The record-union., 1893-03-14
HART AND COLGAN.
The Controller and Attorney-GeneraI
Reply.
They Tell the Senate About the De-
linquent Tax Gathering
Mathews Charges.

had received information to the effect
that Controller Colgan and Attorney
General Hart had been i'll the habit of
farming out' to private persons con-
tracts for the collection of delinquent
State taxes and allowing 10 per cent. of
the collections as compensation.
Mathews charged that this was not al
lowed by law, deprived the State of thou
sands of dollars belonging to it, and he
offered a resolution calling upon the two
officials named for an accounting.
The Senate yesterday received the fol-
lowing from Messrs. Colgan and Hart:
To the Honorable Senate Of the State Of
CALIFORNIA;: On the 10th inst. your hon
orable body adopted the following reso
luton:
Resotred, That the Acknowledgement and
Controller of the Stale OF California are
hereby requested to Immediately furnish to
the Senate copies of contracts made Tor the
collection OF delinquent taxes belonging to
the state, by whicn the collector is allowed
. per cent. upon the amount collected in ad-
dition to the costs and penalties prescribed by
statute, and tLat said Attorney-General and
Controller also furnish the senate with the
following information:
/. How many such contracts have been
made, when'made, and with whom made
>. How much money has been palu said
PERSONS Will WIDDl StlO contracts were made
as percentage, costs and penalties, including
the S3 per notice Tor serving notices, and IN
Guiding the percentage and penalties paid by
tAe counties for which said persons are ap-
pointed.
3. BY what authority of law said Attorney
General and Controller have assumed to
make sucn contracts.
In reply 10 the first part of the resolu-
ton we respectfully deny that we have at
any time made any contract with any
person or persons III any OF The counties
OF this State for the collection of delin-
quent taxes, or that any person or per-
sons have, by any authority given by us,
or 10 our knowledge, collected fifteen or
any per cent. i'll addition to the costs and
penalties prescri bed by statute; but we
have entered into contracts with certain
persons in certain counties OF the State
for the purpose of discovering from The
records ofthe various counties the amount
OF property sold to the State for delin-
quent taxes from the year 1870 to the
present time, and to cause to be redeemed
or cause the pay yment OF all moneys neces-
sary 10 be paid to redeem all property
sold to the State for taxes.
In obedience to your said resolution we
have the honor TO transmit herewith a
copy OF the contracts, showing the terms
thereof, entered into for the purpose of
causing the redemption of property sold
to the state for delinquent taxes in GER
tain counties of the State, as follows:
December 10, 1891, with r. +. House,
for the county of Los Angeles.
January 20, 1892, with w. r. Porter,
for the county Of san Bernardino.
March l, 1892, with l.. a. Wright, for
the county of San Diego.
July l, 1892, with Nolan d Fassett, for
the city and county OF san Francisco.
July Is, 1892, with w. d. Bresse, for the
county of Fresno.
August l, 1892, with w. NJ. r. Parker,
for the county OF Monterey.
October II, 1892, with j. W. Davis, for
the county of Tulare.
December /, 1892, with E. L. Cottle, for
the county of Santa Clara.
We also transmit herewith statement
showing in detail the amount of money
that has been paid by the State to said
persons with whom said contracts were
made up TO the date of this communica-
ton. This statement shows that there
has been paid as follows: To Il. f. House,
Sl,0H 81; W. ID. Bresee, S203 IS; w. r.
Porter, S53 70; l.. A. W fright, S5I3 80; w.
NJ. X. Parker, SIT 70; to The others moth
ing has yet been paid; making a grand
total of 81 ,S35 7S.
The above amounts were allowed by
the State Board of Examiners and paid
to these persons, respectively, for their
services to the State in causing the re-
demption of property sold to the State for
taxes, being a percentage on the States
portion only.
The amount paid by the counties to
these agents is unknown to us, and this
information, as we'll as the amount col
lected for the service of notices, the eX-
pense for serving which is provided for
by Section 31S0 of the Political Code,
must be obtained from the Boards OF SUI
pervisors and Auditors of the various
counties with whom these same gentle
men have entered into contracts. zs@
Under Section IL of the Political Code,
the word person" includes the mascu-
line, feminine and neuter gender, and it
was held by the Supreme Court of the
State of California i'll the case of People
VS.. City of Oakland, 92 Cal, OF. 6l4, that
mo doubt municipal corporation is a
person in the same sense in which the
word is used in this section.''
Under the provisions of said Section
37S5, no person purchasing property at a
tax sale is entitled to receive deed until
notice is given of the amount required to
be paid for the redemption of the prop
erty. We have interpreted the law to
mean, and so has the Superior Court of
San Diego County, that it is the duty of
the State to cause notices to be served in
the same manner as by private pur-
chaser before the owner is obliged to re-
deem and before the State can obtain a
deed. We have held and still hold that
when the State is purchaser of property
at tax sale, 1t is entitled to use all of the
ordinary remedies permitted and ac-
corded by law to private purchasers.
Without quoting the law, we desire to
call the attention of your honorable body
to Section 433 of the Political Code, per-
tanning to the duties OF the Controller es-
pecially the first and sixteenth sub
divisions OF said section; to Section 40 OF
the Political Code, pertaining to the
/ rN4 flaA
Section $3.50 of said code, applying to both
the State Controller and Attorney Gen
eral. We contend that the provisions of
these sections authorize the execution of
the contracts with said persons.
We think it well for you to understand
the condition of the tax sales to the State
at the time of our taking Office. We dis
| covered that large amount of property
In the various counties of the State had
been sold to the State for taxes, which.
under the provisions OF Section 3Sl3 of the
Political Code, is practically Withdrawn
from taxation, increasing the burden of
| taxation upon all who pay taxes. 1t was
then and still is impossible to make an
exact estimate of the number of sales
made to the State and the amount of taxes
due upon such sales; but in Los Angeles
County alone the sales to the State we're
something like IA, 900 in number, and the
amount due between $500, 600 and S4OO, 900;
IN san Dlego county the sales were about
q, 900 in number, and the amount of
taxes about S225, 900, while in the city and
county of San Francisco the sales TO the
State were over $4,000 in number.
amounting to several hundred thousand
dollars in taxes. We are unable even to
estimate the approximate amount in as
sessed value of lands sold to the State in
all the counties, but think it amounts to
over $40, ,O0O,0 900, nearly equal to one-halt
of the assessed Vall6 of all the railrOa0S
in the State.
These sales to the State had the effect of
Withdrawing the property from assess
ment and the paYment of taxes