The morning times., 1896-07-08
WHEN PENALTIES ARE DUE.
Order of Commissioners in Re-
spect to Tax Collections.
ONE PROTEST is MADE
Semi Annual Payments of Taxes Due
on First Day of MOntli-PrObable
Modification of Order Affecting
Speed OF Bicycles-Issues Between
District and Contractor Warfield.

1 eAAA A''POA tdhp poIuO VI ID III ItSpetL 70
remission OF penalties, was raised on the
hrst day OF the present month, wnen Mr.. j.
W. Butterfield called on the collector to pay
the taxes gainsJ him, which fell due In May
and yesterday, arter his formal protest had
PASSED 10 and from the District Auditor,
The Commissioners issued an order decliuing
Mr.. Butterrieid's request for the refundment
or the added penalty assessed for his failure
TO pay taxes in May, and established "a pre-
cedent tnattaxpayers willdo well to remem-
| Der.
The substance or the contention made by
| Mr.. Butterfieid was thatas he had been un-
able 10 make payment OF the semi annual
instaiiment OF taxes when he called to do SO
on Decoration day no penalty for failure
| should have been assessed.
He acknowledged that the Both OF May
| was legal holiday, but claims that it was
constituted after the passage of the, tax
law, and cannot therefore, without detri-
ment to the taxpayer, be considered as q
DAY upon which taxes may not be paid.
Upon this point and others raised Auditor
Petty says that May 80 being holiday, es-
tablished by law, upon which all public Of
! flces are closed, Mr.. Butterfeld's attempt
| 10 pay his taxes on that day is no more Tea
sonable nor susceptible of defense than
would be his effort to do SO on Sunday A
plea in justification of such action would
seem to carry its own rerutation In the bare
statement of the proposition"
The auditor further says that Mr. Butter
heids main argument proceeds on the as
sumption that the second install.nent of tax
is not due until the expiration OF the month
OF May. Toshow befallacy of this conten-
uon IL is only necessary to quote the law.
WHAT THE LAW PROVIDES.
The act of March B, 1877 which regu-
lates the payment OF taxes, provides that
onehalr of the tax shall become due and
payable on the first day of November, and
the other onehalf of such tax shall become
due and payable on the first day OF May"
1t also provides that ''one-balf of the
tax, herein levied shall
not be paid before the first day OF
December, said iDstallment shall there
upon be in arrears, and delin-
queDt; and there shall then be added
to be collected with such taxes, II penalty
OF per centum upon the amount thereof.
And If said installment shall not be paid
before the first day of June, together with
the one half of said original tax due
before said first day OF June, like penalty
shall then he added on said last one-half
of such tax, etc ~
at is thus shown by the terms of the
law that the second half OF tax for 1896
fell due, not on May 80, as Mr. Butter
field contends, but on the first day of
May, with the grace, merely, of paying
without penalty in the intervening period
before the first Of June. Failing to use
this privilege on a day in May, when the
collectors Office was open for business. the
penalty legally attached on the first day
of June. and was properly exacted by the
collector.
THE act of January 10, 1872, which
governs the refundment Of taxes, pro-
vides, as amended, that the Commissioners
shall cause all taxes enormously paid In
the District OF Columbia, to lie refunded upoa
the certificate of the collector of such er-
roDeous payment, which certificate shall
state the nature of the error
LAS il has been shown that the collec-
ton of a penalty on the first day of June
was not an error, but n strict compliance
with the law, it follows that the refund
meDt on the ground of an erroneous pay-
ment can not legally be made"
CONTRACTORS FINE RENTED.
The differences OF opinion respecting the
terms of payment under the contract be-
tween the garbage contractor and the
District were yesterday adjusted, and at
the same time the question as to the
equity Of certain fines charged against
the contractor by the health officer was
settled to the satisfaction mutually of both
parties. -
The terms of the atiinstment. and the
basis upon which it was reached. involved
all that has heretofore been printed in
The Times concerning the contention, and
the result is that the aggregate Of the fines,
$514 is remitted in bulk; it is agreed that
for that particular class of work which re-
quires the daily attention of the contractor
shall be paid for in a lump sum amount
ing to $500 per month. regularly, and that
for the rest of the service the pa ayments
shall be in proportion to the number OF
collections per month.
In other words. MIR. Warfield is to re-
ceive 5000 per year. in regular monthly
for collecting garbage daily
from the markets and large hotels. and for
the rest of the District he is to be paid
at the rate of daily collections, when
made, and tri-weekly collections during
the season when such service will meet |
the requirements.
WHOLE CASE REVIEWED.
In passing upon these questions the Com
missioners made an exhaustive review of |
the work OF the entire year, and in view |
of all the circu instances they came to the !
conclusion that the fines imposed upon Mr.. |
Warfield during the first four months of |
the contract year were not a proper charge |
against him, since he was then under a |
Temporary contract which suited the con-
veniences of both parties equally, and |
could not have been avoided.
The conclusion reached as to payments
is based upon the terms of the contract, and |
was prepared and presented to the Commits |
sioners by Health Officer Woodward, to
whom it was referred.
a