Show THE TAX SUSTAINED the suit of cyula Y merrill ve TB john D spencer county tax collector involving the school tax has haa been terminated in the third district court in favor of the he schools and against mrs merrill judge Bi Rit tohle opinion ruling on the cause is as a follows Ol lOWB 1 I have given the case jaee such attention as I 1 have been able top to amid the multitude of other pressing duties the question quee tion seems to turn almost wholly upon the meaning to be given to the word maintain edIn in article ag 6 section 10 of we the constitution which reads as fo fol follone I 1 iowa lowe ts 16 in cities of the first fint and second class the public school system shall hall be maintained and controlled ollea by the board of education of such cielec cit lec lep separate and apart from the counties to which said eald cities are located coursel counsel tor for the plaintiff maintain that the definition given in Webster Webs teia 16 international dictionary subdivision aj 4 la Is the correct one viz 11 to bear the be expense 0 to support to 0 keep up to supply what is needed the defendants 1 counsel contends fa for r the definition la in subdivision one 10 lo hold or keep in any particular state or condition to keep up not to suffer to fall or decline or that bat in sub sab al division vision turee three to ato continue not to suffer or cease to fall 1 I have come to the conclusion that it being a matter of considerable doubt as to the correct meaning the be doubt should le resolved to la favor of maintaining the present condition ot of things thing rather wan to assume that the donsil lutt oual convention convection in framing this provision intended to make a change it if they ond did intend a change I 1 think it would have been made clearer than appears in this ar section action if as the plaintiff contends the provision means that the he public schools of the city shall be supported by the board of ef education separate and apart I 1 from the schools of the and the word maintainer maintain eu 1 should be bb construed so 80 SO as to throw upon the city the he burden of the support of its own schools aud and no othere other the logic of the argument would exclude the city from participating in the state tate school the plaintiff ty by no means concedes I 1 think the proper construction goes to the extent merely ot of conferring the board of education the power of keeping intact the city school system and cont controlling in part from the county system the oily city system gets lattof its sustenance from the state fund and then it if its portion of the county fu nd ad insufficient to properly maintain the city system the board is ia authorized under certain circumstances to direct the levy ol of additional taxes for that purpose ae 94 it to ia manifest however that the burden resting reciting upon the city la 18 ao an onerous one and works a hardship that ought to be remedied but that duty la a with the and the court cannot assume that the constitutional provision was waa intended to deal with the subject without its clearly no ao appearing 1 |