4 ,tc Ijclttmbian. j ESTABLISHED 1866. tTUc tfolumtota gcmorrat, JiSTABulSNKO 117. CONSOLIDATED 18WI. I'LltUSllKD 5VKKV FRIDAY MOHN1MU at DloomshuiR. tlio county Boat of Columbia County, IVnnsjlvnula. GK(. R. KLWKLL KniTOB. W. I KYEKLY, Local editor. UEO. U. HOAN, FORKMAN. TtRt: Insldo the county, 1.00 a year In ad vance; fi.BO It not pull In advance Outside the couut.v, f i.as a year, strictly In advanco. All communications should be addressed to TUB COLUMBIAN, Bloomsburu, Pa. FRIDAY, OCTOBER is, 1S95. Candidates. FOR ASSOCIATE JUDGE, MORDF.CAI MILLARD, CF.NTKF. TOWNSHIP. STATE TICKET. STATE TREASURER. B. F. MYERS, Dauphin County. JUDGES OF THE SUPERIOR COURT. IIARMAN YERKES, Bucks County. JAMES S. MOOREHEAL), Westmoreland County. PETER P. SMITH, Lackawanna County. CHARLES N. NOYES, Warren County. OLIVER P. BECHTEL, Schuylkill County. CHRISTOPHER MAGEE, Allegheny County. THE TOWN ELECTION Injunction Case. OPINION OF THE COUET.' DEMURRER TO PLAINTIFF'S BILL, The bill of complaint in this case, filed by a citizen and taxpayer of the Town of Bloomsburg on behalf of himself and others, taxpayers and citi zens of said town assails an ordinance of the Town Council passed May the 2 1 st. 18(15 as unlawful and invalid and demands that the Council be en joined from carrying it into execution and that the election officers of th Town be also enjoined from holding the election provided by said or dinance. lnat ordinance provides lor in creasing the bonded debt of the Town by the amount of I40.800.00 in addi tion to the existing bonded debt of the Town, the principal of which is $37i9 40.00 and for obtaining the as sent of the electors of the town there to at a public election. This increase of bonded debt is to be used as follows : 1st. To fund a floating debt of the town in the form of town oraers to the amount of $12,500.00. 2nd. To pay an existing judgment for toit against the town, with costs and expenses already incurred amounting to about $7000.00. 3rd. To establish a plant for the lighting by electricity of the streets of said town, and 4th. To pay the damages, costs and expenses for opening Jefferson and North Streets in said town, in part already incurred and in part to be incurred hereafter. The 3rd and 4th items are unde fined in their respective amounts, but are assumed to cover the remaining amount of the proposed $40,800.00 of increased bonded debt. The last assessed valuation of tax able property in the town of Blooms burg was $2,239,624.00, upon which the permissible amount of town in debtedness at 2 per cent, would amount to $44,792.00, being in excess ot the principal of the present bonded debt $6,852.00. It will be seen that of the total in crease of bonded debt of $40,800.00, $19,500-00, are to be appropriated to the tunding of existing debt for town orders, and the Ringrose judgment and expenses. In other words to change an existing debt, to that amount, from a floating to a funded form, leaving only $21,300.00, as pro perly belonging to the proposed in crease of town debt for the undefined electric light outlay, and for past and future expenses in the opening of Jefferson and North Streets. And it is provided in the ordinance and notice to the electors of the town, published in pursuance of the ordi nance, that a single vote of assent, or dissent, shall be given by the electors to this entire project of bond issue by the town. The action of the Council is pro fessedly taken under authority of the 8th Sec. of the gih Article of the Stale Constitution and the Drovisions of the Act of Assembly of the 20th of Apru 1074. r. Li. 65, and the supple ment thereto passed the 9th day of June 1891. P. L. page 252,the proper construction of which becomes impor ' tant in the present suit. The plaintiff contends that the con stitution and Statutes in question authorize and require the submission to electors of a municipality of the single question of debt increase inde- endent of and disencumbered from 11 other questions relating to the business or affairs of the town, and that the certain effect of uniting sevct.il subjects of various merits and character in a single vote of electoral assent or dissent, is an unfair and fraudulent exercise of municipal au thority and that for these reasons, the ordinance and all action under it should be pronounced null and void. lo the plaintifl s bill of comolaint the defendants now interpose a de murrer, which, admitting the facts set torth 111 the bill of complaint avers that the plaintiff is not entitled to the relief prayed tor because the Conn has no jurisdiction over the subject matter of complaint, that the bill is defective as to parties and that the plaintiff is not entitled to maintain his bill To the averments made in the 5th and 7th divisions of the demurrer. that there are not proper parties to the bill and in particular that the plaintiff has no sufficient interest and standing in court to maintain his post tion as complainant, the answer may be made that by amendment of the bill objection that the town of Blooms- burg was not made a party defendant has been removed. The interest of the plaintiff as a taxpayer of the town is sufficient in extent and character to constitute him a proper party com plainant This latter point is estab lished by many authorities from among which may be cited 4 Brew ster, 133, Sank and Megory vs. City et. al. .Page et. al. vs. Allen et. al, 58 Pa. St. 338. Bergner et. al. vs The City Council. 