Cattell v. Lowry
Supreme Court of Iowa
Appeal from Polk Circuit Court. The plaintiff is a resident property owner and taxpayer of Lee township, Polk'county, Iowa. The defendant, Lowry, is treasurer of said Polk county. On the 23d of September, 1871, an election was held in said Lee township for the purpose of voting upon the question as to whether a tax of two per cent should be levied upon the taxable property of the township to aid in the construction of the Des Moines & Minnesota Railroad.
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Appeal from Polk Circuit Court. The plaintiff is a resident property owner and taxpayer of Lee township, Polk'county, Iowa. The defendant, Lowry, is treasurer of said Polk county. On the 23d of September, 1871, an election was held in said Lee township for the purpose of voting upon the question as to whether a tax of two per cent should be levied upon the taxable property of the township to aid in the construction of the Des Moines & Minnesota Railroad. The proposition submitted was in the following words: “We, the undersigned, trustees of Lee township, in the county of Polk, in the State of…
1Opinion of the Court
Adams, ’J.
1. emotion: lot: taxation, I. It is claimed by the appellants that the ballots containing the words “ against taxation for the benefit of railroad companies or any other monopolies to the indebtedness of the poor man,” cannot properly be counted at all. It is said that they are not votes upon the question submitted. The presumption, however, is that the voters intended to vote, and we must give the ballots cast such construction as to make them valid votes if they are reasonably susceptible of it. The words used may involve an ambiguity, but they are by no means destitute of…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Zorger v. Township of RapidsSupreme Court of Iowa · 1872
3Cited by11 opinions
- Coleman v. Board of EducationSupreme Court of Georgia · 1908
- Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Co. v. PhillipsSupreme Court of Iowa · 1900
- State ex rel. Broadhead v. BergSupreme Court of Missouri · 1882
- Riddle v. Cumberland CountySupreme Court of North Carolina · 1920
- Stone v. GregoryCourt of Appeals of Kentucky · 1901
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