Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1853-12-22
AMENDMENTS TO THE CHARTER OF THE
CITY OF GEORGETOWN.
GEORGETOWN. Dec. 81.


to our City Council for their approval, a
memorial to Congress for certain amend
ments to our City Charter What the
nature of the memorial, or the extent of
the amendments asked for, viii be. we
VIII not undertake at this time to say,
but we sincerel y hope that if they extend
no farther than the two objects embraced
IN the resolution which appointed the
first committee, that there will be found
IN some one of the three coordinate
branches of the corporation, democracy.
public spirit, or whatever YOU NAV
choose to call it, sufficient to throttle the
monster and put it down. There are a
number of other chartered powers and
privileges, which many 1--WE believe a
large majority of our citizens have for
years desired, other than the right to
burden themselves with tax of Is cents
On the SlO0, for the construction of a
railroad, DC. such as the extension of
the right OF suffrage, the power to levy a
Poll tax Tor educational purposes, and
the power to tax all banks and other
stocks held 10y persons residing in our
city. And we say if we are going to ask
Congress for anything, let us in accord
ance with the wise suggestions of Re-
corder Ould, ask them to give us an en-
tirely new charter, one in keeping with
the spirit of the age in which we live.
Our present charter, we have been in
formed by the above named gentleman,
consists entirely of a series of legislative
and Congressional cnactments, most of
which have become antiquated and OBJ
solete. and but few if any of them in
keeping with the general spirit of i'm
provement everywhere visible. And we
know of no reason why the people of
Georgetown should any longer be consid-
cred by our neighbors Rip Van Wrinkles,
or old togic>, yes, old fogies: behind the
age, holding on to the tail end of time
ike a drowning man to plank, as if
afraid TO let it slip lest we should perish.
We do not believe it requires a very
great stretch of the mind to discover the
reason why the committee of gentlemen
to whom the subject was first referred
seemed to manifest so little interest in it.
They are little too democratic i'm prin-
clpleS, and too public spirited, to desire
any hand in fastening upon the people still
longer an old and imperfect, and in some
respects ,anti-republican charter, ,bv patch
ing it up with few additional powers
powers which if exercised after being OBJ
tanned, must soon fall into bad repute
with the people, and destroy forever the
popularity Of those who originated them.
Such a charter as Recorder Ould has
suggested, embracing the powers and
privileges we have before enumerated.
the people, some two years ago, in town
meeting assembled, memorialized our
City Councils to ask Congress to give us;
but we regret to say, that the child was
entrusted TO a bad nurse (the then Board
of Common Council) who smothered it
IN Its infancy by laying it on the table:
and thus the peoples darling found an
untlmely grave, from which it never has
had a resurrection.
From some of our remarks it NAV be
inferred that we are opposed to public
Improvements. Suchisnot the fact. Upon
the contrary, we have always been
friend to them, when we believed they
would promote the public good, and have
for years been the advocate of a railroad
from Georgetown to inteIsect the Balti-
more and Ohio railroad at some spot near
the Point of Rocks. Still, we believe
that our Corporation has waded beyond
its depth, by subscribing S25O,O0O of the
stock Of the Metropolitan railroad. But
the act has been consulnmated, and it is
too late now to repair the error, if an
error it shall prove to be: and all that
remains for us now to do, is to 90 to
work and provide the means to meet the
obligation; and this we think can be
done without increasing the taxes beyond
the present rates. But we have no desire
to darken counsel with words. We go
for new charter, if it can he had !; one
all the before-named powers
and privileges. We are also decidedly
in favor of a general assessment of all
the real and personal property within
our jurisdiction, including all banks and
other stocks. And we think it can be
demonstrated beyond a doubt, that if
general assessment upon fair and equita-
BILE principles was made, that instead of
the whole value of taxable property in
our town amounting to only two and
half millions Of dollars, it would reach at
least five; and thereby bring into the
town Treasury an increased amount of
revenue, amply sufficient with the reve-
hue arising from other sources) to meet
promptly our current expenses, pay the
interest upon our railroad stock, and
leave a surplus to be applied to the liqui-
dation Of our funded debt, without rails
ing the taxes one cent over IS or 100
cents upon the 500.
We think it will be admitted by all
hands that all the small and middling-
sized dwellings and business places IN
the more thickly settled parts of our city
are taxed to their full value, fully as
much as they would command were they
offered in the market for sale. And it is |
equally true, that there may be found in
other sections multitudc of stately man
sions, which neither the houses, the fur |
niture they contain, nor the ground they |
occupy, is taxed to more than one half or |
two-thirdS their real value. Then, again,
our entire Heights are taken up with what
may be denominated small farms, none of
which are assessed to more than one fifth
of what they would bring in the market,
were they divided into good sized build
ing lots and offered for sale. All these,