The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1878-11-14
THE MAYORS MESSAGE AND
FORTUNES OF THE CAPITAL.

| The average number OF deaths in
Austin of population of II, 900 Is less
than fifteen per month, or less than ten
in each thousand per annum. When
we reflect that one-third of these
deaths are people who never had homes
in the city, but came from abroad TO
die, when it is already too late to re-
strain the ravages of consumption or
other climatic diseases, 1t will be in
ferred that the only prerequisite to life
eternal in Austin is the perfection of
that scheme of sanitation advocated by
Mayor D-Gress ia his message pub
lished yesterday. Aldermen and peo.
pie should Iead it. 1t defines the
plan of sewage approved in st.
Louis, thus rendered the most healthful
instead of the most deadly spot on the
continent. There the city was divided
into sewage districts, and each of these,
when it chose, taxed itself for the pur-
pose of putting down underground
pipes now discharging into the Missis-
sippi all the filth and excretions of
half million people. There are no
SINKS in st. Louis, or foul vaults, or
night carts making the night air dead
ly when offal and contents of foulest
repositories of filth are removed. There
are no patent boxes forever sending up
nauseous eXhalatlons on which green
flies and spores of yellow fever ride in
the high carnival OF death. Tsphus
and scarlet fevers are thus finally ban
ished from st. LOUIS school rooms.
This city's founders anticipated the
growing necessity each year for the
thorough expurgation of city's streets
and lines. For this purpose was the
proximity of the Colorado deemed most
desirable. Each year as population
grew dense the necessity for perfect
drainage would become more and more
imperative until life would be value
less without it. Conscious of this the
Capitol was set on a hills summit,
then drained by living stream now
buried beneath carved stone and great
heaps of brick and mortar. The day
is not distant, villages becoming
towns and no stream sweeping by
that drainage may be effected,
uhan in th,o Inu latitude khor
will be abandoned to disease and
death. The rich must soon aban~
don Austin each summer, as they
do New Orleans, Memphis and
other uncleansed, unframed cities and
villages of the valley of the Mississippi.
Mayor DeGress would spare US this nc
cesslty and make life in summertime
in Austin, even more delightful than
In colder latitudes where short sum-
mers are fearfully hot and hotels are
substituted for homes.
The mayors statement of the cond;-
tion of the city's finances is surely
gratifying to taxpayers. There has
been an honest and economical admin
istration of corporate affairs, though
the seeds of extravaganza and disorder
become somewhat apparent when the
city's bailiff is suffered to hire carriages
in which to gather in lazy aldermen.
1t is hard enough to pay these good
people So each for each Turn of the in
tellectual crank that grinds out lumi-
nous ordinances and committees re-
ports and awful quarantining nom
sense, and taxpayers viii hardly toler-
ate the expenditure OF money that
bailifT's or mustangs legs may be
spared the necessity of traversing the
little city IN search of recusant slider
men. But the mayor has done wisely
and we'll. He has served us with in
finitely more tact and good sense than
his wild predecessor. whose financial
operations were simply terrific. Now,
that We have money and credit, let us
have more of both by making Austin
the chosen abode of health and of
learning. The mayor tells us how.