El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-01-02
THE CITY COUNCIL.
Has More t0 Say i'll the Collection of
DELINQUENT Taxes.


Thursday nights meeting of the city
council was another one of what the
French would call "conversatziones,"
on the delinquent tax collection ques-
tion. Mr.. Stewart was absent tending
stock up the country, Mr.. Roberts was
at home taking care of the children so
that his wife could have an evening off,
and Judge Townsend was more absent
than present.
Mayor Campbell called Mr.. Kachler
to the executive throne while he took
the floor to take emphatic exc hptiol to
the charge of Judge Coldwell that the
present council was incompetent. His
honor claimed that the council had
exhausted every means to collect the
taxes: also that it had managed the
city's affairs more economically than
any previous council and had been
diligent all round.
Judge Coldwell replied that he had
never charged the council with gen
eral incapacity, but he did claim that
the council was not dealing fairly with
property owners, and that too on the
advice of the city attorney. Aside
from following that advice, this council
was the best the city ever had, both
for what il did and what it did not do.
But that contract with Mr.. Patterson
was not only Illegal. but was so laugh
IDLY that the humOr provoked by its
Righteousness clicked the indignation
occasioned by its extravagance. Many
thousand dollars of back taxes belong
to the school fund, levied for the bene-
fit of the school children. This money
did not belong to the aldermen, it did
not belong to the city, but it did belong
to the public schools: and the council
had no right to take the money and
appropriate it to lawyer If the
council can give lawyer 10 per cent,
it can give him 90. The same is true
of all the various special taxes levied
various bonded indebtednesses.
When the tax collector collects
these taxes, it is his duty under the
law to turn them over to the city
treasurer, and the council has no power
to prevent him from discharging this
obligation. When the treasurer re-
ceives the money, it is his duty to at
once credit the moneys TO the proper
funds and he is expressly forbidden by
the charter from paying it out except
to pay interest or to redeem the bonds.
Did the council suppose the treasurer
is going to violate his oath of office and
put his bondmen in jeopardy in obe-
dience to au unlawful ordinance, and
in violation of a positive statute? [
lay stress on this misappropriation of
the special fund not because it is the
because it is that special defect in it
that can be understood best by men not
lawyers. Every citizer knows that a
special fund provided for by the char
ter can only be used for purposes for
which it was levied.
The last of these remarks were in
reply to statement from the mayor
that he did not propose to argue law
points with the judge. The latter also
q
taxes, as they occurred year By year
as follows: 1885. $3.50: 1886, $3.50: 1887,
1897: 1883, s12; 1889, SS06; 1890. S1454:
1891, S5270: 1892 S5357: 1898, SIS, 127:
1894, ,S14, lO6: 1895. Sl5, 155: total uncol-
lected taxes since 1885, SCI, ,2S5. AS to
the query from Mr.. Clifford as to why
he had not collected uD all the delin-
quent taxes while he was city attorney,
Judge Coldwell said there was no city
attorney until 1889, but that there had
been a lawyer hired to prosecute suits
for the city in the courts, and he had
nothing to do with collecting delin-
quent taxes. However the speaker did
handle two such suits while he was act
ing as corporation counsel, and the city
was at no charges for the same. The
city was going ght back to where itwss
two years ago, according TO present in
dicatiOuS.
Mr.. Clifford asked if the special attor-
ney could not be paid out of the general
fund. This aroused the fires of sarcasm
in the orator of the evening who imme-
diately wanted to know if MIR. Cliff
ford had already begun trying to patch
the thing, and after a few more pas
sages at arms with the gentleman from
the bloody First ironically informed
him that he had no more time or words
TO waste or him. The Judge continuing,
held that the councils action was max
| ing it the laughing stock of the FL Paso
| bar.
The mayor then arose once more to
state it as fact that the present cOuu-
ell had done all in its power to be
diliyent ami collect the taxes. Assessor
! $. nth has been exceedingly active in
discharge Of his duty. l have
ned Judge Townsend on and lost no
e, and | think The proper thing is to
the collection matter over to
Ht0rRey and let him Co!lsct the