ms argued that tl the le 1 in instrument ment did not come within the meaning of the law providing for assessments assessment and proceeded to show the bliar bilar character acter aeter of tile th due bills but defence admitted the tile terms and character of the instrument and offered ta prove that although they did not pur purport to he be circulating notes they were so in fact and in use and were paid out by plain plaintiff tili till as money mr P rawlins elins for the plaintiff objected to the introduction of such evidence on the th e ground that the liability of an ins instrument men t to taxation must bei be determined ter mined by its ita fase and purport and it having been admitted by the d defense e r en 8 e that thee due bills billa were nob not notes within the meaning or the statute any inquiry into the thie use thereof was immaterial he aiso also showed that a note as mentioned in the act under un der these due bills were taxed has a settled mean ing in law and that whenever used in a statute iq 1 presumed to have that settled meaning unless plainly deprived of that sensa sense bense by the terms of the statute the act of feb 8 1875 is but a part of a system of legislation relating to currency and taxation all enacted in the same kame spirit and operated on the same policy congress when intending in this legislation to designate any particular instrument always employed legal terms he traced the history ot of this legislation r and 1 showed how the different terms were used aved 1 certificate checks being spoken of or as different d 1 from fiam notes holes etc statutes u tes are cons construed gue d as to be cons Is terl tell t throughout and when a word has been certainly used in a given sense senses a and nd is is nai nal again agi a n used in reference to the same subject matter it is presumed lo 10 to be employed in the same sense A note noto within the meaning odthe law is a negotiable promise for tile the payment of money these due bills wre were not negotiable were not a promise to pay nor were they for the payment of ml miney amney ney they were orders I 1 from a certain party to another for the payment of or merchandise to a given valtie value the mischief aimed at by the law was not in these due bills bill of mercantile firms but in circulating cu notes ofa of a similar sinji lar nature to bank notes he cited authorities on this point and anti also the ruling odthe of the supreme au court couri ot ol th the e united S ates that 1 i I 1 it there Is any doubt as fas to t the V liability of a particular instrument to taxation the construction of the statute will be in favor of its exemption because no tax can be imposed 1 W without clear and unambiguous language for that purpose the case was so clear these due billstein bills being of an altogether different character to the notes made taxable by law that the court ins instructed eruct the jury to bring in a verdict for the plaintiff the sum recovered is fixed at bein being tile the amount paid to the collector with ten percent interest on from july 1878 and on from august sixty days were allowed for stay of proceedings and for defendant to move for a new trial this is a test case all the others being involved in this issue if the judgment remains or is confirmed by the higher courts in ift case of appeal all ia the he institutions which have paid money as we have continually maintained unlawfully and certainly unjustly will recover with interest brigham city perhaps has been worse crippled by this tax than any other establishment in utah and we sincerely I 1 hope that it will be recuperated by a return of the cash casil Z C M I 1 ia is to be commended mended for the struggle it has made so gallantly and air rawlins is to be congratulated for the able manner in wh which ich jeh he con coA conducted ducted the case ff wyoming is being invaded by the Imo mormons rinous and the boomerang Boo iss upon its ears so says the omaha herald gerald the boomerang Boonie tang rang is to be e congratulated on getting upon ulon ui on such euch broad brad foundations and wyoming ia is to be con eon congratulated for so profitable an increase e of its working r population this thia division in the republican camp is dan dangerous danek danet cerous verous rous to the party the organ of the stai stalwarts stal warts in washington is very bitter on garfield and denounces him as weak ill ili fl tempered and petulant and ana de clares ciares he was nominated at chicago by the accidental caprice of a mob I 1 stanley matthews has gained the judgeship of the united states supreme p r e me court by just one vote majority he has got the place though as surely 8 arely as if the vote was unanimous thurman teurman was the man for the posit tim itin but since ince there is no chance for him the governorship gover n of ohio is the next possibility the buckeyes Buc keyes could not do better than give g ve the experienced e statesman that post at at th the e next election |
