Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1899-10-07
Official Paper nl Nez Perce County.

who are shrew@ careful aud sue
cessful i'll the business world, and
who are ever prompt to meet their
ordinary obligations and insist on
others doing likewise, lay awake
nights scheni"v ou a plan OF escap-
ing taxation. Human nature will
have To urGcr.O a wonderful
change before men quit kicking
about having 10 pay taxes, and
when that time arrives the TELLER
force will no doubt look down from
that lovely home on high, where
all good printers go, and from
whence no man reiurneth, and say
to themselves, The millennium has
a, last visited the earth" The man
who cal figure out system OF con-
Quoting the fl .ifs of city, county
or state by some other methods
than by taxation will be a public
benefactor and wor ,hipped by the
American people as the greatest
character OF the age, not even ex-
cepting Dewey, aud of course when
that time aitives the Democrats,
who are ever in a maze, will be
claiming him as Democrat /; but
so far in the worlds history, as a
general proposition, getting some
thing for nothing has not been a
bowling success, or done much
more than to get some fellow who
tried TO get something for nothing
into trouble.
Lately there has been some COM
planning by some oil our ci,izeus
about taxes, as there is each year
throughout the country, but let
each consider that it takes money
to buy the baby frock and that it
also takes money to conduct the
affairs Of the county, and each in
all fairness should share his n. iquot
part and il is the imperative duty
oil those county officers who have
the matter In charge to see that
each property holder in the county
does so share his proportionate
amount OF the expense and an
officer who is entrusted with the
duties Of looking after the revenues
OF the county and who does not see
that the law is fearlessly and i'm
partially enforced is far from full.
filling his mission, and should be
severely censured for his neglect.
Great credit is due County Treas
urer Hastings in lately bringing to
light the fact that the city Of Lew
iston has all these years escaped
road taxation, although no other
place in the State is. or should be,
more interested in having good
roads, that the farming classes may
thereby haul their products here to
market. The law is plain, and the
Supreme Court of this State OH
May 10, 1894, in the case Of the
city oil Genesee VS.. Latah county,
lays down the law clearly. This
was a case where the county levied
and collected a property road tax
in the town of Genesee, in said
county, in and for the years 1901
and 1892, The town Of Genesee
presented an account to the Board
Of County Commissioners for IS per
cent Of the tax so collected. The
commissioners refused to issue a
warrant therefor aud the city ap.
pealed, The Court in deciding the
case in part say ''Section $50.
Rev. St, provides that county com.
missioners shall levy road tax on
all property in the county for road
purposes. This includes property
OF towns and villages. The tax so
levied and collected was to be
turned over to the county treasurer
for the use of the road districts
from which it was collected. The
latter clause was changed by
amendment in | Sess. Laws 1900
81, p. 1872, by virtue of which this
fund now goes into the county
treasury for use of the road fund
This does away with The provision
that money rust be applied in The
district fr. nj which il is collected :"
We havn't the space to publish the
decision in full, but 10 sum il ND
further the Court holds that the
tax must be collected in cities, and
when so collected as per cent of the
amount must be turned owe to the
city paying the tax. The city of
Lewiston has never Maid any road