Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1882-11-29
A BARE-FACED STEAL.
The Taxpayer TO be Robbed Of between
$4,000 and $4,000.
LET EVERY HONEST PAPER IN THE
STATE OF MICHIGAN EXPOSE
THE swINDLE.
II Done Before Election IL Would Haze
Giren the State 10 tie Democrats and
Nationals By 10000 Majority.
II IT POSSIBLE FOR SUCH ROBBERY TO
BE PERPETRATED AND THE PARTIES
GO UNFINISHED.

In our issue of March 22nd, 1882
VIC published the following:
The Republican Legislature of this
State, at the late extra session, not
content with passing the tax sales
printing fraud, whereby some $4,000
will yearly be taken from taxpayers
and given as bonus to certain news
papers, passed an amendment to the
tax law, which amendment provided
for an extra, unnecessary and useless
publication Of the delinquent tax lists,
the cost Of which will not be less than
100000. This act of the Republican
party is an out and out bare-faced
steal, for which there is neither reason
nor excuse, and, on its passage by the
State Legislature, the few Democrats
who were there, headed by Hon. j. ID.
Turnbull, entered a protest, of which
the following, taken from the official
Legislative Journal of March 10th,
1882, is a copy:
AFTERNOON SESSION.
The House met and was called to order
by the speaker
Roll called; quorum present.
PROTEST.
Mr. Turnbull presented the following
protest which he asked TO have entered on
the journal:
We respectfully enter our protest against
the concurrence of this house in the follow
ing amendment made by the Senate to
House bill No. IL (file No. y, entitled an
act TO amend sections and of an act en-
titled An Act to provide for the sale of
State lands, etc, said amendment being as
follows: As soon as practicable the Audi
tor-General shall cause lists of the lands
subject to sale under this act to be published
in some newspaper designated by him for
four successive weeks which shall be con-
strued to mean four publications once in
each week. The lists shall show the years
taxes for which each parcel is held by the
State, and shall be published in a newspa-
per published in the county in which the
lands lie, if one therein; if none, then in
one published in an adjoining county"
Upon which said amendment the honorable
Tax Commission reported as follows (see
Journal, page 93):
According to the best information we
can obtain, the expense of publishing the
notices contemplated by the amendment
will cost about $4,000. II is mere cues
ton of policy, and we submit the matter to
the Senate without recommendation. We
apprehend that the expense would exceed
the profits to be derived"
JOHN MOORE, Chairman.
The notice required, and which shall take
outsof the State Treasury $4,000, can in no
case benefit a single citizen of this State,
except the ones that publish these notices.
The notices here to be advertised, as far as
the description of lands are concerned were
published last October, at cost of $50 353.-
60 to this State, and each and every citizen
in this State, interested in these tax matters
know that they can now obtain this infor-
nation by merely writing to the Auditor
Generals office, or the different county
treasurers of the State or by obtaining a
copy of the tax sales of last October; and
the only argument that is offered in favor
of this amendment is that they want to in
form the public that the State has these
lands for SALE If this was the object, then
the notices should all have been published
in some paper or papers having State cir
culation, such as the Detroit daily papers.
j. ID. TURNNBULL,
EDWARD KING,
WALTER HACKETT,
JOHN G. EIsENMANN,
GROVE III. WoLcoTT,
S. III. CRAMER,
VIM. f. LITTELL,
A. T. YOUNG,
WARREN PARKER.