, 1876-07-29
SOME MORE ST. LOUIS MALICE,

HUuG IANAE 0x& AAVA0 01AA4NGs
Asa rule, people who try to pny thoir debts
aid 1.-Two within their income by individual
rotsenchmont receive encouragement from
their neighbors md approval from oyery-
body. But even this policy, ns,w TINT 1t has
been adopted by Chicago as n municipality,
furniahes st. Louis with nav occasion for
displaying its malevolonce, aid tho st. Louis
Republican, in q recent article, gives TINT NH
1evolence tho following brutal expression:
There Is degree Of literal truth In tile charac
teri;at!on Of Chicago as bankrupt that Ia not ct.
ten understood outside Of that city. ThoFe, how
eyer, the plfnl fact Ia altogether too plain to cs
cape aayhoiy's intention. Between municipal and
tudviemal extravaganza tho torn hat comic to such
depth Of actual pcnury TINT conctulu'cnt Of It's
condition Ia III longer attempted nCx oven possf-
he. luis nbsoluto poverty that asascss them In the
face, al tho effort is strpgg1n for llEe ltsef and
not mes Fly for tho payment Of debts. Wrctchod.
ncss.nnd usant ara moru aenled than tue threaa
baro gar1LteEs md gannt looks Of tho psuper TINT
fccds at tho public soup-house. Thu tiuao hns
Eonc by fov Chicago to make prctcnso Of nf[ncnce,
and amid nlI It's mort1,nged magniaccnco It already
stoops to Tito most hus1llfiatlng schemes Of
my. Tho hrcpress!bn and unenatng conflict be.
twcon tho taxpayer and tho tax'eater las ha nota
little to do with tho misfortuncs Of tho 1nke4Go
trnpolis, Of course, for the sEmpl0 reason TINT
there as everybody else, the tax.cater has hsl 1t
nlmoet his own way with tho tnx. payer. But tho
Taxpayers Of Chicago have been 1osa ablc to tear
up against tho rapaci'y Of Tho rosucs md rascals
In oice, bccaaae they pay tFbuto to two masters.
They pay ono e1Drmous tax to tho capitalists who
rebuilt thcr city, md anathcr to tho btoodsuckers
wllo run tho municipal machinery. between Tho
two there Is very ttlo loft for tho city tsolt 10
1.-Two on.
Tor nalignity Of purpose and dosire to ir-
jure by deception; wo think tho Republican,
must be awarded tho, palm. Such an attaok
Us this would bo unWarranted ut any timo,
but 1t has q peculiar and distinctive meanness
just now. Chicago is suffering like st. Louis,
though not to tho anmo degree, from tho
effects Of tho panic and the ensuing hard
times, and from the raveges of tho tax-oator.
But suporatldel to nil this Is the trying rro-
cess Of recovering from tho destruction Of
the city by fro five years ago, which las
elnce boon rebuilt, and enlarged and I'M
proved in every way. At tho samo time,
Chicago is inhibited by constitutional pro-
vision from increasing tho municipal debt,
and forced to tho excellent rulo Of paying as
she goes. In this the city LAS been further
hnmperod by the effort to collect its revenues
under defective law which has aimee boen
set aside by the COURTS. Now, to meet all
thcao embarrassments brayely aud honestly,
Chicago has just passed. an ordinance which
will sayo So,000,00D Of tho curront year'H
appropriations, andapply it on tho temporary
indebtedness incurred by reason Of the
failuro to collect part Of the taxen. For
this tho st. Louis Republican indulgos in the
abuse we havo quoted.
We should like to know what would have
become Of st. Louis If 1t had had 5000, ,0CO,-
GOO swept away In single night, ind hs,d
been ovortakon by national panic in the
midst Of It's effort to recover? TAoro woultl
probably have boen no st. Louis indicated
on tho more recent maps Of Missouri. As 1t
is, tlnt city has os largo municipal debt as
Chicago, with g. smaller population md not
one-third Of tho public improvements aud
property to show for it. Worae than this,
oven, St. Louis is increasing her municipal
debt from yeat to year in addition to tho
taxes It levies, aud will keep up this vicious
policy probably until it shall no longor be-
able to raise enough money to pay tho in-
forest. Dy that timo Chicago will DO en-
tirely FREQ from debt, with population Of
ovor a million, and a commerce as much
greater thau that Of my city in the Union as
it ia now greater than that OF st. Louis. We
ahall thcn bo In q position and humor to treat
our st. Louis renders with tho charity 10
which their abioet future will appeal.
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