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Show entanglements in the future the voters of the County should make a concerted effort to see that qualified men are elected to fill our county offices. The Tax Muddle This year the Board of County Commissioners were surprised tc find so many property owner? delinquent in their taxes, and that the delinquencies were apparently ap-parently of so long duration, and accordingly at their July meetings, the Board appointed J. S. Giles to look up all back taxes before the year 1910. Notices Not-ices were sent to all property owners whose taxes were delinquent, delin-quent, stating that such delinquent delin-quent taxes must be paid on or before August 21st, 1915, or the property would be sold as provided pro-vided by law. This does not mean that the property wa? sold on that date, but that it will be advertised according to the law, and sold at a later date. However, the cost of such advertising adver-tising will then be added to the tax, and will have to be paid by the property owner, or by the purchaser in case of sale, and it is to save this added cost that the notices were sent, fixing August 21st as the latest date upon which such taxes could be received. uThe County Commissioners found so much property with unpaid un-paid taxes, and such long standing, stand-ing, that after the notices were sent, they wrote a letter of inquiry in-quiry to the Attorney General, and also to the State Auditor, asking for the law in the case, and also for some advice concerning con-cerning some points where their position was not clear in the matter. While no one wishes to commit themselves as to whom the blame attaches. The facts of the case in the matter of the innocent in-nocent purchaser is that, while the record shows that the taxes were not paid in most instances, these facts were not brot forward for-ward on the county abstract books and the abstractor taking his record therefrom, and not going back of the abstract books, found that there were no back taxes recorded in these records, and, taking it for granted that this was conclusive .'evidence gave the purchaser an abstract showing clear title. It is evident that methods of doing county business has been very lax, to say the least, and to straighten out these errors was the aim of county commissioners when the question of back taxes was taken up. These back taxes should have been brot forward for-ward and advertised and sold, if not redeemed before, according to law. This was not done, therefore there-fore they never came to light. The County Commissioners are doing all they can to adjust these matters in the most satisfactory satis-factory manner possible and have been holding meetings over the West side with that end in view. The date of these meetings, meet-ings, we are sorry to say did not come to us in time to reach our readers. All expenses to the land owners own-ers whose land has been burdened bur-dened with these back taxes which it is possible for the commissioners com-missioners to reduce they are doing do-ing so. It is well that the commissioners commission-ers have taken up this matter as they have, for there must come a time when these irregular methods meth-ods have to be straightened out and it is better that this be done without farther delay. Delay means added cost and further entanglement.and it may further be s lid thatinorder to avoid such |
