The morning call., 1893-01-25
THE TAX COLLECTOR.
He Is Opposed to the Double Collection
of the City's Taxes.

o. tlC I'll - AaACSs
You are the first reporter who has paid
NE the honor Of visit since l took Office, !"
said Tax Collector Block yesterday. Take
a seat"
There is one reform you may say 1 am
most emphatically in favor Of and that is
the Tax Collector should never be an Flee
ton Commissioner. Daring the months Of
October, Septen Der and November the pres
ence Of the Tax Collector Is required every
minute Of the DAY In this Office. 1t is then
when business is crowded. and when The
eity's financial interests should be carefully
supervised and attended To-. Il is a notOri-
Gus fact that if ex-Tax Collector O'Brien
had doae his duty as an Election Commits
sioner, be could never have stopped In this
office one hour of the day 10 attend 20 the
collection or the city's taxes. The incum-
bent Of this Office should not be an Election
Commits siOneT because he NAV be cRndi-
date fer reelection and pass on his own
case. That should never be allowed, ana
would not do It."
Are you in favor, Mrs Block, Of the bill
before the Legislature TO Tesclnd the bill
providing for the dual collection Of taxes
during the year, was asked
81 have not made critical examination
Of the bill, but from q curSOTy investigation
Of the subject it strikes me that the bill
ought 10 pass. From what [ have learned
of the workings Of the seml-annual cOilec-
ton OF taxes they tell NE il is working
smoothly. But what Of that? The law it.
self is wrong ! don't hesitate TO give my
opinion that the 10 per cent fer delinquency
on The second alt payment IS so exoTbi-
taut as to be positive outrage.
''In the second place the operation OF the
law costs the city too much without giving
any returning advantage. The costs for
extra clerks. printing and stationery ran up
last year to $4,000 Idon't see how the city
saved anything by expendIng so much
money or what was gained for such IN out
Law. 1t IS not business proposition.
Again the people for whose convenience
the law was passed and who were supposed
to be benefited By il do not reap any adyan-
tage al all because they do not observe II.
refer to the great army Of small taxpayers.
They generally pay their taxes for the
whole year in the first half 10 order to save
themselves caTfare and tile trouble OF stand
inc in line for half day.
at is only the corporations, railroad CON-
panles ana banks that are benefited by the
law. Their taxes run into the thousands
Of dollars and sometimes II Is very cOnYen-
lent 10 only pay half. Besides they gain the
SIX months interest on thousands Of dollars.
That is TO their advantage. What does a
poor man gain on S5or SIC? 1t would not pay
his caTfare. So NAV say | am in favor Of
the taxes being PAID all at once.
There is only one argument l ever heard
In regard 20 the double system OF paying
taxes" said MIR. Block, land that was given
By a banker, who said it did not tie SO
much money up at once. But that was a
bankers argument
There have been no special reforms in
the Office" concluded tie Tax Collector,
las at the present the work is simply that
Of bookkeeping. l may iBauguTate some
improvements later MY present working
force is thirty-two men against force OF
thirty-3eVen last year"