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eBook details

• Title: County of Cass v. Johnston
• Author : United States Supreme Court
• Release Date : January 01, 1877
• Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
• Pages : * pages
• Size : 62 KB

Description

The first question presented for our determination in this case is, whether the 'Township Aid Act' of Missouri is repugnant to art. 11, sect. 14, of the Constitution of that State, inasmuch as it authorizes subscriptions by townships to the capital stock of railroad companies whenever two-thirds of the qualified voters of the township, voting at an election called for that purpose, shall vote in favor of the subscription, while the Constitution prohibits such a subscription, 'unle § two-thirds of the qualified voters of the . . . town, at a regular or special election to be held therein, shall assent thereto.' In Harshman v. Bates County, 92 U. S. 569, we incidentally decided the act to be unconstitutional; but the point then specially in controversy was as to the applicability of this constitutional prohibition to township organizations. It was impliedly conceded upon the argument that, if the Constitution did apply, the law could not be sustained; and we accepted this concession as truly stating the law of Missouri. Now, however, the question is directly presented, whether the provisions of the Constitution and the statute are not substantially the same. On the one hand, it is contended that the Constitution requires the actual vote of two-thirds of the qualified voters of the township in favor of the subscription; and, on the other, that the requisite assent is obtained if two-thirds of those voting at the prescribed election shall vote to that effect. The Supreme Court of Missouri has often been called upon to construe and give effect to this statute, and has never in a single instance expressed a doubt as to its validity. The first case was that of The State v. Linn County, 44 Mo. 504, decided in 1869, the year after the law was passed. That was an application for a mandamus to compel the county court to issue bonds upon a subscription made pursuant to a vote under the law; and it was contended that the act was repugnant to art. 11, sect. 14, of the Constitution, because the bonds to be issued were the bonds of the county and not of the township, and the voters of the county had not given their assent; but the court held that they were the bonds of the township, and granted the writ. Following this are the cases of Ranney v. Baeder, 50 Mo. 600; McPike v. Pen, 51 id. 63, decided in 1872; State v. Cunningham, 51 id. 479; Rubey v. Shain, 54 id. 207, decided in 1873; State v. Bates County, 57 id. 70, decided in 1874; State v. Clarkson, 59 id. 149, decided in 1875; State v. Daviess County, 64 id. 31; and State v. Cooper County, id. 170, decided in 1876,–in all of which the act was in some form brought under consideration, and in no one was there a suggestion of its unconstitutionality by either court or counsel.

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