' "_ Frontier
VOLUME XXII. O’NEILL, HOLT COUNTY. NEBRASKA, OCTOBER 17, 1901. NUMBER 16.
• ' - 1 ' 1 ' — ~ — ■■ ■ ■ —■ —- . .. ' >j ■■■
8 Some Things Presented for the Intelligent Consideration of the Individual Voter 1
WO OOT OF MANY BILLS PAID BY
THE COUNTY—EVES' BLUFF CALLED
Many readers of The Frontier have been heard to express amaze
ment at the exposure made in our last issue of the stupendous cor
ruption that lurks behind the mask of reform in the sheriff’s office.
We have continued our investigations to some extent and the deep
ly er we go in the investigation the more apparent becomes the cor
ruption and conspiracy that exists between the sheriff, the gang of
laud pirates and the populist papers to plunder the county and rob
people of their property. By this system of tax foreclosure not
only is the county being robbed of thousands of dollars of taxes,
but it is being feloniously held up for thousands of dollars of costs
—such as sheriff costs, printers’ fees and court costs. In many of
the sales advertised there are no bidders on the land and the cases
are returned by the sheriff, “Laud not sold for want of bidders.”
In these cases, as in all others, the county is liable for whatever
costs have been made, and the sheriff and clerk tile their bills for
whatever the costs amount to and the claims are allowed by the
board of supervisors and warrants are drawn for the amounts.
An investigation of Sheriff Stewart’s bills on tile discloses the
fact that he has made his “rake off ” aud over charge of costs to
the county the same as where individuals have paid the costs. We
give below two of the several bills that have been tiled against the
county by Sheriff Stewart and which were allowed. The bills are
for the sheriff’s costs in cases where the lands have been advertised
and “not sold for want of bidders.”
The following itemized claim was tiled by Sheriff Stewart July
3, 1900:
O'NErLL, NEB., July 3, 1900.
HOLT COUNTY,
To JOHN M. STEWART, Dr.
No. 5327—Counly of Holt ve. Elijah Butterfield.$22 45
5309 Elijttlt Butterfield. 30 25
, 5551 Niantic Savings Bank. 31 60
3386 New England Loan & Trust Co. 17 70
5367 New England Loan & Trust Co. 26 75
5322 F. J, Porter.. 36 50
/ 5253 Henry Wyman. 37 00
5325 ' J G. ^ dams. 33 90
5299 Ballou Banking Co. 36 12
5418 C. F. Blivin. 34 70
5428 Western Farm Land Co.31 70
4898—W. R. Butler vs. R B. Athon. 29 95
, 4901 Isaac Saver. 30 25
4903 C. H. Toncray. 28 35
Total....$127 22
THE STATE OF NEBRASKA, County of Holt, ss.
I hereby certify that within and foregoing is a true copy of a claim of
John M Stewart’s now on file in ray office. Witness my hand and official
seal this I6th day of October, 1901. JOHN S. LEIS, County Clerk.
(Seal) By C. F. Englehaupt, Deputy.
This claim was allowed July 14, 1900, and for which were issued
general fund warrants Nos. 314 and 315.
The following claim was tiled by Sheriff Stewart September 28,
W 19UU:
iff® O’NEILL. NEB., Sept. 28, 1900.
r==n ■ HOLT COUNTY,
00 To JOHN M. STEWART, Dr.
©Ill Case No. 5215—County of HoR vs. A. C. Blivin.$29 73
5516 A. R Brown. 21 95
00 - P. McConnell. 50
H 5250 C. F. Blivin. 22 80
5483 Ballou Banking Co. 19 75
5521 H. S. Bortblemue. 33 65
6049 W. P. Bump.,. 32 75
r==i 5369 E. B. Burr. 36 20
00 5526 . Clara E. Burrage...,. 22 45
((©' 5524 C. E. Crabtree. 21 85
5541 C. C. Cuyler.21 85
00 5363 Frank Ball. 25 70
jS]0 6042 Chester County G. & S. I). Co... 23 55
Ip Total.'.$312 73
00 THE STATE OP NEBRASKA, Holt County, ss.
HI hereby certify that the within and foregoing is a true copy of a claim
of John M. Stewart’s now on file in my office. Witness my hand and seal
this 16th day of October, 1901. JOHN S LEIS, County Clerk.
