Bullock v. Billheimer
| Decision Date | 06 April 1911 |
| Docket Number | 21,656 |
| Parties | Bullock v. Billheimer, Auditor, et al |
| Court | Indiana Supreme Court |
From Superior Court of Marion County (78,206); Vinson Carter Judge.
Suit by Henry W. Bullock against John C. Billheimer, as Auditor of State, and others. From a judgment for defendants, plaintiff appeals.
Affirmed.
Henry W. Bullock, in pro. per. for appellant.
James Bingham, Attorney-General, Addison C. Harris, H. H. Hammer and Smith, Duncan, Hornbrook & Smith, for appellees.
Appellant, as a taxpayer, instituted a suit in the Superior Court of Marion County against the Auditor of State and the Treasurer of State, the Indiana State Board of Agriculture, the Indiana Corn Growers Association, the Indiana Livestock Breeders Association, the Indiana Horticultural Society, the Indiana Historical Society, the Fanciers Association of Indiana, the State Dairymens Association, the Indiana Academy of Science, and the Board of Trustees of Purdue University, his complaint consisting of three paragraphs, to enjoin the Auditor of State from drawing warrants on the Treasurer of State, and the latter from paying such warrants to the board of trustees of Purdue University, under the provisions of the act of March 8, 1909 (Acts 1909 p. 403). Upon answers of general denial, trial was had and judgment rendered for appellees.
The error here assigned is in overruling the motion for a new trial, the grounds of which were that the decision of the court is not sustained by sufficient evidence, and is contrary to law.
The first paragraph of complaint alleges that the board of trustees of Purdue University, together with the societies, associations and boards named, have charge of Purdue University; that the Indiana State Board of Agriculture, the Indiana Horticultural Society, the Indiana Corn Growers Association, the State Dairymens Association, the Indiana Livestock Breeders Association and the Fanciers Association of Indiana are private corporations; that the board of trustees of Purdue University is preparing to present to the Auditor of State a claim for $ 75,000, under the provisions of the appropriation act of 1909, supra, and that on presentation of such warrant said treasurer threatens to pay it; that its payment would be unlawful, in that said act is invalid, because it has no enacting clause; that the act is unconstitutional, in that it attempts to direct the expenditure of public money through the agency of the Indiana Corn Growers Association, the State Dairymens Association, the Indiana Livestock Breeders Association, the Fanciers Association of Indiana and the Indiana Horticultural Society; that it is void because the power sought to be conferred by the act on said private corporations is not conferred on them by their charters, and said act seeks to confer special privileges and immunities upon certain corporations, in violation of article 1, § 23, of the state Constitution, and because the title of such act does not embrace the subjects of horticulture and poultry; that these five associations are preparing to, and will appoint the advisory board to direct the expenditure of the $ 75,000, and will interfere with the director of the experiment station of Purdue University, without authority of law or right. The prayer is that these associations be enjoined from appointing such advisory board, and that the payment of the $ 75,000 be enjoined.
The second paragraph is similar to the first, except that it alleges that defendants, other than the Auditor of State, the Treasurer of State and The Trustees of Purdue University, are private corporations, chartered and created by special acts of the General Assembly, and without authority to perform any public service; that said boards, societies and associations are preparing claims for presentation to the Auditor of State for payment out of the public treasury of various specified amounts appropriated to each, and that said auditor will issue the warrants, and said treasurer will pay them, unless enjoined; that they are illegal, in that said societies are private corporations, performing no public service under direction of any public officer appointed by any legally constituted authority; that the Constitution prohibits state aid to private corporations, and the conferring of special privileges on any citizen or class of citizens, not enjoyed by all, and that these societies, boards and associations were created by special acts of the legislature. The prayer is for an injunction prohibiting the payment of such claims.
The third paragraph is similar in its allegations to the first, except that it alleges that the board of trustees of Purdue University is controlling the affairs of the university, including the experiment station connected therewith; that the other defendants are private corporations, and are attempting to direct and control the affairs of said university, without authority of law, by appointing the members of the board of trustees and the advisory committee of the university, and directing the expenditure of money, without authority, or without being accountable to the public, or without deriving authority from any department of the state government; that the act of 1909, supra, carries an annual appropriation of $ 75,000 to the experiment station of Purdue University, and the board of trustees and the advisory committee are preparing to expend the appropriation for the purpose of manufacture, purchase, sale, trade and traffic for gain, of farm and dairy products, through purchasing and sales agents throughout the State, in connection with private persons and citizens of this State, all without authority of law, for the reason that the act is void, in that such act, being an attempt to amend the act of 1905 (Acts 1905 p. 142, §§ 6864-6866 Burns 1908), has no enacting clause; that said act pretends to place the expenditure of public money in the hands and under the direction of private corporations; that it attempts to confer power on private corporations to appoint advisory boards to direct the work of a state institution; that it is special legislation, and confers special privileges and immunities on certain persons; that it provides aid and support to private corporations from public funds, and provides for the expenditure of public funds for private purposes, and that the purposes included are broader than the title of the act. The prayer is for an injunction as in the first paragraph.
The only allegation of the first paragraph as to the Indiana State Board of Agriculture is that it is a private corporation, and that the Treasurer of State will pay the appropriation. In the second paragraph the sole allegations are that it is a private corporation created by special charter, and that it will, unless enjoined, present a claim for payment, and that the Treasurer of State will pay out of the public funds $ 10,000. In the third paragraph it is alleged that it is a private corporation incorporated under a special act of the legislature, and it, with the other defendant societies, boards and associations, is attempting to direct and control the affairs of Purdue University, in the manner shown in the abstract of the complaint.
As to the second paragraph, we infer that the attack is upon the provisions of the general appropriation bill of 1909 (Acts 1909 p. 470), and that the specific appropriations are to the State Dairymens Association and the Indiana Livestock Breeders Association, under the act of 1907 (Acts 1907 p. 570, §§ 3239-3241 Burns 1908), as the amounts specified in the paragraph of complaint correspond to the amounts appropriated to the use of the various associations and boards mentioned. In appellant's brief, however, no reference is made to the specific appropriation act of 1907, supra, in favor of the Indiana Corn Growers Association or the State Dairymens Association, or the general appropriation act of 1909, except the general claim that these are all private corporations created by special acts of the General Assembly, and that any appropriation to them from the public funds is illegal.
The Indiana Historical Society was created by a special act of the legislature on January 10, 1831 (Acts 1831 p. 62). Its objects are not stated, further than the name implies. The Indiana State Board of Agriculture was created by a special act February 14, 1851 (Acts 1851 p. 6), under the title "An act for the encouragement of agriculture," and by the body of the act its objects are declared to be "for deliberation and consultation as to the wants, prospects and conditions of the agricultural interests throughout the State." By the incorporating act, $ 1,000 was appropriated for the use of the board, and a report to the General Assembly was required annually. Power was given this board by section nine of said act to hold state fairs, and to have the entire control thereof, to fix premiums "embracing any article of science or art," or such as it saw was "calculated to advance the interests of the people of the State." The ordinary expenses of the board, including the necessary personal expenses of the members for two meetings in a year, were to be paid from the state treasury. This association has been held to be a private corporation. Downing v. Indiana State Board, etc. (1891), 129 Ind. 443, 28 N.E. 123.
The same thing, we think, must be held to be true as to the Indiana Historical Society, but both were created under the Constitution of 1816, which had no inhibition against creating corporations by special acts.
Purdue University was incorporated pursuant to the provisions of an act of congress of July 2, 1862 (2 Fed. Stat. Ann. p. 850, 12 Stat. 503), and an act of congress of April 14, 1864, with the...
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