New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-06-23
sUITs AaAINsT THR CIV,

pe15A5tSAg ALl9dV4Ou b4hs ~ hdS6u against
the city of New Orleans. Something
should be done to arrest this war upon the
taxpayers. We do not urge this 50 much
in defense of the taxpayers as we do in
the interest Of honesty and reform, for the
taxpayers are the very men who attack
themselves, and they are, therefore, not
entitled 10 any great sympathy at our
hands Every dollar that has been dis
honestly spent in the State or city is di-
rectly chargeable to the people themselves,
for their negligence, prejudice or stupidity
opened the door to the men who plum
dered them. 1t is fact that the sym
pathy Of the public of this city has always
been given to litigants against the corpo-
ration, and the courts have been Used to
deplete the municipal treasury without
any protest from the very men who were
to be taxed to pay the damages. One of
the common remarks that most men use
when they hear that some citizen has sued
the corporation upon an account which
the authorities have refused to pay, is,
20, it is the city, let her rip. And the
most unjust judgments are allowed topass
without a word of comment because
what is everybodys business is nobody's
business"
The very reverse Of this should be the
rule. The corporation represents the en-
tire mass of the people, and any attack
upon its treasury is an attack upon the
private pockets of every man, woman and
child in the community, for every living
soul within the boundaries of New Orleans
pays a certain per centage of the general
expenses in some way, either directly or
indirectly. An unjust claim collected
from the city treasury is a robbery Of the
entire people. 1t is stealing in detail and
under cover of the law just as much as if
the perpetrator were to go at night into
the house of his neighbor and flch there
from ten cents or five dollars, according
to the relation of his Judgment to the as
rolls.
The courts have mistakenly considered
that they should lean toward this class of
upon the suspicion that their
claims were not paid by the city authori-
ties for reasons of an improper character.
The very reverse of this should be the
rule. The courts should lean toward the
city. The public interest as Mr.. Lacey
in his able brief in the insurance
case, should take prominence over pri-
vate interests, since even the private par
ties themselves are concerned in seeing
the public interest protected. Then the
are in favor Of the city The
authorities are presumed to do right, and |
what is more to the point, they do right in
most cases. A claim which the Admins
rators reject must have some defect about |
t. or they would not refuse to pay it.
seven disinterested men are not prone to
commit injustice in spirit of wickedness
II carelessness.
And this brings us to the remedy. The
State and federal governments deny to the
private claimant the right to sue them
Without their consent. When an account
S Of doubtful nature, both the State and
United States authorize suits to be brought
gainst them for the purpose of satisfying
he demand for information. Perhaps it
would be Just as well to protect the city
reasury in the same way. The justice of
he thing can not be questioned by those
7ho insist that the people are capable of
elf government, for that would be to say
hat the people can not elect officers who
7ill do justice. If there was such law
n existence the the Administrators would
e prompter in their settlements, for they
7ould see that the claimant possessed no
ther redress, and the city might then
now just what her expenses were to be,
1r her agents would be the arbitrator of
be entire list of expenditures. At present
be financial head of the government can
)rm no estimate of what demands will be
resented to the treasury, for the courts
re as competent to draw upon him as the
ouncil is. 1t is full time that the itiga-
on which has harassed the corporation
lould be put under restraint in some way
} protect the people from their own dis
osition to take money out of one pc cket
put il into another.