The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1916-08-28
"JUST A LITTLE
BIT OF HEAVEN
NOT, SAYS VENNIGERHOLZ WHEN
HE TELLS HIS EXPERIENCE
IN OFFICE
Refusal to Cancel Delinquent Taxes
Saves Money For the People
of County

There are other things, it seems
besides true love that don't ru1
smooth. Assessing is one of them.
The way of the transgressor hasn'
got anything on the way of the asses
sor for being hard-at least that's
what ]. G. Vennigerholz seems to thinl
now that he's been treading thai
thorny path for little better (or 6
little worse) than year.
One time along in May of 1915
George Vennigerholz had an invita-
ton. George accepted it. He doesn't
say he exactly wishes he hadn't; anc
still the party hasn't been altogether
as jolly and sociable affair as it was
put up to George it would be.
The invitation came along about the
time Martinson had resigned from Of
flee because somehow the people didn't
seem to care to have anybody up in
the court house who spent his ldle
time falsifying public records.
When the people found out how
handy Martinson was with his pen
and how careless, there soon wasn't
anybody in the assessors office. Mar
tinson was put out. 1t was then the
invitation came to George Venniger-
holz to step in anl fill out Martinson's S
uncompleted term. George stepped.
Or he misstepped- whichever way
you look at it.
George had funny idea about the
way the business of the assessors Of
fee should be run. He thought he
ought to save the people all the money
he could. Now wasn't that just plumb
ridiculous? George is such funny
boy.
Two days after his election, the
county commissioners met with
George and asked him whom he want
ed for his deputy, and, in fact, these
kind gentlemen had already picked out
a deputy and had him waiting there
George told the commissioners he
didn't want any deputy; there wasn't
enough work to keep one busy all
the time; that he could do nearly all
the work himself; and that when he
couldn't he would, with their permis-
sion. call to his aid the young man
who was already on the pay Tolls as
assistant in the treasurer's office and
in the auditors office. George pro-
posed that this young man should div
ide his time among three offices when
desirable.
Well. it was a shock all round. But
the young man who was already on
the pay rolls was finally summoned
and he was sworn in as Vennigerholz's
deputy. And the work in the asses
sors office has been done and well
done ever since without a cents addi-
tional expense to the county.
Two days after he was in office, he
began saving the county money.
George isn't very bright, is lie? No
ring would like that. 1t isn't the way
a ring does business.
Well, you might think they all lived
happily ever after, but this story isn't
done yet.
He hadn't been assessor very long
before they brought him the books and
asked him to cancel off the books
about O,OOO worth of back taxes. Most
of it was personal taxes, but there
were five pieces of real property i'll
the list.
Well, Vennigerholz, he said lie
wouldn't cancel. He said it was II
legal, and he never would consent to
It. Just about that time those COM
rnissioners probably wished they'd
never sent George that invitation. he
certainly was getting to be nuisance.
They told him that once before sl2.-
600 had been cancelled off the books.
And what was he stalling for now?
But George though that he could coi~
Iect some of those overdue bills anc
that even If he couldn't he had no pow
or under the law to fix the books SC
as to make it appear that nobody ow-
I'd the money.
George thinks that these real and
personal property taxes never outlaw
And until the courts tell him different
v he is going to keep all those names
N the books.
In the meantime he has collected
1926 of the money that he was told
lever could be got in
He has been importuned fully doz- 4
fCon+iruod on Page AZ "