The Leavenworth weekly times. [volume] (Leavenworth, Kan.) 1870-1880, 1875-07-15
TAX PAYING.

The Beecher folks have given Us 4 rest;
the grasshoppers have iiown, and the corn
Is growing IS i never dad before We
might forget the past and be happy,
but there is one thing that we cannot
ignore, who Own estate Of any kind-gov-
eminent bonds excepted-in Kansas, name
ly: The everlasting taxes.
This cheerful subject OF contemplation
was called TO mind by an item which ap-
peared in HE TINES of the 10th inst. 1t APP
uears from that item that OF the whole tax
levy Of last year Tor this county, amount
ing to SOP Ol0 so, about $50, 900, or twenty
five per cent, remains unpaid. The 10Th
of June, the last day OF grace is past, and
those who figure on the delinquent list,
must know according TO law, pay their
taxes with a penalty OF fifteen per cent.
added, or suffer their property TO be sold
with all the encumbraEcvs which such I
proceeding must entail.
We have taken pains to compare the
amount of delinquency at this stage Of the
tax collection under the present law, with
that under the law heretofore in force. We
find no material difference Last year, the
delinquency at the closing day of tax-pay-
ing amounted to twenty-five per cent, and
that, as before stated, is about the amount
of delinquency at present. So far as the
| ,ifcant, it tells neither for or against the
law now in force, as compared with the law
il has superseded.
The Legislature Of next winter may, as
| many people seem 10 think, give the tax
L,,,
| us that the law as it now stands is about as
good a. it can be made. 1t may be that
wiser provisions with regard to the sale and
disposition Of property sold for taxes could
| be devised; it may be tina; an abandonment
OF the system of tax sales, and the adop-
ton of method which would treat the de-
| linquent taxpayer a debtor to the coun-
", to be proceeded against as in ordinary
! individual cases, by suit at law, would he
| better. The uncertainty of tax-titles, which
under the sale method now in vogue, so
| greatly prevents the county from realizing,
would then not be felt, ard perhaps other
Objectionable workings OF the method in
vogue be obviated. But then, this is rather
a question for the Solons of the court
house, and the professional manipulators
OF tax-titles and We do not insist.
But whatever perplexity attaches to the
tax-paying process, it may be boldly assert
ell that the difficulty exists not so much in
the machinery OF collection as in the ability.
| 1t is fair to presume that no one would pay
a penalty of fifteen, or even five per cent,
could he hel p it if the tax levy was one
half as great there would lie but half the
difficulty in tax-paying, and but hall
as much delinquency if there was no levy
whatever, there would be no difficulty,
whatever bat that tie good citizen does
dot expect, | may say he does not want.
We could not enjoy the luxury of a civil
zation whose principle executive agents are
the sheriff, the hang-man, the lying and
lecherous priest, the officiating politician
and buz-fuz, with all the spider-craft of his
guild without paying something for it; and
yet the prudent citizen is oft compelled to
feel and say that its a pity these things are
so costly" J. A. y.
| Jnly J2 lS-5