The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1917-09-13
Editor Of The Palladium:

During the last week the County
Commissioners and the County Coun-
Gil have had before them the question
of employing what is commonly known
as tax ferret" to discover and re-
port taxable personal property, such
as notes, bonds, mortgages and foreign
stocks, owned by citizens Of the coun-
ty. where the evidence of ownership
thereof were located outside of the
state, which property has been hereto
fore omitted from assessment and tax
alton by concealment and false swear
ing by the owners thereof, and which
property. because of its foreign loca-
ton, 1t was not the duty or within the
power of the county officers to them
selves discover, Concerning this very
important matter, very little appeared
in the local newspapers. l deem it
right that the people of the county
shall be informed as to what has tran
spired in the premises. l, therefore,
ask that be permitted to state,
through your columns, the main facts
for their enlightenment, avoiding, for
the present, entering too much into de-
tail.
Some days ago Mr.. Ferdinand p
character and long experience in the
discovery Of omitted taxable property
of the kind mentioned, called upon
each one of the county commission
ers and talked with them as to the
propriety and wisdom of their employ
ing competent person to discover
and report omitted taxable property of
the nature referred to in Wayne coun-
ty. He desired to procure employment
for himself at compensation of 50
percent of the taxes actually collected
through his fundamentally, which is
the ordinary price charged for such
work. Mr.. Van Der Veer is a citizen
and taxpayer of Indianapolis, where
he has lived for many years last past,
and is the owner of real estate in that
city.
After this, to-wit, on the 18th day Of
August, 1917, the County Commission
ers met in their official capacity as
board and passed resolution furnish
ed them by Mr.. Van Der Veer, which
was spread upon their record, in which
they declared there was an indispens-
able public necessity existing for the
discovery and collection of such taxes
and for the employment of an expert
for this purpose, and requested the
County Council to appropriate $4,000
for the performance of the work. such
request being duly entered upon the
estimate prepared by said board Of
commissioners for presentation to the
County Council at it's annual meeting.
subsequently, to-wit. on Tuesday
and Wednesday, September 4th and
5th, 1917, at such annual meeting of
the County Council, the question of
making this appropriation was taken
UP and fully discussed and considered
by IL in connection with the regular
budget Of annual appropriations. This
discussion was participated in by GER
tain members Of the Council Mr.. Van
Der Veer, John F. Robbins and myself
as his attorneys, appeared before the
Council and submitted arguments in
favor of the appropriation. Ray X.
Shiveley, attorney for the First Nation
al bank, John l.. Rupe, attorney for
the Second National bank and Wilfred
Jessup. attorney for the Dickinson
the making Of the appropriation.
German-American Trust & Savings
ton. George l.. Gates. of the Union
National bank. and Edgar F. Hiatt.
president OF the Dickinson Insurance
company, were also present in hostility |
to the appropriation.
II was conceded by all persons in |
this discussion that 1t was both the |
legal and moral duty OF every citizen |
OF the county to pay his taxes. 1t was |
also admitted by every one that there
was undoubtedly large amount Of
back taxes due and unpaid upon per-
sonal property owned by citizens of
the county and invested and concealed
by them In other states In order to
avoid the payment Of taxes here, and