Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 42, Number 261, 13 September 1917 — Page 4
PAGE FOUR
THE RICHMOND PA&kAPIUM AND UN-TEJ,EGRAM, THURSDAY, StSPT, J3, 1917.
THE RICHMOND PAT I ADTITM hipping to regain her self-control. And the M.M.M4 lljLlLllJlJV I 17AU1T1 ' Af- rinaaA W1th h most melaneholv hvmn
in the book. I feel as if I never want to go to prayer meeting again."
AND flUN-TELKGRAM
Published
by
Every Evening Except Sunday,
Palladium Printing Co, Palladium Building, North Ninth and Sailor Street R. G. Leeds, Editor. E. H. Harris, Mgr. Entered at the Pout Offtee at Richmond. Indiana, as Second Class Mai Matter.
MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. The Associated Press Is exclusively entitled to the use
for republication of all news credited to it or not otherwise credited In this paper and also the local news published herein. All rights of republication of special dis
patches herein are also reserved.
Give your grouch a vacation occasionally. It
won't do either one of you a bit of harm.
Paragraphs.
Stop Crying About the War!
Many mothers are making matters much worse by weeping day in and day out about their
sons. War is bad enough without adding any ex
tra sorrow before anything has actually hap
pened. Anna Steese Richardson quotes in the
October Woman's Home Companion from a let
ter written to her. The writer of the letter says:
"Like most mothers who have given sons to
their country, I go out when I can to divert my
thoughts. And what do I hear? A friend inquires whether I have heard from my boy and adds, 'Well, I never expected to see the time that I would be glad my three children are girls, but I am now.' My next hostess comments on the sadness of our finest young men being sacrificed !
"At prayer meeting last night, the leader, in
the voice usually reserved for funerals, spoke of
our boys at the front, and was followed by anoth er speaker who solemnly announced the well
authenticated rumor that our boys are taking their coffins with them to France 1 Next a woman related with harrowing details how her father
went to the Civil War, never to return, often
Patriotic Enthusiasm a National Asset The frequent expression of patriotic sentiment at this time heartens and encourages those in authority, and is of the greatest value to the man behind the gun. Our country needs more than loyalty from its citizens. It needs patriotic enthusiasm. They have demonstrated their loyalty and support of the government in this war in a most practical way. They have oversubscribed the great war loan. They have approved the most extraordinary appropriations ever asked by any government. They have filled the ranks of the volunteer army. They have accepted and are obeying the selective draft law. They have accepted a food regulation measure and other drastic laws demanded by the war situation with all the inequalities and unfair discriminations that result from such hurried legislation. They stand ready to furnish anything further that may be needed to conduct the war to a successful conclusion. But individually many of them still refuse to take the war seriously, and are utterly lacking in patriotic fervor and enthusiasm. Their attitude seems to be that we are so rich, and so strong, that, with the allies, we are sure to win, and hence there is no need to show more than a passive interest in the war and its problems. This is unfortunate for in withholding active
patriotic enthusiasm, they are denying their country a most valuable asset in time of war. The soldier to do his best must know that the hearts of his countrymen are beating for him and
with him, not coldly or indifferently but warmly,
ardently.
He needs to know that he is not merely a hired man, that he stands for a noble sentiment among his people back home, that he has not only
their approval, but their enthusiastic and patriot ic moral support.-r-The Public Bulletin.
The Forum
(All articles for this column most not exceed 100 words. Contributors must sign their names, although the nana will be withheld by the management at the request pf the writer. Article baring no name attached will be thrown into the waste basket.)
