Sacramento daily record-union., 1882-04-26
ANOTHER TAXPAYERS. MEETING.

The second meeting of taxpayers who pro-
pose not to pay all their taxes was held in the
Court house last evening. Present, at the
highest count, 12S. Chris. Green presided,
and ii. H. Love acted as Secretary. The
speakers of the evening were ]. R. Johnston,
a taxpayer whose name nearly fills the city
assessment roll; J. II. McKune, candidate
Chris. Green, candidate; Chris. Weisel,
father of the plan how net to do it; L. L.
Burke, who was afraid the Trustees would
best the game the meeting put up; Henry
Trichler, who said lawyer had told him he
could do iast as he pleased, il he could get q
majority 10 back him I; n. L. Drew, who sald
/ he wouldn't pay the alleged Illegal taxes. II
| he could help it-a remark thai brought John
Conrad to his feet and down on Kim Ike q
storm-cloud for suca lack Of courage; John
Oschwald, a thoughtful citizsn, who pro
! pounded q conundrum to Judge Mckune,
aud L. 2. Smith, who urged organization.
The Executive Committee, through Mr..
Green, reported as follows:
The supervising committee appointed under the
resolution OF your former meeting report that BE-
lieVng onehaf of the tax levied for city purposes
by ordinance 49, is Illegal and that the best good
bonded debt until compromise with her creditors
shall have been effected-we recommend the pay
ment OF only per cent taxes for the past year,
which shall include that levied for Schools, Police,
Library, Fire Department, Drainage and Levee pur-
poses. We reaffnn the offer already made to issue
new bonds, well guaranteed, at 35 cents upon the
dollar for the old ones, and we recommend that no
more than per cent taxes be paid until the bond
holders shall have consented to such compromise.
This sum will supply the funds above named, and
will support the city government, but
will leave nothing for interest-the very
object which desire to accomplish in order
to effect compromise with the bondholders. Our
best information is to the effect that delinquent
city taxes have been collected through the Courts in
many years, and we are teld that no machinery is
provided by law for the collection thereof hence no
risk is run in not paying. But however that may
be, this committee will soon organize Mutual De-
tense Association, that any person sued for this
delinquency shall have his attended to in the
Courts without cost trouble to himself and if he
wins he saves his money, while, If he loses, he has
only to pay what he would have TO pay now, with
five per cent. added, and the of the money for a
year ought to be worth more than that to him. We
therefore propose the following resolution
Reso!ued, That it is the sense of this meeting that
we ought not and will not pay more than one per
cent city taxes for the past year, and if the Col
lector refuses to accept that, we deem it prudent
not to pay any, but to take the chances on the
whole.
The report was adopted. In the course of
offer from law firm he did not name:
We will beat the tax levy of 1882 for city taxes
for onehaf the OF the assessed taxes of the
combined levy of all the building and loan ass
Citations and banks of this city, and will guarantee
in case we fail to do the same, to pay all costs and
expenses incident thereto, and will said cor
porations harmless except for the tax and per-
centage.
Mr.. Weisel failed to report what lawyer
would take the other. half, and what he would
do for it. The meeting was quite lively
sone. There were several citizens present out
IF mere curiosity. The sentiment of the
speeches, when divested of their specious
plausibility, may be thus presented: {: That
the way to discharge debt is to refuse to
spsy it; that to pay note of hand at its
face, because the drawer discounted it in time
of need, is dishonorable; that to increase the
prosperity of people their credit should be
ruined; that to force man to discount new
note, one should refuse to pay even the ia-
terest on the old; that the way to get the
outs in, is to work up "boem in
the bosoms of taxpayers that the way
to give the city name of good repute is to
lead it into disreputable acts that to crush
an opponent you need only cry "bond.
holder" that the best answer to argument
is to impugn the motives of him TO whom you
reply; that to create laugh and make a
lame point against a newspaper one only
needs to misrepresent, as Judge McKune did
when he emptied the vials of his sarcasm (?)
upon the RECORD UNION; that it is by no
means true that the increasing value Of a
debtors property means practical reduction
OF the debt; that the best citizen is not he
who obsys the law he makes; that the true
taxpayer is he who resists payment; that it
is better to go to law than keep cut of it.
The meeting resolved to reassemble Thurs
/ day evening again, and at that time open
books for the signatures of al who will stand
il and fight the tax collector.