The Greeley tribune., 1911-03-09
uE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
DODGE TAX PAYERS SESSION

Through the absence of County
Commissioner DeVinney. who was
- the program to tell OF the
>ounty's part in handling the tax
noney, the hundreds OF tax payers
Who assembled in the district court
room Thursday night were denied
Drivilege of asking questions on the
sery subjects they wanted to hear
about Mr.. DeVinney could not be
found with search warrant nor
could Commissioners Bolander or
Lewis, other members OF the board.
Instead OF hearing from the COM
nissioners on the subject OF taxes
CHARLES d. Todd. former county at
torney. came bravely forward to
answer questions but instead OF do
Ang 90 he put on the tremulo stop
While he told of his boyhood In IL
flnois and the awful conditions pre-
vailing there when he drove the old
team all day once to get three miles
&Hay. The one question propound-
ID to him staggered him, but he did
not let this interfere with the re-
ssftAI OF his boyhood. He was still in
his teens when the chairman remind
ID that the evening was waning and
there was still much to be done.
To expedite matters 1t was decided
BY the meeting to hear the speakers
drst and then question them regard
ing points not brought out in their
remarks.
Mayor Spoke First
Professor Abbott of the Normal,
Who was chairman of the first tax
meeting, was again unanimously
elected. He urged that politics be
kept out of the meeting and suggest
ed that the speakers be allowed to
have their say and then there be an
open discussion with talks limited to
I'VE minutes, the audience to ask
questions whenever it would after
the speakers had finished the set
program.
Mayor Houston was called upon
drst He began his remarks with
an incident from the life of Huck
Finn. who on one immortal occasion
saw two of his pals beating it to the
river. Inquiry brought out the ex-
planation from the pair that they
hadn't done nothin' and were being
chased for it,. This, the mayor
said, was his condition and that Of
the city council.
The mayor went into figures to
- ha hordod Nd tn6 n tho
city. the Improvements made and the
effort to take care of the old bonds
of 20 years ago on which but $1,000
of $65,000 Indebtedness had been
Daid. He said that Mr.. Fischer had
appeared before the council and told
them what the assessed valuation
would be and that the aldermen
thought best to uphold the levy and
ase the extra money derived from
taxes for the liquidation of old debts.
County Assessor Heard
The mayor concluded with an
Sulogy Of the aldermen as business
men and declared that he could do
this with good grace, as he was not
. candidate for reelection. He re-
ferred the meeting to an exhaustive
fepirt that will soon be made pub
1ac.
County Assessor Fischer was next
called upon. He said that the as
aessor's Office was responsible only
for the valuations OF the present year
and not in the years gone by. He
repeated what he had said on Non
day night that he had tried to give
Sveryone a square deal and stood
ready to adjust any determinations.
He said that he was ready to have
The valuations tested at any time and
sasited all with grievances to call
apon him.
1t was $40 when Mr.. DeVinney
vas called for and in the absence of
response William Mayher, president
.Of the school board, was called upon
next. although he was to have fol-
gave a detailed statement Of the
money received and needed by the
school board, of the work being done
and of the conditions ii be overcome
Nth limited resources. Mr.. Mayher
mas the first speaker to be greeted
With applause. the meeting prior to
chat time having refrained from ex-
Dression ofany kind.
Commissioners Missing
Following Mr.. Mayher's address
there were repeated calls for Mr.
DeVinney and in his absence there
were calls for any county commits
Sioner present. But no member of
the board was present.
H. N. Haynes, for ten years a
member of the school board, gave an
interesting account of the growth
and development of the public
schools in Greeley during his term
of office, giving an earnest plea in
the cause of education and demon
Strating that the assessed valuations
did not keep pace with the rapid
growth of the school population. He