(Seal) By C. F. Englehaupt, Deputy.
00 General fund warrant No. 428 was issued for this claim on
|§l1 Ootober 10, 1900.
00 In every case included in the above bills, excepting the case of
IP. McConnell for 50 cents, an examination of the tiles shows that
the sheriff has included in his statement of costs a PRINTER’S
fee in each case of from $9 to $12, and which the county has
1 pai(L
00 In the following cases the Ewing Advocate published the sher
[nTH] iff’s notices and the respective amounts were included in Stewart’s
bills as “printer’s fees” and were PAID BY HOLT COUNTY:
mjfm Case No. 5251.$12 Case No. 5516.$9
00 5483. 9 6049. 13
00 5541. 9 5327. 12
(|I 5309. 9 | -
00 Total.......$73
(HH] In the following cases the notices were published in the Atkinson
||^)| Plain Dealer and for which the COUNTY HAS PAID the follow
gjjsj ing amounts:
BCase No. 5399..$12 | Case No. 5418.$12
5428.'.. 13| 5350. 9
5521. 12 | 5524 . 9
5363. 9 | 6042. 13
S Total.$87
In the following six cases the notices were published by the Holt
County Independent and the respective amounts WERE PAID
HI BY THE COUNTY:
Rfp Case No. 5551.$12 | Case No. 5322. $15
00 5353. 15 | 5323. 12
B3369. 12 j 5526. 12
Total.$78
Mr. Tax Payer, these are but a few of the cases in which a sirni
0U lar condition of affairs exists, and yet in view of this the desperate
[V/J gang of land pirates and the populist papers of this county have
the supreme nerve to persist in and attempt to hoodwink the in
telligent voters of this county into the belief that Holt county is
paying no printers’ fees in these foreclosure cases. The following
paragraphs taken from the last issue of the Independent, and
which have been published in all of the populist papers in the
county, is a fair sample of the deliberate lying they are doing on
this proposition:
Dickson’s paper says the pop pa f Tllo ___ - „
pers got $9,372 04 from the tax i , The tax psyers of Uolt oounty \
payers for printing foreclosure j “ave never had to help to pay )
notices. He evidently went on the ; ONE CENT on a printer’s fee in j
theory that it don t pay to tell a ! any county foreclosure cases; no \
reasonable lie when a “bustin’ big ,, . .
lie” can be told with the same ef e8!deBt, °f, Uolt 00UB‘y hM ever
fort. If Mr. Dickson show where j had hls land s°bl f«>r taxes; none '
any paper HAS EVER BEEN j but the loan companies and non- j
ALLOWED ONE CENT for pub- j resident speculators have been I
;tVoSs,r:?d:!“-“*«•»•»<h
linquent taxes. j taxes
The Frontier has called your bluff, Mr. Eves; we have not only
proven that Holt county HAS “paid ONE CENT on a printer’s fee
in any county foreclosure case,” but we have conclusively proven
that Holt county has paid $237 as “printers’ fees" in the above
mentioned twenty-one cases. Now, Mr. Eves, if you consider your
word of any value whatever, or if there is one spark of manhood in
you—which is doubted very much—walk up to the captain’s office
and pay us $618.00, the amount you say we owe as delinquent tax.
You can make the payment direct to us, for one half of this tax is
to be paid by the owners of the upper part of the building and the
tax will all be paid upon the return of O. O. Snyder, who is tho
representative of the owners of the upper part of the building.
In our last issue we called attention to the practice of the sheriff
in charging from $3 to $12 as “appraisers’ fees” in each case when
the law allows but 50 cents each for two appraisers. In each of
the above cases the sheriff has charged and received from the
county $3 as “appraisers’ fees.” His over charge or “rake off ”
from the county on this one item alone is $2 in each case.That the
sheriff has been paying the appraiser but the legal fee of 50 cents
is evident from the affidavit here appended:
STATE OF NEBRASKA. Holt County, as.
Charles N. Cole, being duly sworn, upon oath says that be is the same
person who acted as one of the appraisers in the case of the county of
Holt vs. Lewis B. Vale, No. 5556, begun in the district court of Holt
county. Nebraska, filed September 1, 1899, involving swj section 5, town
ship 26, range 13, sold to Casper Englebaupt on May 28, 1900; that I was
paid by the sheriff for making such appraisement the sum of 60 cents and
no more, and of the $3 charged by the sheriff I received but 50 cents.
