Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-12-06
DEATH AND TAXES,
Experiences at the Collectors Office.


To fine Editor Of The Evening Star:
The writer, intending to pay his tn xes,
reached the District building at $40 am.
Friday, Nov. %, and being provided with tax
bill obtained previously, he attached himself to
the end of the line in the hall, waiting to pay
1t took just an hour and sixteen minutes to pay
ard get the receipt. At first there was but one
line and this was composed both of taxpayers
who had bills and those who had not. After ten
or fifteen minutes an assistant CD passed along
the line and said something about ''bills" and
those who understood what was said and who
had not yet obtained bills. left the main line
and wandered in search of the needed articles.
All tax bills for city property were given out at
four or five windows, gaps or desks, along the
narrow pasi;lS eway IN the same room where the
taxes are paid. A line was formed for each of
these desks and the victims assorted themselves
according as their initials ranged. from to d,
Il to II, or somewhere else. The passageway is
not over SIX or seven feet wide and the five or
SIX lines thus formed wedged it full. What be-
came OF the poor wretches who wanted bills for
county property the writer does not know but
presumes they, like the hard-shelled Baptists in
the deacon's dream, had hotter corner to
themselves somewhere clse
1t was bad enough in the main room when
the lines were formed, but after person had
obtained his bull he was not allowed to pass on
ard OUt into the hail again by the only reason
able way, but was compelled to force his wav
back through the jam which had formed behind
him. The line of payers was next the wall
and could hold its own, but the other lines soon
became merged in a solid crowd, which was con-
stantly increased behind. BY this time the
writer was compressed into the smallest COM
pass he has been able to reach since attaining
adult age There are eleven windows in the
tax collectors room. but not one was omen.
A rntx alo, I've x ~
bottom and couple of ''ventilatOrs' stuck in.
Upward OF 200 untortunates, clad in their win
ter clothes, overcoats and all, were irving to
strain enough air out Of the filthy atmosphere
to keep them alive until they could reach the
cashiers desk. Requests for more air were ig-
nored as calmly as if We had asked for gold
We though. about the old adage of death and
taxes and wondered which would come first.
Ore poor woman had with her little bow of
four or five years-too heavy to carry, too short
to get any air if he stood on the floor
For twenty-five minutes his mother was within
,n's-reach of the desk where her bill ought to
have been given her, but she was crowded away
by men @ and others, who by main strength
had worked up between her and the clerk
This was at the window where the criminals
names forty or fifty of them began with NJ; a
little further along where only prisoners whose
names began with b and G might apply. there
was elbow room, and part of the time clerks
doing nothing.
nv oSt we got IN SlXflt OF the cashier 8 window
ana coun count the victims ahead of us. They
were In single file now, and. having passed the
"biil crowd. had room enough to feel in their
pockets for their money. Sometimes a man
would be at the cashiers window for four or
I'VE minutes aud then pass on to wait again at
the window where his receipt was passed out
Possibly some of these men paid several
bills: for occasionally two or three persons
would pass the cashier in fairly quick success
sion. With watch in hand noted the exact
time required for the cashier to attend to the
ten persons next before me in line. 1t was just
eight minutes, and so fix as could be
seen not one OF them paid more than
a single bill. From the time any money
was passed to the cashier until the receipt was
handed out at the next window, just four min
utes elapsed. and noticed that some who were
before me in the line were still waiting for their
receipts. This would seem to allow twelve
minutes in which to attend to ten taxpayers.
but 1t should be added that while the ten were
paying, two Others-strays, favOrites or some
thing Of the kind-were let in by the exit door
ana were waited on at once, so the actual time
was twelve minutes for twelve persons. When
1t is remembered that there is but one cashier
1t becomes evident that the business must of
necessity move slowly; but of course the
present system has it's advantagei 1t en-
ables one man to do the work of several, and
as the collector seems to be pleased with the
system thus far why not improve it still further
by letting the cashier look up the records and
make out the bill in each case while the tax
payer waits Possibly it might Inconvenience
twenty or thirty thousand taxpayers. but that
would be their misfortune. and think of the
convenience to the collector.
The tax which the writer paid was on the
little place out III the country. where there are
no graded streets, no sidewalks. pavemcnts.
lights water, police or schools. yet the property
il taxed at precisely the same rates as CITY
property, and the assessed value is even larger
in proportion. Nobody pretends that this is
this matter, bnt the right to hope for it still
exists, and there is possibility that the matter
might be improved somewhat-like the tax col
lector's office-by thorough ventilation.
SUBURBAN