State ex rel. Brown v. Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Ry. Co.

• Decision Date: 31 October 1884
• Citation: 83 Mo. 395
• Parties: THE STATE ex rel. BROWN, Collector, v. THE WABASH, ST. LOUIS & PACIFIC RAILWAY COMPANY, Appellant.
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

83 Mo. 395

THE STATE ex rel. BROWN, Collector,

v.THE WABASH, ST. LOUIS & PACIFIC RAILWAY COMPANY, Appellant.

Supreme Court of Missouri.

October Term, 1884.

Appeal from Montgomery Circuit Court.--HON. ELIJAH ROBINSON, Judge.

REVERSEI

George S. Grover for appellant.

(1) It was a fatal error to unite school and building purposes in one levy, as they are wholly separate and distinct under both the constitution and statutes of Missouri. (2) By the method of distribution provided in R. S., sec. 6880, the tax in question when collected became a part of the public school fund and could not be issued for building purposes or for paying off existing indebtedness. (3) Taxes cannot be levied for one purpose and applied after collection to other wholly separate and distinct purposes.

Macfarlane & Trimble also for appellant.

John M. Barker for respondent.

It was no error to unite school and building purposes in one levy because such union was made for the purpose only of calculation and ascertaining the aggregate amount of taxes to be paid by appellant. This method is necessary because the railway companies are required to pay taxes to all the school districts in the county instead of to such districts only through which the road passes, and it is the only method provided by the law. As to the apportionment of the taxes, see 78 Mo. 596.

HENRY, J.

This is an action under sec. 6880 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri to recover of the defendant (appellant here) the sum of $1242.14, taxes for 1878 and 1879, alleged to have been assessed and levied for those years, upon defendant's property in Montgomery county. The petition is in the statutory form, and the answer a general denial.

Before the trial of the cause, all of said taxes were paid, except $795.34, which appellant contends is in excess of the amount for which it was legally liable, and the question to be determined is whether levies for building school houses and for past indebtedness could, under section 6880, be included in computing the average rate of taxation for school purposes to be levied upon defendant's road-bed, rolling stock and movable property in said county for said years. The trial court held the affirmative of this proposition and found for plaintiff and rendered judgment accordingly, from which this appeal is prosecuted.

The material portion of section 6880 of said statute, is as follows:

“Section 6880. For the purpose of levying school taxes in the several counties on the road-bed, rolling stock and movable property of railroads in this state, the several county courts shall ascertain from the returns in the office of the clerk of the county court, the average rate of taxation levied for school purposes by the several local school boards or authorities of the several school districts throughout the county. Such average rate shall be ascertained by adding together the local rates of the several school districts in the county and dividing the sum thus obtained by the whole number of districts, and shall cause to be charged to the said railroad companies, school taxes at said average rate on the proportionate value of said railroad property so certified to the county court by the state auditor under the provisions of this article; and the said clerk shall apportion the said school taxes so levied and collected among all the school districts in his county in proportion to the...