The morning call., 1894-12-23
HAS MADE OF 1T A SCIENCE.
He Knows if You Paid a Cent Too
Much,
AND IF YOU'RE SHORT, LOOK OUT.
Millions Collected In Ten Days.
Everybody Procrastinates in
Paying Taxes.

weeks preceding the 10Th OF Novem DER
surrounded and occupied the office of Tax
Collector Block has wholly subsidized. The
Office is again normal, and the tax collec-
tors prOper-that is, the men who stood at
the windows and did addition and sub
traction at pressure of several tons to
the square inch-are breathing regularly
again. Yesterday they were in very fair
way for a merry Christmas. They had
figured out exactly where they were al.
They could tell you TO cent about every
one of the IS 903 transactions that took
place in The Office during the two months
in which the books were open, and so were
ready 10 receive and instantly dispose of
any man who had receipt that didn't fit
his cash either on the right or left side of
the account.
And the tale that these figures tell, IN
like the story of figures in general, is curl
Gus and interesting.
The total number of tags, or checks,
held by the Office was SS,9OS representing
that many iransactions), and the total
sum collected upon these was 50, 927, 295 2S.
OF this vast sum six-eighths was collect
ed In the last ten days-between the 10th
and the ooh. Of the IS. 903 receipts given,
IS. 219 were made out in that time.
II the rush and scramble of all this
business $55S2 80 was paid in excess of
the demands. much of ii being simple
duplicates, raid by mortgage-holders and
real estate owners On the other hand,
this sum was nearly made even by the
shorts; that is. cases where the money
received fell short of the amount of the
bill. The shorts amounted to S532S II.
And the strange part of it is that every
one of these longs and shorts can be locs ted
almost instantly by the simple machinery
in the Tax Collectors Office. There is a
book devoted to each of them. and the
stream of people who keep reporting to
Mr.. Block daily how, either in answer to
notices sent out or their own discovery,
complaining that the settlement is not
right, find to their surprise that he whole
matter can be referred to and adjus ted in
a minute.
There is another list of discrepancies
that are also carefully scheduled, but for
which the Tax Collector assumes rather
than bother With. They are shortages of
less than 90 cents. They run from cen t
to 40 cents, and in the big total of collec-
tons foot S11 Sc on the roundup.
when the amount received is less than
the amount of the BILL" said Chief Deputy
Hiram Cook yesterday, lit is Mr.. Block
system to credit it up for the wb ole
amount, but when the shortage is more
than 80 cents the whole sum is held out
and the party is notified TO remit the bal
ance. By this plan tie accounts are kept
clean all the time. Formerly it was the
custom to credit the amount received
against the bill and mark it 81. or 81, or Sc
short as the case might be. In that shape
they often stood for years-the taxes not
really paiG-and very often serious COM
plications arose. l only settled up few
days ago case that had been standing for
years marked 5 cents short. In cases of
over-payments as well as shortages the
parties are notified by posial-card aud by
advertising, and 1t is these that are coming
in now.
In very short time this difference Of
over $4,000 will be sifted down to a fe w
dollars. This sum, II there be a surplus.
will be turned into the treasury to the
credit of this account, SO that it may be
properly applied to the taxes at any time
In the future. There is also another sum
that goes to the treasury under another
account. 1t is the little surplus that al
ways accumulates in the handling of such
large sums and which cannot be accounted
for. 1t amounts this time to about $50.
This stands ready to be applied to the
shortage fund.
How 90 We keep track of it all In the
rush?" said Mr.. Cook. sit is simply a
matter of system. A great many things
that seem difficult are simple enough when
you reduce it to system. In the first
place there are about seventy books in
this Office, and the account of every lot, as
we'll as every taxpayer, is so arranged that
If the taxpayer forgets the number of his
lot it is only necessary to look up bis
name 10 find where it is and the amount
of the levy against ii. His bill is made
out giving the volume, page, block. etc,
and below it on the same bill Is the whole
thing in brief. This is the tag referred
to. As the man presents himself at the
window with this bill it is stamped paid,
the tag is torn off and numb ered by an
other stamp, placed on the file, AMI he
passes on 10 the next window for his re-
cept. If he has a number of bills these
are added up on blotter under the date
and the hour of the day, and the footing
of them all he pays. II he finds ANYTHING
wrong aboat the matter be lets us know at
what time of day he paid his bill. we
refer at once to the business done that
hour. and although his name is not on the
blotter we can easily find it by the COM
bination of figures and discover where the
error is. This com plete system of checks
has been perfected during the present ad-
Einistration, and when Mr.. Block goes
out of Office he will never know he had
been Tax Collector, so far as the worry of
the aftermath is concerned.
ut would be a great boon to the Tax
Collector" continued Mr.. Cook, "if the
Legislature would make a law that tax
bills must be made to the even nickel. 1t
is a curious thing that the man in the line
at the window takes fendish delight In
doing the man on the inside out of Q
cents, but when the man OF the inside
comes back at him he thinks the Tax Col
lector Is swindler and is getting rich out
of the splitting of nickels. The fact is. IL
is all the other way. and I am personally
q heavy loser. Why, for hours one day
the 2-cent split never came my way. and
was almost tempted to quit the job. was
handing away money so fast"
Dure.E ond Exnosiriou