City of Philadelphia v. Masonic Home of Pennsylvania

• Decision Date: 02 April 1894
• Docket Number: 61
• Citation: 160 Pa. 572,28 A. 954
• Parties: City of Philadelphia, Appellant, v. Masonic Home of Pennsylvania
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

28 A. 954

160 Pa. 572

City of Philadelphia, Appellant, v. Masonic Home of Pennsylvania

No. 61

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

April 2, 1894

January 19, 1893, Argued; January 2, 1894, Reargued

Appeal, No. 61, July T., 1892, by plaintiff, from judgment of C.P. No. 4, Phila. Co., Sept. T., 1889, No. 923, M.L.D., on verdict for defendant. Reversed.

Sci fa. sur municipal claim for taxes.

At the trial, it appeared that the Masonic Home was incorporated under the act of May 6, 1871, P.L. 615. On April 14, 1884 the Home of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania was incorporated by the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia county. On Sept. 6, 1887, the two corporations were merged by a decree of court. The act of May 6, 1871, P.L. 615, exempted the property of the Masonic Home from taxation.

Defendant's charter under act of May 6, 1871, P.L. 615, was as follows:

"SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in General Assembly met and it is hereby enacted, by the authority of the same, that Robert A. Lamberton, Christian F. Knapp, Henry B. McKean Michael Nisbet, John A. Wright, D. W. C. Carroll, Jeremiah L. Hutchinson, Samuel B. Dick, James M. Porter and James H. Hopkins, their associates and successors, be and they are hereby created a body corporate and politic, with perpetual succession, by the name and style of 'The Masonic Home of Pennsylvania,' and by that name are made capable in law and equity to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, contract and be contracted with, and to make, have and use a common seal and the same to break, alter, renew at pleasure, ordain by-laws, and shall have the right to take and hold by purchase, gift or devise, real and personal estate, free from all taxation, for the purposes hereinafter named, and to sell, convey or exchange the same at pleasure.

"SEC. 2. The object of said institution shall be to provide and sustain in the state of Pennsylvania one or more houses for destitute widows and orphans of deceased Freemasons of the state of Pennsylvania, and an infirmary or infirmaries for the reception and care of sick and afflicted Freemasons in indigent circumstances, and all such as may be placed under its charge by its managers.

"SEC. 3. The membership of said institution shall consist of life members, active members and representatives of masonic bodies, under such regulations as the committee of management may prescribe -- all of whom shall be Freemasons.

"SEC. 4. There shall be a meeting of the members of the institution called within three months after the passage of this act, for the purpose of electing members of the committee of management, prescribing its constitution and general rules and regulations for the government of the institution." . . .

The by-laws applicable to the question at issue were as follows:

"OBJECT OF THE HOME.

"SECTION 1. The Masonic Home shall have for its object, to provide and maintain a home for indigent, afflicted or aged Freemasons, and for the destitute widows and orphans of Freemasons in the state of Pennsylvania, and for such others as may be placed under its charge.

"CORPORATION.

"SEC. 2. This corporation shall be composed of individuals as representatives of such masonic bodies as are recognized by the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania, and of such Master Masons as may become members thereof by complying with the by-laws.

"ADMISSION OF INMATES AND FEES.

"SEC. 41. Every nomination for admission into the home as an inmate shall be made in writing, at a stated meeting of the board of managers, setting forth the name, age (not less than fifty-five years), residence, social condition, and masonic membership of the nominee, with such other information as the board of managers may require.

"All nominations shall be recorded in a book kept for that purpose, in the order in which they are presented, and shall be referred by the board of managers to the committee on admissions.

"SEC. 42. Inmates shall be admitted into the home after report of the committee on admissions; those under sixty years of age requiring a two thirds, and others a majority, vote of the board of managers.

"SEC. 43. Each representative shall be entitled to make as many nominations for admission into the home as inmates as he may deem advisable, at the request of the masonic body represented by him; but not more than one nominee of a representative shall be admitted as an inmate while other nominees are upon the list from bodies which have at the time no inmate, and whose admission is approved by the board of managers.

"Individual members may also make nominations, subject to the same restrictions as to inmates as hereinbefore stated.

