National Republican., 1888-05-23
TAN LIST PRINTING.
The Commissioners Claim That the
Law Was Complied with.


The first comptroller of the treasury has
been addressed II letter by the District COM
missioners with respect to audit No. i4,T53,
favor Of Dunlap & Clarke, printers for
printing the delinquent tax list Of 1857,
amounting to II ,s35.95.
They say that 'the letter of the first aud.
itor Of Nov 81, 1887, states that the errors
found to exist in the tax list for 1887, as
shown by correspondence with the commits
siOncrs, are so great rs to make the work
worthless, and that the account FOR the same
is suspended for information why section
six, of the general conditions of the con
tract under which II was done, was not en-
forced by Withholding from the amount due
the contractors an amount sufficient to dis
charge any increased expense to the Dis
trict consequent upon the contractors fail
urc to perform the work satisfactorily.
The commissioners then proceed to recite
the law under which the list is printed and
the duties of the collector in regard to II,
and continuing, say:
"The first auditor in the letter to the
president of the board of commissioners,
hereinbeforc referred to, calls attention to
certain errors in the pamphlet IN question,
which he points out specifically, and asks If
such errors in fact exist, and if the con
tractors are responsible for 1t, why they
should be paid. The auditor also says that
these errors have nullitled the advertise
ment, and 1t has been stated, prevented the
sale OF the property for taxes but he does
not say how or from whence he derives
such information, nor from whom he OBJ
tains these statements In question, and the
records of this office show that no such in
formation was furnished by it, and that the
statement was not made by the commits
sioners, and in point of fact II is not true
that the advertisement was nulliiled, nor is
1t true that sales were prevented by such
errors. All that the commissioners have
said about the matter is that the pamphlet
seems to have been printed without proper
supervision and revision, and in a very
careless manner. 1t will be observed that
the NTH section OF the act of March 3, 1887,
before referred to, does not require the list
of taxes to be in any particular form, nor
is any method Of arrangement prescribed
therefor
"Scction IS Of thessame act provides that
the act shall remain in force as the tax law
of the District Of Columbia for each subse.
quent year until repealed. From this con-
sideration of the law under which the
pamphlet Is printed it would seem that il
is made the duty of the collector to prepare
the list contained In the pamphlet, to cause
the pamphlet to be printed, and to attend
TO its distribution. No one else has any
thing to do with It. If 1t contains errors
they cannot be attributed to the printer.
the contractors In this case, but must be
charged alone to the collector. In II letter
dated Dec. 23, 1887, the commissioners sent
to the first auditor copy Of a report made
by the collector explaining the errors in
question, and in 50 doing did all they think
that was required of them. They do not
think, should this information prove unsat-
isfactory, that any responsibility for such
errors rests upon them or upon the con-
tractor
SIN the letter of the first auditor to the
commissioners the errors made IN the
pamphlet are specifically mentioned Us Oc.
curing on pages g. 20, 10, 100, 121, 130, l42,
and 207, and as arising from the fact that
| the arrears on those pages are advertised as
| being for the year ending June 80, 1886, in
stead of 1887, as they should have been, and
that the headings of the pages 2l0 to 3iS
inclusive, are erroneous. 1t Is respectfully
submitted that these errors do not in any
way affect the validity of the pamphlet for
the purpose for which II is prepared under
| the act of 1870, and that, Notwithstanding
such errors the pamphlet, as far rs II Is in.
tended to operate as notice to dcllnqucnts,
| Is as cillcacOus as II no such errors existed
The commissioners maintain that the act
| of Congress simply makes II the duty Of the
| collector to collect the arrears Of taxes IN
| pamphlet and deliver the pamphlet to the
| taxpayer, If lie applies for IL, after notice
| has been given him that 1t Is ready FOR him,
| The law does not require the collector to
| deliver the pamphlet unless the taxpayer
| calls for it, and does not prescribe that IL
| shall be anything but list of arrears, and
| II cannot he construed to he notice that
| binds the District government to the eX-
| tent of making that government responsible
| for mere errors in form.
After further argument in support Of
| their position that no injury has been done
| the taxpayer and he has no good ground for
| estoppc in case Of sale the commissioners
| submit that every requirement Of the statute
| has been complied WITH