Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1891-11-12

| 4,UUU list.
Then the simple question is, where
are all those receipts called for by the
excess Of 81 ,2so54.
= There are over 1000 tax receipts in
Republican custodianship, which, ac-
cording to the careful Investigation and
declaration of the Republican Levy
court committee, are roaming about
loosely in this city. They belong to no
one. They represent no tax payment.
They have been !llegitimately issued
and are illegitimateiy held.
The Republican members Of the COM
mittee had full opportunity of confiscat-
ing this circulation OF fraudulent tax
receipts purporting to represent money
| paid into the county treasury, which
has not been paid in; and which tax re-
ceipts now stand, In the hands of the
INSCRIPTIONS holders, as o wall of OBJ
struction, preventing the county from
collecting that sum during the APP
preaching tax year.
The light in which the every day citi-
zen looks upon this incubus of 900 or
l,l00 tax receipts, held in secret reserve
ny certain parties is that at next election
here is big block of tax receipts of sufll-
GENTLY large volume to entirely wipe
out any independent expression OF
opinion at the polls.
II is q standing notification of the
franchise OF the city. The votes can be
pumped at any time and disposed Of at
the various voting precincts wherever
the custodians of these fraudulent tax
receipts may think best to place them.
They are an enemy in the dark which
may strike at any point. The existence
oil these receipts Is standing invitation
to colonization and to the unrestricted
employment of the repeater. These re-
ceipts are In the hands of Messrs. Bach.
Stewart and Mahaffy. They testified on
oath that they received them from ex-
lax Collectors Mckee and Dougherty.
The Republican members of the in
vestigation committee infer they arc
satisfied that the tax receipts repre-
scented by the sum of $3,335.46 paid to
the collectors have a right to existence
although they have not assured them
selves nor the public that any effort has
been made that they are in the rightfui
owners hands.
NED, noating, ownerless receipts that
the.y have proved to the public are in
existence, menace and extinguisher of
the value of an equal number of bona
ilde votes, the committee has nothing to
say.
1t is none of their business. They
assert that list No. 3, which they go by,
calls for certain sum against the col
iectors, and which sum they have ascer-
tanned to be $685. As, and not $4,618.
Then anyone, Messrs. A, B and G.,
may present list of names to the col
lector of alleged poll taxables. Two
thirds of them are genuine, the others
not. Levy Court then can charge the
collectors only with the genuine ones
The one-third Of fraudulent receipts are
issuable at call against the public which
Is 10 get no redress nor protection from
the Levy CouIt. No comment is even
to be made by committee of the Levy
Court appointed for an investigation of
the sale of receipts. No comment what
ever on the sale of tax receipts and the
payment of money to the county, as
sworn to, If it happen that the names in
the body OF such tax receipts are not
found in the office record and error list.
THE MARsHAL's EXPLANATION.
The Ne'cs on Tuesday furnishes the
following explanation from United
States Marshal Henry @. Mahaffy in re-
gard to the discrepancy:
United States Marshal Henry G. Mahaffy
was asked about the matter last evening
He says that when the first 81 800 was paid
to Dousherty and Mckee for tax receipts
the receipts furnished at that time were
furnished by the collectors from private
bnt iupur1 nintn Iistq fIrniSbaI l,,t ha Do
publicans. Afterward No. 3 list was made
out and the remaining tax receipts were
furnished according to that list No. 3 list,
therefore, represented about S3,ll6 worth
of tax receipts.
This fully explains why the amount of
taxes paid according to No. 3 list does not
equal the total amount paid by the Repub-
licans to Dougherty and Mckee.
The deduction from the above is that
there has been another distinct tax re-
ceipt transaction between the collectors
and the Republican managers. One was
for So, and the other for $780, The
sworn total was $4,6lG. Ali the testl-
mony given under oath, including list
No. 3, referred apparently only to the
payment Of s3,116. Instead of testify
ing all they know about the purchase
of tax receipts for 1890" the Republican
managers spoke only in regard to the
receipts for the $3,116.
Another list, No. 3, will be now re-
quired to explain the $1,000 payment to
the collectors so that it can be obtained
for the county, as Messrs. Stewart, Bach
and Mahaffy, swore it WAS county
money. And then, following all this,
the public at large will be anxious to
know where the tax receipts purchased
for this 81 800 are and in whose names
are filled into them.