House v. City of Milwaukee

• Decision Date: 05 June 1922
• Parties: NORTHWESTERN PUB. HOUSE v. CITY OF MILWAUKEE.
• Court: Wisconsin Supreme Court

177 Wis. 401

188 N.W. 636

NORTHWESTERN PUB. HOUSE

v.CITY OF MILWAUKEE.

Supreme Court of Wisconsin.

June 5, 1922.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Milwaukee County; Walter Schinz, Judge.

Action by the Northwestern Publishing House against the City of Milwaukee. From an order sustaining demurrer to the complaint, plaintiff appeals. Reversed and remanded.

This action is brought against the city of Milwaukee for the recovery of taxes paid to the city under protest. It is claimed that the property against which the taxes were assessed is exempt from taxation. The complaint sets forth two causes of action. The first is for the recovery of the taxes paid upon the real property, and the second is for the recovery of the taxes paid upon the personal property. The complaint alleges that the plaintiff is a Wisconsin corporation, and a copy of the articles of incorporation are attached to the complaint, marked Exhibit A. From Exhibit A it appears that the plaintiff corporation was originally organized on the 29th day of September, 1891; that it was organized for the purpose of carrying on and conducting a general bookselling, publishing, and printing business, and particularly the printing, publication, and dissemination of all such books, periodicals, and literature as may be by its members considered beneficial to the Evangelical Lutheran faith or principles, and all matters incidental thereto, and also for the purpose of delivering and paying over to the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Wisconsin and other states (which for the sake of brevity is hereinafter designated by the name of “the Synod”), a corporation heretofore organized and now existing under the laws of the state of Wisconsin, all net profits which may be realized from the business of the corporation so created.

It is further provided that the corporation shall be without capital stock; that its property, affairs, and business shall be under the care of and managed by a board of seven directors; that--

“this corporation being connected with the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and being formed for the benefit of the Synod, the members of the Synod shall once in three years, at an annual meeting thereof, elect seven members of this corporation to take the place of the persons then being members thereof, and the persons so elected to membership in this corporation shall by virtue of such election constitute the board of directors, and hold office until their successors are elected and qualified.”

The articles then contain the usual provisions in regard to duties of officers, power to adopt by-laws, method of amendment, and other clauses. A copy of the articles of incorporation of the Synod are attached to the complaint as Exhibit B, from which it appears that it was incorporated on the 9th day of August, 1899, for the purpose of--

“co-operation in ecclesiastical work, such as the training of ministers and school teachers, the maintenance of the purity of doctrine and unity in sound practice, mutual aid, and advice in the matters pertaining to the Lutheran Church and the extension of the Lutheran Church by missionary and charitable work. And in furtherance of these purposes and ends, the said ‘Synod’ may carry on a general publishing, job, and book printing department for the publication of books, tracts, periodicals, and papers and for the dissemination of literature pertaining to the Lutheran Church not any of which however shall be inconsistent with the doctrine of the Lutheran Church as more particularly laid down in the confessions of faith as contained in the book of Concord of the year 1580.”

It was reincorporated in 1897, and the purposes were as stated in the original articles of incorporation. It appears from the allegations of the complaint: That the plaintiff owns the north half of lot 8 of block 52, in the Second ward of the defendant city. That on said property there was located a three-story brick building. That said real estate was necessary for the location and convenience of the building of the plaintiff corporation. That the area of said lot is less than one acre and that the plaintiff owns no other real estate within the state of Wisconsin. That, during the year 1917, said property was assessed for tax purposes. The real estate was valued at $8,600, and the improvements at $25,000. The total amount of the tax for the year 1917 was $666.43, which amount was paid to the city under protest, and that this action was begun to recover within one year from the date of the payment of the taxes. That no part of the real estate is leased or used for pecuniary profit in any way except that the above-named corporation Synod has a great many hundred churches located in the state of Wisconsin and other states, and that many thousand residents of the state of Wisconsin are communicant members thereof. That, for the purpose of co-operation in ecclesiastical work, the maintenance of the purity of doctrine and unity in sound practice, mutual aid, and advice in matters pertaining to the Lutheran Church and the extension of the Lutheran Church by missionary work, it was found necessary by said corporation Synod to organize the plaintiff corporation, so that it could control the publication of such literature and the sale of such articles as were necessary or desirable for the upbuilding of said corporation Synod. That the entire control and management of said corporation is under said corporation Synod, and that all the profits made by said plaintiff are used partly to pay off a present indebtedness on said property, and the remaining part thereof is paid over to said corporation Synod for the uses and benefits of said corporation. That said money is used by said corporation Synod for the following purposes, in approximately the following proportions: Seven-sixtieths for synodical administration and miscellaneous, 22/60 for synodical institutions, 17/60 for home missions, 6/60 for payment of debts, 3/60 for Indian missions, 3/60 pensions for widows, pastors, and teachers, 1/60 home for the aged, 1/60 negro missions. That, during the time from May 1, 1916, to May 1, 1917, the total receipts of the plaintiff corporation amounted to $138,116.76. That, during the period from May 1, 1917, to May 1, 1918, the total amount of the business of plaintiff corporation amounted to $157,370.36. That all of said income was received from the publication or sale of such literature or articles as were used exclusively for the purpose of the Synod corporation, except that about $550 was received from the printing of envelopes and letterheads for ministers and teachers belonging to the Synod corporation and for some...