CHARLES N. COLE.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 14th day of October, 1901.
* (Seal) C. L. BRIGHT, Notary Public.
When our readers consider the hundreds of cases where the lands
have been appraised during Sheriff Stewart’s term and his charges
for appraisers’ fees have in no case been less than $3 and as high
as $12 it can readily be seen that his “rake off” on this item alone
must amount to from $1,500 to $2,000. As a business proposition,
what do you think of this foreclosure system of collecting taxes in
the above cases, Mr. Tax Payer? Not only has the county failed
to collect the taxes due, but has paid as shown by the two bills
given above, $739.95 as sheriff and printers’ fees. Besides these
costs the county has paid the clerk of the court's costs, which
amounts to nearly as much as the sheriff’s costs.
Mr. Tax Payer, if you wish a continuation of this high handed
corruption in the sheriff’s office, vote for Mr. Stewatt’s deputy, W.
H. Blaekmer. If not, vote the republican tioket.
wQfs
IS JUDICIARY BRANCH CORRUPT, TOO?
Notwithstanding there has been commenced in this county within
the last eighteen months over 500 tax forec.osure cases in which
the county of Holt is plaintiff, the machinery of the county attorn
ey’s office has not been grinding fast enough to satisfy the raven
ous appetite for land of the gang of pirates.
Last spring Mike Harrington conceived the idea that if the
county could maintain an action to foreclose on land an individual
buying land at tax sale had the same right. Of course Mike had
no difficulty in convincining his brother Jim on the district bench
that these suits were legal. Notwithstanding the constitution and
the statute of the state gives the owners of land the right to re
deem within two years from date of tax sale, Judge Harrington
confirms these sales to the gang on actions that are brought within
twenty-four hours from the time the land is sold by the treasurer
for taxes. Since the adoption of this never before-heard of inter
pretation of the tax collecting law of this state the corrupt gang
have been doing a very profitable business in this line.
Following are a few of the many cases of this kind that have
been instituted by E. S. Eves and J. C. Morrow:
Name of Defend’t. No. of Case. Nos. of Land, Amt. Tax. Prluters’ Fee.
Singer.6331.... nw 33 30-11. ..$15 10.$17 50
Vooheir.6329. ...ne 28 25-15... 11 09. 15 00
Hinckle.6375...nin.V 15 30-9... 12 70. 12 50
Toms.6353.. \™ 27 30 9.. 29 72. 35 00
Crow...6328....ne 11 29 14... 11 78. 15 o0
Calvin.6374....nw 34 30-9. .. 12 76. 15 00
Wheaton.6326... .se 22 26 14... 4 75. 15 00
McKinley.6330.... ne 12 26-12... 11 42. 17 50
Mulhal.. .6361_swl-30 9 .... 12 70. 15 00
Porter.6364.... nw 4-30-9.... 12 70. 15 00
Totals.$134 72 $172 50
From this statement it can be seen that the total delinquent tax
on the ten quarter sections amounts to $134 42, and Eves has re
ceived a printer’s fee of $172.50, or $37.28 more than the taxes
amount to.
Following are a few of the cases in which John C. Morrow ap
pears as plaintiff. Be it remembered that Morrow is the brother
in-law and hired man of M. F. Harrington to look after the latter’s
real estate business, and doubtless Harrington is the real party in
terested. Here are the cases:
Name of Defend’t. No. of Case. Nos, Land. Amt. Tax. Printers’Fee
Van Cleve.6340. .n£nj 15—26—12..$13 21.$15 00
Frovist.6304. .se 24 30 9. 12 46. 7 50
Neasham.6338..nw 29-30-13... 18 30. 15 00
Blair.6339.. \9-28-10. 21 84. 27 50
Porter.6303. .se 18-32 12. 13 26. 10 00
Burd.6345..se 34-27-14. 8 71. 15 00
Hildbrand.6337. .ne 14-30-13.... 24 66. 15 00
Totals.$112 44 $105 00
From this it will be seen that the delinquent taxes on the above
seven quarter sections amounts to $112.24 and Eves’ charges for
printer’s fees are #105. These are but a few of the many oases of
this kind that have been started by this corrupt gang that is plund
ering the county and robbing people of their property withont the
knowledge and consent of any one on earth except the gang of land
pirates. They are cited to show how false is the claim of the pop
ulist papers and corrupt gang that they are only attacking the land
of loan companies on which there are large sums of delinquent
tax. None of the above described land is owned by loan companies.
