A Collector Of Taxes

He doee net alvay-i rao un to tlii'in cillicr. Moro o'ten tlny run on to Mm, tund i!iey do it with both íeet occaslanally, too. Havinn had a nionth's cxperience ;tt I be tax colteetius business, the wrlter lias galoed sume knowledge if the human family not heretofore poooooacd by tolva.. Alihmiííli the city treasurer's pnth la supposed to be paved witih silver añil gola and Ireasury notes of various kinds, that STippositlon is erroneOUH. II iiaih is pared wlth sometiiiirj.- etee. More espectally with kicks. Allhou-h the city tax which lias jnvt been collected is ábout 40 per cent, oí tlie entlre tas - or so Bupposed- yei the people who have told the treasurer to cold and ley tones that tJie amoumt wae more tlian all their tax put tonct'ier. last year. ií l'üied up in prison faahion, would make i that wnuhl reach aronnd the campus, or the Liberal Arts buildIng at llie World's Fair, eitlier ene. A.fter maktog tiiat aseertlon, then tl.cy would leok at the atoresakd official wlth a glacial or tyTOtoxiconized ice cream exprowloia, calculated to coniïpal lus i'narrow. and end hi.s earthly career as stnldenly as { electroeuted. wiiea they eee hlm keep riíiht on with an espresBkm like unto that of tlie Judge in ble íanious interview witli Maud Mulle:, they usually say : ■■Weii make out my rccoipt. I róppose L have got to pay it gometlme, anyway. and I iniuht as well do it nmv and have it done wiFh. I'.ut I teil yon wiiat, ïï taxes keep eJreepta' up this wiiy much longer, I'll just Iet yoa take the property tor the tases, tnat's what I'll do." And llien nr Bhe, BÉ the ■ miK'ht be, would pull out a roll of bilis tiiat denotad anythlng but hard times wifii the owaer thereof, tind pay the few dollars tax assessed to tibelr property. and walk off with a srlí-satisíied expression, tliat had a greeï deal in it. One individual whose contribution to cerry on the city governmeni annmiatcd tn'Tl c'nts, took the rolls to see if "O'Hfarn hadn't socked up Ihc valué oí lus ppoperty," and whcu fully BatteHed 1 li.it ihc valuati m was the Mime as last yoa pulled om a fat roll oí bilis, and .irave the treasurer B $20 trcasury note to ohanur. at tlie same time remarkitng that it was the siaallcst had." Buch people have a tnidcncy to ai) official who eadeavore to tranaad imiuess iasi pteaMuil and gentlemanly way, vitv wcary. II" was only onie of tmany. TJie next ome would probably have a tendeoc to restore confldence In tJie human iamlly. This is a fair specimen "I caine in to pay my laws. S:unBel Sniilax. 4lh ward.'" rpou being informed ttoe amount, hi' wmild ask : ■Wha1 port on oí t' whole tax is Miis ?'■ Opon Informed t'.iat it was probably about 40 per cent., he would quictly take hi obange, and i caiarlc : ■Wfll. 1 am Klad that the City tasee can be pald now. It makea just si) muflí less for me to raiae In December, and it i harder to gei iiiinu'v tihén lli;ni now." And 90 11 goee, d:iy ia and lay out. Ia one ward bhe larursi tax-payera is a laúy, in another ward. I wn ol Mir largeet rax-pay".-s are ladl . All oí them are buelnese vromen. They askcd only tho neoessary questions, iinilcrstnoil t hurcmiihly wlicn an-wrrmI without goimg into the minute detaiis. aad had n.i gTumbling to do. One ol the ladièe, who owna a number Of house-: and lots said that tlie chance, in paying bazee made ii very iaiconvfnU'iit for her, as slu1 had toniparatively Uttte Income at this time ui yc;ir. liul lic supposed that the miase oí the people were betteir Batlsiied, and Btoe shouid be content. (il her thingB were noted. ïhc almost entire absence Ol gold COln was remerkabte. Only amé $20 gold plece, one $10 and I u r $3 wera taken in in ncarly $29,000 c-ollected. There WBM one $.".() goM coili cmtliieate, and that was all. Not any of smaller denomlnatlon, whicb looks as ií the people wcrc hoarding that species ol Clrcublttog medium for some reama at otiwr. silver eertiilcatec v.cre plenty hut national bank notea and iïreenbacks predominated. Th're wcrc two $100 büls, and quite a few of tlie $50 notes. Probably one-lialf of tlie tnx was pald by personal checifi on b-mks. T'nis is acOOUSfted tor in X 1 1 í -s way: Must 0Í the business men' and capitalista wh i have large taxea to paj did so by chck, while the smaller tax-jiayers pald in cash. And il takes a large murnber o the smaller ones u equal the large ohecks. Th' sm.illest tas pald was T cents. tJu largest $525.90. Oooeidering that thie is the flrst yi'ar (il the nrw law, ihr .imnanl paid in is considerad autflcleut to approve oí the ctnamg. .Many people li.ive Jiut yet learned Ol th' chanfic. probably, and many otliers are away ir. nu hume. Qvüte a number h.:ic cume into the oifiee. ,-is i-eri ained tibe amoiiiit of theii fax, aad how mncli extra l would COBI i'üem to let it go over nntil December, and have said that thry wanted ïiie money bo use to atteitd the Woiiil's l'air, for some otilier purpoee, and preferred bo pay bhe extra per cent. One lady carne in rathcr brugquely and deinanded '"are yon COlleCting i.t xee dow ?" ■■Ves. the city tax is due now." "How is tlial ï" The change was explalned in the bust inanncr the collector could eommand. 'Well. yon neeiln't t'.iink yon can fooi me. I knuw why. It is so that the city miieers eau have more money to Iwindle t líese haird times." Wlu-n assnred tli.it DO city o."ficial cóuld in any way be benefited by the ol the city hinds, as every ceiu c-ollected was depositad in the Aun Arbov Savins It.ink daily, and the city itseli' received interest on the daily balances, slie went away convineed, but till doubtinji. l'enple d gel qui'cr ideas sonietimvs. and the man wlio dnes tlu'COl1' ■ i i iLT s i lic one who is lilamed lor cverythiiiii' by many people Who eiilier can not will not understa.nd tlie simple systcm oí tir mnniuniciiial LLOvernmcnt.