Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1875-04-20
Average Daily Circulation, 4,62S
The Personal Tax Schedules.

The Communications elsewhere upon III.
subject of the personal tax schedules come
from leading citizens, and they doubtless
express tine feelings Of our business men as a
class IL may be said, further that the
writer's have really larger real estate inter
ests than personal property interests, so
their objection is not TO n personal tax per So
but 20 the laundering and very offensive
features o. the present hastily adopted tax
law.
IL appears tO us. how, YER that our tax
payers need feel no particular solicitude i'm
the matter. IL il quite evident that the per
sonal-tax feature of the law cannot be exc
cuted legally, or any other way. within the
time May 1stl fixed BY the law itself. Even
il the cratic mole of delivery OF the
schedules were legal. II is certain that but a
very small portion of the propert holders
will receive them i'm season to make a care
full, conscientious return upon all the large
number OF items enumerated. And even
should the schedules be filled out and
returned before the LIST OF May there is
no one legally qualified To receive
them; TO administer the oath: or tn make
out the assessment upon these returns.
The making of the assessments upon the
returns Is a work OF immense labor. rp1uir-
ing experience. judgment. and superior exec
UtIye ability, but there j absolutely nobody
legally qualified to undertake the task. The
assessors cannot do il. or even give time to
answer the questions of peTsOnal-property-
holders. They are working against time 10
complete the all important tabor of the real
estate assessment by the first of May, and
10 will be only b. the most strenuous effort
that they Will succeed.
Under the circumstances we suppose the
Commissioners can have no real expectation
bx.r oil
and personal property assessment within the
time. They have done all in their power to
execute the law. hut il is altogether imprac-
ticabie Of execution; and Congress in fixing
The limit of time for its performance on the
LIST of May, evidently had in mind only the
real estate assessment. The provision for a
PERSONAL property assessment was apparently
an Interpolation or afterthOught. thrust in
hastily, and without prov ision for its execu-
ton by an extension of the time, or Icy
authorizing the appointment ofother persons
than the five assessors of real estate To
do the double amount of work renuire1
This being the ease, IL can harlly be deemed
Just, or advisable to undertake TO ma Ike an
assessment on the few scattering schedule.
that may be returned before the LIST OF May.
To our mind the proper course would
DE TO file them away until the meet
ing of Congress in December. when
That body. can at once Be called upon
by Ifhe Commissioners TO remedy its hasty.
defective legislation upon the tax-bill.
and provide for the legal execution of a per-
sonal taX-law; law perSpicuous in its terms.
and specific in its estimates, so that there
shall be no doubt whether the sum to be
raised under il Is one hundred thousand or
nfteen hundred thousand dollars. This can
DE done within a week after Congress meets
and there viii then be abundant time within
the year ending April, 1S1G, TO assess and col
lect the tax.