United Brethren Publ'g Establishment v. Shaffer

• Decision Date: 20 June 1919
• Docket Number: No. 9874.,9874.
• Citation: 74 Ind.App. 178,123 N.E. 697
• Parties: UNITED BRETHREN PUBLISHING ESTABLISHMENT v. SHAFFER, County Auditor, et. al.
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

74 Ind.App. 178

123 N.E. 697

UNITED BRETHREN PUBLISHING ESTABLISHMENT

v.SHAFFER, County Auditor, et. al.

No. 9874.

Appellate Court of Indiana, Division No. 2.

June 20, 1919.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Huntington County; Samuel E. Cook, Judge.

Suit by the United Brethren Publishing Establishment against Abner H. Shaffer, Auditor of Huntington County, and others, to enjoin the placing of plaintiff's real estate and personal property, endowment and interest, on the tax duplicates of the county and the collection of taxes thereon. Judgment for defendants, and plaintiff appeals. Affirmed.

S. M. Sayler, of Huntington, for appellant.

Claude Cline and Milo Feightner, both of Huntington, for appellees.

NICHOLS, P. J.

The appellant filed its complaint against appellees in the Huntington circuit court, the substantial averments of which are that the appellant is a religious and charitable institution and a part of the Church of the United Brethren of Christ, and for the more complete prosecution of its purposes has been incorporated under the laws of the state of Indiana, as a corporation without stockholders, and no capital stock has been issued or provided for by the articles of incorporation thereof, but it has been solely incorporated as a part of the said Church. The appellant, through its officers and trustees, is under the direct control of the General Conference of the said church, and its officers and trustees are required to report to the General Conference of the said church. It has been clothed with powers to make bylaws, so long as the same shall not conflict with the provisions of the charter of the appellant, nor with the rules of the church.

The appellant is engaged in the publishing of a church paper, called “Christian Servitor,” and numerous Sunday school papers and literature used in the Sunday schools of said church, through its publications furnishing a means of communication between the members of the said church in its religious work.

The proceeds of the appellant, over and above contingent expenses, are applied to the benefit of traveling and worn-out preachers and their widows and orphans, the distribution of any available profits of the publishing establishment for this purpose to be in proportion to the number of regular ministers in each annual conference who are itinerants, according to the “itinerant plan” of the Discipline. It is the duty of the secretary of the annual conference each year to report to the publishing agent the true number of such itinerants as found on the records of the several conferences; also, the name and address of the conference treasurer appointed to receive dividends awarded to his conference.

The trustees and officers of the appellant have no power to divert the proceeds from the above-mentioned purpose, and the distribution of such proceeds as provided by the articles of incorporation and the rules and discipline of said church constitute a religiousand charitable institution under the laws of the state of Indiana, and, as such, all of the real estate belonging to the appellant, which is used for the above and foregoing named purposes and the personal property and endowment and interest are exempted from taxation under the laws of the state of Indiana.

The appellant is the owner of two certain tracts of real estate in the town, now city, of Huntington, Huntington county, Ind., the first tract of which is used exclusively for the purposes set forth in appellant's complaint, to wit, the publishing of a church paper and church and Sunday school literature and religious knowledge for the members of said church, and for...