"In the event of an inmate withdrawing from the home, for any cause whatever, within three months after admission, so much of the fee paid into the funds of this corporation as shall remain after deducting five dollars ($5.00) per week for his board during his residence in the home, and, in addition, such other expenses as may be incurred in his behalf, shall be returned to the masonic body or individual member that paid the same.

"The preference for admission shall always be given in the following order, viz.:

"1. To such nominees as are members of masonic bodies represented in the corporation, and nominated at their instance.

"2. To such nominees as may be placed in nomination by a representative of one masonic body, where the nominee is a member of some other masonic body which is also represented.

"3. To Master Masons nominated by individual members.

"4. To Master Masons belonging to masonic bodies located within the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, but not represented in this corporation, who may have been nominated as aforesaid.

"5. To Master Masons of other jurisdictions upon such nomination.

"SEC. 44. There shall be paid into the funds of this corporation, as the admission fee of an inmate, the sum hereinafter named, according to the age of the brother so admitted, as follows:

"If the applicant be 55 years of age, and not

exceeding 60 years,

$250 00

If the applicant be 60 years of age, and not

exceeding 65 years,

200 00

If the applicant be 65 years of age, and not

exceeding 70 years,

150 00

If the applicant be over 70 years of age,

100 00

"SEC. 45. Any Master Mason wishing to secure a home for himself in his declining years shall, upon becoming a member of this corporation and the payment of four hundred ($400.00) dollars in addition to his membership fee, be at once nominated by a majority vote of the board of managers for admission into the home, in accordance with section 41 of these by-laws. He shall be exempt from the payment of annual dues, and, upon reaching the age of sixty (60) years or upwards, shall have precedence, according to date of nomination, of all other Master Masons nominated by either representatives or by individual members, subject, however, to the restrictions of section 43 of these by-laws; Provided, That any member of this corporation, becoming an inmate of the home, shall thereby forfeit and terminate his membership in the corporation.

"PERMANENT FUND.

"SEC. 46. The permanent fund shall consist of the fees for life membership and admission of inmates, and of all donations and bequests, when not otherwise designated by the donor or legatee, and such other amounts as may be voted to the fund by the board of managers.

"All investments in the permanent fund shall be made under the supervision and direction of the committee on finance, who shall make a report of the investments in the fund annually, or whenever required, to the board of managers and the corporation.

"The interest from such investments shall be paid to the treasurer for the general uses of the corporation."

It was admitted that defendant institute was supported as a charity.

Binding instructions for defendant were given.

Verdict and judgment for defendant. Plaintiff appealed.

Error assigned was above instruction, quoting it.

The judgment is reversed at costs of appellee, and a new trial is awarded.

James Alcorn, assistant city solicitor, Isaac H. Shields, assistant city solicitor, and Charles F. Warwick, city solicitor, with him, for appellant. -- The exemption clause of the act of May 6, 1871, was repealed by the act of 1874: Wagner Free Institute v. Phila., 132 Pa. 612; Phila. v. Penna. Hospital, 134 Pa. 171; Allegheny Co. v. Gibson, 90 Pa. 397; Perkins v. Slack, 86 Pa. 270; Lehigh Iron Co. v. Lower Macungie Township, 81 Pa. 484.

The constitution of 1874 does not exempt any property from taxation, but authorizes the legislature by general laws to exempt the property mentioned in § 1, art. 9. It thereby limited the power of the legislature. In pursuance of that authority, the act of May 14, 1874, P.L. 158, was passed. There is now no exemption except as mentioned in § 1, art. 9, as enforced by the act of May 14, 1874. Unless appellee is within the class referred to in said section and act, it is not exempt from taxation.

Appellee is not a purely public charity, and therefore exempt from taxation by § 1, art. 9, of the constitution, and the act of May 14, 1874, P.L. 158: Donohugh's Ap., 86 Pa. 306; Burd Orphan Asylum v. School District, 90 Pa. 21; Delaware County Inst. v. Delaware Co., 94 Pa. 163; Phila. v. Women's Christian Assn., 125 Pa. 572; Northampton Co. v. Lafayette College, 128 Pa. 132; Episcopal Academy v. Phila., 150 Pa. 565.

Robert H. Hinckley, for appellee. -- By the terms of the act of May 6, 1871, defendant's property was to be held by it free from all taxation, and it is contended that this act is still in force. The act of May 14, 1874, P.L. 158, does not, by any of its terms, repeal this previous...