Evening journal., 1889-12-16
0eCAWARe,s SUFFRAGE LAWS.
Ex-secretary BaYard Defends the Actor
of the Tax Collector.


county tax collectors is attracting consid-
erable attention. Ex-Secretary Of State
Bayard, in spite Of his often expressed
intention to keep out of the local muddle,
has found himself dragged into it. His
brief interview with Philadeldhia re-
porter has placed him in a peculiar posi-
tion. He charges that a certain Jury
drawn in the United States Court here
sixteen years ago was packed, and be
refuses to retract, even when it is
shown that many of the men on the
panel from which they we're selected we're
his own neighbors, many Of them Demo
Gratis and all good citizens. The case re-
ferred to was that of Archibald Given
Democratic tax collector, who refused to
give receipts for money rendered. He
was convicted and sentenced to pay fine
OF $1,000, Mr., Payard refuses to be
irJafviawed, but a day or two ago he
hnbosomed himself to an acquaintance,
who has given out to few friends the
gist of the Secretary's remarks upon
local matters. They will be found in tho
following:
1.-The tax laws, said Mr. Bayard, ''as
they now stard date from the year 1878,
and they were framed solely as a measure
of defence against the encroachment Of
the Federal power Of this man Higgins,
United States District Attorney at the
time; the late r. G. Bradford, a bitter
partisan United States Judge, and John
M. Dunn, United States Marshal The
Fifteenth Amendment had been passed.
and under the Enforcement act the Re
publicans were trying to enfranchise the
colored people, and threatened the county
tax officers with vengeance If the colored
men were deprived Of their votes. Dem
ocrats were difficult TO find who would
take the places, and the law was designed
to protect them.
81 know personally" Mr. Bayard is
further quoted, about the action of
Republican county tax collectors prior to
the passage of the present law. One
collector refused to give me tax receipts
for members of my family-men who
were working for me-and treated me
with incivilities that no man has a right
to use toward another There is an
amendment to the old tax law, and is
still in force, that allows any one to be
given a duplicate tax receipt upon the
payment Of cents. Under the old
system, when the Republicans had the
county collectors, the workers of that
party would pay Democratic taxes and
pocket the receipts. The taxpayer could
| not get receipt himself. even though he
wished to pay his tax. The collectors
had him marked paid, and they could not
receive money from the same man twice.
In that way Democrats were disfran-
chised, as the Republicans would not give
out the receipts. Then the law was
amended so that a. man whose tax was
paid by some one else could get dupli-
cate receipt for cents.
As an instance of how it was done, the
ex Secretary said: "Once when Charles
Gallagher had charge of the Water De-
| partment, and was the great Republican
boss then, a man came to me and said
that Gallagher had 300 tax receipts in his
office safe. The receipts were paid for
and we're good, but the men for whom
they were made out could not get them
to vote upon. My informant offered to
steal those receipts for me out of the
safe, but declined his offer The Demo.
cratic workers, however, were on their
guard, and the Office of the water chiei
was very closely watched"
He also recalled. as the memories OF
the political past of the city came before
him, a national elec lion about the year
1872, Then, so it was charged, United
: States District Attorney Higgins and
Marshal Dunn had eighty men from
Philadelphia, whom they called ''pil-
grims, locked up in the United States
building. According to Mr.. Bayard, the
project on foot was this "a man came
to me and said that these pilgrims were
to be furnished with badges as deputy
United States marshals tax receipts
were given them, and each one was tC
vote FIVE times. The Democrats took
hold of the matter, and early on the day
of the election several of the pilgrims
were arrested. Some of the others be
came frightened and fled, and there wa.
but little repeating done by the visitors
In referring to the Given case, Mr.
Bayard is quoted as saying "that 1t was
an unheard- of verdict. Bradford, vic
lent partisan, on the bench, sen tencec
I him. Higgins, who never indicted Re
publican while he was district attorney
prosecuted the case, and Dunn, United
States marshal, drew whoever he pleased
on the panel of Jurors. In sentencing
Given, Judge Bradford said that he
fined him 81, 900, and would send him e
Jail if he could. He probably would hav,
done so if ne could, but Judge Strong in.
terfered.
Il have generally been credited with
the authorship of the assessment and
collection law Of 1873, and have borne q
great deal Of abuse on the subject. ]
never saw the law until 1t was printed
but that part which specifies that the col.
lectors shall sit FIVE days in February in
their office to collect taxes did put in
and insisted upon it. 1t was to make the
collectors show some diligence, as the
law nowhere stated that they were to dc
anything"
In regard to the mandamus proceedings
in which the Superior Court is asked tC
issue a peremptory writ to compel the
tax collectors to receive money for taxes
land issue receipts therefor), when ten
dered by second party armed with I
power of attorney, Mr.. Bayard was of thG
opinion that nothing would come of It.
He referred to the offer of Job H Jack
son, the car and boat builder, to pay tn,
taxes Of his employees in bulk, and said
''No man has the right to another man's
certificate OF suffrage. Employers hav,
power enough already over their en-
ployees without giving them any more
As to the plea that men cannot get to th.
tax Office to pay their taxes during tn,
day without losisg time, why that i:
only one of the disadvantages OF poverty
1t is the same way with voting, and it il
impossible to make laws for carpenters
mechanics, lsborers, and merchants
Men will have TO accommodate them
selves to the law.
Mr.. Bayard is of the opin ion that tn,
questions raised by the mandamus ar,
entirely within the Jurisdiction of tn,