The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-02-18
MUST SETTLE.
Delinquent Poll Tax Pay
erS to Be PrOdded.
Collectors Start Out Next
Week to Round Them Up.
The twenty-five Ward Districts TO
Be Carefully Gone Over.

Next week. City Treasurer Granger will
begin to drum up the delinquent poll
tax payers, of whom there is estimated
to be about ten thousand In this town.
This work has been postponed rather
later this year than usual on account of
the demands made upon the treasurer's
force by the collection of water rates.
But everything is now ready for a round
up of the d~elinquents who failed to pay
attention TO the notice to walk up and
settle sent them through the mail some
time ago. Now they will receive a visit
from a representative of tire treasurer in
the person of a collector and the visit will
cost the delinquent a quarter of a dollar.
That IL, TO satisfy all demands he Will
have to pay tie II tax and % cents addi-
tional Tor having os'poned Liquidation
until a personal demand had to DO made
upon him. The collecting force viii start
out next week and Will number ~ men,
one for each voting district in the city.
The work OF preparing books containing
the names OF the delinquents and classify
ing them according II the wards anu dis
tricts in which they belong has been
completed.
Each of the collectors will go around
with one of these books and he is ex-
pected to collect from each person named
or give reason for his failure TO do so.
The collector does not always succeed In
extracting the dollar and a quarter from
the delinquent. Sometimes that individ-
ual positively refuses to pay and the
collector has nothing TO 90 but report
the fact TO the treasurer. But his greatest
trouble Is To find delinquents. They seem
to be q migratory Glass as h rule. They
are here today and gone tomorrow and
give the collector no end of trouble and
t.o rs an ..a..Aw la Aa tha..
down. Hut he doesn't always succeed in
doing that for frequently after following
up various clues he is met with the fiat
statement that no such person ss the par
ticular delinquent Is or has been Known
at the pace where lie is supposed to have
resided. Such cases as this are very fire.
quent and the results of the collectors
labors would lead one to the opinion that
a very considerable part of the male pop
ulation of Providence follows the ex-
ample of the Arab by folding their tents
and silently stealing away before the man
with the poll tax bill has a chance TO
interview them.
These collectors are allowed a small
sum for each demand made for payment,
and also are paid for time scent In en-
deavoring to locate delinqutnts. The
largest sum paid. however, is for actual
collections OF the tax. 1t Is said that an
active and industrious collector can make
a fair salary; but the position offers no
attractions to the man no has a pen
Chant for holding down a chair at all
times when he is not performing similar
service with a bed.
. After the personal demand has been
made by the collectors those citizens who
neglect or refuse to settle are liza IDLE to De
summarily arrested and sent to jail, there
to languish until such time as they pay
not only the tax but all costs incident to
its collection, including the ex pensc of
their commitment ana maintenance at
the jail. Since the present poll tax law
commitment to jail under it, but that
does not by any means make IL certain
that resort will not be had to that method
of compelling payment in the future.