Daily Los Angeles herald., 1879-01-30
Card from Mr.. Butler.

EDITOR HERALD:-In your Issue
of the 29th inst. you take occasion
to criticise the action of myself and
the majority Of the Council in Com.
mittee of the Whole, on the license
ordinance, comparing it to the
'scalding, preparatory to the skin.
ming, Of a hog.n
Now, although the quoted COM
parison is far from being elegant
and, l must confess, less dignified
than is customary with you; not.
withstanding this, will try briefly
to explain at least my own position
on this question.
First, then, 1 am totally opposed
to all licenses on business or labor,
just as It's expressed in the Work.
ingmen's platform Oh which we
were elected. But here we are-we
hove taken possession of the CITY
Government, and 1t is about $780,.
900 in debt, mostly in bonds at from
7 to 10 per cent. interest. The tax
OF the city on property is about
four per cent. Now it takssal, this
tax to pay the interest on this bond
ed debt.
We have besides this interest
Whicn the tax pays-and that is ali
It Will pay-we have yet to paw our
Chief of Police, Mayor, Tag Col.
lecter, Assessor, Treasurer. Citv
Engineer, Policemen, Deputies, Zan.
Jsro and his deputies, labor for
opsning and repairing streets. ran.
ervoirs, dams, bitches, street cross.
ings, keepers Of pest house, ccme.
terry, plaza, &c., &c. What have
we got to pay this with =? Well, we
may issue, by permission of the
Legislature, more interest bearing
bonds; or we may double the prop-
erty tax so as to make it eight per
cent, instead Of four per cent, as
now. The owners of property are
complaining that 1t is already too
high, and. in view OF the bard
tlmes, they can scarcely pay this
four per cent.
The license, then, ia the ouly re.
source we have to keep up the City
Government, unless we repudiate
cur debt, ,reliHauish our charter and
become village.
Thus far we have SO amended the
old licenses that they are more
equal than they were before, that is
to say In Committee of the Whole.
Some are a little higher and some
lower than before. Some very small
dealers, who paid 50 per month, are
now quite exempt. We have placed
licenses on mechanics shops-yery
small ones-which may, perhaps,
in the csming scrutiny by the
Council, be taken off entirely. But
so far, even as it is, very few fair
minded persons will find any fault.
But now comes the "head and front
of the offending"
We have q license OH Iaundries
of $25 per month, on vegetable
Psddlers, horse and wagon, $50 and
vegetables peddlers on foot $40 per
month. These avocations have
been completely monopollSed by
the Chinament IF they can paw
theae licenses it will place large
s1 sum In the Salary Fund, which is
$4,000 in debt. If they cannot pay
them we shall get rid of popula-
tlon who are sending $500 q day
from this city to China, and shall
soon have In their place an enter.
prising population of permanent
residents who will keep this money
at homo and spend 1t with our
merchants, mechanics and land
owners, pay taxes and build up the
city, by building and inducing
more storekeepers to como here.
These people will need to take the
HERALD, as l dc; become agitators,
as do, thus giving news to the
HERALD, and perhapu some of
them become poets like myself,
ana thus give an opportunity to
the HERALD to talk Of poetic gush,
that is 80 hard for them to "dI-
gest."
Thus you see there arc two horns
to this dilemma. Do you want
John to remain, and have this city
continue dying-slowly dying; or
let him go beyond the limits of
this city, and fill his place with our
own people, keep the money with
US; see their children with their
rosy cheeks, and their swinging
satchels gsing to school, there to
become the proud sons and heauti-
ful daughters of proud State aud
nationi to become inventors and
improvers of the race and of the
world, and the glad wslcomers of
the throbbing hearts, that are look
Ing and waiting to leave the land
of tyrants, and oppressors, to come
to this wide domain of hope, of
freedom and homes for all!
JESSE H. RUTI,ER.