Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-02-28

vance OF the time when they shall be wanted. 1
think it makes the bill better, and am willing to
accept it, and presume the committee will look at
il in the same way. Now where have got along to
in seeing the powers? am waiting to the extra
| ordinary powers with which this Board is going to
ruin this State and burden the people by taxation.
We have got it provided now that work already
constructed shall be purchased for twelve months
and we have another Legislature during the time to
see how will progress-nor then, until it is alb
solutsly required to AXE continuous system of
work, and there can be no speculation in that
Strike out the word purchase and they specu
| late in the purchase OF property Limit them 10
| the time when they can purchase, and they cannot
show favoritism by purchasing in advance. This
! answers, | think, the general argument of Mr.
| Brown from Sacramento, and he talks upon that a
great dlal.
THE POWER OF TAXATION
Now we come to the taxing power. The bill pro-
yitles for the p0rpose OF carrying this Act out that
this Board OF Engineers Shall make an estm te Of
the cost Of the work contempt ted in any district,
and after the ard has adopted the plan, that they
| should issue bonus Tor the amount not to exceed
certain amount, from ime to time, the work pro-
presses and that the State Treasurer shall sell them
! to he highest bidder, but not less than e5 per
cent OF par Now the limit in the original bill is,
to the absolute amount required to do te woi de-
! SIRED Anything short of that would be ike man
| building house and failing to put the roof on
| ANYTHING short Of money enough to complete the
work absolutely required to meet this great emer
gency would be useless BUtitis magnifed by the gen
| tlefnan who addressed You (Mr. Cadwaladerl TO the
| effect that the Board could fairly fill the air with
| bonds. and he iutmatod that they could be traded
off for old levees, or houses, anything that came
in the way; that 1t was mere matter OF barter for
this Colnmssi n He either did not read the bill
he intended to slide very loosely over it. The Com
missioners have nothing in the world to do with the
bonds except order tn ir issue. They are issued
! by the C vernon, Secretary of State and Attorney
! General as a Board OF Trustees for that purpose
tb.- .ata -alnIf he
put to the edit OF the district. The work is done
! under the immediate supervision OF the State En-
eineer Before id for IL musJ be acc pied by the
Resident Engineer approved by the State gineer,
audited and allowed by the Board Of Trustees, and
the warrant drawn by the Controller upon the
Treasurer before it is drawn out. They never see
dollar nor touch dollar OF it.
Now the question arises is the work contemplated
worth what it is going cost? Is the saving of the
Sacramento valley, together with our cities and
towns, worth what it is going TO cost2 Ii 1t is not
we must abandon 1t. The engineers emphatic
in saving that il will not be expensive, taking into
cons deration the amount of property involved.
There las been another amendment offered, and
another proposed that will be offered by some gen
tlemen who have had this matter under consdera-
tion and the engineer says it Will raise revenue
sufficient to meet the demands that will be ma G
upon the Treasurer. One has already been offered
limiting the amount Of bones so as not to exceed
threequarters of one per cent tax in any one year,
and which amounts to Al per cent. OF the entire tax
able properly OF district.
One gentleman has proposed an amendment which
will be acceptable to friends OF the bill-that no
amount OF bonds exceeding A per cent.
of the taxable property OF any district shall be
issued The Engineer says that will raise money
enough. Now, who is going to be mortgaged " I'M
til he will have to sell his farm, for a per cent,
and he has twenty years to payit in?
THE BUGABoo OF "RUINATIoN."
But these gentlemen here saying that " our
farms are to be mortgaged, and our children chill
lro,, ,,u
Four and half per cent Of the taxable property Of
the district is to be issued in bonds saddling
debt on all Sacramento, it is said, that you will
never be able 10 crawl out from under" Now, sir,
there is another amendment which think is good
one. 1t is always presumabe hat the friends of Il
bill will make it better and not worse. There is
another amendment, that not exceeding one mill
ion dollars shall be issued the first year. until the
experiment has been tried. Now let us see
million dollars will require a levy of six cents on
the hundred dollars A man that has an assessed
value OF Sl0,0 900 the tax would be Sc. An average
assessment roll does not exceed s., 500, and it would
cost upon that amount 81 go of a thou
sand dollars assessment it would cost six bits and a
man with an assessment of five hundred dollars it
would cost 374 cents per year. What an extrava-
giant thing Whoever heard of such an assessment
mortgage our p operty beyond redemption and the
next generationi The figures are right, gentlemen.
You cannot get out of it. am afraid that Sacra-
mentO will never survive. And right here, while
am on this subject, am going to notice Sacramento
!
mento will be turned to band of stran-
gers to be ruined, to be mortsaged, or
almost anything you mind to say that they
ask no assistance from outsiders and that outsiders
when needed, failed to come. | suppose that meant
me- Mr.. Chairman, had the honor to represent
my section OF the county IN the Senate when Sac
Tamento in her deepest trouble sailed out of
the city when the water eight feet oeep here to
another city to hold session. bad, believe the
confidence then, if / have not now, Of her citizens
/ met them III their private couutipg-rooms
and in their committees to devise means for her to
raise herself up out OF the mud and protect her
self against water. 1 devised means and ways
whereby we could retain the Capitol in her town,
for other cities were jealous of her and saying
She was mud hole, and she would not
do for the Capitol | was her friend.
believe it is not egotism in me to say that there
never a Ian passed during that six years, that
interested Sacramento, that not called upon
counsel and give what little advice had upon the
subject. l advocated her claims upon he floor Of
the Senate, but with what success let them be the
judge. l met many of her prominent citizens, but
| confess never met MIR Cadwalader in one Of these
councils. | never saw him on the ground. In all
| of the many consultations that were hel | never
saw him there either as an attorney a citizen.
| will make this proposition to Mr.. Cadwalader
That if the Board OF Trade OF Sacramento will agree
to have twenty prominent citizens meet they did
then, and allow hour to explain this bill, and
they say they don't want it and it is going nure
their city, l will ask Mr.. Brown, who did me the
courtesy to introduce it, to withdraw 1t.
LAY THE GLOVE DOWN.
Sacramento is not to be injured. She has been
taxed beyond her capacity, and nothing but the en-
ergy industry and integrity of her citizens have pre-
vented her from reilidiating the oebt she owes.
She must tax her citizens still further. She must
expend $4,000 500 900 next year, while her tax
under this bill would be but Sc, 600.
A gentleman asked Mr.. Parks the OF coun
ties that would be included IN a district, and the
amount of taxable property in these counties.
MIR. Parks-l cannot say how many counties and
Just what land will be embraced in district but
the Engineer has indicated what would be district
properly assume that it will be one. In that dis
trict i'll round numbers, there is $l00,000,000 Of
property, and We expect under the assessment-roll
to have it increased this year. perhaps, % per cent
1t lacks little OF Sl00,000,000 now, ana will
over little then, and if the district should be d.
yided into two three districts, then the work to
be done in the district viii be much less that it
will Only just proportion it. ii the Sacramento
valley north of the Costumes river is one district,
! it will take the amount that say the enormous
tax OF
HALF MILL ON 500,
And "this State is to be involved in hopeless