The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-06-29
TUESDAY. JUNE 70, 1907
An Outrage.

Owing to the manner in which tho
county taxes have been collected in New
Castle county for the last four years, the
Levy Court is required to Increase the tax
rate from so cents per hundred to % or 60
cents per hundred. This increase In tho
tax ratio has become necessary, owing to
the failure OF the county tax collector to
collect the taxes due, which amount to
over 100000 The shrinkage in the value
Of country property and city real estate
combined has reached the large sum of
"a, 96O, 0So which has to be made up by an
increased tax rate. This is an object les
son as ono of the indirect benefits Of tho
Wilson bill and our people arc given an
example Of how tax collectors, who don't
have to collect, fail to collect. The de-
crease in the value OF real estate in Will
mington fell off Sl,696, 734, while in tho
country districts it amounted to 50, 263 BAG.
This falling off in valuation will have to
be made up in an increased tax rate and
the already overburdened property owner,
the mechanic who owns his little home,
with two thousand dollar mortgage will
have to go down in theirs pocket and help
contribute towards the amount to enable
the county to meet its bills and pay the
interest on the loan of $50 900 lately
floatcd by the county. The assessment
last year should have yielded S2SS, lG6 %,
but whether it was the indifferent manner
in which the taxes were collected, espec-
tally where the payment Of county tax
enables Republicans to vote, or tho power
ty OF the people in not being able to meet
their taxes, somebody or the method Is ut
fault. Tho tax collectors only realized
GIT, 54S 30 leaving deficit of what should
have been collected of Sll0, ~ and this
sum is now to be made up with IL decrease
in the valuation of tho property Of over
four million dollars. This may be husi.
ness, it may be politics, but we think the
people will resent this increase in the tax
rate at the present time when tho rents arc
30 hard to get and SO many properties
without tenants. There should have been
less politics and more business like meth
Gds adopted in collecting the county tax.
Every man should have been compelled to
pay his county tax and nobody should havo
been turned away, as has been the case
for years. in the collecting of the county
tax and the peculiar manner in which tho
office has been conducted. II this Is ono
Of the indirect effects of the consistency
OF the Wilson bill, reducing the valuation
of property and raising the tax rate, then
we want to live under the Dingley bill as
soon as possible. Anything, good Lord,
would be better than what we have been
passing through. Under the new Con-
Btitution, the payment of n registration
fee and not county tax Is the qualifca-
ton to vote. We can't see how the Levy
Court hopes to have its expectations real
lied in collecting the county tax with an
Increased rate and q decreased assessment.
There certainly appears to be truth in tho
statement given out by Senator Pylo that
the Levy Court had been extravaganza in
some Of its expenditures, especially in re-
pairing bridges and several other minor
matters, where the Democratic workers
had to be looked after