The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1861-08-14
For the Courier :.

AS understand, there are some persons
in this county who are disposed to cavil as
to the legal necessity for, and proprety Of,
collecting the delinquent taxes at this time
| desire to call attention too few sections
of the Law
Section 763 ofRcv:sed Code, Provides that
''on the first Monday of October in the year
1860, and each year thereafter, the County
Treasurer is required to offer at public sale,
at the Court House, all lands, town lots or
other real property on which taxes of any
description, for the preceding year or years,
shall have been delinq sent' and resaain due
and unpa;i"'
This section fixes the time for the sale of
Lands.
Section 764 says: "The County Treasurer
is required to give notice of the sale by pub
fishing an advertisement thereof in some
newspaper printed in his county,-which
publication is required to be at least three
weeks prior to the daNof sale"
This Section makes it. necessary to adver-
tise the lands about the middle of August.
Section 756 says 1.-THE Treasurer is d.
rected to make the same (the delinquent
taxes) by distress and sale of his or her per-
sonal property.
The latter part of.Section 75S provided
that the owners of Lands or.lots, might SIN
writing designate what piece ofreal property
he preferred having sold, rather than tic
personal property.
The Extra Session, held in May last, re.
pealed that part of Sc ,tion 759, and passed
10 liau thereof the following 1.-THE Treasurer
is authorized and directed to collect the de-
linquent taxes by the sale of any property
upon which the taxes were levied, or any
other personal or real property belonging to
the person against whom the taxes are as.
sessed.' This Law. taak effect JULY 18th
1861.
The Courts have decided that the Treas
rer can not sell mans land for taxes, un.
der law Of this kind, until he shall have
exhausted all ofhis personally.
1t is easy to see that in accordance with
the law, as itinow stands, that it is the Treas
urcr's imperative duty to- offer all of The
lands, lots orolhar real property, o., which
| the taxes not maid for. sale on the frs
monday OF October, and that he must firs
exhaust the personally, before he can sci
the realty, and that it must be advertised BY
about the middle of August. 1t will be re
membered thac there is large amount. O
work to be doneby the Treasurer, and print
ers, after the close of collecting by distress
and sale of personality for the taxes, to get
the advertisement ready fer Publication.
should haye,beene xceedingly glad if
conli have done justice to the State, the
County and our Schools, ifeT could have
avoided making this collection, and, fulfilled
my legal and moral obligations, as an Officer
for to say tile least of it, should have been
relieved of a great deal of very hard official
service, for which get no,extra pay. And
here let me say that understand there are
some persons in this Countrywide ought
to know Notwithstanding the report that
the Treasurer gets per cent on the Taxes
he collects, and give this as the reason for
my making collections at this time.
The 5 per cent. story is all fa,se. Thu
Treasurer gets salary, whether he works or
plays Neither is it done for political effect,
as some are pleased to say. l should take
it as an insult for any man to ask me to do
as much hard labor as have had to do in
collecting the Taxes, for the sake of any
amount of political capital, that it might, ur
der any circumstances, produce. have
done what have, because in my judgment
it was my imperative duty, as an officer, to
do so.
And further, if'any Of those persons who
are dissatisfied, will procure the written opin-
ion of the Attorney General, ia the effect
that the collecting of the Taxes might have
been deferred, will Immediately stop col.
lecting, and will make good any losses that
may have been sustained by any one, by
the collection Of their taxes.
w. j. Ross, Treasurer
Democratic State Convention.
We find the following call for Democrat