The land was all owned by individuals, many of them women, who
may have had all they posessbd in the world invested in these
lands. Because they have committed the offenoe, perhaps through
no fault of theirs, of allowing one year’s taxes to become delinquent
their land is stolen from them by this system of legalized robbery.
l’he farmers of this county are by no means beiug benefitted by
this damnable practice. The members of the gang are fast getting
titles to thousands of acres of land in this county at from $1 to
#d0l) per quarter section and are asking the farmers to pay them
from #<>00 to $ t,(X)0 per quarter section for the same land. How
many farmers are there in this county that some one of the gang
have not either sold or tried to sell land to within the last two
years? Nearly ever farmer knows from aotual experience that if
he wishes to buy or rent a piece of non-resident land lying adjoin
ing his farm he can deal much more reasonable and satisfactory
with the non resident owner than he can with any one of the gang
of land pirates in this county that are bleeding the farmers at
every opportunity. Yet the populist papers go frantic in their
efforts to make the farmers believe that they (the farmers) like this
kind of treatment and should vote the populist ticket that this in
famous system of tax foreclosures may be continued. The populist
papers of this county have grown rich by this abominable practice,
and is it at all strange, Mr. Tax Payer, that they are sending you
their papers tilled with tirades of abuse of a few republicans they
claim have been corrupt? By this they only seek to detraot your
attention, Mr. Tax Payer, from their own corruption and the para
mount issue in this campaign. Their only other defense is in
saying The Frontier lies. Every statement we have published
concerning these rotten deals is true as the gospel. We have made
our charges specific in each instance and if there are any who
doubt any of our statements and they will send a delegation from
any precinct in the county and if we do not prove by the records
that our statements are true we will not only pay the expenses of
the delegation but pay them liberally for their time in coming
here.
UaJJcJ
SOME OF THE TAXES OF THE PIRATES
The gang of land pirates and the populist papers of this county [5][eJ
are continually harping about the “tax shriukers.” The un- |||1|
sophisticated would naturally infer from this statement that they jggj
were a band of saints who were keeping their own taxes paid up. {==={
Nothing could be farther from the truth. The Independent of
recent date made reference to certain taxes delinquent on a build
iug owned by the editor of The Frontier and the Odd Fellows pOOn
lodge of this city. fcjm]
The Independent said “we refused to pay” and called us a Egfe]
“dead beat on the county that refuses to pay his share of the B#pl
taxes.” For the edification of our readers and just to keep the
record straight, we give below the names of a few of this class of
gentry in the camp of the land pirates and popism in this oounty. K^a
The following are but a few of the many tracts of land owned fgQjj
by M. H. McCarthy on which the taxes are delinqnent and unpaid: gTH]
w nw, w sw ne 23-29-14 n so so »e 19 bw nw 12-30-10 m ne 8- 31-11 |Sg5j
2»-80-lB 1897 tax.. .810 70 sw 20-30-9 1897 tax.. .#10 88 «* se ae sw Its*
1808 lax....*23 14 98 tax... 10 25 1898 tax...*41 06 OH tax... 10 80 5-31-11 EaUS
,o£!tax"" 23 17 99 lax .. 8 66 99 tux... 24 40 «9tax... 9 88 MM tax.. .#12 40 |cll51
lOOOtax.... 9 93 lOOOtax... 8 33 1900 tax... 8 50 1900 tax... 10 05 MM tax... 13 39 ton]
The following is a partial list of the lands owned by M. F. Eafel
