Evening journal., 1888-06-14
HOW 10 CORRECT TIE EYIL

hOW ~ OOhAEIA LIE - -.
Our morning contemporary says
that "tbe withdrawal of Messrs. Neary
and Dickey from the county tax col
lector's office will afford good
opportunity to place their duties in
the hands of a commission. The
profits Of the office ought to go to the
county" The latter of these two
propositions is right, but the former is
wrong. If this thing keeps on
somebody will be proposing TO
place the Presidency OF the United
States into the hands of commission
AS we have stated before we have no
enmity TO the commissions in this
clty. On the contrary they
have done much good, but after all
the good which they have done
was the simple duty which they
owed the community and which
their predecessor, Council, neglected
90 perferm. The city commissioners
lave, therefore, done much good in
comparison with the institution which
used to perform in a fashion the dutiee
now dependent upon them. But the
experiment with commissions has
gone far enough. Let these be tried,
say for ten years, before any more are
introduced. 1t is a matter Of record
that every commission composed of
more than one person for the govern
msnt OF departments has sooner or
later lapsed into close and dangerous
ring.
Above all we do not want the county
tax Office reformed in this way. Its
present status is bad enough. It ia a
mere machine to make voters with the
incid entail attribute of collecting taxes
from real estate owners. But who
will guarantee that the proposed COM
mission would not do the same thing?
The tax Office should be reformed by
aboliehing the tax collectors. These
collectors as the tools and dependents
of the Levy Court Commissioners are
the men who have been doing the dis
franchising and other fraudulent and
dirty work Of the last fifteen years in
this state until they have established
here what Mr.. Anthony Higgins eight
years ago happily termed "a govern
ment by assessors and collectors" and
which Every Evening, an alleged
Democratic organ, yesterday denounced
as sbossism, ring rule and govern
ment by collectors But let us not
mako the mistake Of introducing three
bosses and ring rulers into this city in
the place of two. There is a chance
after each period Of four years or so to
get rid of the two, as in the case at
present where fear of defeat on the
part of Commissioner Hickman is
smoking the collectors out Of their
hole, but with a commission of three
appointed by the governor, or even the
Levy Court, it is doubtful that twice
four years would serve to get rid of it.
The proper way to correct the pres.
ent evil is to adopt the Pennsylvania
system Of collecting taxes. There the
county treasurer who is elected by the
people is the collector A rebate OF
per centum is allowed on all taxes paid
by 8 certain date. The county treas.
urer travels over the county, sitting a
day or two in each township (hundred)
for the purpose of receiving the taxes.
The rebate allowed does the work.
The taxpayers fairly swarm around
the treasurer on the day when he sits,
and the few who fail to take
advantage OF the per centum
discount for prompt payment
are turned over TO the tender
mercies Of the local justice Of th'
peace who sxacts with the tax com
mission Of . or 10 per centum. Thil
system serves capitally in Lancaster
county, Pa, which has q larger tax
able valuation than the whole state o
Delaware.
The Delaware tax collector is relic
left by q stupid system. But he il
more in these days. He is a politica
machine, a disiranchiser, a manu-
facturer Of votes, a carrier of cleo
t:ons, defeater of honest mel
at the polls, q gross neglector of dutie
for the sake Of his party, and in man,
instances he has been a swindler and
thief. The Delaware tax collector AM
the system under which he works ar
che bane Of our politics, and he and
should be swept away at the first poi
sible opportunity. Under the presen
system the Levy Court ievies th
tax, its creatures collect it, an
another Of its creatures, the count
treasurer, holds it. A third set {
creatures, the Trustees of the Poo
spend a good deal Of It, and in Ker
and Sussex counties, a fourth set, Il
road commissioners, spend anoth'
portion of the money. Thus we sc
that the Levy Court levies, collect
holds, and spends all the money Of Il
counties. Is there any wonder thu
fraud and political outrage creep
ander such systems
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THE Tory government was defeatt