People ex rel. Greer v. Thomas Walters Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution

• Decision Date: 19 February 1924
• Docket Number: No. 15829.,15829.
• Citation: 142 N.E. 566,311 Ill. 304
• Parties: PEOPLE ex rel. GREER, County Collector, v. THOMAS WALTERS CHAPTER OF THE DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

311 Ill. 304

142 N.E. 566

PEOPLE ex rel. GREER, County Collector,

v.THOMAS WALTERS CHAPTER OF THE DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

No. 15829.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Feb. 19, 1924.

Proceeding by the People, on the relation of Harry W. Greer, County Collector, against the Thomas Walters Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Judgment for defendant, and relator appeals.

Affirmed.

Appeal from Fulton County Court; J. D. Breckenridge, Judge.

Floyd F. Putman, State's Atty., of Canton, for appellant.

Harvey H. Atherton and Glenn Ratcliff, both of Lawistown, for appellee.

CARTWRIGHT, J.

The county treasurer of the county of Fulton applied to the county court at the June term, 1923, for judgment against the property of the appellee, Thomas Walters Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, in the city of Lewistown, for delinquent taxes for the year 1922. The appellee filed an objection that it was a corporation organized exclusively for beneficent and charitable purposes; that the property owned by it was used for such purposes and no other, and was not leased or used with a view to profit; and that by statute it was exempted from taxation. Upon a hearing the objection was sustained, and judgment denied, and an appeal was allowed and perfected.

Article 9, § 1, of the Constitution requires the General Assembly to provide such revenue as may be needful by levying a tax by valuation, so that every person or corporation shall pay a tax in proportion to the value of his, her, or its property; but section 3 of the article provides that the property of the state, counties, and other municipal corporations, both real and personal, and such property as may be used exclusively for agricultural and horticultural societies, for school, religious, cemetery, and charitable purposes, may be exempt from taxation by general law. That provision of the Constitution is not self-executing, but authorizes the General Assembly, by legislative enactment, to exempt from taxation the classes of property therein specified. People v. Anderson, 117 Ill. 50, 7 N. E. 625;In re Walker, 200 Ill. 566, 66 N. E. 144;People v. Salvation Army, 305 Ill. 545, 137 N. E. 430. Under the power conferred by the Constitution, the General Assembly, by the seventh paragraph of section 2 of the Revenue Act, has provided that all property of institutions of public charity, all property of beneficent and charitable organizations, whether incorporated in this or any other state of the United States, and all property of old people's homes, when such property is actually and exclusively used for such charitable and beneficent purposes, and not leased or otherwise used with a view to profit, shall be exempt from taxation. Smith-Hurd Rev. St. 1923, p. 1717. The General Assembly has added to the provision of the Constitution the word ‘beneficent,’ both as to the class of organizations and the purposes for which property is used. The General Assembly was not authorized to add to or enlarge the meaning of the word ‘charitable,’ and the word ‘beneficent’ cannot be regarded as designating a class of organizations or purposes not named in the Constitution. Statutes granting tax exemptions are to be construed strictly, and must come within not only the terms of the statute, but also the authority given by the Constitution, and the legislative intention must have been to use the word as synonymous with the word ‘charitable.’ It was incumbent upon the appellee to show that its organization and the use of its property came within the provision of the Constitution as charitable.

The appellee offered in evidence its charter, defining its nature and purpose as follows:

‘The object for which it is formed is to maintain a chapter house at Lewistown, Illinois, and in connection therewith a community rest room; to perpetuate the memory of men and women who have actively promoted and protected the interests of the community in the past, of those who have been prominent in the history of our county, state, and country, and especially of those who achieved American independence, by the acquisition and protection of historical spots and the erection of memorials, and by the promotion of celebrations of patriotic anniversaries; to cherish, maintain, and extend the institutions of American freedom and to foster true patriotism and love of country.’

The residence property, upon which there was a brick residence building erected in 1842, had some historical value. It was near the center of the city, and near the courthouse, and convenient for maintaining a rest room and community gatherings. A rest room was established, provided with a public toilet, chairs, and tables, where people might rest and eat their lunches. The building was in charge of a hostess, and the rest room was open to the public from 6:30 a. m. until 9 p. m., except on Sunday, when it was open from 9 a. m. to 9 p. m. In the year preceding April 1,...