The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1874-01-23


o. however, in my judgement, high
4 than is necessary, and might vii
!. safety be reduced to twenty fly
y per cent. Money is not wort
!. twenty five per cent. in any legit
> mate business, and no citizen VIII
q has the means with which to pa
his tax when due can afford to a
I low it, drawing interest at thi
: rate, to remain unpaid.
q Your consideration is called {
! the feasibility of so changing ia
, law as to make semi-annual pay
) ments of taxes optional with th
taxpayer. The payment of take
to meet disbursements GOVERN
the entire year is now made in tn
, main, under our arbitrary and ez
. acting system, between the frs
of November and tenth of Janu
. airy. The producer is compelle,
to go into a full market with hi
products, at an unfavorable sea
son, to obtain money with whicl
to pay his tax, large portion o
. which remains in the treasury
unused, for months. By making
the payments semi-ann ually say il
November and May, and proVid
ing for small discount for full
payment in November. the public
interest would be. equally vel
served and protected, and the pro
Queer who might desire to takt
advantage of q spring market. il
the disposal of his commodities
would be greatly benefited.
CUSTODY OF COUNTY, FUNDS.
Recent defaleations of county
treasurers have directed attention
to the necessity of limiting the
now absolute control which the
custodians of public funds have
over those funds. The subject is
a difficult one to deal with. The
choice of a person for treasurer
presupposes a popular belief in
his integrity. The exaction of a
heavy bond, with apparently adj
equate security, implies that no
loss can possibly accrue to the
treasury. Yet such losses are of
frequent occurrence, and it is sell
dom that the treasury is fully re
imbursed by the securities. The
dispatch of business requires that
some degree of confidence should
be reposed in public officers. This
confidence, however, should not
be permitted to take the place of
the most rigid safeguards, but
should be accompanied by them.
All experience proves that that
system is the most repressIve of
theft and peculation which pro-
vides the greatest number of
checks upon the custodian of pub
lie funds. 1t is for you to consid-
er what, if any, additional checks
should be imposed upon our treas
urers. It occurs to me that, for
instance, a system of duplicate &C
counts might be devised which
would render defalcation impossi-
BILE without the concurrence of the
county clerk. A rigid examina-
ton of the condition of the treas
ury by properly authorized per-
sons should be made as often as
once a month, and the result, va
rified by affidavit, made public. 1t
should not be deemed sufficient to
show that the accounts are prop
erly kept, and that all the monies
received have been properly enter
ed; but the examination should
show that the actual cash is where
it il represen Jed to be. 1t seems
to me that such a system, or some
thing approximating to it, would
speedily expose irregularities, and
render any large defalcation ex-
tremely improbable; while it
would tend to divide q RESPONSE
bility too heavy to be borne by q
single person.
ASSESSMENT OF RAILROADS.
The law providing for the as
sessment, for purposes of taxa
ton, of railroad property, is much
complained of. This complaint
rests upon the assumption that
the law, in its operation discrim-
mates in favor of the railroad
corporations in that it admits of
and results in a valuation of their
property at a lower figure, COM
paratively, than property employ
ed in other enterprises. In the
fifth clause of section seven, of
the railroad assessment act, ap-
proved March 2, 1871, it is pro-
vided that "the average gross re-
ceipts, per mile, of the road as
sessed, for the year ending De-
cember 81, preceding shall be pri-
ana facie evidence of the value per
mile of such railroad"
With our system of taxation
this provision is, unquestionably
at variance. The constitution di-
reefs the legislature to provide for
a uniform and equal rate of as
sessment and taxation" If we
were to adopt the "gross receipts
of all business as measure of
the value of the capital employed
therein, we would, perhaps, con-
form to the constitution; but not
so if we, as in the present instance,
so provide for but one class of
business.
This clause of the law should
be repealed for another reason
1t is wrong in principle. Legisla-
ton for the benefit of any partic-
ular class of citizens, or any par
ticular interest, to the exclusion
and detriment of others, is not in
harmony with the spirit of the age
in which we live, and should not
be tolerated.
With the exception of the clause
referred to, the statute mentioned
seems to have received the sane
ton of the supreme court of the
state.
THE PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS.
With the exception OF the pen
itentiary, the Reorganization of the
various public institutions, by thu
appointment of new boards of re
gents and trustees, was provided
for by the legislature at its las
session. The officers mentioned
in the act were duly appointed
and the reorganization OF the in
situations was perfected early il
April. Under the management o
these boards the institutions hav
been in operation nine months
and l am now gratified to be adj
, to say that the care exercised i
making the appointments was nc
misapplied.
STATE UNIYERsITY.
This institution continues t
= prosper, and is growing in inf
n ence and public favor. Durin
: the past year the universit
a 100 d,a2al ;t. E.eA oloaa Tha =,