The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1898-01-07
The Way Made Plain.
EDITOR UNION.

y
may avail themselves of the opportuni-
ty, If all Of your readers are like me
they will prefer reading what someone
they know may have to say, rather
than the most scholarly productions
f. n the pen of someone unknown to
IN. In availing myself of the space
t.tered, I wish at the outset to say to
I" UNION family that if you cannot
{; zee with me, don't 60 to calling
names Show me wherein | err and
| | stand corrected, for none of us are
a Ways perfect. | think it better to
y and do what you can to better the
c''dition Of mankind even at the risk
@ not always being right than to put
the brake OF conservatism on the car
O. ,rogress.
notice in late issue of your paper
you hestow meritorious praise on cur
county officials, and especially on
treasurer LaBee. That is course to
De commended. When an official does
his best to serve the people, he should
De sustained and encouraged, and when
ne fails he should be compelled to toe
the mark or resign. If that policy had
been pursued, Pennington county
not have been in the condition in
which the populists found it. AS we'll
as Mr.. LalSee has done, he could do
still better if the county commission
ers will empower him to do so, and
this article is written with view to
making suggestion to the board of
commissioners, viz: that they instruct
the treasurer to proceed to advertise and
perfect the title to all real estate bid in and
held by the county for period of t,vo
gears or more.
Evidently this course Is necessary
for the prompt collection of taxes A
person Or corporation allowing taxes
to remain delinquent for two or more
years is not golug to pay them until
compelled to do SO, and there is no way
in which to compel the payment of
taxes on realty except by perfecting
title. The law which allows counties
to bid in property for taxes will also
admit Of taking steps to perfect the
title to the same. But where is the
precedent? Well, l can't say. but as
this is the first really business-like ad
ministration Pennington county has
ever had let it ESTABLISH A Priced
ENT 1t is of the utmost Importance
to the successful conducting of county
and school affairs that the taxes levied
be collected promptly: The law MAX
ing taxes a first lien on personal prop
erty will, if the treasurer do his duty,
reach all personal property taxes, and
in order to collect real estate taxes as
promptly as possible, some such meas
ure as 1 have outlined should be adopt
ed
It is an injustice to our best citizens
10y that mean those who are patriot
ic enough to list ALL of their property
for taxation and pay promptly when
due) to collect from them and let the
speculator and others wait for a boom
which may never come. The levying
board does not fix higher rate than
is necessary for the public use, but il
only part of the expected revenue il
forthcoming through a failure on the
part If some to pay their taxes, then
the county and school funds run behind
and thus the cancer of interest gets ir
its work and still higher rate is nee
essary for the next year, working :
gross injustice on those who pay.
Doubtless large per cen tage of oul
delinquents are non-residents and a.
our eastern brethren claim to be pros
pero, to an extraordi AIRY degree
suggest that they be given the frs
chance to either pay up or lose thei1
property. But someone may object t.
this as harsh measure. To those
would say, it is still harsher to make
those who do pay their taxes pa,
enough more to cnver the interes
charges accommodating by failures t.
pay The state auditors report show
100000 delinquent taxes due the state
necessitating the legislature providing
for $35, 900 annually for interest, all Q
which could be saved if there we're n
delinquent taxes.
The counties and school corporation
Of the state pay annually about $3.50, 90
in interest. Those who pay their tax
es when due should not be compelle
to bear this additional burden. b.
this is not all. Many school district
in this county and state hav bee
compelled to close for want Of fund
Their outstanding indebtedness hi
reached the constitutional limit an
although they have taxes enough d.
to pay off every cent they owe, yet tn
boards must either issue warran
which any taxpayer may compel the
to repLdiate, or deprive their childre
of schooling owing to slow ia
collections.