The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1869-01-15
POsTPONEMENT OF TAXES.

IDeTe nOlnlnR certain Out OedJl
and taxes" said Poor Richard. And
some people fight shy of both as equally
to be dreaded, equally certain to come,
never to be conquered, but only to be
postponed" TO some future day, when
the poor mortal hopes to be ready and
resigned to the Fate that pursues him,
and will cheerfully pay his debt to the
State and to Nature with the same ex-
piring breath.
At the session of the Territorial Leg
islnthre in 1859, j ohm A. Halderman, OF
Leavenworth, came over to Lawrence
with a blaze of trumpets and a ten
gallon key of what is now called Gotta
wa yinegarp to procure from the Leg
islature q charter for "Banko with the
great freighter. w. III. Russell, at the
head, authorized to issue two millions
ofdollars of bills on u specie capital OF
one hundred thousand dollars and no
personal liabilities. According to
Halderman it was the zone thing need
fIl' TO set everybody on their feet at
once. pay all debts and inaugurate gen.
eral prosperity. The mere conjecture
was enough for some people and the
project found great favor at inst. But,
said an incredulous listener, "where is
tie security for the payment of the
bills? Won't Russell, when he gets
his two millions in circulation, on one
hundred thousand capital; put the nine
teen hundred thousand clear profit into
his pocket and fail? And then won't
tile people who hold the bills be worse
OF than though they had mover beer
issued? Won't the condition of the
TERRITORY be worse, financially, thar
it is nov? To the impertinen
suggestion of such probabilities
Halderman had one unvarying re
ply: ''Better die at sixty days than a
sight" The Legislature finally failed
"to see it,"-thought ''death at sight
preferable to the lingering anguish o
the Wild Cat scheme, with final disso
luton postponed but for sixty days
and the project went to smash.
The Halderman philosophy has evel
found favor at Leavenworth. Not {
winter passe0but the Legislature i:
importuned-ahd frequently with sue
cess-tO postpone the payment" of tax
essfor that city and county and al
least one year the whole amount due
the State. was repudiated outright
The result is that the richest county il
the State, where people are best able Of
all the l4ople in the State to pay theiI
taxes, are less prompt than the poores
of the interior countless and have come
to look for 'postponepoent"-w il
only another name for reputation
regularly, and so make little or no cal
citations to pay at the proper time
Already the LegislatuIe is being i'm,
portuued to .'postpone" the payment o.
State and county taxes, for the presen
until some 'more convenient season,
which if persisted in will lead only t,
reputation and bankruptcy.
The credit of the State, as of thu
counties, depends upon the promp
payment of all obligations. Ii thu
time of year when the taxes are due i
wrong, let it be changed; if the take
are too high, lower them; but if eacl
year cannot pay its own taxes, no sue
ceeding one can. Men adjust them
selves TO inevitable things. If the.
know taxes mast be paid they viii pay
them or uncomplainingly. stand thu
penalty. Besides, postponement is 81
insult and outrage. to the men, who
believing in the obligation of the Law
and their duty to obey it, have paid thei
taxes when due-often at sacrifice
doubtless. Now if the laggards are t.
beexempt, it IS equivalent to paying ,
premium on shiftlessness, and putting
henor aud promptness below par. W,
hepsB the Legislature will not thus dis
cTiininats and will hold all portions o
the State 10 the same invarfable rule.