The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1906-11-02
order above mentioned.

order above mentioned.
Pryor to the year 1900 the law
required that the County Court
appoint a Road Overseer FOR each
roahrdistrict in the County. 1t
was the duty of the road overseer
to collect the Road Poll Tax from
each and every person in his dis
trict liza BILE to pay. This tax was
collected either in cash or labor
and was accounted for in settle
ment with the County Court, and
did not at any time pass though
the hands Of the County Collector.
BY anew law coming into opera
ton in the year 1900, the system
of Road Poll Tax Collection was
entirely changed. The County
Court ceased to appoint Road
Ov~erseers. They begun to APP
point Road Commissioners-three
for each district-who were re-
CURED to serve without pay. The
County Court found great difficulty
in finding suitable men to serve
aslRoad Commissioners in all the
districts, and in one district,
namely, the twenty second, they
were unable to induce men to
serve at all for the year 1900.
BY the new law it became the
duty of the Road Commissioners
for each district to prepare a list
of Poll Tax payers and deliver the
same to the county Clerk. From
their various lists it was the duty
of the County Clerk to prepare the
Poll Tax Book for the entire coun-
ty, charging each individual
named therein with $500 Poll Tax.
This book was delivered to the
county collector, and he, in turn,
was charged with the amount of
Poll Tax of the County.
Each individual Poll Tar payer
,cds% permitted to settle aoith either his
Road Commissioner OF NTH the County
Collector. When he made settle
ment with the commissioners he
had his choice between paying in
money or in labor, taking the
commissioners receipt therefor.
If he made settlemen with the COL
lie ctcr he did SO either by paying
him the cash or delivering to him
the receipts of the Commissioners.
This was the law, but in 1900
many of the commissioners per-
mitted road ovorseers appointed
by them TO make settlement with
the tax payers.
Many receipts were issued by
the commissioners and road over
seers using only nick names or
authorizations of the names of the
tax payers. Many of the receipts
were SO written that it was impos-
sible to indemnity the names of the
Collectors Poll Tax Book. The
uncertainty of so many of these
receipts. together with the law
method of the commissioners and
o%verseers, made it practically i'm
possible for the Collector to determine
in every instance, aUho had paid his
Poll Tar and aDho was delinquent.
1t has been charged that Mr..
rlentge was short in his Poll Tax
for the year 1900. This was not the
case. He had made settlement
with the county court on the 26th
day of March. 1901, and had turned
over receipts taken in by him,
which, with the cash collected,
and with the delinquent list, bal.
anced his account to a cent. He
held the County Treasurers receipt
in full for all charges made agains'
him on the Poll Tax account.
After this settlement was made
the question was raised whether
OF not Mr.. Flentge was entitled
credit for certain receipts which
he had accepted in lieu of casl
and turned over to the treasurer
; On a petition for an examination
being presented, the county cour
made an order instructing tn
county clerk to check over tn
Poll Tax settlement and examin'
: all receipts turned ove by tn
collector and thereupon to repor
his findings to the county court.