, 1861-03-18

@ele u out e1ty--A1pnrtauL 1eLLeI 1lUm IaEt
Ward W.
DETROIT. March II, 1861.
DEAR slR: zee by tie Chicago papers that
you expect to extend the city limits 80 as tt
include all the surrounding country, nv mills
inclnded
had intended to build new rniu for max
ing bar-iron, but that kind Of w,anufacturins
will not stand city taxation, 80 will abandon
the project. One Of the most us eful manufac
tnres in this city (Detroit> has been taxed out
Of existence: Hyou want manufactures in or
near your city, you must not et nbarrass hem
too much, OF you will destroy them. It would
have been much better to allow mauutactoritr
to grow up outBide the city for several years
before you attempted to b.arden them with !;
heavy city debt they have no interest in.
fear your new charter will be damage to the
material interests of your city.
Respectfully, E. B. WARD.
The reader would be led to suppose from
the tone Of the above letter, that Capt Wards
rolllng-miH property is now taxed for STATE
and County purposes the last cent it will bear
and that, If the municipal assessm ent is added
thereto, it will be "taxed out of existence
like that unfortunate ssuseful manufactory
in Detroit, ofwhich he makes mou1nful men
ton. After careful examination Of lhe Coun,
ty Treasurez's- books, We found, to our eur
prise, that E. 3. Ward was taxed, md paid, fol
for the year 1850, for State, County, Township,
School and Road purposes, on his per.
sonal property invested, the sum of tuelee
dollars and seoe1ty-one cents (s1271) an as the
49,. s.o .uunts :"a. laAes are Us hea7F IS the
10y N<A9' :" 4e pAopests tao peen ahheSea 10
" tne eoipo1s1lon, LIE "hoie Personal taxes
L..
"oui" uASe peen apons twenty-five dollars.
Mr' "ara says: :" had lnte4dcd to build u
" ne" MIL 1or making bar iron, but that kind
u naanu1aetnfang %iA not stand city taxa,
lion, 30 WILL abandon the project"
we be1e7e this to be humbug, and intended
10 lnauee people to vote against the amend,
ments 10 The Charter. It is game Of bluff.
Let us suppose the bar-fron mill to be built,
and the property annexed to the city. Say it
cost HIM $4u, 600; it would be assessed on the
tax list at about SIC, 900, and as it is located
outside Of the lamp district, 1t would be rated
at something like ten mills, which would TT
about sloo OF city taxes per annum. Is therr
any man IN Chicago SO. simple as 10 belieyr
That Inc pattry sum Of 800 year would
aeler capt ward from erecting the proposed
n1u: he ID very much mistaken if he sup
poses our Citizens are such gudgeons as tu
swallow that bait.
Every spring demaggogues set up 8 SYSTEM
attic howl about Oppressive city ta1aticn.'
Tho truth Is, Chicago is the Igltczt taxed city
Tor municipal purposes in North America.
property Is assessed at one-thtrd to onc-flfth
Oh lts ae1ual value. consequently the per
cent Oh taxation appears three to live times
h1gnef than 1t really 49, IN New York, Bos-
Ton, fmlaoelph'a, Cincinnati, Buffalo, CleEe
lana' Albany and other elites, property, re''
anu personal Is rated at Its fair cash value. Ii
lineage was assessed on similar basis the
7aloatlon ~hach Stands no" but thirty-s1x mil
lions' would exceed one hundred millions, and
lhe per cenl' Oh 1a2auon Homa DC reduced
or fonr mi}1s- The taxes ,evfed FIR c;.v nnr.
nnsaz haze rara,v axcaaaad a,a.,b;rd IF n,sz
ccuf on tte act.i ,,17ne Of ,bc nro,,rr,t, of nj.
caao What other 1a,re and craving town con
exhih;t IN ANAL a tarat,on > The fact onrht
IN he mado t,ou,, far ana uids poar,c
abroad hearing that our c;tv taxes are ten IL.
s;rteen mills IN tbe dollar eunnosc tha,
amonnt is assess Il, an the rrs, v,luc of nro-
nertv Henca onrs ha, The mama of heinp ..
heavily taxed c,tv 1tis nosa,b,e that ca,tain
Ward wa. 1ahor;nc undar Tho do1ns;on of mi.
;dea when he vrote ,,,s foolish letter
In conclusion. we hare this additional r..
mari n ,,,te that ,rr mann nf,cfnr;,o -.
othor hns;nass which capnot afford IN nur
one-th;rd of me No, ce,t cornor,t;o, 1ares ~,