1 Pearson, 291, 1 Allen (Mass.) 103. Am. & Eng, Encyl. Vol. 10, page 959-601-293 American Digest 1893 page 3527. In the case of Spencer vs. Joint bchool District, 15 Kan. 250. Mr, justice brewer granted an injunction at the suit of a single taxpayer res training the case of a school house for evening meetings, upon the ground that such was not the purpose of its erection. He held that the extent of injury or benefit sustained by the plaintiff and others would not be in quired into by the Court. In the precisely similar case of Wier vs. Day, 35 Ohio, 143, in w hich the lease of a school house for a term of weeks was enjoined, the Court said : " As a resident taxpayer in the District it is the plaintiff's legal right to have the corporate property used solely for corporate purposes and any diversion of the property to other uses is an injury to him in law. In the similar case of Schofield vs School District, 27 Com. 499, the court said that while the injury to the Complainant might not be serious, it was substantial. And m the recent case of Morton et. al. vs. the city of Phila , 4 Dist Kep. 523 which was subjected to elaborate argument, it was unquestion ea that a taxpayer s bill could be main tained for an unlawful exercise of corporate power, resulting in slight pecuniar damage to the parties com plainant, although in that case Judge Thayer ruled that the transportation ot the independence Bell to the At lanta Exposition, at the expense of the city was not an unlawful exercise of municipal power. In Naile vs city of Austin, (Tex. Co. App.) 21 VV.375, Am. Dig. page .1527. Sec, 810, it is held that a citizen taxpayer has a right to an injunction restraining the issue of bonds, to be paid by taxa tion, alleging that they are being issued for an unlawful purpose, al though apparently for a lawful one. The several averments of the de murrer that the provisions of law made for contesting, or reviewing, political elections for the choice of public of ficers, have no application to the pro posed election in the Town of Blooms burg, appear to be well founded, but instead of constituting an objection to the bill constitute one of the main reasons in its support. It is because there is no adequate remedy at law that equitable jurisdiction can be in voked. Otherwise the plaintiff would be without remedy. The proposed election would determine rights of property belonging to the taxpayers and not the right to a political office fixed and established by law. The 6th division of the demurrer avers that the bill is apprehensive, and upon that ground cannot be maintain ed. But upon this point the rule ap. pears to be that a bill will be main tained where the danger apprehended is likely to occur unless injunction be granted. Hilliard on Injunctions, Chap. L., Sec. 5 and 38. In the present case the 6th Section of the bill charges, "That the intended purpose and certain effect of the sub mission to the electors by the ordi nance and notice was to secure for the new increase of debt a large num ber of votes from persons holding Town orders and other demands against the Town, as well as of the citizens generally interested in reduc ing rates of interest upon existing in debtedness and thus prevent a fair election upon the question of increase for an electric light investment for the Town." The matters so alleged are admit ted by the demurrer to be true. Im minent peril of an affirmative result to the election, with all consequences re sulting therefrom, is therefore appar ent. Moreover it was certain at th I date of the bill that the election, with its preparatory and accompanying ex- penses would oe held, nnd the plain- iff as a taxpayer damnified thereby. Hit a ... ' ine remaining and principal ques ion raised by the demurrer is upon the jurisdiction of the Cov.it silting in equity to restrain the defendants from executing the ordinance of May 21st, 95- The plaintifl contends that such urisdiction is conferred upon the Court by the Jurisdictional Act of 836 passed originally for Philadelphia but subsequently extended to all the counties in the State; inasmuch as the ordinance was an unlawful exercise of power and injurious to public and in dividual rights. We are thus lead to inauire wheth er the ordinance and the proceedings under it, actual and contemplated, are authorized by the 8th Section of the 9th Article of the State Constitution, and by the enforcing Acts of April 20th, 1874, P. L. page 6s, and nth of