Editor of The Palladium: During the last week the County Commissioners and the County Council have had before them the question of employing what is commonly known as a "tax ferret," to discover and report taxable personal property, such as notes, bonds, mortgages and foreign stocks, owned by citizens of the county, where the evidence of ownership thereof were located outside of the state, which property has been heretofore omitted from assessment and taxation by concealment and false swearing by the owners thereof, and which property, because of Its foreign location, it was not the duty or within the power of the county officers to themselves discover, Concerning this very important matter, very little appeared in the local newspapers. I deem it right that the people of the county shall be informed as to what has transpired in the premises. I, therefore, ask that I be permitted' to state, through your columns, the main facts for their enlightenment, avoiding, for the present, entering too much Into detail. Some days ago Mr. Ferdinand P. Van Per Veer, a gentleman of high character and long experience in the discovery of omitted taxable property of the kind mentioned, called upon each one of the county commissioners and talked with them as to the propriety and wisdom of their employ, lng a competent person to discover and report omitted taxable property of the nature referred to in Wayne county. He desired to procure employment for himself at a compensation of 35 percent of the taxes actually collected through his instrumentality, 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 Commissioners met in their official capacity as a
board and passed a 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 (25,000
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 its annual meeting,
Subsequently, to-wit. on Tuesday
and Wednesday, September 4th and
5th, 1917, at such annual meeting of
uie county council, the question of making this appropriation was taken up and fully discussed and considered by It in connection with the regular budget of annual appropriations. This discussion was participated in by cer
tain memoers or tne Council. Mr. Van Der Veer, John F. Robbing and myself as his attorneys, appeared before the
Council and submitted arguments in
favor or the appropriation. Ray K Shiveley, attorney for the First Nation'
al bank, John L. Rupe, attorney for the Second National bank and Wilfred
Jessup, attorney for the Dickinson Trust company, appeared and opposed
the making of the appropriation
Charles W. Jordan, president of the
German-American Trust & Savings
bank, also spoke against the appropria
tion. George L. Cates. of the Union National bank, and Edgar F. Hiatt,
president of the Dickinson Insurance
company, were also present in hostility
to the appropriation. It was conceded - by all persons In this discussion that It was both the legal and moral duty of every citizen of the county to pay his taxes. It was also admitted by every one that there was undoubtedly a large amount of back taxes due and unpaid upon personal property owned by citizens of the county and Invested and concealed by them in other states la order to avoid the payment of taxes here, and
which could not be reached by the
county officials. Mr. Van Der Veer stated that he already had knowledge and proof of such property upon which
the taxes due and collectible amount
ed to more than $100,000. Mr. Jessup,
In the eourse of his remarks, stated
that there was undoubtedly an im
mense amount of such property. Mr. Van Der Veer had present his
proposed written contract with the
county, by the terms of which all the
costs and expenses of the discovery of
the property and the collection of the taxes due thereon were to be paid by himself, and not a dollar was to be paid to him for his work until the county had actually collected the taxes, and the county was to be amply indemnified by him In this regard. It was thoroughly understood upon all hands, denied by none, that the county was to be at no cost or expense whatsoever and was only to pay Mr. Van Der Veer in the event and after the back taxes were discovered and paid into the county treasury. The gentlemen who opposed the appropriation were citizens of the county, and hence, entitled to the most consideration; that the banks were patriotic and helped to float the Liberty Loan without charge to the government; that if a "tax ferret" were employed the depositors would become alarmed and withdraw their deposits, thereby injuring the local banks; that the "tax ferret" would harass our citizens; that the inheritance tax law would sufficiently well disclose property omitted from taxation; and that taxes would soon become high by reason of the war, and that this was not the time to employ a "tax ferret," but that the whole matter ought to be postponed and taken up at some indefinite time In the future when conditions were more favorable. The soundness of these arguments was contested and denied by Mr. Robbins and myself, and we insisted that in view of the fact that outside collectors had recently been employed to collect delinquent taxes from citizens who were in poor circumstances, it would be manifestly unfair and unjust to nowlet the wealthy "tax dodgers" escape the payment of their taxes by perjury and fraudulent concealment; that the "tax ferret" could In no way injure the banks, as his work was all based upon investments made outside of the county and had nothing whatever to do
with bank deposits; that no one would be harassed when merely called upon to pay what he justly owed, and that If there ever was a time most opportune for making the "tax dodger" come to the front and bear his share of the tax burden and make him pay the back taxes he owes for the years that he has "dodged," that now is most certainly the time, when the costs of government and general expense is so largely increased by reason of the war. Let it be understood that a "tax ferret's" work is wholly different from that of the collectors above referred
to who collect delinquent taxes. ,de linquent tax is one which has been assessed and goes unpaid. The "tax fer
ret s work Is based on property which
has never been assessed by reason of
the owner thereof swearing falsely on his assessment list that he did not
own the property concerned. After the discussion, the Council vot
ed to make the appropriation. When
separately voted upon it was voted for
by Mark Stevens of Center township,
John B. Fawcett of Washington town
ship, and Richard Davenport and Lee B. Nusbaum of Wayne township. William Bockhoff and Jesse Druley of Wayne township, and Hugh Allen of
Jefferson township, voted against It.
When the budget of appropriations,
this item included, was subsequently voted upon as a whole, every member of the Council voted for the budget ex
cept Mr. Bockhoff. who was absent.
