The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1886-02-19
ovn'F Dt'e: Sec Up: H's Value Ta7 FsId 81:

| substituting lOL lOr 0eCtlOn and
"block" for township" may be used
for town lots.
The lists for personal property and for
road poll can be united. though it;doea
not follow that every one who. has a
road-poll has personally. A woman, OF
man oyer fifty years, an elevator com.
pany or any corporation may have road
levy to pay on personal property which
they may work out on the highway, but
they have no road polls.
Every man over twenty-one and under
fifty is liable to road labor for one OF
more days whether he has any personal
property or not.
The list for personal property and road
poll tax should be made alphabetically
in column following should be written
the assessed value of personal property
belonging to the name opposite in an
other column the tax on this amount of
property; in the next column write the
amount of poll-tax in dollars and cents;
then give the total in another column,
and then make column, for the word
paid" and the number of the recent
when paid.
ltmay be well, in some townships, to
add to this personal list, columns show
ing the section and township OH which
each person lives. We haye found this
to be very convenient for many things in
the county business.
think that for most townships it
would be better to make these lists IN
book form; on such books as may be
found at the stores and cost from seventy
i've cents to dollar each. The ruling
can be done at home with small amount
of labor.
1.-THE whole township is one road dis
tri:t, of course a copy of the whole of
each of these lists should be given to the
to the road overseer. If divided, then it
will be necessary for the clerk to copy
such part for each overseer as NAV be
necessary to the performance of his
duties. A small township map made of
one or two printed plats such as the real
estate agents US. parted on the fly leaf Of
the book will be found useful. a.:
Now asto the road SUPERVISORS. Here
again We may critisise a law which allows
an officer to collect money and expend
the same under pletty much hi, own
notions, and does not require q bond. In
the farming districts this does not 80
much matter, as but little cash is hand
led, but where the road-oversees district
includes large villages, he will have the
handling of large sums of money, paid in
lieu of labor. In every such case the
township has right and should require
a good and sufficient bond. =
A road supervisor needs many qualifi.
cations and too often some of these are
overlooked. While farmer A. may be q
good man to "boss" road he may be
scarcely able to write his name. Another
may be too busy with his own affairs, or
may be habitually careless, etc. A good
road overseer should not only be capable
Of making good roads but also be able to
keep correct account of the labor done.
When he gets his road list from tile
clerk he calls on man for work, and
when the man asks how many days work
have to do, the supervisor should ask
what is the description of lands you own
in my road district? Have you any town
lots in my district? Having received
correct answers to these he turns to his
real estate list and finds how much tax
is against the land described, then TO
town-lot list and finds the amount there.
then to the personal list to find the
amount there, adds all these together,
divides by $l.50 and the result will be
the total number days labor, the person
called on has to do.
Each days work should he taken
account of at night and finally when the
tax payer has done his work, in whole or
in part, he should receive a receipt there.
for, specifying III particular on what prop
erty or poll tax his work has been an.
piled, also naming the number of days
worked, andthe value the reof IN dollars
and cents. Hmoney has been paid the
same particulars should be given and
noted on the receipt as being paid in
cash. These receipts should be mum.
bered and should have corresponding
stubs. showing all these particulars. and
from which the overseer can give receipts
in full " for road work, without these
specifications, for lie cannot know. shat
all has been paid. A receipt given for
part ofa mans road tax has the same oh.
lection that no one can know on what
the tax is applied unless the receipt 90
specifies. I know of no other means Of
getting check on an overseer than by |
these duplicate receipts. otherwise it will |
be impossible TO know anything of the |
amount collected unless by his own &C.
count. cannot urge two strongly ON tie
townships for their benefit, and for tie
benefit of the oveiseers themselves. that