Guthrie National Bank v. Guthrie

by Rufus Wheeler Peckham

United States Supreme Court

173 U.S. 528

Guthrie National Bank  v.  Guthrie

The president of the United States, by proclamation dated March 23, 1889 (26 Stat. 1544), declared that the territory of Oklahoma would be open for settlement on April 22, 1889, subject to the restrictions of the act approved March 2, 1889 (25 Stat. 980, 1004, c. 412). By that act the lands were to be disposed of to actual settlers under the homestead laws only, and, until the lands were open for settlement under the proclamation of the president, no person was permitted to enter upon or occupy the same.

By the act approved May 2, 1890 (26 Stat. 81, c. 182), congress provided a temporary government for the territory; and by the act approved May 14, 1890 (26 Stat. 109, c. 207), provision was made for town-site entries.

From the opening of the territory, under the proclamation of the president, down to the passage of the act of May 2, 1890, congress failed to establish any government for it. During that period settlers had come into the territory, and a number of town sites had been located and settled upon by them. Many persons located and took up their residence upon the land contained in the present boundaries of the city of Guthrie. The lands were surveyed into streets, alleys, squares, blocks, and lots, and what were known as 'provisional municipal governments' were formed. By the general consent of these residents, four distinct provisional municipal corporations or villages, denominated 'Guthrie,' 'East Guthrie,' 'Capitol Hill,' and 'West Guthrie,' comprising some 320 acres each, were created. They were all without any law governing them, although officers were selected by the people occupying the lands, and a form of government was carried on by a kind of mutual understanding. The persons chosen as officers incurred indebtedness in administering the affairs of the municipalities, but there was no authority to raise the necessary revenues, by taxation or otherwise, to pay the same. These officers exercised, in fact, the powers usually delegated to municipal corporations. Public improvements, such as grading streets, constructing bridges, and erecting buildings, were made, laws and ordinances were adopted, and offenders were punished. Schools were maintained, and the right of possession of the various claimants to town lots within their respective boundaries was regulated, and certificates were issued by the local tribunals constituted by the municipal authorities for determining the rights of settlers and occupants of the various lots within the limits of the municipal governments; and the certificates thus issued were by the second section of the town-site act, above mentioned (26 Stat. 109), to be taken as evidence of the occupancy of the holder thereof of the lot or lots therein described, except that, where there was an adverse claim to the property, the certificate was to be only prima facie evidence of the claim or occupancy of the holder.

The claims mentioned in the act of the territorial legislature hereafter spoken of arose out of these circumstances, and represented the expenditures of the provisional governments for some or all of the objects above enumerated.

In December, 1890, a code of laws for the permanent government of the territory was enacted by the territorial legislature, and these provisional village governments, lying adjacent to one another, were incorporated under that authority into the regularly organized village of Guthrie; and on April 7, 1893, the city of Guthrie became the successor of the village of that name.

On December 25, 1890, the territorial legislature passed an act (chapter 14 of the laws of that year) for the purpose of providing a method by which to raise the necessary funds to pay the indebtedness incurred by the provisional governments of the four villages above named. The act is set forth in the margin. ^[1]

