Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1883-06-27
County Taxation.
EDITORS CITIZEN =

EDlTOhS ClTlLEN -
The question is often asked by the |
tax payers of our county, why is our
county tax so high, and why did the
present board of Commissioners levy |
seven mills the present year. Now L
propose to answer this question, and to |
do so truthfully as 1 understand it.
And first when the present board OF
Commissioners came into Office on the |
lst of January, 1882, they found the |
financial affairs of the county about as
follows, which all can see who examine |
the Auditors report of that date. 1t
shows that the retiring board of
Commissioners levied on the then ad-
justed valuation, tour and one-half
mills. for county purposes, which raised
on said levy about SAG, ,000 And by
examining the said report you will see
that the necessary expenditure OF the
county was at least S5S,000 and the
following debts unpaid at the first of
the year, 1882, viz: Dixmont Hospital.
about $4,000; Penitentiary, S70O |
Workhouse, $75l the Reform School,
$1S5; the Pittsburgh Bridge Company,
for Etna bridge and masonery of abut-
ments So, 450, and $4,000 of borrowed
money and numerous other small debts
amounting in all to about $l6,036.
And the same Auditors report shows
that the outgoing Treasurer, Craig,
turned over to Treasurer j. Fl. Miller
81, 800 in cash, and about $l4, 500 of
uncollected tax that all the collectors
percentage, all the generations and all
the lost tax would be deducted, reduc-
ing the real amount realized by the
county according to Treasurer Miller's
report to about $1,000, making the
neat amount of cash in the treasury on
the 1st of January, 1882, about SILL
600, not enough to pay the debt of the
county by several hundred dollars and
the necessary expense of our Court to
be met from that date until the follow
ing October before the present board
could possibly realize one dollar on the
levy made by them Such being the
condition of the county funds the pres
ent board of Commissioners were forced
to borrow large sum of money to
meet the demand, and it is evident
that the expenses of the county will
increase as the population increases,
and as long as men will go to law as
they have done dnring the last year
the amount of expenses will still in
crease. | don't believe for one moment
that the tax payers of the county know
what every suit that is brought into
court and tried costs them. To illus
trate just what l mean l will give
some facts. Sometime last January
there was suit tried in the court here
as follows: A sued B for maintaining
nuisance in the shape of a hog pen in
close proximity to AS house. The
smell was so offensive that A could not
eat at the table with any comfort, so
he sued B for maintaining nuisance
so close to his house. The trial COM
menced on Friday morning, and lasted
until the following Tuesday. The jury
held and was paid for the Sabbath day,
or about twenty eight hours. Now |
am informed that it costs the county
about thirty dollars per hour to run the
court, hence the above trial cost the
county 1864. So you may see just
what it costs the tax payers to tell
whether hog pen at your door is
nuisance Now we don't want to be
understood as casting any reflections
on the judicial bench of our county, but
| do want to be understood as reflect
ing on the litigating parties who are 80
keen to law at the public expense,
when nine times out of ten there is no
cause for action. Again there is
another class of lawsuits in which the
county suffers in her financial affairs
and that is in all Commonwealth cases,
and forty-nine out of fifty of these have
their origin in the use and abuse of
alcoholic drinks. The records of your
own court will show just what l say,
and vet there is to be found in every
township and borough in the county
good men, who will sign the petition
of the applicant for license for those
who wish to engage in retailing this
dangerous drug the sale and use of
which is the direct cause of four-fifuhs
of your tax burthen Now l believe it
is logical to reason from cause to effect
and from effect to cause, and if this be
true it does not require the wisdom of
Solomon to tell that it is wrong to
grant license to any men to engage in
any business, the effects of which are
so pernicious and cause so much trouble
and expense Nearly every offense in
the catalogue of crime is committed
under the influence of strong drink.
This is fact that is self-evident and
needs no proof Then if this be true
the licensing of all these houses for the
sale of strong drink is wrong and the
cause of all our trouble. Again, in the
last triennial assessment the aggregate
value of the whole county falls about
one and half million dollars below the
assessment of 1879, and the necessary
amount of money to meet the current
expenses of the county could not be
raised by less millage. The expendit-
ure from January, 1882, to January,
1888, was about $55, 900 and the pres
ent year shows an increase. Again
there is some fault to be found with
Justices of the Peace all over our
county, who are too ready to give law
to whoever may ask for such remedy.
They will suffer some party to make
information against some other party
and cause the arrest of the party CON-
planned of, and either commit him to
Jail or hold him under bail for his ap-
pearance at court, and when the case is
called and tried the bottom falls out of
the case and the county is ordered to
pay the cost. At one term of our
court five Commonwealth cases were
called and only one of them held water,
the other four having no foundation.
In fact all these were from the return
of justices of the peace and