Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1892-07-14
SCHEU'S SLY TRICK.
A Letter. carrier Attempts to Secure
Another Citizens Tax Receipt, But
Fails.

A Letter. carrier Attempts to Secure
Another Citizens Tax Receipt, But
Fails.
Object lessons in political reform and
publication of elections are daily given
from Republican headquarters. Mis-
sionaries from that sanctuary make reg
ular calls at the county tax office where
they impersonate other citizens and with
the funds procured for that purpose OBJ
tain the poll tax receipts unknown 10
the rightful owners.
The most usual plan of these active
demonstrators of moral politics is to
hunt out Republican absentees, a list of
whom is on hand at the headquarters,
and then, provided with the necessary
% cents or whatever the poll tax
amount may be, present themselves at
the tax office and without the slightest
scruple call out the name, not their own,
and obtain the tax receipt which is then
gleefully borne back and deposited at
headquarters for use by and by.
THE MopUs oPERANDI.
The way the Republican missionaries
usually accomplish their innocent little
game is to wait until about IS minutes
or so before the close of business at s
p. m. They get into the line Of those
waiting, and so manage it that their
turn comes when there is little more
of rush at the time of closing for the
night. On account of the smallness of
the window where the receiving clerk
| stands, il is almost impossible to make
any proper identification of the persen
calling for the receipt. As the clerk
| gets through with one caller he cries
out, Next" just as is done in barber
| shop. AS that name is called out a
clerk within looks up the name on the
duplicate books.
Last evening it is reported that Letter
carrier Lewis Scheu played the mission
| airy game at the tax office. The person
ahead of him had hardly got through
when Mr.. Scheu called out name, sc.
f. Hudson" or &C. t. Hudson, First
| ward"
The clerk proceeded to look the name
up in the First ward and found il all
right there. Meanwhile, as it is de-
| scribed, Scheu was standing little to
| one side so as to keep away from the
light Of the window. The receipt was
| being made out when one of those wait
ing outside motioned to Clerk Mitchell.
The latter peeped out of the window
and Immediately recognizing Scheu,
| quietly remarked:
"Now, you know Lew ! can't give
| you this receipt. You know as well as
do that your name is not Hudson. We
would much rather that Hudson came
and got his own receipt"
"Mr. Hudson is Sick" Scheu replied
land ne can't get here"
II is understood that Mr.. Hudson is
away at Sparrow Point, Baltimore
where he is engaged at work and proba.
bly, will be for some time.
An interesting point about the whole
matter is that this is the sixth attempt
of the bureau missionaries >to capture
the Hudson receipt. 1t is git-edged
one and it is badly wanted for some
reason or other. Only the night before
last man of the name of Buckley, SC
it is stated, made the effort. He was
unsuccessful, however. He is, it is un.
derstood, secretary of the First Ward
Republican Club and foreigner who
has not yet obtained his full naturaliza
ton papers.
And so the work of scooping in whit,
mems tax receipts goes on as well az
negro receipts. They are taken to head
| tubitClo "lGIt tHf DuIBdu secretaries
keep a complete registration of them,
little confusion and trouble il
caused and also some expense to tn,
bureau through the fact that many o
the negroes refuse to give up their re
; ceipts. They would rather keep then
, themselves. They perceive the advan
tage, now that the bureau is conductin,
matters on strictly business principles
and that there is II good flow of casl
from the "bar'l," of having control a
all times and several times of the Ia:
, receipt. Moral suasion is the sole re
, source of the headquarters officials ol
these occasions, but the negro is alread
; smart enough and educated enough /
see that he has equal moral rights in tn
"bar'l" with the missionaries and man
OF them propose to utilize the fund t
| Its extreme EapaCitV