Montgomery County sentinel., 1890-02-07
County Treasurer.

Mr.. Editor I'm response to your general
invitation to the citizens of this county to
express their sentiments respecting the en-
actment of law creating the office OF a
| County Treasurer, will attempt to give
you the prevailing sentiment of the people
| in this neighborhood, so far as my inquiries
have ELECTED expression OF opinion upon
the subject
| We would welcome any change that
would tighten the present heavy burden of
taxation, without injury, in other respects,
to the public interest. The rate of taxation
under the present extreme depression of the
| agricultural interest in this county verges
upon oppression upon the farmers. You
did not state whether, in the event of the
appointment OF County Treasurer, it is pro
posed TO continue the collection of taxes un-
der the present system by collectors or not.
That is very important point in fact, the
gist of the whole matter. Ii it is proposed
10 continue the present system OF collec-
tions, and to create a new office, to be es
tablished at the county seat, IN which the
incumbent is merely to receive the pubic
money from the collectors, as they gather it
in and Garry it to him, and then to pay it
out to the county creditors, or give orders to
said creditors upon the collectors, and also
to keep an account of his receipts and dis
bursements in book open at all times to
public inspection, then we most unequivo-
cally decline the luxury.
And if there is any gentleman anxious to
be maintained, as superfuity, at the pub
lie expense and luxurlate in the gayeties
and enjoyments that are fast becoming iaS-
cinating IN our pretty and rapidly growing
capital of the county, We entreat him to
suppress his longings till our financial con
dition may enable us to keep and properly
care for the rare exotic. At present, our
loo Dnl n n fire az q
pleasure We take justitiable pride in our
beautiful county seat, and when times get
better-if they ever do-perhaps we may be
willing to incur considerable expense for
its additional ornamentation-even to the
extent OF maintaining the useless append
age Of County Treasurer Taking all
things into consideration, it is quite prob
lematical whether any other system OF col
lecting taxes would be an improvement.
Under the present system the collectors
can call on the tax payers in person, and,
to limited extent, adapt !heir arrange
ments and collections to the necessities of
the poor hard run tax payers. This they
now do
Our collectors are, | believe, gentlemen OF
good business capacity, but they are also
men of kind hearts, aud they do all they
can, compatible with their duty and proper
regard for the public welfare To aCcommo
Gdtt tUclT CtlltttlpilS W llt UtttSNltltS III
the poor uan. And they do all they can
To mitigate the harlShips and conform to the
necessities ot the poor over burthcncd tax
payer. Would any one man invested with
the power and authority to collect all the
taxes in the county do this? ldoubl whether
he could exercise indulgence in particular
cases, even were he so dlsp iSed. The ex
tent OF his operations would require the
greatest degree OF prumptness on the part OF
the tax payer. II is true that no one should
suffer by greater cost of collection to en-
able an individual collector to exercise some
indulgence. II u good man, as Mr. George
Bonitant states. can be found to collect all
the taxes of the county for $4,000, and per
form all the other duties which are now
performed by the different collectors, then,
of course, the public welfare would be bene-
fitted by such mode of collection, But
am doubtful OF the practicability OF the plan.
JOHN p. BouIC.
MartinSburJ Md Feb 3 1890