St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-11-27
THE TAX DECISION.

To the Editor of the Globe:
The taxpayers are doing a deal of thinking
just now on the late decision of the supreme
court, or that part of it consisting of GIL
FILLAN, MITCHELL, DICKERSoN and WANDER
BURGH, the four judges who say that tax re.
cept is no good. Judge BERRY (GoD bless
his souD says the decision is dishonest, and
that tax is not delinquent when it is paid.
That sounds like good, hard horse sense, law
logic to the contrary, Notwithstanding. l
don't think the state will go to the devil, or
that purchase and sale of real estate will
cease, because this decision has been made,
but do think that those judges have got to
go back on that decision, or, in due time step
down and out.
The state of Minnesota has a first-rate tax
law, or did have before the tax-title robbers
got the legislature to cut out of it some of its
best provisions. For one I am glad this de-
cision has been made 1t attracts the atten-
ton of all taxpayers, will be fully discussed,
and we will all find out what has been done
by stealth and in an undetermined manner by
the thieves to steal honest tax-paying peoples
property, and when the story is told the legal
remedy will be applied, and we will go on
again stronger and better than before and
when future decisions are made they will be
so fair that all the judges can concur. The
man or woman who owns land, improved or
unimproved-to town lots, ditto-goe to a
county treasurer or county auditor, or both,
and after deal of trouble and perhaps very
hard time to raise the money, pays the tax
and gets the official receipt therefor;
they take good care of that piece of paper
and carefully preserve 1.-THE tax is paid
Shylock don't get the property this time,
and so they sleep better, and sleep sound.
they don't want any more trouble, don't want
to see any newspapers with long columns of
delinquent taxes, they have paid, and they
hold the best evidence on earth of that fact,
an official receipt. But the official who gave
that receipt, and took the money for it,
either carelessly or willfuly did not mark it
paid on the books, and so it goes along by due
process of law (as expounded by the judges)
and in due time old Shylock says to the poor
or rich taxpayer: Get out of here, I own
this property bought it at a delinquent
tax SALE" and when the taxpayer produces
the receipt the four judges say, "That re-
ceipt is no good" You ought to read the
paper and when you see it advertised
you should have hired lawyer to go into
courts and get it undelinquified or some such
legal phraseology. Is it honest to require
taxpayer TO pay more than once, or having
paid to go to law and hire lawyer to get him
into the court? No; it is not honest, and
Judge BERRY says so and everybody agrees
with him but the other four judges, and they
would have said so if they had not been SO
busy seeing who could split that hair the
farthest up from the roots.
For forty years l have paid taxes and pre-
served the receipts thinking if some damned
careless or rascally official returned my prop
erty as delinquent that would hold the evil
dence in writing to prove the contrary, and
that it was not delinquent. Vain delusion
Misguided mortal The solemn farce of
judgment rendered in bulk on 1000 sheets of
legal cap, or many columns of printed mat
ter has been gone through with and
without any further notice. The property
which is advertised as delinquent-judgmen
entered as delinquent-but which is not de-
hnquent because you have paid the tax on
it and you hold the receipt as evidence
thereof, Judge BERRY says the property is
not delinquent, and myself and others think
the old man is right, eninently right and
rlghteously sound on the question, and we
also think the majority decision is damnable
wont wash-and they have got to take it