Evening star., 1870-01-29
Have Taxpayers ANY Rixhts.

Inc tudue .Dy tne COrpOra at10n Attorney
against the city papers that have spoken out in
censure Of the mob proceedings to suppress
"reform" meetings, would scarcely be worth
noticing but for the fact that il illustrates with
point what we have shown heretofore, that the
opponents of the reform movement have for
their sole stock in trade the demagogue cry that
1T is a movement of the aristocrats against .sthe
People"-that is to say, Of the Gins" assuming
to speak for the people. Mr.. Cook may be said
to represent the brains of the anti-reformers;
yet he has nothing better to bring forward than
this transparent demagogism about the kid
gloved taxpayers wanting to institute reform to
oppress the honest laboring men-the people.
Naturally, he endeavors to identify the Cor
poration employees with the people, and for some
purpose of his own makes a labored and wholly
gratuitous appeal in behalf or the scavengers,
assuming that ''the people" have been at
tackled through them Nobody has spoken
disparagiDgly or otherwise of the scavengers,
except to mention them with the other Corpo-
ration employees who took part in the mob busi-
ness They ave scavengers, we suppose, and
unless Mr.. Cook proposes to change the name
we don't know what is to be done about it. He
may change it to the Night-Blooming Cereus
for what we care, IL he wants to stand well with
these functionaries; but for the present we shall
have TO call them scavengers. But his bunkum
sentimentalsm is best shown by the fact that
the scavengers of W Washington really rank among
the " "bloated aristOcrats," the fees of most of
them amounting to considerably more than the
salary of the first officer in the city.
According TO Mr.. Cook the model form of mu-
nicipal government is that where the taxpayers
nave no voice whatever i'm the administration of
arairs-in the levying of the taxes or the expen-
diture Of the money raised by taxation. The
TrNr- 49, . H.
uuty OF the taxpayers Is to uncomplainingly
pay the taxes levied by the non-tax-payers and
expended by the non-tax-payers with thatfree
and easy profusiOn with which people are apt
to spend the money of other people. Now what
ever Mr.. Cook may think about it, or NAV pro-
fess to think about, We hold that it is not a very
healthy'cOndtiono of things where the taxpayers.
those most directly interested in the welfare of
OF the city count for nothing and have no voice
Whatever in the management of municipal
anairs Ii Is not healthy for New York where
the machine is run that way for the benefit of
democratic place-men and il is not healthy for
Washington where the taxpayers are more
completely swamped than in New York.
Without going into the causes, known to eyery
one, 1t Is sufficient to say that we are governed,
our voting done, our taxes assessed collected.
ana spent by floating population that have no
interest whatever in the city, and who. if the
Capitalwere removed to-norrow wo uld not be
be injured to the extent of a penny. We do not
agree with those who hold this state of things up
as reason why the right of suffrage should not
nave been given 10 the colored man. When the
coiored man was made citizen, it was proper
that he should be made a voter. The point Is
that the contrabands brought here BY the war
should not be kept here in abnormal numbers in
eondition OF idle pauperism, simply to be used
a. voting material to serve the purposes of our
local politicians. Why when General Howard.
some years ago, endeavOred to relieve the Freed
mems Bureau from the heavy burden of sup
porting the contraband poor here, by finding
them employment elsewhere, he was formally
censured per resolution by one of our precious
ward clubs for taking away their voters, At
the same time that these floating voters are
Kept here in idleness, or in corporation work at
the rate Of full days pay for an hours labor,
the farms of Maryland and Virginia are suffer-
ing for want OF labOrers. In Virginia, for in
instance, both their labor and their votes are
urgently needed; here there is need for neither
And We say that it is vicious system that
keeps them here in semi-idleness or worse sim
ply TO help our ward politicians to Office once a
year.
liz Is part of Mr.. Cooks demagoguism to rep
resent the taxpayers of Washington "a wealthy
aristocrats. This is absurdly incorrect. Proba-
bly, in no other city of the country is there so
little wealth amongst the taxpayers as a bo DIV,
As here; and by the way they are bied under the
present rate of taxation to support Mr.. Cook
and his proteges they are not likely soon to be
richer. In the way of mighty bunkum Mr.
Cook essays to rank himself amongst the poor
men, but the fact is that his income from his
handsome (increased) salary, his fat pickings
from per eentage In collecting claims against
the Corporation, and his fees i'm court really
places him among the ''bloated aristocrats."
Probably there are not dozen men in Wash
ingtOn who have so fat a thing of il as Corpora
ton Attorney Cook, and We don't blame him
for hanging on to his rich teat with the despera-
tiOn of good appetite and a full flow of milk.
But he makes a mistake when he charges inter-
eSted motives on the press and claims to be such
a disinterested lsborer for the people. 1t serves
10 draw attention to the fact that he is looking
out keenly for Number 1, and the public are
quite apt TO put as much faith, at least, in the
motives of independent newspapers as in those
OF politicians.