Pursuant to the provisions of that act the district judge duly appointed the commission, which proceeded to hear the cases; and on September 1, 1891, it filed in the district court of Logan county its final report. That report contained, among other things, a reference to the various claims which were therein said to be owned by the Guthrie National Bank; and it showed the allowance of such claims, separately and in detail, and that they were all based upon warrants which had been issued by the provisional governments. The report also showed that the city attorney of the city of Guthrie appeared at the hearing and allowance of the claims, and defended for the city. The amount al owed against the city in favor of the bank was $4,315.22. Other claims in favor of other parties were allowed, and many were disallowed, by the commission. On the coming in of this report the case was docketed as a pending case in the district court, and was continued from time to time until March 17, 1893, when the bank made a motion to approve the findings of the commission as regards the claims held by it, which motion was not then decided. On April 7, 1893, the city filed exceptions to the report of the commission. Nothing further was done until March 28, 1896, at which time the city attorney filed a motion in the district court to dismiss the proceedings by the bank, and all other proceedings based upon the act of the territorial legislature creating the commission, for the reason, as stated, that the act and all proceedings under it were void. On April 2, 1896, the matter came on for hearing upon the motion of the bank to confirm the report of the commission, and the motion of the city to dismiss the proceedings; and on the lastnamed day the court sustained the motion of the city, and dismissed the proceedings, upon the ground that the act under which the commission was appointed was wholly void. This decision of the court was excepted to by the bank, and thereupon it prosecuted a writ of error from the supreme court of the territory to reverse such decision. On June 11, 1897, that court affirmed the decision of the district court, and rendered judgment against the bank for costs. To reverse this judgment an appeal has been taken to, and a writ of error sued our from, this court.

Henry E. Asp and John W. Shartel, for appellant and plaintiff in error.

John K. Richards, W. J. Hughes, and John L. Lott, for appellee and defendant in error

Mr. Justice PECKHAM, after stating the facts, delivered the opinion of the court.

Notes

1. Chapter 14. City Indebtedness.

An act for the purpose of providing for the allowance and payment of the indebtedness heretofore created by the people and cities of Guthrie, East Guthrie, West Guthrie and Capitol Hill, now consolidated into the village of Guthrie.

Article I. Guthrie, East Guthrie, West Guthrie and Capitol Hill.

Section 1. That the district judge of Logan county is hereby empowered to appoint three disinterested persons to act as a commission or referees to inquire into and pass upon all claims and demands of every character heretofore issued by the city governments mentioned in the caption of this act, for all purposes.

Sec. 2. That the owners and holders of any kind of scrip, warrants or other evidence of indebtedness heretofore issued by the city governments of Guthrie, East Guthrie, West Guthrie and Capitol Hill, shall present their claims to the commissioners or referees, to be appointed by the district judge, under oath, stating that the same is a bona fide claim, that they performed the labor or advanced the money or furnished the materials or purchased same for a valuable consideration, and that they believe the city, issuing the same, did so for necessary expenses incurred in running the city government, and said master shall hear further evidence if he deem necessary before allowing the same.

Sec. 3. The commission or referees shall keep a record of all claims filed with them for allowance and keep their office open during the hours of nine o'clock in the morning an four o'clock p. m., and shall be allowed sixty days to hear and determine all claims, or longer if the district judge so orders. Said commission or ref. erees shall immediately after this appointment extend ten days' notice in some newspaper published in the village of Guthrie, notifying all parties holding or owning any claims mentioned in this act to present the same to them for allowance; and all persons who fail to present their claims within thirty days from date of publication mentioned in this section shall be forever precluded from so doing hereafter.

Sec. 4. That after the commission or referees shall have passed upon and allowed any and all claims mentioned in this act, they shall make a report to the district court of same showing the names and amounts allowed by them and also all claims and the names of persons and amounts disallowed by them, for approval or disapproval of the district judge. And all claims allowed and approved by the district judge shall be certified to the mayor and council of the village of Guthrie, who are hereby authorized and directed to issue warrants upon the village and payable by the village to the holders and owners, payable in installments each of the amounts to be in one, two, three, four and five years, to bear interest at the rate of six per cent. per annum from the date of the allowance by the commission or referees, and said mayor and council of the village of Guthrie shall levy a tax upon the property of the residents of said village to pay the warrants herein referred to, levying same upon each subdivision heretofore constituting Guthrie, East Guthrie, West Guthrie and Capitol Hill according to the amount of indebtedness created by the city councils, the mayors and school boards, heretofore acting for and in behalf of the people resident of said cities. Each of said cities to be liable for and taxable under this act for the amount of indebtedness created by them.