Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-24
ASSESSORS METHODS
SYSTEM EMPLOYED IN MATTER
OF TAX SALES.
Extreme Care to Avoid Mistakes
Answer to Letter Based on
Court Decision.

District Assessor Hopewell H. Darnetlle
has forwarded to Commissioner West
communication in answer to the latter's
recent letter to Mr. Darneille and Collector
of Taxes Davis, calling attention to the
recent decision Of the Court of Appeals in
the case of a tax sale, and urging the two
officials to exercise unusual caution to
avoid mistakes.
In his letter to Commissioner West, AS
SCISSOR Darneile describes the system used
in his Office in connection with the transac-
ton Of tax sale business. He declares that
the system used is nearly perfect and that
the mistakes noted are those which have
been handed down to the present admin
istration from predecessors in the office.
These mistakes, he says, are gradually be-
ing corrected and extreme care is taken to
avoid mistakes in new business.
Text of Assessors Letter.
The text of the assessors letter to the
Commissioner is as follows:
II have carefully perused your letter OF
the 14th instant with respect to the opin-
ION of the Court of Appeals, District of Co
lumbia, in re Louis kann ct al. agt Caro-
line King. Your letter is separable into
two parts the nrst relating to the assess
ment of real property and the second to the
form of report made by the collector of
taxes to the recorder of deeds with respec.
to tax sales. The latter portion of your
letter does not relate to this office, but with
respect to the first mentioned subject have
the following to state:
Il realize that it is desirable In adver-
tisements of real property for sale for
taxes to SO describe it that no technical
flaw may be found in such advertisement IS,
by reason of which owners or their atto:-
neys might demand cancellation of such
sales or remission of interest on the taxes
in question.
II must state. however, that It is I'M
practicable to entirely eliminate such err
rors from the assessment of real property
or the advertisement of the same for sale
until the time arrives when we SHALL have
reviewed all of the work of those who have
gone before us in the detail work and adj
ministration of this office and have weeded
out the inaccuracies and mistakes of yea1s.
Until a few years ago (prior to the act
of Congress approved March 3, 1890 the
recorder Of deeds and the register of wills
were required to furnish this office, semi-an-
nually, abstacts of all deeds recorded and
wills probated. 1t is matter of common
knowledge that these abstracts contain
many errors and Inaccuracies, both as to
descriptions of property and the names of
the owners. These mistakes were, of
course, transferred to our records and are
gradually being discovered and corrected.
Since the passage of the act of March
B. 1888, which requires the Commissioners
to cause to be made daily abstracts of
Wills piopdtcu anu uScuS ieCOIQ6u, dH CHI
pioye of this office has been sent each day
to the offices of the recorder of deeds and
the register of wills for the purpose of eX-
amning all deeds recorded and wills pro-
dated. This clerk makes abstracts In due
form of all such documents as affect the
transfer of real property and makes re-
port to this office; when, with the assist
ance of other competent help, each trans
fer is carefully examined and due note
made on the records of this department.
There is no branch of this department
which, during the past few years, has been
given more careful and painstaktng consid-