The weekly clarion., 1876-02-09

said tnaE at one time jackson was a vel
small Village ard the City Clerk had bI
Vrrv iiitgc Ia 10. AID 500 year paid vel
We'll f.r tie services rendered..
Again. he says there was a time whe
: some good man acted as City Treasurer Il
500 year. Tie same rule applies 10 tn
/, office that | applied to the City Clerk.
! am opposed 70 making brokers Office {
: the city treasury; they could well affor
! to do the duties OF the office for nothing
!. when they had the funds OF the city to spe'
uiate on. 1t is economy 10 pay some OF
to attend To this office, and prohibit nh
from Specializing either directly or ind
rectly in the city paper.
The salary of the City Physician was IKE
at the present price during Mr.Smith teri
OF office. Not being a physician l do nc
know whether that is too much or not;
know that Ire has great deal To do, an
about four times much as the PnySicia
TO Peniteptiary, which position pays Sc
currency, while the City. PLY sician receive
5000 in warrants, with pauper patient
scattered from one end of the town to th
other.
He says the Marshal's salary should b
$500 a year with peTQuisites- He is Tecelv
| ing the same salary that his i'm mediate pre-
deeesSors received.
ges for policemen. AT so cents. $50 montl
| would be $1S in currency No man cal
| afford to work for such wages.
He says the City Collector receives 81
| per cent. on all collections. That has beeI
the price paid the Collector since 1861. Iht
| following gentlemen composed the BoarC
/ that adopted the ordinance at that date: ID
| n Barrows, Mayor; Aldermen-J. II. Boyd
A. Virden, NJ. Mclaughlin j. Nelson
| Thomas Green and James Tapley. [ an
not informed what the Collector received
before that date, but that Is the price that
has been paid ever since.
The same Board at the same time fixed
the salary OF the City Clerk at 5000. The
same Board at the same time fixed the pay
OF the Aldermen at 81 30 per each meeting
that is the price paid now. Tie same
Board at the same time fixed the salary OF
the City Treasurer at $500 per annum.
If the duties of Collector were performed
by the Sheriff. he would expect 20 P9 paid
for bis services. Then why shOulC tmix
the Two offices together? con-
troll over the Sheriff, and noE ssetni: S.ected
by the Board, my view is that tIIe cICy could
control its own officer better.
He says the city assessment for some time
past has been nothing but farce. because
in some instances the Board has been COM
PEELED, from ii sense of justice te other tax
payers, to raise assessments, where they
were manifeStIy too low. Some people have
very elastic consciences, when it comes to
giving in their property. 1t is manifestly
unjust to property-holders, who give in
their property at a fair valuation. to allow
their next door neighbOr with equally as
valuable property, to give in theirs at half
Is value. Taxation should be equal.
The writer says that the argument that
the salaries are paid in deprecated war
rants is not good one. Maybe not. Let
US see how much the high salaries have iu-
creased the amount of outstanding warrants
On the first day OF January, 1874. the com
nencement of the present admin -tration.
there was $ll. 800 outstanding. Two years
have elapsed many improvements have been
made and paid for; many obligations of
lormer administrations have been paid. taxes
have been reduced from 2314 in 1873 TO II ,
mills, and now there is less than ter thou~-
and dollars outstanding, showing that the
government has been on less than its
receipts. Ii the writer wants to know how
the jail was built without increasing the
amount OF warrants outstanding, l will tell
him There was an act passed by the l. 'gis-
Iarure authorizing the Board OF Mayor and
Aldermen to levy tax in currency to pay tor
building the jail and the people of jackson
paid one per cent. tor several years in cur
reHcy to build The jail. and the same was
the case with Pearl river bridge until the
present Board relieved the people by paying
the debt.
He also says he thinks the provisions of
Judge Johnston's bill in relation to street
work that has been done during the pre-
sent administration (and as much or more
has been doue in the same period of time
than ever before) has been done in COM
muting the fines and costs assessed bV the
Mayor for violations of the city ordinances.
As matter of interest. | will state that
fines and costs to the amount of S2,4I3.00
have been commuted by labor on the streets,
in the last two years. and this brings up the
Jail question. Nearly all your correspond
cnts have urged the turning over of the Jail
to the county. This was manifestly done
without knowledge of the facts in the case.
| state them, and l think that will settle this
question. On the side of the present plan,
The city prisoners are fed for fifty gents a
day, IN city warrants. ana the policeman
charged with their safe keeping receives
$500 month. In the last two years there
has been paid in city warrants, for jailor
and board of city prisoners, S2575.95, and
the prisoners have worked out LheF lines
and costs upon the streets, to the amount of
$2,4l3,O0; so the actual cost to the city has
been $l6a0i, for board of the city prisoners
for the two years, | AND. unaer the other
arrangement, {paying the 9hertf.) that for
the years 1872 and 1873, there were warrants
issued for ''jail and prisoners, 81, ,334 50''-See
City Clerks report, Dec. 81, 1873. Will any
citizen advocate the old plan?
4s, feg4rds tha corporate !ifaits will
not discuss the question how and for what
purpose they were extended, for L know
nothing about the matter; but
will say that the city has been to all the eX-
pense of opening streets and hUildIn.
bridges, atc.. so IS 30 Glge the necessary
highways al1d the property is just now be-
ginning to yield u revenue to the city as a
return for the expense she has been at, and
l will assert, without fear of contradic-
ton, that there is no portion of the city of
Jackson that pays taxes with more prompt
ne 5.
II IJls the purpose TO legislate this por-
tion of the present city limits outside the
corporation, because they are colored peo-
pie, and consequently supposed to vote the
Republican ticket and carry city elections, it
is all wrong. They are not to blame in this
matter, and go as often democratic as Re-
publican. The North Ward gave Marion
Smith majority in 1874, on the independent
ticket; and in the last it gave McGill ma
jority. But the South Ward, with nearly
twe-third9 white majority. and oyer one
hundred Democratic majority, WON'T stand
up to the rack, crack the party lash and re-
solute as yop may, they are independent,
thinking, taxpaying citizens, aud they are
the ones that WON'T down at any body's bid
ding, and, if anybody, they are the ones
that ought to be legislated out of tOlon. Or
why not the West Ward?
The present Mayor has turned in over
$1,000 IN hines aud had worked out $2,4l3.
There is little complaint about his manage
ment of the city affairs, and let us wait and
see what the Board does in the way of re-
trenching. If that is made satisfactory,
can't we all then subside on the charter
question. and feel that everything will be
dole for the hest, IS far as they can, by the
city authoritiess QLD CITIZEN.
Letter from Dr. EsackstrOm.