The Sunday tatler and Jersey City express. (Jersey City, N.J.) 1883-1886, 1886-08-01
DANGER ON EVERY SIDE.
1 MORE CONCLUSIVE SHOWING
AGAINST THE MARTIN Tax. ACz.

Presented Last sunday m0fm1mEs oI fhe
Pcriis Attending she Acceptance and
Eufercement in this City Of BTcIxenzi
Coniiscation Law.
Last Sunday morning the TArrLEn pre-
scented some of the objections that careful
enquiry as to its operations in other cities
showed to lie against the acceptance by
this city Of the Martin Tax Act. One
point, however, that was incidentally mem
toned, was not brought out with the
prominence that should have been given
to it. That was as to the danger of the
property of taxpayers whose possessions are
wrested from them by the Act, if it should
be accepted here. falling into the hands OF
land sharks.
FOR THE BENEFIT OF LAND SHARKS.
The more than probability that that
would be the upshot of the enforcement
Of the Act was first suggested by City
Clerk Scott ia an interview published in
these columns two or three weeks ago
There is not in the whole State an official
whose opportunities for information upon
municipal affairs are larger, and whose
Judgment is keener than City Clerk SCOTS;
and when the reporter visited Elizabeth
City, he was careful to make enquiry as 60
the point Mr.. Scott had suggested. The
reporter was surprised that it WAS not
only anticipated in Elizabeth that syndi-
cate would be formed for the purchase of
imperiled city property, but that the off,
Gals there hoped for it. City Attorney
Bergen said that he understood that
party of capitalists either had been formed
or was in process of formation,
with the idea of bidding in estates exposed
for sale under thin bold confAcation act.
This contemplated combination of land
pirates was not viewed with any perturba.
ton by the City Attorney. He seemed to
look upon the certainty OF such an organ
ization being formed rs one of the factors
that would assist in making the act sffec-
tive. His idea seemed to be that if such
an association Of spectators was Termed,
the city would not be confronted with the
necessity of buying in all the condemned
property, and the act would have fresh
terrors for the luckless delinquents.
THE cITy's GUARANTY.
Nor is the fact that the city is forced by
the act to guarantee the title its sale OF
property under this act would confer upon
the purchaser without its perils. The act
can be of no service unless it forces large
quantity of property under the hammer.
On the supposition that it is to be efsc
tive, imagine the city making large sales for
arrears each year. Its guarantee goes with
each sale. The act is meanwhile taken
into Court, and declared, as it may be, un-
constitutional. The holders of it's tax
titles come back upon the city at once fer
the return of their moneys under its guar
antee. The city would in the meanwhile
have used the money received from the
sales. It could not pay the enormous de-
mands of the land sharks, and its last state
would be q thousand times worse than its
first. The sudden appearance. of SO large
an indebtedness would probably force the
city into bankruptcy.
SENDING GOOD MONEY AFTER BAD.
City Collector James 81. Love, of this
city, is of the opinion, however, that the
city would be forced under the act to bid
in itself most of the land offered at the
sales. Meantime the city would have to
maintain an expensive machinery to carry
out the provisions of the act. The Gem
missioners are to be highly favored and
highly paid. They would need corps
of engineers to assist them in fixing values
and assessments. They would have to
have Raps drawn, and an Office full Of
CltIkb WOuAu Dc req GU w dtbCaQ W b1S
callers, to hunt oat and notify mortgages
and other parties in interest and to assist
otherwise in carrying ON the work OF
the Commissioners. Then, if, after three or
fonr years the act sksuldsbe set aside by the
Courts, the city would have to put her hand
in her pocket, pay the 500, 600 fer the main
tenance of her unconstitutional Commits
sion, and be without anything to show for the
outlay save pile Of valueless tax-titlss. The
City Collector, in view of the large expense
the city would have to meet in experiment.
ing with an act Of doubtful validity, thinks
that the city can we'll afford to refuse to
accept the act till the courts have declared
that II is good for something. She SHOULD
not, in other verbs, hasten to throw away
her coed money for bad,
THE CRY WOULD BE OCT OF POCKET. Is
But the act is freightsd with more
serious danger, which the City Collector
open the question of the validity of assess
ments that are now confirmed beyond re-
demption, and give sought-for opportunity
for new attack upon them. Hundreds Of
assessments all over the city wsuld be
affected disastrsusly by it. There was war
on them for many years; and the courts
set one after another aside till they became
convinced that their decisions threatened
every city in the state with bankruptcy.
Then halt was called. The courts modi-
fed their rulings to measurable extent,
and the Legislature passed an act forbid
ding the taking out of writs for the review
of assessments more than two years after
they had been confirmed. In 1874 an
expensive commission, appointed by
the Circuit Court, revised all the
disputed assessments, and the courts
sustained their acts. The two
years statutory imitation has since gone
by. and the account is closed. Lawyers
have since made efforts to reopen the Quss-
ton, but the two years bar has made their
efforts fruitless. The Martin Act wsuld
give them the opportunity they seek, and
open the way for fresh contests over the
matter. Over $4,000, 600 of city assess
nlents would be thrown into the courts