Dirks v. Collin

Citations

• 37 Wash. 620
• 79 P. 1112
• 1905 Wash. LEXIS 781

Syllabus

<p>Records — Counties—Abstracts of Title — Power to Expend Public Money jn Keeping Tract Indices. The legislature having prescribed a system of indices of public transfers, and made it the duty of county auditors to keep the same, the county commissioners have no authority to expend public money in keeping a different system of “tract indices,” even when voluntarily done by the auditor’s deputies, regardless of their public utility or the fact that money can be saved thereby, since the judgment of the legislature is paramount.</p> <p>Same — County Auditors — Public Abstracters. Bal. Code, §§ 417, 418, was not intended to make the county auditor a public abstracter to the extent of requiring him to make a complete list of all transfers affecting particular tracts, and the keeping of “tract indices” is not justified by said statute.</p> <p>• Counties — Unlawful Expenditure of Public Money — Injury to Taxpayer Presumed. It cannot be objected to a suit by a taxpayer to enjoin the unlawful expenditure of public money that he is not damaged for the reason that money is thereby saved to the county, since injury is conclusively presumed from the unlawful expenditure of public money.</p>