Smyrna times., 1900-04-25
KENT COUNTY TAXES.
The "Sentinel'' Exposes the Statement of
the "Delawarean" About Paying off
the County Debt,

the collection of taxes and the reduc-
ton of the debt of the county. The
TIMES copied the statement, as credita-
BILE to the county, but the Sentinel
designates it ''Fairy Tale" with the
following criticism:
"Our esteemed cotempOrary, the
DeLaWarean, has apparently aban-
doned the beaten track of modest cross
roads journalism to enter the more
attrative field of romance. Right re-
Gently it has developed penchant for
fairy tales. A little while ago 1t made
up a wonderful story of a tame pigeon
that flew into the window and out
again, after alighting en- the pulpit
where the preacher was discoursing.
1t was a pretty story. A few issues
ago it narrated in skin creeping de-
tails, snake story imported from old
Sussex. This was a horrible, hair
lifting story. Last Saturday its readers
were treated to something more practi-
cal, but none the less a wonderful
story.
''To make sure of attracting the
readers of romance, big display of
CAPS was pressed into service, and
"WISE DEMOCRATIC GOVERN
MENT LIFTS KENT COUNTY'S
DEBT" " was LAUGHED for the delectation
of the reading public. We Gull few
Jewels from this inimitable production.
OF the action of the Levy Court, the
writer says:
"'It has collected down to within
$5, 900 of rock bottom the taxes due
last year, and would not recognize any
collector as eligible for reappointment,
who had not returned eUery hundred
dollars on his duplicate. ,"
AS fact, there are just ten collec-
tors in county. If these ten colec-
tors had returned every hundred dol
lars on their duplicate, how is it that
there are $4,000 in taxes of last year
outstanding?
"'It (the Levy Court has redu ced
the county's certificate Indebtedness,
therefore, to $4,000, and with the
$4,000 due and collectable from the
bonds(?) of tax collectors, this debt
of $4,000 will almost be liquidated. ,"
If the debt is $4,000, and the collec-
tors bonds of $12,OO are collected and
applied, it strikes us that the county
debt of $4,000 will not be almost but
altogether liquidated and leave a sur
plus in the treasury of $4,000. Accord
ing this spinner of fairy tales, "In
1893 it was found necessary to bond
the county for $40, 000' and to issue
certificates for $4,000, making the
county's debt certainly $4,000 which
as result of grave errors which fol-
lowed in the management of the
county was increased to $4,000.
"We regret that this fairy tale does
not reveal all the successive steps in
this pleasantly exciting story. We
regret that it did not give the year
when the debt was increased to So
600 from the $53, 900 of 1893. But to
make it easy suppose we say 1894; that
gives six years to the present in which
the debt has been reduced to $4,000,
with $12, 900 of collectors bonds to pay
it off. Six yearly payments of nearly
$4,000 wipes out the debt of $40, 900.
So that the county has really been pay
ing all the multitudinous expenses of
county government, and reducing the
debt at the rate of nearly $4,000 a
year. Wonderful story. But this
isn't all of it. The big sum of so, 900
represents only the bonded or "certi-
fed" Indebtedness. But Floating
debt" whose volume cannot even be
guessed at, must not be forgotten.
Now, according to this fairy tale, the
county treasurer was instructed to pay
$4,000 on this floating" debt; $12, 900
was paid last year. These, added to
the bonded and certified debt, makes q
: grand total of $91 200, all of which is
practically paid since 1894. A wonder
full story. 1t is a pity to spoil this
beautiful story culled from the howery
fields of romance and fairy land. But
the laws of plain truth and reputable
journalism are inexorable.
AS a cold matter of fact, with all
fiction eliminated, the debt of Kent
, county has not been reduced to S,OOO
AS matter of fact, Kent county's debt
, is nearer $6s,OOO than $4,000. As a
matter of fact, it is not in contempla-
q tion by the Levy Court to enforce col
lection ON collectors bonds of $12, 1000.
As a matter of fact; the Levy Court Of
E Kent county has performed no miracale
either in financing the county or in
+ lifting burdens fir ON the people. The
, hard, cold fact is, that the story is a
pure and unadulterated fiction from
start to finish, with scarcely an atom oi
!, truth in it. We deny every material
n fact and demand the proof. In the alb.
1 a