The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1873-05-03

uOCSs L llS DGNS IlC N~C11uNLClIb bNt-N pay
ers, increase the taxes of the good, the
prompt taxpayers. The man who pays
his taxes has q pecuniary interest in
having every body else to pay taxes.
The genuine taxpayer has to pay, not
only his own taxes, but the taxes of those
who do not pay. If this parish is as
sessed for one hundred thousand dol
lars annually, and that amount levied,
and only fifty thousand dollars of it
paid annually, by the owners of half
the property, these same paying tax
payers would have their taxes doubled
in order to make up the other half of
the required sum So we repeat, these
noR-pdying tax payers are IS bad on the
paying taxpayers as a corrupt and badly
managed government is and the non
property holding laborer, who works
the land OF the paying taxpayer, is more
Of a taxpayer than one who owns prop
erty and avoids paying taxes. Every
sensible, fair-mindcdman will acknowl-
edge this and every genuine taxpayer
should endeavOr to have other property
owners pay their taxes. If we must
have public meeting on this subject, we
would like to see II composed of the
paying taxpayers Of the parish, for the
purpose Of adopting measures to make
the nOn-paying taxpayers pay up and
share the burden of taxation. We do
not mean to say that all "tax resisters''
are ~non-paying taxpayers, for as we
have already shown some of them pay
up promptly. That they may after
wards get mad and cut up about it, has
nothing to do with the matter. Ex-
pressing ones sentiments, is the right
Of every American citizen.
Returning to the Courier, we make no
such professions" nor "~pretensions" as
Ourneighbor accuses us of-we areneith-
er professional nor pretentious. We do
know that the law requires delinquent
taxpayers to pay their taxes and get a
certificate from the collector to that eff
feet, before he a bring d suit for his
own benefit or be a witness for or in his
own behalf before any court in this State.
If any man is willing to have costs and
penalties added to his taxes before he
arrives at the stage of a delinquent, nc
one will attempt to hinder him; he has
that legal right. But in the mean time
the collector may seize, before he arrives
at the delinquent stage, and he will have
to incur legal and judicial expenses tc
even suspend the sale of his property
until the court dissolves the injunction
when he will have topay the taxes, costs
and penalties, and expenses of court.
To say that all can resort to the courts
for justice, when the resisters say the
courts are filed by corrupt judges and
will not render them justice, is rather
crude i'll our neighbor.
But the question is settled as far as
this parish is concerned. The taxpayers
will not be governed by the resisters
whOhave given up their original scheme
whatever it was, and fallen, back on the
legal mode of resistance provided BY
law; which is all the friends of law and
order could desire.
The explanation of chow to resist
paying taxes didnot seem satisfactory tc
the inquirer after information. He knew
before coming there that the courts were
open to him, and it would be an insult
to their common sense to call all the tax.
payers of the parish together to tell them
SO simple and we'll known a fact. Some
other way chow" he evidently wanted
to know; and after two meetings a prac,
teal solution of the difficulty or way
chow" is just where it was at the start
All the officers elected in this parish
are in quiet and %undisputed possession
OF their offices; the crops are fourishins
and well cultivated the labor is efficient
and sufficient to cultivate the same tt
f%rt1ition; the parish is better off in many
respects than many of it's sisters; itG
people have no adequate or reasonable
cause to get up political disturbances
and it would be madness in them, under
such circumstances, to try, without the
talntest prospect of success, to overturr
superior power centeredin distant places
and in so doing uselessly bringing UNTOLD
misery and trouble upon themselves
Let them let well enough alone, or no
make matters worse; and bear with pa.
thence the evils they already know rathel
than inconsiderately fly to those they d.
not know.