The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-04-21
1;,1 81 The Tin plspatch:.

]. i
IN itor OF The Times Dis pnt ch4s8
g5!s! Sir,-Y our paper continues to publish
s5$ ma rrowing tales aboutEthe shameful do
81 ir1gs Of the land nbbers''i In Henrico
county, the latest bring III case related III
silast Saturday S a lssuef about how Mrs
Mary w. Sims did not pay her taxes. taxes FOR
1900 and the land grabbers'' have Sc
cured a deed for 1t, and She knew nothing
about it until they had it.. Surely Hen
rico must have had tho slackest people
Al about paying their#tnXesS and the slack
Vest treasurer about collecting taxes OF
any county Iii the State. II would Ike
ri very much for some OF your Henrco
readers to answer for me through your
Il columns the following questions:
NJ VI .}Es Wis IT. thntgso many ira cts y
s8$lar1d IN Henrico have been returned de-
Slnquent md sold, when the people to
whom such land belonged live III SAID
B county. or have tenants living on the
land III the county, and 1t is the duty
Y OF tho treasurer, before he can return
any land as delinquent TO levy on the
personal property3|of tho owner or * ten
Il ant, or sell timber or rent out the lund, to
pay tho taxes? $ n . !: a5
II Il How could the treasurer make the
oath required By law and return these
taxes as delinquent? " lil .sis
III a.. And even If the treasurer made the
required oath, how did the board "A Of
& supervisors ALLOW him credit Tor y such
n taxes reported delinquent when they
U must have known thntif&he had executed
A he law$the taxes could have been col-
Il lected? 4. rs M
s56 4. How is 1T that SO many people In
n Henrico, after all the warning that the
81 great hue and cry IN 1898 and 1899 over
n the land era bbers' law gave them, have
H been so very. careless as not to pay their
taxes and allow their land to be sold
ny for taxes? $tSA 5ss HI sit
K mr. 1,rvlp q
q lands are sold for taxes. 50 many people
h are losing their land and apparently
N know nothing about it until the landhis
gone? All the laws provide that, even
IF the taxes are delinquent. that a
&"Iand-grabber'' shall not get the land
until the landowner has been duly
notified of his danger and given an OPP
portunity to redeem the land? Is 1t
II possible that there Is any connlvance
! between the, officers and the "lund-grab-
bers.'' and that-the. people are not given
& tho notice that they are entitled 10?
VIA The "land-grabbers' law is not per-
feet and probably something equally eff
;fective and more equitable might be
Il subs tituted for it; but, after all, are not
! the hardships which arise under 1t almost
Y always the reslrk : of either the negli-@
gence Of officers sworn to do their duty,
~ or the careiessness of the taxpayer
generally both? l would be glad | some
fi1tIlItCo 1iu11fsj"uulu answer tHeSo5 5lues.it
tions. Z. r. 8
I, Franklin. Va. 5sS II
N In answer to the first inquiry, It IA
proper to state that there are more tracts \
OF land returned delinquent in Hcnrico
county. than perhaps In any other coun-
1 ~ In the Commonwealth. because there
are adjacent to the city Of Richmond
hundreds OF town lots which are owned
by non-resldents that are vacant land,
and that there are no means of collecting
these taxes by the treasurer, and that
II the State Is to receive them. 1t must
do so by retaining q lien on the prop
erty. There are also large numbers OF
tracts OF land in the county that are
tenantless and timberless. This answers
his second and third inquiry.
AS to his fourth inquiry. it is a matter
Of establishment with those persons WHO
arc charged with the administration of 4
the collection of taxes. how SO many (
people, after all the warning that tho
great hue and cry Of 1895 and 1899 over
the land grabbers law gave them that
they should be so careless as not to pay
their taxes" and their Indifference 10 !,