The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1881-05-31

TAo-xs FlerlAlan" RalsaAea.
\ yThe xYeat peiverter Of the FLoRDfAN in try-
iAg 70 break he force Of our slrictures on he
decreased taxntian and The extravagance At the
LegiSlatuTs, to6k refuge = siatisncs regarding
Che past taxation h this eounty, and ID doing 20
peverted u fScis with rsgaEd % ths returns for
The State tax OF Monroe county for 1880 only
amOunted to &2O7676; but according to our
worthy Collector. Mr.. Maloney, II amounted to
90 O767 3-a eight difference OF $1,000 The
following fully falsi6es the FLoRIDrAE's state
ment: $40
thereby certify the amount of State tax, in
Guiding the sever al sinking funds and school tax
assessed for the year 1880. was 39,O76.73
w. C. MALoNEY. JR.
Col Rev., Monroe County.
May 1s. 1881"
The "perVerter" Il the Key. That paper deliber-
ately falsifiss the FLoRIDIAEs statement, which
gave the Stat tax assessed In Monroe county In
1880 at %, 07s.75 The tricky Key changes the
figure 40" to figure "s" and thus makes the
FLoRIDIAN give the tax as Sc, O7S.75 instead of
&907676 40 we stated 1t to be.
The Key Is becoming unreliable in proportion
as it returns To the vomit Of radicalism. In the
article above quoted 1t speaks of its own strc-
lures on the increased taxation and the extrav-
agance of the legislature" and what were its
so-called =" stricturesi" They were contained in
an article which appeared in its columns of
. month or more ago-April 9-and to which
the FLoRIDIAE replied exposing their falsehOOd,
their ignorance, their misrepresentation and
perversions. In that article under the head,
"What have the People Gained ," the Hey said ::
Tn chonOin1 from carnet-haO IN Rourhor r,,Ia
| what material benefits have accrued 10 the peo-
| pie of Florida? Where is the reform promised
by the Democrats? The rule of the carpet bag
gers was bad enough, but is that of the BourbOns
| any better? The people are finding out to their
cost that the Democratic cry of reform was mere
sand thrown into their eyes, and that they have
| been outraged by those Of their own household.
The increase Of taxation to nearly tao0 per cent By
| the last Legislature is burden as heavy as any
| complained of under Republican rule. To be
oppressed by persons having no fixed interests
| in the State was bad enough but oppression
under reformed Conservatism so-called, Is far
| worse In the latter case, deception is coupled
| with oppression. The men who are Justly re-
| sponsible for this deception and subsequent op
| preston, are not unlike those who obtain goods
under false Ipretenses. In obtaining control of
the State Government, the reform cry was used
as an entering wedge as against Republican
| abuses. A lower rate of taxation was promised
expenses were TO be cut down, and needful re-
forms were to be effected in every branch of the
| public service The sO-called reduction of taxa
ton which Governor Drew effected was mis-
cradle sham. 1t was simply postponement of
taxation, and not a reduction. The present bur-
den is the natural result of this posiponement
The double dealing with the confidence and best
interests of the people, will likely recoil on the
heads of the responsible parties at the next cleo
ton.
And here is the reply of the FLoRIDIAN,
april 19) showing the Key to be "as ignorant as
they make 'em and as unreliable as an author
ity as need be-
The Key asserts that "the increase IN taxa.
ton made by the last Legislature amounts
TO nearly tnO per cent" The truth is the in
crease is only One-tenth Of one per cent, and the
entire State tax e nlills) is only eighttentbs of
one per cent, or 80 cents on the 800 This glar-
| ing misstatement (excusable only on the ground
of sheer ignorance,) renders the Key totally un-
reliable as authority on the subject Of finances
| The Key asks what have the People
Gained" by change of rulers, and then proceeds
to answer in effect and to its own evident salts
faction that the gain has been little or nothing
| and here too, it is as much at fault as il has
shown itself 10 be in the matter of the increase
of taxes by the last Legislature" If that pa
per confines its inquiry to the simple matter of
comparative taxation under carpet-bag" and
" Bourbon rule, ii need not go beyond the Inn
its of its own county TO find conclusive answer
to its question The tax books of Monroe
furnish significant facts. They show that the
people of that county have "gained much by
the change and we underwrite for it, that with
their experience as TO the cost 10 them between
Radical and Democratic government, they would
| look upon a restoration of the old rule as
monstrouS calamity Shall we furnish our CO.
temporary with the facts' Let the Key take
the three last years of Radical rule-1874, rs
and '76-and compare the taxes assessed by the
Republicans during that period with those as
sessed fer the last three years-1978, 70 and go
under reform Government, and we think it
will see cause 10 alter its tune