Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-03-21
AUDITOR DAYS. REPLT.

The reply of County Auditor S. Lee Davis
to the grossly partisan and evidently malic-
ious attack made upon him by Public Ex-
aminer Knox, is given in this issue of the
SUNDAY GLOBE. 1t will be found to be a
calm, temperate response, and fully explain
atory of all of the alleged irregularities
which Mr.. Knox endeavored to magnify from
mole hills to mountains. Mr.. Davis has ad-
ministered the affairs of his Office with
integrity and justice, and the pub
lie has no lust grounds for adj
verse criticism. Mr.. Knox was sent into his
Office to work up political boom, and he
labored solely to That end. He found moth
ing out of the way either with officials or
taxpayers who were not Democrats. That
was his mission. He was a supplement to
the political grand jury OF last January, and
he proved himself an apt pupil.
Mr.. Davis frankly comedies that in some
fourteen hundred cases taxes were paid after
the legal limit, without the interest penalty
being added, and he clearly explains the rea-
son why. The parties in question had ap-
piled, with lists of their property, to pay
their taxes within the time required by law,
but it was clerical and physical impossi-
bility to accommodate them all at the same
time. The auditor very properly omitted
these persons from the delinquent list and ac-
cepted payments, without interest, as rapidly
as possible. That there was neither politi-
is proven by the list of names which Mr.
Davis gives with his reply, showing who it
was that escaped the interest payment. The
list reads very much like copy of the city
directory and apparently covers the entire
community. 1t even includes the distin-
guished newspaper and its proprietors
who have been SO jealous in urg-
ing Mr.. Knox forward and so
vociferous in shouting praises of his dirty
partisan work. This list embraces our
most responsible citizens and most prompt
tax payers. To have published these men
as delinquent tax payers and attached an in
terest penalty (no other could be added &C
cording to law would have been gross in
justice and would have merited censure.
They were ready and willing to pay their
taxes as soon as they could be received,
though quite naturally they did not desire to
anticipate payment before they became
due and hence gathered at the river sinful |
taneously. The only disadvantage to any
one; tie only loss incurred was to the banks. |
They might have loaned more money to tax
payers at - per cent. and had the same
money Immediately restored to their vaults
by the county treasurer, to lie four months
without interest for the county, but to be
again loaned to the citizens at Il per cent.
If Mr.. Knox owned a bank (he did once) We
should not be surprised at his indignation at
the county officials, because they did not fire
shotted guns into the taxpayers.
The personal tax delinquencies are matters
not chargeable to the county auditor. The
treasurer is required by law to supply the
auditor with a list OF The personal delin-
1uents, and the auditor then certifes them
10 the clerk of the court for judgment. Mr..
Rice made no such return of the tax of 1877
and Mr.. DAVIS could not, therefore, enforce !