Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1893-06-29

ever RECEIVERS thht money " VIII DC from Nun, III
Mercer IL going To law tho tax payers In the
name OF the county the tax payers should protest
and demand that he law In his own name, us II ID
enough for the tax payers 10 pay their own costs
without paying for his experiments. IL would
DO worse than folly TO spend one or two thousand
dollars IN lawyers fees and costs along with what
has already been spent 10 determine who Is re.
sp0nsibe In this matter. There IL an old saying
that "what IL eyeybodys business nobody NJ.
tends TO- This Is q case which comes very
nearly under that head The tax payers should
try and device some means 10 avoid as much OK.
pense AZ possible In tho settlement OF this mat.
ter, NJ they are the ones who will have 10 foot
the bills when II Is settled Once more, In refer.
enCe 10 attorneys advice They are good deal
like the story OF the old woman whose husband
and bear was having round up-she said she
was not particular Az TO which was victorious
Now In my opinion that II exactly the position OF
the attorneys In this matter II Is the fees they
are Interested in. A. DAWSON.
The above unfair, unjust and I'M
called for article appeared in last
weeks Dispatch without comment
So the HERALD supposes that the Dis
patch endorses it in whole (see Dis
patch Of June rs and July 2, 1891, as
to the without comment).
1t was the intention of this paper
not to comment upon the difficulty
now existing between the CONNER
cial Bank of Long Island and Mr..
Mercer, county treasurer, believing
that each party should have the OPP
portunity Of having this difference
settled upon the merits Of the case by
the courts, but as it seems that the
friends Of the bank are unwilling to
do likewise, as the above shows, the
HERALD will now present to the pub
lie Mr.. MERGERS side Of the question.
In the first place Mr. Mercer did
not authorize the Long Island bank
to collect these taxes. The bank en-
ployed an outside party to make out
q list Of taxes due in four townships,
and collects taxes as a speculation,
charging the tax payer twenty-five
cents additional.
Mr., Mercer is not lawlng the tax
payers at the expense of the county.
There are no law suits started by him
against individual tax payers, and
none will be. The bank is the agent
Of the men who have paid money to
it, and if 1t did its duty the liability
would have been placed where it be-
longs long ago.
If a man who has paid money into
the Long Island bank, pays his taxes
to the treasurer in the end he loses
nothing, as if the case is decided for
the bank the county commissioners
will pay the amount back to him; if
against the bank, that institution will
be liable for it.
The Long Island bank, if it has any
desire to stand by its transactions,
would see that no one is put to any
expense on account Of this trouble,
and as it has been decided that tn
county has no voice in the matter, but
that is a personal matter of Mr.. Mer-
GERS, the HERALD fails to see where
the tax payers are in any danger of
being put to the expense of thous-
ands of dollars, as Mr.. Dawson fears.
There are several peculiar features
about this draft transaction. There
are but two places IN the county
where taxes are collected by others
than the treasury oficials-Long Is
land aud Klrwin. At the latter place
the First National Bank acts as one
of the agents OF the tax payers, and
at the close of business each day re-
mits to the treasurer all money col
lected for taxes during that day.
How did the Long Island bank do?
Held the money until it accumulated
81, rs and then on the Goth of De-
cember sends drafts for the whole
amount. If the treasurer was to fol-
low the law to the letter every tax
payer would find himself mulched for
the penalty the law aflixes upon taxes
not paid before the Goth,
Does 1t not look to the average man
that possibly the bank in its desire to
hold on to the tax payers money and
save few cents postage was some
what negligent itself? Another pc
cullar feature, on the day these drafts
were deposited for collection three
others Of similar nature, drawn by
the Commercial Bank of Long Island
upon the Capitol National of Lincoln,
we're deposited with them. These
drafts were paid at Kansas City. II
the Long Island bank recognized its
liability for these three drafts, why
should it not in the others? There il
only one possible chance for the bank
to win in this suit, and that is for il
to show that Mr.. Mercer was neglect