Evening star., 1869-05-08
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.

WAsAIsGTos, II. c., Marcs s, 1852.
EDIToR STAR: While not agreeing rith
those who hold that party poiiucs should BE-
ignored altogether in municipal elections, 4,
seems almosI a self-eyident truth 20 state that
the nam object OF city government rs 70 Sc
good of the greatest number" of the iuhaoi-
tants of city. In this aspect. then. the absurd
and Oppressive ordinances WHICH so much
hsrCe the cost OF living in this city institute
a legitimate subject for Criticism IN connection
with the coming election. The late case, 10
which you drew atten tlon, in which q person
from Midd,etown, Md was fned for SELF
ing calves in this market is an instance
of this kind. Another method of bolstaring no
the interests of landlords and monopoIists
versus those who live By the labor. is tina. OF
license tax of : 100 TO 200 per anpurn on all pa-
sons taking orders for or peddIing auy article
not OF their own production. Sometimes cheap
and useful articles are IN vented which reuuire
eIn'a&iag TO bring them into general use; for
instance, gentleman came here about q wear
ana a-haif ago with patent dipper for weigh
ing or measuring any article without scales,
Whlcn ne proposed 10 retail at twenty-five
cuts but the license fee rendered II out
o. the question 10 introduce II a. all.
Nov, II may be that dealers ia this city can
and do sell articles as cheap as else where,
allowing Tor the additional taxes to which
tney are subjected by railroad monopo oily
ana (perhapsj mbnations Of real estate own
ers; but whether that he so or not, do not
see why residents of this city should be COM
PEELED o NY here, If they think they could do
better eisewnere. The railroad monopoly ana
the license fee together constitute a Chinese
wall-a tariff to keep out outsiders and en-
nance the cost of living TO residents. What
ever may BE- thought OF protection or free trade
as regards foreign countries, L know OF no
right in this municipality to act as il every
State in the Union was q foreign country.
New York finds Eo such bolstering up me-
cessary. i therefore recommend ali persons
who live by their labor TO vote for no mu-
nic.pal candidates but thUse who Will posi-
lively and emphaticaily pledge themselves to
vote for the reduction of all trading licenses
except Tor hquOrs) TO a revenue scale not
exceeding five dollars for a general peddlIng
license and two dollars or one dollar tor q
license To peodle any kind of flesh meat or
farm produce. rets VI or wholesale, by the pound
or hundred weight.
i have heard (but do not know that a COM
binauen exists among butchers to artificialIy
keep up the price OF flesh meat; that some in
the 1th-street market undertook to sell at a
fair proft-about five cents less than current
Tates-but the others combined against them
and by means of some (elsewhere) obsolete
Chinese-wall municipal regulations, more fit.
ted to medieval Europe than the nineteenth
century United States, had fines inflicted on
those outside the " ring" SO as to compel them
TO come into IL and rob the laboring man
This should be looked into, and every huck-
ster and butcher entering into such combina
ton prohibited from selling at all.
am truly yours, No MONOPOLY.