Omaha daily bee., 1899-12-15
Personal TAX DELINQUENTS
Commercial Club Favors Stringent Measures
to Effect Collections.
WILL PETITION CITY COUNCIL TO ACT
Causes that Lead to DcIinuuencies
Ascertnined by Committee-situR-
tion Even Worse Than
Was Anticipated.

At meeting Of the executive committee
OF the Commercial club yesterday a report
was submitted by Chairman Euclid Martin Of
the committee recently appointed for the
purpose of investigating and reporting as
to the Causes OF the large amount of de-
linquent taxes in the city. Mr.. Martin re-
ported that the committee had consulted
with the city treasurer and the city council
and had found a very large amount Of per-
sonal taxes unpaid. The report concludes
From our investigation of the subject we
are led to believe that there are number of
causes which have contributed to the de-
plorable state of affairs, the existence Of
which cannot be denied.
In the first place we find there is no
provision made for the notification and en-
forcement of the collection OF city taxes, the
city treasurer advising US that he is not
provided by the city authorities with sutli-
cient help to enable him to enforce collec-
tions where people do not come in volun-
tarily and pay their taxes.
In looking over the delinquent tax list
for 1898 we conclude that there are a great
many people who would promptly pay il
notified of their delinquencies, but who have
no knowledge OF same.
I'VE find there is another large class of
delinquents, who have been so for years and
years many OF them extending back to 1892,
which seems to indicate that citizens once
finding out that they are not required to pay
their taxes simply cease paying any attention
to the matter. There are many business
men doing a prosperous business in the city
who have not paid their taxes for four or
five and in some instances eight or ten years.
THE situation is even worse than we an
ticipated and calls for some radical measure
of relief We therefore respectfully recon-
mend to your committee that a representa-
tion of the facts as found by us be COM
municated to the city council and that it be
requested to make provision in the next tax
levy that will provide for a special fund to
be employed by the city treasurer for the
specific purpose OF collecting delinquent
taxes and that it be urged to take such
action as will at once create an agency that
will proceed without delay to the collection
of all delinquencies, irrespective of the
amount and number of years delinquent
Mr.. Martin Discusses the Problem.
Mr.. Martin said that glance over the list
of delinquents would no doubt occasion sur
prise, as it contained the names of many
prosperous business men. Every year the
city is losing from s150,000 to 100000 OF
these taxes because of laXity in their col
lection on account of scarcity of help. He
had talked with a collector now in the en-
ploy Of the treasurer, a very excellent man.
who, he found, had been in the habit of
calling upon delinquents ten or fifteen times
without effect. He had tried to collect taxes
without making delinquents mad, and
seemed to be pleased because he had only
aroused the resentment of a very few, some
of whom had threatened to throw him out,
had declared that they would not pay and
that they did not give a d-n for the city
or what it wanted" What the speaker
wanted to see was that the collection of these
taxes be placed in the hands of man who
would caH upon a delinquent but once, and
then il he did not pay, would back wagon
up at his building and proceed to
carry away goods that would
bring the amount of the taxes. The city
is losing every day enough to pay the salary
of such man for several months. When
one sees who has not paid he is hardly to
be blamed for not paying himself. He was
told that the largest delinquent on the liet
owed the county even more: that recently
the county commissioners purchased a lot
of goods of the concern, intending to offset
the cost against the taxes, but that the de-
linquent succeeded in some way in collecting
the money in spite of the fact that it was
$2500 behind on its taxes to the county.
After general discussion, in which the
distress warrant seemed to be favorably
considered, the secretary was directed to
arrange for an early meeting with the coun-
Gil as a committee and invite large num-
Der of property owners to meet with them
to discuss measures for the collection OF the
taxes, which amount to from $1,000 to
$500, 900.
Secretary UT called attention to the an
nouncement in the morning papers that SEN
ator Thurston has been given the committee
on Indian affairs, which will advance the
movement of the club for the equipment OF
the proposed Indian supply depot here.
Letters were read from a number of man
ufacturing establishments looking for west
ern locations, which were referred.