Harrington on which the taxes are delinquent and unpaid for years BBkI
shown: Q9S
bo 4-25-15 e nw 15-28-15 ne24-30-0 nwT-26-ll enwaaw SH
1897 tax...#15 59 1894 tax....#6 48 1899 tax.. #11 08 1896 tax...# 7 0» 14-32-11 EgS]
98 tax... 12 91 95 tax.... 7 88 1900 tux... 10 05 97 tax... 11 52 1892 tax-. .#17 52 #S2#|
. *£ tax • lu 7!i 66 tax ... 7 96 98 tax... 10 14 93 tax— 16 38 SnH
1900 tax... 11 25 97 tax.... 7 50 99 tax... 9 00 94 tax... 14 20 IcJISl
98 tax..., 6 75 lOOOtax... 8 86 95 tax... 3S6 81 [™1
«» tax. 3 45 96 tax .. 15 32 “JIS
lOOOtax.... 4 75 97 tax... M. 40 ISgSjO
VH tax... 1050 W
1*9 tax... 9 76 HfeH
n mi tax... io 5* I cm I
nese 10-32-11 e ho sw bo 29 w nw »e nw sw sue 24-29-12 **23-27-16 ISHEl
u nw nw bw ne ne 32-32-11 ne 7-29-12 1898 tax. ..#18 10' 11896 tax.. .*10 79 fdfc]
11-32-11 1805 tax. ..#23 73 1890 tax. ..#21 60 99 tax... 9 16 96 itax... 11 56 WMM
1894 tax...#15 34 96 tax... 14 80 97 tax... 18 85 1990 tax... 11 83 «7rtax... 12 22 £2*3
95 tax... 25 71 97 tax... 13 88 98 tax... 15 76 OHitax... 13 30 CTig
98 tax.. 15 49 98 tax... 12 14 161 tax... 9 98 99-tttx... 10 72 1—=rj
97 tax... 17 60 1K.I tax... 11 02 1900 tax... 21 46 H9U0 tao: 7 86 151121
08 tax... 10 90 1909 tax. . 11 18 rsbl
99 tax... 9 79 UKflN
1900 tax .. 10 57
Harrington owes delinquent personal taxes in O’Neill .amounting j=jj
to $06.50, this with the delinquent taxes named above mal'es a total
of $782.20. gH
This is not all the property owned by Harrington on whic h tax is Sgjjijl
delinquent. He is the principal owner of the Riggs add ition to
O’Neill and on which the delinquent tax amounts to severs. 1 hun- flnSJ
dred dollars. We are safe in saying that Harrington owes Holt
county from twelve to fifteen hundred dollars taxes. This gontle- HS
meu says in his letter “explaining” one purchase he made at one
of these “public” tax sales: “I am told by a farmer that the nion- Ejjpj
ey I paid in for that land enabled their school district to pay up jgQ-j
the last debt they owed. It was otherwise in the days of repub li- i§rii
can rascality.” Would it not better become Mr. Harrington if lie rdjjsj
would pay into the school districts of the county the hundreds cf lfipl
dollars taxes ho owes before grabbing any more land to sell to
farmers at five or six times more than it cost him ? The lands these lSljHJ
pirates are getting they do not pay the taxes on until they get a $0jS|
chance to dispose of it to some farmer for five or six times what it Wiis
has cost them. j ■—j
Another member of the land syndicate in this city owns over
fifty quarter sections on which the tax is delinquent from one to |@j
six years. Which would you rather have,Mr.Tax Payer,the land own- jjBOfl
ed by a non-resident who may occasionally allow his taxes to be- Jsjgl
come delinquent or have it owned by the members of the corrupt Hill
land syndicate who refuse to pay the taxes ou their land until they
get a chance to sell it? Gag
W. H Blaokmer, pop candidate for sheriff, owes delinquent per- jSjlj
Bonal tax as follows:
1894, $3.19; ’96, $5.39; ’97. $6.59; ’98, $5 39; ’99, $3. Bll
John Trommershausser, pop candidate for county clerk, owes ISJQlj
delinquent personal tax as follows;
1893, $55.83; ’95, $10.07; ’96, $7.34; ’97, $6.68; ’99, $9.99; 1900, $8.09.
Trommershausser own the n£ nej and w| 30-20-9, on which the [gS
taxes are delinquent for 1894 and 1898, amounting to $73.51.
The above, Mr. Tax Payer, are but a few of the corrupt strategy Sl|j
board that has absolute control of the populist party ini this county ==j
and who are “tax shirkers” and “dead beats ou the county that 3.H
refuse to pay” their “share of the taxes.” ||||