June, i89r, P. L. page 252. the Constitutional provision for bidding a municipal debt beyond two percent, upon the assessed value of property in a municipality without the express assent of the voters there of, at a public election implies that a distinct and separate vote shall be taken upon the proposed increase.and does not authorize the blending of other subjects or questions with such increase in the vote to be taken. And still more clearly do the Acts of 1874 and 1 89 1, bar the intrusion of other questions beside debt increase into the popular vote. 1 ne torm ot ticket to be voted at the election is carefully prescribed bv the Act of 1891, and to prescribe it as mandatory was apparently the main object of that supplementary enact ment. The Act provides that the tickets voted shall be "labeled on the outside" "increase the debt" and con taining on the inside the words "no in crease of debt" or "debt may be in creased"; also briefly, the purpose and amount of increase, so that each voter shall have distinctly before him at the time of voting, accurate information of the amount and object of the in creased indebtedness to be sanctioned by his vote. Again the 5th Section of the Act of 1874, having very plainly defined the word indebtedness as used in the Act, as including " all and all man ner of debt as well floating as funded, of the municipality" and providing for certain deductions therefrom of available means of payment, in order to fix the true amount of existing deDt, when an increase thereof is pro posed, in its third Section (reenacted in 1891) requires, that the notice to electors, " shall contain a statement " " of the amount of the last assessed " "valuation, of the amount of the" " existing debt, of the amount and " " percentage of the proposed increase," "and of the purposes for which the " "indebtedness is to be increased." No language could more clearly ex clude from the election notice, and from the election vote any question not relating to a new, future debt, as submissible for popular decision under the law. And again, it is evident that under the third and other sections of the Act of 1874, the authorities of no municipality have power conferred upon them to submit to a popular vote any question of assent or dissent, to their proceedings actual or pro posed except the single one of in creasing the public debt of the muni cipality, at defined and provided for by that Act. But it is equally plain that the ordinance, notice to electors, and election tickets provided for, include no less than $19,500,00 of existing debt, as a part of the increase of debt to be voted upon at ths election. In other words, four or five sepa rable, distinct questions, in part au thorized and in part unauthorized by law, are jumbled together for a single affirmative or negative vote of the Electors of the Town. A bond issue is to be sanctioned by them to redeem outstanding Town orders, the Ringrose judgment ex penses, to provide an electric light plant, and to open two streets named respectively North and Jefferson. It is a fair if not a necessary conclusion, that an ordinance which lets loose upon the voters of the town of Blooms- ilr. J. JL. Grituinger Nervous and Weak) All broken down, unable to sleep, distress and. burning In my stomach, smothering and ehoklng spells this was my eondlUon when I began to tuke Hood's Barsaparllla. I have taken bofc ties and feci like anciher niaa, ean work with ease, weigh over JOO, and am cured. shall ever be ready to praise Hood's Barsapa rllla. J. L. OnissiNQRB, New Grenada, Pa. Hood's5 Cures N. B. Be sure to get Hood's and only Hood's.' Hood's. PHI M endorsed by thousands Merchant l M ir: V SUITS FROM S18.00. burg the excitement and expense of an election upon these several in dependent questions of Town policy and administration with no power or privilege to discriminate between them, but compels them to vote for the whole or none, is not warranted by the constitution or by statute law but is opposed by both. In the Midvale Borough case 162 Pa. St. there was a submission to the electors of a street improvement question, and also a question of water works erection, but neither in the Court below nor in the Supreme Court was the question raised or de termined as to the junction of the two subjects for a popular vote there on. But in that case no question not strictly of debt increase was included in the submission vote. In Gray et. al. vs. Mount, 45 Iowa, 591, where the question submitted to a popular vote was in the following form. " Shall the swamp land fund " " of Guthrie County Iowa be devoted" by the board of supervisors of said " " county to the erection of a Court " " House at Guthrie Centre, in said" " county, and a County High School " "in the town of Pariora in said" " county, in the proportions of two-" " thirds thereof to erection of said " " Court House and one-third to " " erection of said High School build " " ing."' The decision of the Court