The Council, having thus responded
to the prayer of the Commissioners and voted for the appropriation asked for by them, Mr. Van Der Veer, Mr. Robbins and myself appeared before the Board of Commissioners at their open session last Saturday. Mr. Van
Der Veer, reading from hia notes and files, told the board that he had picked three tax claims from his information
files to serve as examples to them of instances in which citizens of Wayne County had for many years last past
avoided the payment of taxes here up
on their money, by investing and con
cealing it in bonds and stocks of divers corporations located in various other states. He explained that these were only three instances out of many more
of which he knew and could obtain the
exact data and information. In one of
the three cases mentioned he stated that the party concerned had perjured himself in his tax return made to the
county by swearing that he had no
property of this nature, when, as a
matter of fact, the total valuation of
the property owned by him which he had omitted from taxation for fifteen years aggregated $668,910.00, which,
figured at an average tax rate of 3
percent, would make $20,067.30 in tax
es due by this party which had never been assessed or paid. In the second case which Mr. Van Der Veer cited as
an example, the party concerned had omitted property for nine years which
had a total aggregate valuation for all
of the years of $600,025, which, figured at an average tax rate of 3 percent, made $18,000.75 in taxes which had never been assessed or paid. In the
third case which Mr. Van Der Veer
cited as an example, the party con cerned had omitted property for nine
teen years which had a total aggregate valuation for all of the years of $1,658,475, which, figured at an average
tax rate of 3 percent, made $49,754.25 in taxes which had never been assess
ed or paid. Thus, the total amount of taxes due and unpaid in these three instances was over $87,000. Mr. Van Der Veer stated to the Commissioners the exact ye-rs, the amount of property actually owned which ought to
have been listed by the owner, and the nature of the securities in which the
money had been invested in other
states, all with the utmost particularity. He further said to the board that the evidence in his possession in these three instances was absolutely conclusive, and that he could and would, if employed by the county, compel the payment of the whole amount of these taxes, along with many thousand dollars more of the same character, at a very early date. The proposed written contract of employment was also produced by him. It had previously been submitted to the county attorney, Gath P. Freeman, for his examination.
Mr. Freeman suggested a slight amend
ment which Mr. Van Der Veer promptly agreed to make. Mr. Van Der Veer had present, and offered to show the Commissioners, numerous letters of recent date showing his character and efficiency, written by county officers of many counties in this state in which he had been employed to discover sequestered property on which the taxes had been evaded. He also gave the names of county officials in surrounding counties where he has worked, Randolph county being one of them,
with the request that the Commission
ers communicate with these persons as to his character and efficiency. He
showed the Commissioners where his work has been instrumental in the collection of over a half million dollars in
back taxes in the various other coun
ties of the state where he had been
employed.
Mr. Seaney, one of the Commissioners, who has earnestly favored the collection of these taxes from the start and who has been at all times outspoken in. his advocacy of so doing, expressed a desire to sign the contract immediately and accordingly did so, whereupon it was also signed by Mr. Van Der Veer. The other Commission
ers, Mr. Cheeseman and Mr. Simpson,
declined to affix their signatures
They said that they did not think this was the proper time to employ a "tax ferret" and finally declared that they wanted to consider the matter for a
while and make up their minds what
to do. Mr. Simpson said further that
he would like to know what the people of the county thought about the matter. In what I have thus written, Mr. Editor, I have, except in a single instance, attempted to make no argument in favor of the employment of a "tax ferret," nor have I made an effort to answer the arguments made by
the opponents of such employment. I have merely confined myself to a bare statement of the facts in the premises with the view of leaving everyone who may care to read this communication to draw his own inference and reach
bis own conclusion.
HENRY U. JOHNSON.
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The Palace Square and Alexander Monument, Petrograd. Military law has been established in the Russian capital by Premier Keren sky, following his dismissal of General Korniloff as Commander-in-Chief of the Russian armies. It is reported that the Russians are preparing to evacuate Petrograd, or if not that, to remove the seat of Government to Moscow. Some military men believe that Petrograd has been strongly endangered by the recent capture of Riga by the Germans.
BANKER WANT8 MORE HOMES FOR WORKERS IN BOSTON
BOSTON, Ind., Sept. 18. O. M. Whitmore, cashier of the Boston bank, is agitating for more houses to be built here of the artisan kind, houses with modern systems of water, electric lighting, and heating systems. Boston, be adds, should be built up, as the car shops and round-houso are to bo built and railroad men want to locate here.
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