The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1920-12-22


banks have carried warrants when
i nobody else would buy them at pal
and the banks were not Wiling tt
let them sell at anything below par
j County Treasurer Interviewed
H. A. Benson, the County Treas.
\ nrer, sat in the meeting and listened
!. to the remarks Of Mr.. Dye and 9th
4 ers, berating county officials fol
! working short hours and filling In
4 that time reading novels and Sc
4 forth; heard himself criticised fol-
/ wearing a white collar as II that
i were q crime, and made no reply
Isbasing his action on the theory that
I when men want to talk is good
thine to let them have their say
i Mr.. Benson said he thought It was
rather, absurd to talk about side
stepping the payment Of taxes or
IScancelling the penalties. He said It
i was not alone. the poor people who
were liable to let their taxes go de-
Elinquent but If the penalty were re-
4 mitted, many spectators who could
I just as well pay their taxes as not
would use the money in speculation
and not do their part in sustaining
the government. He said that men
who are able to- pay their taxes owed
It to the government to pay them and
pay them promptly. He said. the Ore
lyon Short Line Is about ready to pay
their taxes amounting to some $40,-
900 for the first installment and II
there is any advantage by not pay
ing the taxes and letting them go
delinquent, the Short Line might take
advantage of that and withhold their
li$40 900. He said he believed the To-
cal people were holding fully as
many warrants as there are held by
outside parties and that the local
people when they receive the cash
on their warrants will certainly put
/, the money in circulation here. He
saw nothing to be gained on the Ken
nedy theory that it will take the
money out Of the county because
not all the warrants are held by out
! side people.
Mr.. Benson has some assistants
working in the office and they are
busy from morning till night. In Fri
days meeting the county officials
were blamed for having SO many dep
J uties and accused of not working
themselves. One of the speakers said
that when H. w. Keifer was the as
SCISSOR some twenty-five years ago
and the county was much larger than
what it is now, he did all the assess
ing himself and drove over the coun-
| try with a. horse and buggy. Mr..
| Benson said that there are now $17,-
900 200 worth of taxable property
lin the county and at the time that
Mr.. Keifer was assessor, it amounted
! to about 81, 800, 900. There were then
! only few hundred tax payers and
! now there are $500. He ventured
the assertion that Mr.. Keifer, If he
could come into the assessors Of
flee now with the ability he had
when he was assessor, and have all
the information brought right to
! him, he could not possibly write up
the rolls in the time allotted to the
work.
iCattlemen and Banker Talks
Joseph Coumerilh, one of our To-
cal cattlemen and feeders and stock
holders in the First National Bank,
walked into the Treasurer's office
on Saturday and asked the Treasurer
for advice on financial matters He
spoke about as follows: my taxes
amount to about $500 and I have
the money on hand to pay them. If l
let the money lie in the bank and let
my. taxes 60 delinquent the penalty
will be $48 and the interest will add
| as much more to it. What shall /
gain by adding the penalty and in
terest to my bill and what will the
county gain by waiting six months
for the money? 1t is true l might
leave the money in the bank and let
the banker loan 80 per cent of it.,
which it would be his right to do and
he might loan 1t to some farmer to
finance his operations and enable the
man to plant a crop who could not
otherwise plant any crop at all. But
on the other hand If pay this money
into the treasury and it remains de-
| posted In the bank till warrants are
issued, aren't the chances about
even that the warrants presented to
l3Eaw this money will be presented
AZ home people rather than outsiders.
In any event it will be sustaining the
jcredit Of the county and several OBJ
legations can be paid with it. Mr..
Coumerilh felt better about paying
his taxes and he paid them.
| We are informed that the First
National Bank of Shelley is carry
ing quite lot of county warrants
and when they get the cash on them
they will probably circulate some Of
that money in the upper end Of the
county.
There is some confusion about how
many deputies are employed in the
assessors office and the treasurer's
Office. Mr.. Malcolm, the assessor, says
that the heavy end of his work is
the first six months of the year get
ting the rolls written up. Five years
ago he and one assistant took care
of them, but in 1920 1t took him and
two assistants. After the first Of
July his assistants are needed in the
treasurer's Office and they Just pass
thru the door and 60 to work there.
The work in the treasurer's office
varies. The busiest times being June
and July when the second install
nent Of taxes is being paid and the
books posted and then during the fall
months bepinnings with OctOher and