New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-04-26

Is so stupid that we waste time
in pointing out its stupidity. It is absurd
in another respect, that the Legislature
which issued the warrants or created the
debt which the taxes are to pay, can or
will be affected by the refusal of the peo-
pie to discharge their duty as payers.
The State paid certain honest debts, and
she was made to pay others fraudulently,
by officers who were authorized to draw
upon her treasury. The payers have
no further interest in the matter. They
have taken excellent care to secure their
wages, and if the obligations which
they created are not promptly can
celled by the taxpayers, the proba-
bility is that the holders of this indebt-
edness will claim and obtain damages
for the delay. The same influence
that secured the original allowance, knows
how to redress itself And the class of
legislators who sold themselves to pass a
fraud will sell themselves again to make it
good, thus securing double wages. And
they will justify themselves by saying that
since the creditors of the State lost money
by trusting the State, the State is honora-
bly, bound to pay the damages. AS the
Bee has not volunteered to tell the people
what warrants were issued corruptly, and as
it dare not say that all the warrants were
uttered without consideration, there will
be no defense that can be presented to de-
fend the treasury against this supplement-
al demand. Perhaps there are warrants
on the market drawn in favor of the Bee
for subscriptions, or for advertising Are
these to be resisted, as they might well be,
upon the ground that no value was given
in return for their acknowledgment?
The suggestion is wicked for this that it
advises the people, and the most ignorant
and dependent class, too, to do that which
must cost them great trouble and expense.
There is no way to escape the payment of
the taxes, and, knowing this, the Bee urges
the people to resist the settlement not for
the purpose Of securing an entire deliver
ance, but in order to delay the payment
until after the election. The utter de-
ravity of this advice is soon made appa-
rent. By resisting for delay alone the man
whose tax bill is now only twenty dollars
will be saddled with interest and all the
costs Of court, and the State and city will
be losers in the percentage they will have
to allow the lawyers. This stupidity cuts
at both ends. The taxpayer will lose two
fold, for his bill will be doubled, and he
will have to make up the loss lin the shape
of additional taxes), which the State and
city will have to undergo.
The men who are agitating in favor Of
resisting the tax collector are of two
classes-those who have but little sense,
and those who have but little honesty.
We have government which all are TAX
ing advantage of in some shape. The man
who uses the gaslight to find his way along
the streets; who uses the banquettes and
streets to keep himself out of
the dirt; who asks the courts for
protection in person or property; who
feels that his house is protected by the
fire department; whose children attend
the schools, is consuming the taxes
that are paid into the treasury. And they
have voice in directing how these taxes
shall be laid and paid. They revolt, then,
against themselves, when they assail the
tax collector, and forget to exercise their
right in selecting the representative who
spends their money. Such a man is of
the class that has but little sense The
other individual, who resists the payment
of the taxes because he hopes to, by such
an opposition, reduce the price of war
rants or bonds, in order that he may buy
then, cheaper of the needy, is dishonest.
The Bee can tell its beads and then an
swer to itself which class it belongs to.