New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-04-03
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decay. The majority Of the. real estat
owners parade their title deeds, albei
many of them are shaded with mortgages
; as patent of nobility Of some sort, b
means of which they are to be exempte
from the ordinary duties of citizenship
except, of course, keeping sideboard
taking out an insurance policy and occa
slonally signing charity subscription
list. Their estates are their own, sa.
their apologists, and if they do not wisi
to improve their fortunes it is nobody
business except that Of themselves anc
friends. This may be true, but are We
therefore to stand in their shade? Mus
the pulses of this great city come to q
standstill because the owner of a vacant
lot or an old shanty finds it difficult to
pay his taxes? 1t may be hard upon the
incompetent bankrupt to see his estate
pass from him, but if justice requires it
there is no help for him. Justice is a
necessity. Mercy and charity are merely
pleasant Injuries. And people should
always remember to be just before they
attempt to be generous
| Were tn demands put forth by the
| apollo gists of imbecility to prevail, the
very people who are responsible for all
their own tr oubles and those which their
blind selfshness imposed upon innocent
parties would escape the penalty of pay
ing, after having played for heavy stakes
and lost. The friends of humanity
fought for the freedom of the slave.
Their enemies set up claim to his sweat
and blood, fought for their Opinions"
were so undly thrashed and now complain
when confronted with the consequences.
However amiable inefficient men may be,
or however well liked by their friends.
they do not make good citizens. Neither
is it just to the public interest that the
world shall stop moving while they sit
down by the roadside and weep over fail
ures which wiser men might have avoid
ed. This city can not afford to encourage
the growth of decay and dry rot. Already
two-thirds of The area of corporation is |
affected, and unless this progress is
checked it will soon overshadow all. A
State that pays forty-eight million dol
lars for 'drinks" and but half million |
for public schools. grudgingly given at
that, can not be said to be prosperous or
favored with much of the element that
makes great empires. The man who de-
votes the better part of his time to stu
dying how to wade deputy sheriff with
q tax jud gment in his hands must neces-
sarily be un able to devote much thought
TO noble objectsr.
We have cut down the current expenses
n one way or another so that the taxes
or the present year will be fourteen and
half mills against more than twenty-one
asst year. And as the State offers to
AXE, for q portion of this, deprecated
PAPER, which now rules in the market at
ess than fifty cents on the dollar, the
ate Of taxation for past years is reduced
o cash basis of about the same value
IS that for 1874.
We see q renewal of the bad advice of
asst year-to resist the payment of taxes
because Congress has not yet formally
illed Carpenters wild scheme for new
lection. We have hoped that the two
ictims that offered themselves last year :.
test the principle Of tax-resisting would =.
ave served for year or two longer.
hose who clustered and said, eve will g
OF pay, were collared and compelled to t
isgorge, while those who wept and 7
1ulked Jared better. We have now one g
our papers defending one of these :
asses, and another trying to rally recruits e
n the other. In the meantime, Spartan t
and of mercantile heroes or dupes have +
lined the Mississippi Valley Society, and 0
aid their twenty-five dollars for the pur- '
ose Of giving the English financial public :
,act information about our affairs, habits, g.
and ideas of good citizenship. n
q hope the society will send nothing b
,out the six hundred house leasers in our :,
ty who collect their rents punctually, u
1t refuse to pay over to the State the por- .,
IN which rightfully belongs to it. Such t.
formation would not be likely to stimu- :,
tie the shipment of merchandise, the i'm h
igration of people or the remittance of n
oney for investment.