Jasper County Democrat, Volume 11, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 June 1908 — THIS IS TOO RICH. [ARTICLE]

THIS IS TOO RICH.

County Officers Even Are Very Forgetful. A HOST OF “OIHITY WRETCHES” Unearthed In the Court House.— Drew Salaries March 2 But i % Failed to Give In Amounts To the Assessor! * There are many amusing things come up in one’s experience in the newspaper business, and we have frequently run across a few such in the efforts of the machine politicians here to make The Democrat man out a rascal and a liar. Among the latest of these has been the frantic attempts of the Rensselaer Republican to do the job that so many others had failed at. We "have shown conclusively from the public records that its charges were wholly false in every particular, and that the proprietors of that paper were guilty of the very thing they charged us with. Thht any person or combination of persons possessing ordinary intelligence would make such foolish and unfounded charges of tax-dodg-ing without first looking over their own door-yard passes comprehension. They certainly have a mighty “weak spot” somewhere, and In dealing out the “grey matter" their creator must have filled the brain cavity with a little scraped potato or some other like substance, either intentionally or otherwise. The Democrat’s assessment sheet for years back shows “accounts” due it to have been properly listed * each year, yet the Republican falsely charged us with failure to do this when we listed our property for taxation the present year. The r assessment sheet on file at the court house plainly shows that we gave in SSOO due on accounts/while the sheet of Healey, Clark et al, (printing office) and their individual sheets, doesn’t show that they had a dollar due them from any source whatever. March 1 came in on Sunday, and the board of county commissioners met Monday, March 2, and allowed claims that had been filed five days or more prior to their meeting day. Among these claims were several to The Democrat for stationery furnished on the stationery contract' (secured on a competitive bid with one of the owners of the Republican) for something like sloo.' But we listed SSOO of accounts due with the assessor, and of course that included this SIOO. -• The Republican combination at the same March meeting of the commissioners was allowed $148.55, but never gave in a penny a* due them March 1 to the assessor. Now comes another strange thing. The various republican county officers all drew their salaries at this same session of the county commissioners except Treasurer Allman, who did not draw his until April—and of course all this money was due them and unpaid, and “good as old wheat in the mill” on March 1. Only two of the entire lot, clear down (p the janitor, gave in anything as due them on "accounts” March 1! Here is thq list, and it is really too rich for anything: C. C. Warner, clerk $376.00 J. N. Leatherman, auditor.. 575.00 John W. Tilton, recorder... 425.00 John O’Connor, sheriff 350.00 j. D. Allman, treasurer, (drawn in April) 562.50 M. B. Price, surveyor...... 44.00 A. Halleck, county attorney 100.00 Fred Waymire, commissioner 32.73 John Pettit, commissioner.. 32.75 C. T. Denham, commissioner 32.74 Chas. Morlan, janitor....*. 44.00 J. L. Griggs, fireman, boiler house 45.00 Jesse Nichols,poor farm supt. 175.00 Total .$2,793.72 - One of the above gave in the amount of his claim and one other gave in enough “accounts” to cover his, but the rest gave in not a penny aa due them March 1. Here is a total of $2,793.72 with an offset of but $469, good arid lawful “accounts” due the above gentlemen on March 1, 1908, (see Commissioners’ Record 13, Page 264) which they had forgotten to mention to the assessor when he asked them if they had any accounts due them on March 1. Counting in the •

$148.65 allowed the Republican and we have nearly 3,000. Take the rate of levy in Rensselaer where practically all this should be assessed, and the taxes on same would amount to about an even $100'! We do not say these gentlemen are rascals or that they meant to cover this up, but they simply forgot about it, as shown by an examination of their assessment lißts. The Republican accused us of "forgetting,” but we proved a complete alibi. We did not forget. Now we have never said all the tax dodgers were republicans—just some of them. Excuse us, please, while we laugh.