West Virginia freeman. (Parkersburg, W. Va.) 1881-1886, 1881-11-09
Court House Notes.


Capt. Clemens, Circuit Court
Clerk, becoming discouraged with
the dull prospect for new litigation,
is looking after old fees long due, to
keep up the requisite supply of
bread and butter.
As the people will continue mar
rying and giving in marriage, buy
ing and selling, and recording
deeds and other writings, Mr..
Smith, in the Recorders office,
fares pretty well, law or no law.
So far as we can see, the LAWYERS
are having ample time to study up
old cases, and are willing to take
new ones.
THE sHERIFF's CORNER.
The Sheritf's office is just now,
perhaps, the busiest place in the
county.
Few people have any intelligent
idea OF the amount of work it re-
quires to assess, levy and collect
the taxes of a county like Wood.
In the first place, it requires
vast amount of work with the MIC
est care and system, to list the per-
sons and property of the county,
and make up the assessors books.
This has been done with well-nigh
perfect order and completeness, by
the county's diligent and faithful
assessors, Messrs, j. w. Robinson
and 7, p. Butcher, the latter of
whom, with his long experience
and devotion in that line of duty,
has undoubtedly become the best
assessor in the county.
Then from the assessors books
in this county, nearly ten thousand
tax bills must be made out, rang
ing in amounts from | cent up to
about 81 500. At this work Capt.
c. B. Smith, our sheriff, with three,
and part Of the time four, expert
enced assistants, has been constant
ly busy for three weeks, and it will
take another week to finish but
when this big jon is done, tits well
done, with rarely mistake and no
place or room for confusion. Indeed,
the business Of the sheriff, under
the well-nigh perfect management
of the past few years, has become so
thoroughly systematized and famili-
arized to the gentlemen conducting
it, that it seems sort of huge finan-
cial clock ticking in the taxes and
ticking out the county expenses.
CAPTAIN Smith is to be congratu-
lated on the thorough and system
attic work Of his predecessor, Mr.. G..
Fl. Shattuck, whose administration
winds up with the best financial
showing, we believe, of any in the
history of the county.
The tax bills of 1880 came
into Mr.. Shattuck's hands about
ten months ago, amounting to
100000. OF this large sum he has
collected and paid over, by himself
and through his deputies, more
than 100000 in the ten months,
and returns delinquent list of
only about $4,000 Can a county
in this State or any other make
such u showing? We won't pause
for a reply but if an affirmative one
comes, we shall eagerly consider it.
Captain Hazen, Deputy for the
Upper District, has collected and
paid over every bill put into his
hands, not returned delinquent,
and what is better than all, he did
it without selling a penny's worth
of property from anybody. He set
tied and had his sureties all releas-
ed last Friday,
Capt. w. T. Cook, Deputy for the
Lower District, also settled in full
last Friday, within ten months af-
ter receiving the tax-bills. True,
he didn't get through quite as well
as Capt. Hazen, for one Of the States
creditors conspired to tarnish his
record, and by running away, out
OF the State, made it impossible for
Mr. Cook to get at him, to scare,
coax or argue the amount out of
him, and he was obliged to sell an
old stove to get his taxes. With
this exception not a nickel's worth
Of personal property was sold in the
county for the State and county
taxes of last year.
We bespeak for our already pop