Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 December 1908 — Tax Ferret Workman Won Suit. [ARTICLE]

Tax Ferret Workman Won Suit.

The following telegram from Wabash appeared in the Sunday Indianapolis Star. This is the same Workman , ■who was engaged in fererting out se- i questered taxes in this couny a few years ago. “Special Judge McClure, of Ander- I son, in the Wabash Circuit Court, this * afternoon handed down one of the ’ most important decisions that have been rendered in Indiana tax fer- | ret cases. This was on a suit in i behalf of the taxpayers against Joseph B. Workman, tax ferret; former County Auditor Davis and County | Treasurer John H. Morrow and tbeir bondsmen to recover to the treasury money paid to Workman. | "The tax ferret was allowed by contract 35 per cent of all money on , sequestered taxes recovered by him. ' He recovered about $35,000 in taxes , and his* share of the taxes by this ' commission was over $12,000. He had . been paid over SB,OOO, the other $4,000 being held by county officials. "Judge McClure holds the money paid on collections which went into the county fund after distribution •was illegal, and found for the taxpayers in the amount of $l,lOO. He holds the money Workman received on the part of the taxes going to the municipalities, state, township, etc., was legal and Workman was entitled to this money. He decided the county officials had the first lien on the money now in the treasury belonging to Workman, so that they lose nothing. “In other words, Workman is entitled to his commission upon all collections of sequestered taxes except for county purposes. Workman thereby receives over SII,OOO for his work in this county. The county gets its share of taxes collected without pay because there was no appropriation made by the County Council, hence there can be no payment from the county fund. Three hundred dollars’ attorneys’ fees was also allowed.” Possessed of county option, the “Dominion” state, Virginia, is now demanding state wide prohibition.