Los Angeles herald., 1906-06-06
COUNTY LOSES
BY CONFUSION
PRINTING MIDDLE PROVES
EXPENSIVE
Act Of Legislature In Extending Time
for Tax Payment May Cause an
Unforeseen Expenditure Of
Five Thousand Dollars

There Is possibility that one result
of the San Francisco earthquake will
be an increase of about $4,000 in the
printing bills Of Los Angeles county.
The county tax officials are anxiously
awaiting termination of the legal
holiday season, that they may print the
delinquent tax list. County taxes be-
come delinquent the last Monday in
April, and according to law the col
lector is compelled to print the list on
or before June s. For time it looked
as IL 1t would be impossible to comply
with the law in this respect, as the
holidays promised to be continued
beyond this date.
The tax collector, however, decided to
lose no time, and in order to be pre-
pared for an emergency arising from
the ending of the holidays close to the
date for legal publication, he some time
ago sent the list to the printer and or
dered 1t put in type and held until 1t
could be released. As is known, Just
such an emergency as he had figured on
arose. The governor did not call off
the holidays until last Saturday, but
in view of the precautions which had
been taken by the collector, there still
was sufficient time for the legal publi-
CATION of the tax list.
Will Prove Expensive
1t was at this point, however. that
trouble piled up for the collector. The
law declares that the list shall be
printed on or before June s. but that
one day shall intervene between a legal
holiday and the date of the publication.
This provision made it impossible to
publish the list Monday. and meantime
the complication arose which may cost
the county a considerable sum.
Monday, 1t will be remembered. the
Legislature passed a bill extending the
time of payment of taxes to July 10.
This necessitated change in the date
of the notices, and the tax collector no
titled the printer TO make the necessary
change and to publish the list yesterday
morning. Then it was found that while
the list had been all set up and printed,
the type metal for all but a few pages
had been remelted and it was conse-
ouently impossible to make any
changes. The list, of course, would have
had to be reprinted in any event, but
the melting of the metal makes it
necessary to go to the expense of set
ting the type again. This, it is esti-
mated, will amount to between $4,000
and $4,000.
Efforts now are being made to find
a way out of the difficulty without in
curing this expense. and the district
attorney has been asked to give an
opinion on the matter
Legislature Authorizes Act
Extension of the time for payment of
taxes is authorized by the passage of
an act entitled IAN act to extend the
time for the performance of any act
or the taking of any proceedings ap-
pointed, required or taken on any day
or within any time in the month of
June, 1906, prior to the last day of said
month"
1t is possible that the legislature did
not intend that this act should provide
for the extension of the time for the
payment of taxes, but able lawyers say
it is difficult to get away from that
construction of the measure. Consider
able confusion is expected to result
from this action. Among other things,
it will throw the apportionment of
school money over into August, and this
will work a good deal of hardship.
Two EXCEPTIONS were made to the
operation of this act One provided
that the act should not apply to the
eviction of a tenant because of failure
to pay rent, and the other withheld the
provisions of the measure from crimi-
nal actions. But nothing is said re-
garding an exception in the matter of
tax payments.