City of St. Charles v. Elsner

• Decision Date: 30 March 1900
• Citation: 155 Mo. 671,56 S.W. 291
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court
• Parties: CITY OF ST. CHARLES v. ELSNER.

56 S.W. 291

155 Mo. 671

CITY OF ST. CHARLES v. ELSNER.

Supreme Court of Missouri, Division No. 1.

March 30, 1900.

MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS—LICENSES—TAXATION —PUBLIC SCALES—DISCRIMINATION IN TAXATION.

1. Under Sess. Acts 1893, p. 84, § 91, authorizing cities of the third class to provide for the public weighing of coal, hay, and corn, such a city has power to maintain public scales.

2. Sess. Acts 1893, p. 84, § 91, authorized cities of the third class to provide by ordinance for the public weighing of coal, corn, and hay, and to fix a fine for violation thereof. Section 107 authorized a license tax on all merchants and other businesses. St. Charles City Ordinances, §§ 740, 793, 798, provided for public weighing, and fixed a scale of prices therefor, from which source the city acquired a revenue. Held, that the ordinance was not invalid for the reason that it was for the purpose of raising revenue, as the statute authorized the raising of revenue by such means.

3. St. Charles City Ordinances, § 793, which provides that persons maintaining regular places of business for the sale of coal, corn, and hay, and paying a merchant's tax, shall be exempted from weighing such commodities on the public scales, and paying the tax imposed therefor, when sold in less than 15-bushel lots, is not in conflict with Const. art. 10, § 3, providing that taxes shall be uniform, as the tax is uniform on all in the same class.

4. St. Charles City Ordinances, §§ 790, 793, 795-797, required the public weighing of corn, hay, and coal, and made it a misdemeanor to sell such commodities without so weighing, and getting a certificate therefor. The charge for weighing in no case exceeded 25 cents. Such commodities sold by dealers who had paid a merchant's license were not required to be weighed, when sold in quantities less than 15 bushels. Held, that the ordinance was not unreasonable.

Appeal from circuit court, St. Charles county; E. M. Hughes, Judge.

Action by the city of St. Charles against Fred Elsner for the violation of a city weighing ordinance. From a judgment in favor of the defendant, plaintiff appeals. Reversed.

T. F. McDearmon, for appellant. C. W. Wilson, for respondent.

BRACE, P. J.

This is an action by the city of St. Charles against the defendant for the violation of a city ordinance, begun in the police court of said city, taken thence by appeal to the St. Charles county circuit court, thence to the St. Louis court of appeals, and thence certified here, as involving the construction of section 3, art. 10, of the constitution.

The city of St. Charles is a city of the third class. By statute, cities of that class are authorized to provide by ordinance for the inspection, weighing, and measuring of coal, hay, corn, and other commodities, and to fix the fees therefor (Sess. Acts 1893, p. 84, § 91), and to collect a license tax on "merchants of all kinds," and on "all other businesses, trades and avocations whatever" (section 107). The city has and maintains three public scales. The ordinance in question, after providing for the appointment of weighers at such scales, and their qualification, by oath and bond, provides:

"Sec. 790. Penalty for Selling Unweighed Coal, Hay and Corn; What Certificate shall Contain. Any person who shall bring or send into the city of St. Charles for sale, any unshelled corn, hay or stone coal, in any wagon or vehicle, and shall sell or offer the same for sale without having first had the same and the wagon or other vehicle, containing the same, weighed, and without having a certificate of the weight thereof, which certificate shall contain the gross, tare and net weight of the article contained in said load, and the weigher's name printed or written therein, and the fee paid to the weigher, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall pay to the city not less than five and not more than one hundred dollars, to be recovered as other penalties before the police judge."

It then prescribes a form for the weigher's certificate, the number of pounds to the bushel, and then provides:

"Sec. 793. Coal, Hay and Corn must be Weighed. No person shall buy or sell or offer to sell any unshelled corn, or stone coal, in this city in quantities exceeding fifteen bushels, nor shall any person buy or sell, or offer for sale, any hay in this city in quantities exceeding five hundred pounds until the same shall have been weighed by one of the city weighers, on one of the city scales, and a certificate of the weight given as herein required: provided, that no person shall sell unshelled corn, or stone coal in quantities not exceeding fifteen bushels, and hay in quantities not exceeding five hundred pounds in this city until the same has been weighed as hereinbefore provided, unless such person is a dealer buying and selling unshelled corn, stone coal or hay at a stand or permanent place of business in this city, and has a merchant's license from this city to engage in such business."

It then forbids alteration of the weigher's certificate, and provides:

"Sec. 795. Weighers' Charges. The weighers shall be entitled to charge for each certificate delivered by them as follows: For every load of unshelled corn or stone coal containing fifty bushels or more, twenty-five cents, and for every such load containing less than fifty bushels and more than fifteen bushels, twenty cents; for every load of hay containing more than five hundred pounds, twenty-five cents, and for all other things not before mentioned, twenty-five cents per load; for each animal weighed separately, ten cents; and for two or more animals five cents each: provided, that when such animals are weighed in a wagon the charge shall be twenty-five cents each. No weigher shall charge more or less than the prices allowed by this section, nor shall he deliver his certificate until the fee is paid.

"Sec. 796. Weighers shall Account for Moneys Collected; Their Compensation. The city weighers shall account to and settle with the city for all fees and money collected by them at the regular meetings of the council in April, July, October and January in each year, and shall be allowed for their services one-half of all fees collected by them.

"Sec. 797. Penalty for Violation of This Ordinance; or for Imposition. Whoever shall violate any of the provisions of this ordinance, or be guilty of any fraud or imposition in the sale of unshelled corn, stone coal or hay, or shall change or alter any certificate made in pursuance thereof, shall forfeit and pay to the city not less than five nor more than one hundred dollars, to be recovered as other penalties before the police judge."

On the trial in the circuit court the defendant admitted that he weighed on his own scales, and sold and...