President v. George Gaylord.
| Decision Date | 30 September 1871 |
| Citation | 1871 WL 8247,61 Ill. 276 |
| Parties | PRESIDENT AND TRUSTEES OF LOCKPORTv.GEORGE GAYLORD. |
| Court | Illinois Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
APPEAL from the Circuit Court of Will county; the Hon. JOSIAH MCROBERTS, Judge, presiding.
Messrs. VANARMAN & VALLETTE, for the appellant.
Messrs. FELLOWS & LEONARD, and Mr. L. S. PARKER, for the appellee.
The board of trustees of the village of Lockport ordered the street commissioner to repair, or rather open, Seventh street. He proceeded to do so, and in the execution of the work, borrowed from the plaintiff, at different times, sums of money, amounting in all to several hundred dollars. The commissioner made his report, showing his receipts and expenditures in detail, and the trustees ordered their clerk to issue to the plaintiff orders on the treasury for the amounts borrowed of him. This was done, and this suit was brought to recover the amount of these orders. The plaintiff recovered judgment in the court below, and the defendant appealed.
The charter of the village has the following clause:
“The said trustees shall have no power to borrow money, or issue any evidences of indebtedness, at any time, for an amount above what is already provided for by taxes levied, or other certain sources of revenue, unless specially authorized so to do by a vote of the majority of the legal voters of the corporation.”
It is contended that, in this transaction, the trustees borrowed money; that the orders issued on the treasury are evidences of indebtedness, and that as the conditions under the foregoing provision of the charter, on which these things might be done, did not exist, there can be no recovery in this suit.
We incline to regard this position as well taken. By the provision in question, the legislature seem to have undertaken to protect the citizens of this village against the disastrous consequences which have elsewhere resulted, from the reckless and improvident financial management of municipal officers. It is much easier to make public improvements on credit than with ready money; to throw the expense of them upon others who are to come after, than to pay for them at the time. The credit system tempts to the making of lavish and unnecessary expenditures. The contrary one leads to the making of such only as are needful and judicious, and tends to insure economy in the making of them.
Instances are not wanting in the experience of the State, where municipalities have gone on making improvements under a vicious credit system, causing depreciation of their credit and their evidences of indebtedness to be hawked about at large discounts, whereby they were compelled to pay greatly enhanced prices for whatever they got done, resulting in the accumulation of burdens of debt weighing them down in bankruptcy.
The general assembly thought proper, for the protection of the citizens of this village, to secure for them the...
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