was against the validity of the submission because the two questions were jointly submitted to the popular vote. The cogent reasoning of Beck, J in that case will be entitled to consideration whenever a similar question is con sidered in our own state. In the case of Fulton County Supervisors vs. R. R. C. 21 Ills 338, the court held a submission vote by the citizens of the county upon a proposition of subscrip tion to the stock of two railroad com panies was unauthorized and invalid when the statute under which the sub mission was made provided for a sub scription " for stock in any railroad company already or hereafter author ized," upon conditions therein named. The Court said : the order made " " by the board of Supervisors of " " Fulton County under the law does " "not seem to be in strict conformity " " with it. The law evidently contem-" " plated a vote for or against sub-" " scription to some one company" "only specifying the company. The" " order is for a subscription to the " " Mississippi and Wabash River R. " " R. Co., and the Petersburg and " "Springfield R. R. Co., $75,000" " each. This is notoriously not pur-" "suant to the law, but is manifestly " " unfair. The truth is the voters of " Fulton County have never had an " " opportunity to vote, and have never " " voted this subscription, for the ques-" " tion was at no time distinctly before " " them. Neither road has received " " the approving vote of the people ;" " and until the naked single question " " shall be fairly presented to those " "voters they ought not to be bound. " " We do not hesitate to say that the " " tacking of one measure upon " " another is a fraud upon the people. " "It gives the County Court the" "power to weigh down a popular" single measure, by attaching odious " ' measures to it and thus virtually " " depriving the people of their right " "to vote on the one measure; the " " success of which would greatly " "promote their interests." In the case of McBryde vs. city of Montesano, 34 P. 559, 7 Wash. 69, where the Acts of Assembly appear to be much like our own in reference to allowing the Council to bonow money or create an indebtedness for munici pal purposes greater than 1 J per cent, of the city's taxable property, and al lowing said Council to provide there fore by ordinance specifying the amount desired to be created, and for the submission of the same to the electors of the city at a special elec tion, it was held. That where such ordinance submitted two distinct pro positions, one to fund $20,000 of old debts, and the other to borrow $5,000 for future purposes, and only one bal lot was used, bo that the voter had no opportunity to express himself separ ately as to each, the whole election was void. Referring again to the question of the jurisdiction of the Court in the matter, an objection similar to that raised by the demurrer has been passed upon in the case of Solomen vs. Fleming 34 Neb. 40. where the Court ruled " that a Court of Equity will take notice that an election for the relocation of a county seat would, if unauthorized, be a waste of public money, and will enjoin the calling of such unauthorized election, at the suit of a taxpayer. mms CORNER MAIN & MARKET Sts. BLOOMSBURG PA. Wo Mover Take a Back Step. That means something. Neither are we satisfied with standing-still. There-'s a force constantly at work that tends lo bring (his store closer to those wlvo lug dry goods. Perhaps yovr ex perience here after trying other stores will tell you what it is. BLANKETS, We have just received one full line of blankets of all sizes, kinds and description. Metier blankets, tee ean truthfully say, as the ones we are selling at $4.00, white, woolly and full of warmth, are exceptional ly fine. All the difference is $1.00 in your pocket, as you would more than likely pay $5.00 for them else where. Worth saving, isn't it.' We also have others at prices from $1.00 to, well, any price vou want. BLACK GOOVi. We never had as nice a line of black dress goods as tee are showing now. All kinds, all 2rice and all grades. Do you want a nice black Henrietta for 800. the yard J We used to sell it at $1.25. None better in the market. We also have ' Jloucle crepoti, and serges in black. Have yon seen the piece of Iioucle black we are selling at 56c. thj yard If yon have not, you siould, as it is a rare bargain. DRESS GOODS. The cool weather of October is here now, and you will want a good warm winter dress. If you do not want an expensive one, we can sell you one at 25c. the yard. It is an all wool serge, 36 inches wide, and an elegant piece of goods. If you want some thing better, toe can give Bloomsburg, The case of Baren vs. Smith 47 111. 