The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1878-04-10

tions.
Clerk:
TO lie Mayor and Council Of de Guy u
We4iag:
GENTLEMEN - Your Memorabilia, a
citizen Of the city Of Wheeling, and a
taxpayer, having recently, in the per-
formanee Of some OF his duties Is an At
torney, become acquainted with certain
Irregularities and official wrongs Of Mr..
George @. Black, the City Collector,
which, in the opinion Of your memorial
let, show the said Blacks entire untitness
10 hold any office Of public trust and
which indicate with . strong degree Of
probability that both the city Of Wheel
ing and the citizens are sufferers at his
hands, respectfully ask for a prompt and
thorough investigation into the financial
affairs OF the city, and that the said City
Collector be with all proper speed re-
moved from Office.
Many Of the facts with reference totthe
water taxes OF Smith 4 Co. are doubtless
already go well known TO the members oil
YOUR honorable body that 1t ia unneeea;
sary for me TO repeat them IN this com:
munica,ion. Yet I shall, as briefly as l
can, place such Of the prominent facts In
order before you Us most strongly tend TO
convince my mind Of guilt on the part Of
the Collector.
After the Collector had made q levy TO
satisfy a water tax Of S275 against Smith
& Co. for the year 1877, and before 1t was
discovered that the lawful assessment was
SIS only, complaint was made to him that
the tax was u~niustly large. BE said $40
was the amount Of the assessment and
that il we wanted 1t reduced We must ap.
ply TO Council, as he, Of course, had no
power to reduce II; that 1t was inmateri,
al to him personally, for II the Council
should make the reduction he should
claim his "eommission" at any rate. de
has since admitted, on oath, In open
court, that that assessment, except as 10
S75 thereof, had no existence except In
his mind; that the $500 extra had never
been entered In any book Atterwar
| saw Me-. Black at his office and made
inquiries from which he soon learned
that I was aware OF the true assessment
fixed BY ordinance. He pleasantly as.
sured me that the 5000 addition was per.
fectly regular, aud the customary thing,
and that he must, Of course, collect II
but expressed a perfect willingness still
that we should petition Council for q re-
duction from $275 as he was entitled to
full "commissionSn ] insisted that the
assessment was SIS, and that we were
entitled to receive our balance (the S42S
draft given him by me as attorney for
Joseph Fleming, being then in his hands,
from him aud not from the city treasury.
Seeing I was determined he said he
would see the Mayor aad try to ad::
lust the matter. At this same In:
teryiew, in bis Office, he plainly stated
10 me thatthe book, "Water Rents, 1877"
was his private property, to which l had
no right Of access, but which as q favor,
I was perfectly welcome to see. The said
book was the city's property, aud had
been made out, 30 far as then completed,
by the City Clerk. 1t did not then Q n
tain ant assessment against Smith & Co,
not even the SIS having been entered
therein. On another day 4 think March
18TH he explicitly informed me that he
had no records Of supplementary assess.
ments in his office, and referred me TO the
City Clerks office.
In his communication to Council OF
March 18th, he says latter giving some
bad law as 10 tia being the duty Of the
Committee on Water Works TO make
special assessments) that upon his sug.
pestion the Committee made a nominal
assessment on Smith & Co., OF $50, leav.
Jog him 10 ascertain by personal inyesti-
gniion whether or not any additional as.
sessment should be made, and that the
minutes Of the Committee will show that
he was so instructed. The story that the
Committees minutes will show such an
arrangement is found TO be q myth. No
member OF the Committee, 1 believe, re.
members the arrangement, and In fact
nobody IL found TO vouch for the state.
ment, so far as / know, except His Honor,
the Mayor, and even his recollection oil II,
when he stated 1t to me over three weeks
ago, was only ian impresslon"-an i'm.
preston which, being quite definite as to
the nature OF the arrangement, seemed
indefinite only as to its existence.
The Collectors only authority 10 make
assessments is found in section four o!
the ordinance in relation TO his duties.
II il as follows:
Sec 4. It shall be the duty Of the said
Collector to make u supplementary list OF
all persons, parties, firms, or corporations
who may hsve been omitted by the Assess.
or, or who may have commenced using
the water Of the city subsequently, 10 the
return Of the Assessor for any year. And
In all such cases the Collector shall make
the assessment and valuation required to
be made by the Assessor, and shall make
aud enter upon the assessment book the
several entries and extensions required
10 be made by the clerk, and shall report
TO the Clerk at the end Of each month,
the addition made to the general assess
ment.
For the year 1876 Smith & Co. were
wholly omitted from the assessment
book. Being manufacturers their water
rent could legally be assessed only BY
Council. Il was the Collectors duty to
include them in q list OF omitted water
consumers, and the Councils duty to
assess their water tax. Nevertheless the
Collector attended 10 the ~pecuniary mat
ter (only). He collected $3.50 from
them for water tax for that year
without entering any asse . nent anywhere
and without any assessment being made.
He made no monthly report OF such as
sessmen.s to the Clerk. The only &C.
count that can possibly contain II e his
annual settlement, in which he, Oh octo.
ber 80, 1877, accounted for s9045 81 as the
aggregate OF supplementary assessments.
Hesays 1t is included in that sum. II so,
Il Is over oue.third Of it, and some mem
Der OF the committee with which he set.
tied ought to be able to remember II.
Where Is the itemiz.d statement he fur.
nlshed that committee? II did not &C.
company their report to Council. Mr..
| pI.ah,l, januIy ahnwad ma N atrictly nri,