Bd. of Directors of Stinson Mem'l Library v. Bd. of Review of Union Cnty.

• Decision Date: 25 February 1911
• Citation: 248 Ill. 590,94 N.E. 153
• Parties: BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF STINSON MEMORIAL LIBRARY v. BOARD OF REVIEW OF UNION COUNTY.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

248 Ill. 590

94 N.E. 153

BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF STINSON MEMORIAL LIBRARY

v.BOARD OF REVIEW OF UNION COUNTY.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Feb. 25, 1911.

Case Certified by Auditor of Public Accounts.

Proceedings for the taxation of property. From a decision of the Board of Review of Union County adjudging that a fund in the treasury of the city of Anna is subject to taxation, the Board of Directors of the Stinson Memorial Library appeal. Affirmed.

H. F. Bussey, for appellant.

W. H. Stead, Atty. Gen., and Roy Wright, for appellee.

FARMER, J.

This is an appeal from a decision of the board of review of Union county that a certain fund in the treasury of the city of Anna, known as the ‘Stinson Memorial Library fund,’ is subject to taxation, and the facts have been certified to this court by the Auditor of Public Accounts, as required by statute. $The facts, as we gather them from the record, are that Robert B. Stinson, a resident of said city of Anna, died testate October 11, 1903. By the nineteenth clause of his will he devised and bequeathed to the city of Anna the residue of his estate, real and personal, ‘to use and be used by it, through its lawfully appointed trustees or directors, for the purpose of establishing, erecting and maintaining a free public library and reading room for the general use and benefit of citizens of said city of Anna and of the surrounding country and county.’ The will directed that, if the bequest was accepted, the mayor and board of aldermen of the city should proceed to organize a library and appoint a board of directors therefor in the manner provided by statute, and that the title to the property devised and bequeathed should vest in the board of directors so created and appointed. The will directed that the directors so appointed should manage and invest the property so as to produce the greatest income and revenue therefrom, and retain the property until such time as the interest or revenue therefrom should be sufficient, in amount, to erect in said city of Anna a suitable and appropriate fireproof library building, to be used as a free public library building and reading room, ‘It being my will and desire and request that the principal sum or fund and property hereby given shall not be diminished, but that the same shall continually be safely invested and the income therefrom shall be used for the erection of said library building and reading room, and that when so erected the income to be derived from the estate hereby given it, to be used and utilized in furnishing, supplying with books and reading material, and similar equipment, and to maintain in a proper, usable, convenient and accessible and useful and beneficial manner the library so created, under the directions of the lawful authorities of said city of Anna, in the manner provided by law.’ At a regular meeting of the city council of the city of Anna held December 7, 1903, the council adopted a resolution accepting the bequest and devise upon the terms and for the uses and purposes provided by the will. On January 4, 1904, the council adopted an ordinance reciting the city's acceptance of the provisions of the will. The ordinance declared the establishment of the library, to be known as the ‘Stinson Memorial Library,’ and provided for its erection, maintenance, and government according to the laws of Illinois and the provisions of the will of Robert B. Stinson, deceased. It also provided for the appointment of a board of nine directors by the mayor, with the approval of the council, who should have control and management of the fund and library. The fund was required to be deposited in the city treasury, to be kept in a separate account, known as the ‘Stinson Memorial Library fund,’ and drawn out by warrants issued by the mayor and clerk upon properly authenticated vouchers issued by the board of directors. Said board of directors are required to make reports annually, on the second Monday in June, of the condition of the fund, receipts, and expenditures. The management and investment of the fund are placed under the control of the board of directors. Pursuant to said ordinance, nine directors were appointed by the mayor, by and with the consent and approval of the city council, and they have had the control and management of said fund since their appointment. By their last annual report, made under date of June 4, 1910, it appears that the fund received under the provisions of the will of Robert B. Stinson amounted to $50,082; that this sum...