482, is to the same point. Walker J. there held, in relation to the removal of a couuty seat, as follows : It is urged that the Court below had no jurisdiction to entertain the bill. It is no doubt true that a Court of Equity will never interfere to deter mine which of two persons has been elected to an office or to try the rights of parties to hold an office. In such cases the law has afforded adequate and appropriate remedies. Still this is not a contested election. It is to determine wliether citizens of a county have a legal right to transact public business. It is true it may in cidentally involve the question whether the vote has been fairly taken and if fraud has been committed, to purge the polls. As the Constitution and the law have failed to afford a specific remedy to prevent this provision from being defeated it is eminently proper that equity should afford the requisite relief in such cases. See also 48 Ills. 263, People of State of Ills. ex. rel. Wherton vs. Wiant. 67 Ills. 455, Shaw vs. Smith. And now October 8th, 1895, for the foregoing reasons the demurrer is over ruled and the defendants are required to answer over and the preliminary injunction is continued until final hear ing or further order of the Court. Bv the Court, E. R. Ikeler, P. J. Unfortunate Accident Whilst engaged at her household duties Monday morning, Mrs- Lucy Pursel, mother of Samuel Pursel, who resides on Fifth street, had the mis fortune to fall on the cellar steps frac turing both bones in her wrist. Dr. J. W. Bruner was summoned, re duced the fracture, and she is getting along as well as could be expected. Col. William Leverett Chase died Oct 7 th in Boston, aged 42. He was the surviving partner of the firm of H. & L. Chase, well known manu facturers of jute and cotton goods. Col. Chase was a nephew of Rev. William C. Leverett. During Fair go to M'Killip Bros, for fine photographs and cray ons. Over H. J. Clark & Son's store. Mm YT 1 1 natter. TROUSERS FROM S5.00. you an all wool serge, 50 inches wide, think of it, 500. the yard. We are showing the newest and most ca elusive stifles in all the newest shades of Jloucle crepon and novelties of dress goods in the market. Nothing' better or cheaper than here. LAMPS. It is now coming the time of year to think 0 your lamps. It is get ling dark early, and too cold to sit out. Do you want a lamp? We are sure wei can suit you in one. We have the common glass lamp for kitchen M.ie, from. 20c. to 500. each, according to size of lamp. Then we have the China lamp, beautifully decorated, used to be $3.15, now $2.25; nothing better full central draft burner. JUaybe you want a banquet lamp. We have an elegant line. The lamps are in themselves elegant, and tta shades or globes we have both add greatly to their beauty. Anywhere from $1.25 to $7.00 for the lamps, a?id from $1.25 to $3.25 for shades. Globes in Dresdon or ground glass. JARDINIERES. Have you seen our Jardinieres? They are elegant. Any size you want. J'lain or handsomely gild ed. None more beautifnl or less expensive any where. Our window is full of them. Penn'a. The Lutheran Harvest Home. This annual occasion was celebrated in the Lutheran church last Sunday with a beautifully decorated church, an interesting program in the Sunday School largely rendered by the little folks and the Holy Communion. It was a fair day and the congregations were large, filling church and lecture room. In the Sunday School a pillar had been assigned to different indi viduals to decorate and esch used his or her own judgment. All were very handsome. The altar was ar ranged by two others and the chande liers by others still, so that the S. S. room looked like a well kept garden. The flower committee of the C. E. had charge of the decorations up stairs and constructed a large pyramid of fruits and grains out of which a cross arose covered with grapes. - The whole formed a very pretty back ground for the comunion table covered with its snow white linen. Seven persons united with the church in the morning. In the evening the Pastor preached a Harvest Home Sermon on the text " Thou crownest the year with thy goodness." The choir render ed some choice music. THE PUBil AN-BRE AKSTONE CONGEST The Espy people provided a very interesting entertainment for a large audience last Saturday evening in the Lutheran church of this place. It was gotten up largely by the Purman family of Espy, assisted by Miss Break stone of Wilkes-Barre, who rendered some choice recitations, accompanied on the piano by Prof. El well of Bloomsburg. The little Misses Pur man delighted everybody with their songs and duets. Miss Fay Purman sang very beautifully several solos en tirely from memory, which always adds to the interest. She is a student at the Boston Conservatory and gives promise of being an accomplished singer. The same concert was given in Catawissa on Friday evening, the pro ceeds of both going to the new Luth eran church at Espy. Rev. Rupley had things in charge and publicly thanked everybody for their interest and help. A Urge num ber of the Espy people came down to attend the concert. A fresh line of Tenny'g candies just received at William H. Slate's.
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