Los Angeles herald., 1910-11-29
S426, ,474.34 PAID
IN TAXES IN DAY
Only One Bogus Coin Passed
During Grand Rush at
County Treasurer's

Tax collectors OF the city and county did
a good business yesterday, the last day on
which property owners could pay their taxes
without adding sum to cover the penalty
fixed by law for delinquency. Here are
some statistics:
County collections yesterday s 296,555S6
County collections to date. 2,976,13S
City collections yesterday 49,. 129,0184S
City collections to date. ...... 1,4T4 ,S46.94
When the office of the county tax
collector closed at o'clock last night
$2,976 1882 of the first installment of
the levy of 1910-1911 had been paid, an
amount highly satisfactory to w. o.
Welch, county tax collector.
That sum, however, does not repre-
sent all of the taxes to be credited to
the first installment, as there yet are
to be reckoned with large amounts
sent by mail from corporations which
want the use of the large sums of
money they must pay the county as
long as possible.
The amount received yesterday was
1896, ,555.S6 The payment was made
with extraordinary rush and hustle
and the office was a mass of breath
less taxpayers and their representa-
tives from morning till night, while
some of the clerks could not find time
even to eat a sandwich as they took
in the gold, silver, currency and
checks.
Next to the amount paid in Satur-
day, $500, 3SS.38, yesterday represented
the largest days work since the time
for paying the first installment, Octo-
Der II, arrived. Although 1t did not
reach the high mark, from the cash
point of view, yesterday was a record
breaking day in way. That was in
the number of eleventh-hour payers
and in the number of pages-eighty-
seven on the cash book alone-re-
quired to make official note of their
payments.
From one viewpoint the payment of
the first installment of taxes was
really remarkable. That was the bo-
gus money viewpoint, for in all the
speed of receiving payments only one
50-cent piece was found not to be coin
of the republic. And that 50-cent
piece-a Canadian one-was received
in a roll of United States half dollars
so nobody is credited with wrongdoing.
No clerk is blamed for not spying it
and no taxpayer is accused of commit
ting a breach of honesty.
According to law, the second INSTALL
ment OF the tax levy is due and pay
able January 1, but it is the custom of
those desiring to do so to pay it at
any time after lu0 llISl IuSddlillGuI 10
due. Those who fail to pay when the
time for responding to the first call
is ended are taxed Is per cent extra
and those who are delinquent at the
expiration of the period of payment of
the second demand--in this case, the
last Monday in April-will be taxed
another 5 per cent. So those failing
TO do their duty both times will be
forced to pay 20 per cent more.
Ae O00 letters o.
ceived by the tax collector yesterday
and more are expected in the next day
or two containing checks for taxes,
it is not expected that there will be
much delinquency for the first INSTALL
ment Mr. Welch and Capt. H. d.
Alphonso his chief deputy, are sat
isfied with the first great installment
of the total levy of approximately
81, ,S00000 for 1910-19l1.
Figures compiled by c. M. Taggart,
city tax and license collector, at the
close of business yesterday show that
on the last day before taxes became
delinuuent $103, ,5S720 less than the
amount collected for the same period
last wear had been paid in. But these
figures are deceptive, for the taxes
of the big corporations are in the
mails, and the payment of these will
bring the total we'll above that of last
wear. The total sum collected to date
is $1,474, ,S4694. Yesterday the collec-
tions totaled 29,91S.4S.
Mr.. Taggart's figures show that al
though apparently less money was
collected, much more work was done.
This was due to the fact that much
territory was annexed previous to the
last assessment, and many of the tax
bills are for small amounts in these
annexed districts. But 1t takes as
much time to collect Is cents as it
does s15O,OOO, when only one taxpayer
Is Involved