The herald., 1893-05-07
TAX AGENT HOUSE UNDER FIRE,
Ex-Mayor Hazard Tears His
Card to Smithereens.
Sixty-seven Notices Served on Per-
sons at So Each.
Looting the Taxpayers Under the Guise
OF Law but the on-Partisan
Committee Is ON the
RampArts.

Ex-Mayor Hazard furnishes the fol-
lowing for publication:
l am somewhat amused at q card pub
lished by r. F. House in Sundays
reflections on the Citizens Nen-Partisan
Reform association, and particularly on
Mr.. Kinney and myself, who submitted
the report to which he takes exception,
because this report deals with the ques-
tionable appointment of MIR. House, and
the manner in which he ia collecting de-
linquent taxes.
He says SIT is not true that I re-
ceive cent from the state or from any
source except through the county treas
ury."
Let us see if this is true, Mr. House?
The contract which you signed with
the comptroller and attorney-genera,
whereby you get your appointment,
reads as follows: Sand also to receive
as his (House's) compensation for all
additional services rendered such sum
as the state board OF examiners allow,
not exceeding is per cent, on all moneys
paid to the county treasurers for and on
account OF the state of California on ac-
count of said taxes or redemptions made
Of any property. Said percentage to be
| paid upon all Gums of money as the
| states share on account of such redemp-
ton, and to be allowed by the board of
examiners wnen paid into the state
treasury"
We appealed to the state comptroller
to ascertain the amount paid you by the
state on account of this contract and he
gave us, taking the items from his books
| q will show you the original memoranda
| il you desire to see it), the sum of
| $1047. "a from January to December 5,
1892, which was based on your sworn
| statement.
| He goes on to say:
"If they had informed themselves and
had intended to be just instead OF re-
porting me and my work as they did,
they would have declared what the rec
ord of my Office show the facts to be-"
! How could we examine the books OF
your office. The contract which you en-
tered into with the attorney general and
comptroller provides said books (books
to be kept by you of all transactions re-
lating to the collection of the taxes)
shall be open for the inspection of the
state comptroller and attorney general,
or either of them or any person they or
either OF them may designate in writing
for examination" The public has no
access to your books much less one OF
these hated "self appointed reformers." f"
Yourself and parties to the contract
1 alone are to have access to the manner
in which you keep your books. Why
such a clause was put ia contract
wnah 8Igyiase atafy ! rHalaec II vas 81 }SSF
no other purpose in the world than TO
| "a fon f~ of -. k~.v
being publicly known, and then we are
upbraided because we did not examine
your books.
"If these self-appointed reformers had
condescended to confer with me in
reference to the matter"-to tell you
the truth, Mr.. House, you were not in
your Office go you could be consulted !;
| you were in Sac amento, lobbying to de-
feat the Bulla tax bill, which was the
only bill that promised remedy for our
people in this matter of the collection
OF delinquent taxes. You were up there
away from your post OF duty, drawing,
according to your own admission, 500
per month of the peoples money, en-
deavoring at the same time to defeat
the only remedy offered to the people
| by the legislature on the subject.
What time we had to spare we en-
| ployed to thwart you and your CON
freres In poisoning the minds of the leg
islators against the Bulla bill, and to
that purpose it became our duty to ex-
pose the matter of your mission to Sac
rame nto and the com bination with the
sstorney general and comptroller to beat
this bill, and the object you had in
beating it.
Among other complaints I find the
following: ''The statement that l have
collected 5000 from a single individual
for serving notices is absolutely false.
1t is true | have an uncollected claim of
1901 for serving notices on property that
has escaped taxation" That the state
ment is not absolutely true as contained
in the report is that you have not got
the money yet 1t is not your fault,
however; practically the difference be-
tween the statement contained in the
report which you denounce as "abso-
lutely false" and the truth of the matter
is that we did not charge the amount as
large as it is, and you have not got the
money yet. Now of course you are not
guilty but as soon as you get it you
will then be guilty of more than we have
charged, for we only charged $500 where
you nave got $20l.
| ''O hIC CAllIClJ n6biEnCu Win JOuE
explana ion. The gravsmen of our
charges were, however, that you pur-
posely served a multiplicity of notices to
extend from this victim the difference
between SO t4uficed) and s2O1 for serv-
ing lot OF useless notices, and to that
charge your only reply is that "you are
another"
! You say. "It is true I have an uncol-
lected claim of $201 for serving notice on
pgoperty that has escaped taxation. -
When we consider that the entire taxes
on this property for 1888, including de
linquency, was S26, and on the 18th of
June, 1892 the owner rendered to Treas
urer Banbury the sum Of 1925 so, being
the taxes and costs, and the same was
refused because it did not include the
$20l claimed by you for eerving 67 no.
tices on one person, and he not the
owner, it is rather far-fetched on your
part to endeavor to make capital out Of
that fact and to designate it as property
that has escaped taxation," that is to
say properly on which the entire tax
state and county, was, all told, the sum
of $26, including delinquency, and to re-
deem the same from the sale to the state
the owner offered $225.60, which in
Il