National Republican., 1874-06-01

10 this eharxs il 10 s0meNhat dilheult to see TIM
even IL the i,asrl had eipsuded money Ior an Inp
| proyement without proper approprt1tonfherei
for by tho Distrss Leg islatnre- Ibsn the improve
| Legislative Assembly ars satisfied snd make no
I complaint thereof II the money gere expended
for an improper PsrPoss ~ e2TaptiJ mlsaPpIlsa
| an appeal TO Congress might be necessary and
iustIha hableras the board arc appointed under the
| authority os the General Government; but when
nothing Of thls kind Is claimed % s1lss y would
ture to complain thss their appropriation had
| been disregarded- ..
In this same connection the learned counsel
urges that the Board has committed an Illegal
act in violating the act Of January s, 1873,
| (17 U. s. Stat, 406,) which provides IS fol-
lows:
The Board or Public Works be, and they arc
hereby, pfohi6tted frUm IncuFriay o. eo1trHctfng
iurther liabilities on behalf OF the UDtteo States
| IN the improvement Of streets, avenues, snd
| reservations, beyond the amount previously
| made BY Congrsss, and from catering into any
Of the United States, except Iu pursuance Of sp-
| preparations made BY Coosress.
| The board found It absolutely unavoidable
to refrain from improving certain streets
around Government properly. Not to have
done so would have rendered many streets
wholly impassable, and subjected the citizens
to untold Inconvenience. They made the i'm
proyements, and Congress subsequently, recog-
nized the Justice of so doing by making q
further appropriation. Act OF March s, 1873 }
Stlll further improvements around United
States property became essential, and were
made by the board, the greater portion having
been occasioned-b by the act Of Congress chang
Ing the grades of certain streets around the
Capitol. For these expenditures the board
asks of Congress to be reimbursed; aRd to af
! ford some evidence that they were legally
authorized to have the work done and to ask
payment for It, the opinion Of the Hon. Caleb
Gushing was presented5 showing that the act
Of March 5, 1873, virtually repealed the pro
hibition of the act of January 8, 1875 against
the boards contracting further liabilities on
behalf Of the United States. copy Of this
| opinion will be found on pages 475-6 of the
Governors answer. Even II Mr.. ShellabargeF'S g
ridicule of ii was any answer to its reasoning,
and you, gentlemen, and the Congress Of the
United States should be satisfied that the
Boartl of Public Works had no legal claim
against the Government for work actually
done for it, yet, take it, you would not shut
| your eyes TO the justice of 1t and the morally
Nbinding obligation on the part of the United
| States to pay for work, the benefit of which it
has received, and which was in large part oc-
casioned by its own deliberate act in changing
the grades of certain streets.
That the learned counsel representing eiti-
zens, large real estate owners, should object to
| the payment by the United States of so lust q
demand, and urge reasons in long legal argu-
ment why it should nos be done, is TO US
matter of surprise; for we cannot think his
clients are so patriotic as to desire that the
amount should be assessed against the property
of the taxpayers of this city.
The second alleged violation of law Is that
the debt of the District exceeds Sl0,0O0, ,000.
That this is not so, is made clearly to appear
In the full and able argument of my associate,
Mr.. Stanton, and will not occupy your time
by repetition of the figures.
SEWERS.
The next and last unlawful act alleged is,
that the act of the Legislative Assembly pro-
vidlng Tor the construction of main sewers and
imposing tax of from five to eleven mills per
square fooSon real estate in the different sec
tions, In order that each section may pay the
cost of the sewer In it, is Illegal.
The act was passed by he Legislature, and
/ presume It will not be controverted that the
executive power under any form Of government
in this country Is not to decide whether law
on the statute books is constitutional or not
All that it can do, and what 1t must do, Is, to.
enforce it.. .
But in this case the opinion Of two of the
most eminent lawyers In the country, Caleb
Gushing and Jeremiah Black, was taken; pro
nouncing the act OF the Legislative Assembly
as both proper and lawful.
The Board of Public Works is not composed
Of lawyers, and IL is respectfully submitted that
under such circumstances it was fully justified
In executing the law.
Il would be waste of time for me to gou over
the legal argument in the matter; and there
fore content myself by referring you to, the
opinion Of those gentlemen printed in the Gov
ernor's answer.
will, however, allude to the point presented
in the argument Of Mr.. Merrick. He claims
that the thirty-seyenth section of the organic
act Is conclusive upon the matter, and that
hessrs. Gushing and Black omit in their
opinion any reference whatever to the pro-
vision of that section. 1t is apparent. from,a q
perusal OF this section, that the taxes therein
alluded to are for mere local improvements,
the provision being that the taxes shall be
assessed "upon the property adjoining aud to
be specially benefited by the improvements"
The whole tenor of the opinion of Messrs.
Gushing and Black is that these main sewers
are not mere local improvements, and do not
come within the provisions of the law applca-
BILE to such improvements, but do come within
the express terms of the twentieth section Of
Of the organic act, applicable to the Legisla-
tive Assembly and not to the Board Of Public
Works.
That section provides that Especial taxes
may be levied in particular sections, wards, or
districts, for their particular local improve
ments. This is not only the legal, but also
the comnen-sense construction of the. law.
The memorialists complain that the special tax
levied In each sewer district is unjust, oppres-
sive, and In some cases amounts to con6scation.
How much more justlliable would be their CON-
plants, and how much more unjust and onerouS
would be the tax, II the assessment was made
under the thirty-seventh section-against the
adjoining property-as they, through their
learned counsel, claimed It should be-.
These main sewers were absolutely essential.
They are the arteries of life TO the city. They
are necessarily expensive. And in all general
laws there will always be cause Of individual
hardships against which It is impossible TO
provide. The general equitable hearing of
this tax Is shown conclusively in the testimony
Of Governor Shepherd, {pages is4s-1s50 Of the
record. ss-E .l--.. > : -rsr. ..a.-.- o.. =.
In conclusion, Mr.. Chairman, we, do.nor and
have never claimed that mistakes have not
been made, errors Of Judgment committed.
This District has ample to show for all the
money that has been.expended. But there is
q world of work under its broad and beautiful
streets and avenues, not visible "a. the eye,
which is equally beneficial and essential to-the
enjoyment Of that which is visible. Certainly,
in no city in this country has 50 much been
accomplished by the expenditure of the same
amount Of money.
In my Individual opinion, one fact alone
alone should reconcile the citizens. of this Dis
trict to all the Indebtedness that has been in
Cured; and. that is, that the improvements
made in the city of Washington, in beautifying
alton of the citizens of the country generally,
that the agitation Of the removal Of the seat of
Government so rapidly gaining ground when
these improvements first began, has entirely
ceased. This circumstances alone, / say,
should reconcile the citizens Of the District to
ahthe expenditures that have been made; and
believe that nine tenths of the people of this
District are satisfied and gratifed with what
has been done.
We ask you, gentlemen, to recognize the re-
lations existing between this District and the
Unitei States Government; 70 recommend that
the Government bear its share of the burden;
to define what IL would be for the past and
should be for the future. We do not bog for
bounty, but merely ask for that which we
think is our due. In granting this, we have
full faith that the nations pride IN the nation
capital will uphold you.
.I.. WV. T. AATTTNGLY,
OF Counsel for the District of Columbia.
FASHION PARAGRAPHS.