New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-12-15
Measures of MxnicipaI Reform-No. 3.


An your editorial of Friday, commenting
on Sale of Wharves and Waterworks" and
| my previous articles, You have most Ger
| tainly misunderstood the whole scope of
| the proposition, or your printer has made
| sad havoc wi b your manuscript.
never thought of proposing the sale of
| the public franchises of regulating food,
water and wharfage" IOr either OF them,
| and, therefore, unless some other evidence
| is produced than that in the editorial, my
suggestion must still be held to be a new
one. The power to regulate the wharves
was expressly reserved to the city in my
suggestion; the ownership of the wharves,
the title to the property of the wharves
| themselves, and the barture or ground in
| the rear was to be sold. As in all other
cities in the UDited States, the wharvee, and
warehouses adjoining them which might be
built, were to be the property of private in
| dividuals who could collect rent tOr the
use of their property, but under proper
| port regulations, as might be determined
by city ordinances. To this you say you
| have no objection; yet this Was all that
was proposed to be sold. / did not
propose to sell property whose value
depends in any degree upon taxation"
nor can | admit 1.-THE right in the
corporation of this power OF taxation"
| The Supreme Court Of the nited States
has repeatedly, and more recently in the
| Canon case, denied the right in the city to
impose any tax upon the Nharves. The
city has not the right. under those de-
cisions, "to impose upon the wharves a
| tax equal TO the making and maintenance
| of this easement OF commerce even. 1t
has only the right which, in the words of
| the decision, all private owners of wharves
| and warehouses have, that of collecting
suitable rental for the use of the property
owned. 1t is asked ''if individuals we're al
| lowed to build these whsrves and make no
,ifyha han hon ANN rat tnra 1t
ing and keeping up these wharves, what
| profit would they derive from the pur
| chase! I" Just the same profit they now de-
| rive from the rental If store or lot on
Camp street, which they had erected
| thereon.
The curse upon this city is the notion
| that these matters can be controlled, con
| Quoted and carried on by municipal cor
poration better than by private enterprise.
| Undrr the lease of the wnarves in 1853, the
profit, TN a five years lease, was Sij0,000
per annum; not all to the city, II even a
half. Surprising the lessees had had, at
| that time, the ownership in fee OF those
wharves, and had owned the ground in the
rear, back to the street, in front of the first
| row of buildings, and where necessary, that
row of buildings, in which, or in those they
might construct, they could, as in nearly
| all the commercial cities of the world,
safely and conveniently store all goods in
other tax or exactl0n to the city than that
| on the value of the property itself, would
| not their rental have been ten times what
they received under their lease, even with
a mere nominal charge upon vessels lying
at rhelr wharvesl Most sssuredly SO. Their
| profits would mainly have come from the
| storage and care of the merchandise pass
| ing over their wharves
| But when the wharves are sold to indi
| viduals and held in private ownership, in
small sections, each owner of wharf be-
| comes the competitor of every other, both
| i'll charges and accommodations. and each
and all WoAld strive, where now there is no
STRIFE to increase the commerce of the
| port, whereby their revenues would be in
creased and their property become IRE
| valuable. Is not an Increase of commerce
| desirable, and has 1t ever been brought
| about, by the worst of all monopolies, that
| of municipal rtgulation and ownership!
| We need not go 10 other Spanish cities for
examples; this city Of New Orleans, still
| under the RUE established here by O'R!,lly,
| in 100, when he gave all the front OF the
| then city to the municipality. in ownership,
| is the best, because the most familiar ex-
| ample OF the trammels upon commerce.
| through the stupid attempt OF municipal
| ownership and control.
| Every commercial man will readily call
| to mind the variOus charges on merchandise
| from the time it is landed GA the levee until
| finally disi io-ed Of and how enormous, in
| the aggregate, these charges are in the
course of year. The same remark applies
| TO all the trade from seaward. But were
the wharves owned in small sections by in.
| divduals, charges would be greatly reduced
| through competition, and the more conve-
| nient accom- oialons of storage These
| wharf and warehouse owners would haye
not only their runners out, even in the gulf,
| in the shape of tugs and Owboats, to bring
2 10 fhAtr harx ri hon
cost, hut their agents in every city of the
world soliciting custom. The remarks here
made apply to markets as we'll, and in re-
| gard to them require no further illustration.
But this long reply to your leader, or
rather an exI Ian ttion of the new sug-
sestions,' proposed by me, has. though
.omev hat germain to the subject, pre-
cudeG ne from very extended elucida-
tion of he question proposed in my last
communication
Mr. Justice Dillon, in his admirable work
| on municipal corporations, says:
"Municipal corporations are institutions
designed tor local government OF towns and
cities; or more accurately, towns and cities,
with their inhabitants, are, fr purposes of
subordinate local administration, invested
with corporate character. To clothe,
hem with powers to accomplish purposes
which can be better left to private enter
PRISE as, Tor example, 20 huild markets, is
unwise. They should regulate and govern,
but not own them. To invest them with
the powers of individuals or private cOrpo
rations, for objects not pertaining to the
municipal rule, is to pervert the In-
stitutinn from it's legitimate ends, and
To require of it duties it is not
!apted satisfactorily to execute" "Ihe
powers granted to such corporations, and
especially the power to levy taxes should
be more carefully defined and limited, and
should embrace such objects only as are
necessary tor the health, welfare, safety
and convenience o the inhabitants" Dill |
Ion on Municipal Corporations, section niue,
PIP. - and 23
1.-The courts, too. have duties, the most |
important of which is to require these cor. |
poratioDs in all cases, 10 show plain and |
Gear grant for the authority they assume |
TO exercise; to lean against constructive |
powers, and, with firm hands, to hold them |
and their officers within chartered limits" |
Id. p 25 1.-The primary and fundamental
idea of municipal corporations |
is an agency 10 regulate and sd-
minister the internal concerns of locality |
in matters peculiar to the place incorpo
rated" PIP. % to 80
We do not propose, we protest against, |
putting any OF the duties of the city govern
ment INTO commission. The city, by it's |
own officers, should regulate and govern,
bur should not own. cit should leave COM
merce, trade, manuiAc' ures, all kinds Of
labor, free indeed, it possible, give encour
agemeni: hut not by system of restriction
and exsctions ter monopOlies and repress
labor. Labor should never be taxed; only |
the net resulrs OF labor-property. When
commerce and trade are LETT tree there is