Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1891-03-19


zETTE's library. The first column shows
the total assessment of each county; the
second, the total taxes levied upon that
assessment:
New Castle. ....... s45, s61 503 $780, 07
Kent. .............. 4,S47,55B 81 1852
Sussex ........,.... 10, l65,955 5l,6Sl
Total State. ......s70, s75,Ol4 S542,620
1t will be observed that New Castle
county pays little over two-thirds of
the whole bill, and consequently ought
to have some slight interest in tax legis-
lation. Yet it is the farmers of Kent
and Sussex who seem to be doing pretty
much all the talking.
We find, from the same source, that
the 1888 assessment of Wilmington was
$24,749, 1928, and the total County and
poor tax levied thereon was $l23,749.
1--WE are taking no account of fractions
of dollar in these figures.) So that Will
mington pays more than one-third of
the whole bill. Yet up to date not one
single endorsement of the Fulton
equalization of taxes" bill has reached
the General Assembly from WilmingtoR
Now we find, from the city statement
published July, 1888, that the municipal
tax actually collected in the city of
Wilmington alone for the fiscal year
ending June Both, aggregated $499, 1906.
In other words the city tax alone of
Wilmington exceeded by nearly $150,000
the county taxes levied on the whole
State, including Wilmington. If we
add to this $4S9,395, the county tax of
Wilmington, $123,749, we have $613, LA
as the combined tax paid by Whining
ton in that year, VIZ.
These figures speak for themselves.
They show that here is community
paying 100000 taxes per year and not
saying word; while people of counties
paying only 10 per cent of this amount
are agitating for legislation that would
either be impossible to enforce or, if en-
forced, would drive millions Of capital
out of the State.
This Fulton tax bill aims to convert
every assessor into virtually an admin
istrator upon every mans estate while
the man is still in the flesh. The asses
sor is to come to him and demand of
him not only how much he owns, but
how much he owes and to whom. To
such Undergraduates the taxable might
reply: John Smith holds mortgage
on my farm for $4,000, if he hasn't
| transferred it to somebody else; Richard
Roe holds my judgment note for 81 400;
| have had dealings with Farmers A, b,
and g running back over two or three
years, and can't tell off-hand whether
| am in their debt or they in mine, but
will look over our accounts and let you
know if you will stop around next
week" and so on. A delightful cate
chism to put a man through, now isn't
il?
THE GAZETTE has already spoken
of other features of this bill, including
the hardships it would necessarily i'm
pose if, as contemplated therein, munich
| pal taxes were also levied under it, upon
the thousands of Wilmington working
men and women who have their little
savings invested in building associations
and savings banks. We feel quite CON
fident that practical trial of the law,
should it become law and be enforced,
would result disadvantageously also to
the farmers themselves in bringing about
the foreclosure of mortgages and the
withdrawal Of capital to other states
making it harder for them to negotiate
loans here and perhaps impossible in
some cases to negotiate at all. Such an
outcome would assuredly work the
defeat of any political party responsible
for it.
The fact is this matter of reconstruct
ing the taxation system of the whole
State is too big and complicated to b,
handled in connection with the business
of a legislative session. 1t wants to bt
studied carefully by men trained ii
matters of finance and political economy
who should give their attention to it 70
a sufficient length of time to familiariz,
themselves with the workings OF simila
legislation in other communities ant
with the applicability to our own Stat
of what may have been tested am,
found practicable elsewhere. We woul,
therefore suggest to the General Assem-
bly, the ACCESSIBILITY, rather than running
the risk of making any disastrous mis-
: take IN this business, of referring tn
I whole matter to a commission of til
most competent men who can be found
with instructions to inquire into tn
subject in all its bearings and report t
/. tile next General Assembly. Especial
do we regard this suggestion as timel
and appropriate in view of what W
hope is the probability Of obtaining
new constitution through the medium {
an election to be held on the third Tue!
day of May next.
r. ---------s.---------
C There will be difference of opinion a
D to how far the popular uprising in Ne
d Orleans, for such it seems to have beel
f in the application Of lynch law to ii
c Malta assassins whom the constitute
t agents of law had failed to bring I
c punishment, is properly censurable
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