Daily Los Angeles herald., 1878-01-09

aes Ae.;it . for doing job work,
ew prief so | work and expedition
NAY 10 ssii5A % on ct this enice.
ksGs i nnieipai Debts.
Ghe Penn ylvania Municipal
4 os1 11tsaign has reported plan
s9r llse govern nent Of cities. 1t is
-lflreaqssd 60 81 tablish five classes of
iess according to size, with a
uoa!h cha ter for each class.
tcvery .argi city there is to be a
&1onalacn Con icil with two branch
a. ali epiala i've powers, a Mayor
ia sresut e and seven depart
assnts The important feature of
II IRE plan Is 3 positive prohibition of
Sps bo5rawllg Of money by the
-. except or unforeseen emer-
ae'fs, ap1 hen only on q three
aGsths Vots Of the Councils, the
iosn acs 81 tend beyond the ter
n5aetion 81 le fiscal year.-New
Acrd 6stb
We 90 not wonder that munich
pal dstts ars assuming an over
rrs8owiae ialportancs In Pennsyl-
vaaia. e is not generally known
that the CITY debt OF Philadelphia
q much lager, per capita, than
thal Of Hsw York, Of which we
heYs hssra So much, with nothing
Like tsse sanle amount of public
IMPROVEMENTS to show for 1t. The
nublie debt OF Pittsburgh is at
l8ss4 arse d mes IS large, per capt.
4, Is thaf Of New Y"rk, with alb
ssrtsly nolhing to show for 1t, ex-
gsps sw faucy hydraulic engines,
too large ard cumbrous to be re-
ravsa aad I'D, and a number of
: ansiahad Rsoublican politicians.
rks CHESTER part of the municipal
disc t.shurgh, enormous as it
il, 1000, 00O) was rolled
up peea $40 and 1874. During
thf. o iaxation has incre ased
ter ent sen fold. The city of
New Rafk 60 aid call an auction to-
uoffor sll off her public proper
81 esreel ae. municipal debt with
Yess % the proceeds, and have in
"a ~ Treasury clear, a sum at least
~ barge as he debt about which
We hsve ae9 d so much. She could
ettsn 81 hn- water system alone,
i WISH e pro iso that water rates
sllc1la neyer advance beyond the
present figures, enough to cancel
her whole municipal indebtedness,
while her Central Park v euld sell
At suction, In building lots, for at
least a. much more. Still munich
pal debts are terrible thing, and
they should be incurred cautiously
and sparingly. 1t is possible, by
rolling them up unthinkingly or
corruptly, to extirguish the whole
value Of the property comprised
within the corporate limits of a
city, rs has been done In the case
Of Pittsburgh. Ownership of prop
erty, in that unfortunate place,
owing to Republican rapac-
ity between the years 1870
cad 1874, is now mainly
distinguished by the incident
q paying a rental in taxes. Few
municipalities have had an oppor-
tunity SO favorable as Los Angeles.
Our water system should be
source Of large profit We dispense
a aRater for irrigation, for which we
receive a money return. Both city
and citizens are the beneficiaries of
this fortunate dispensation. While
we should take all the measures
necessary to get the largest return
from this source Of income, we
should sac to it that we do not fall
into the extravagant ways of other
municipalities. By lucky cha nee,
considering the heretofore hap
hazard administration OF the city's
'irs, we have small municipal
If We had the common sense
d it it would not weigh OPP
iy on our people. AS it is
we have certain portions of it
uring in lump sums, which fact
his year made the tax i'm
'nveniontly large. We
every effort to remedy
We should fund our
lebt at reasonable
est; and then, with
care as the watch
ity finances, expend.
will not come back
rich interest, we
u excellent pligh
cities.
-
,ent the following atre-
agrapb, from the Chicago
the editor of the Los An
;AIo, and calmly await
ig response which must