Daily Republican., 1882-05-24
WEDk EhDAY. MAY ~, 1882
Are the Democrats Good Imam
ctersr

Are the Democrats Good I1nan
cters7
The Gazette apologies for the Demo
Gratis raising the tax rate from Sl.1O t.
$l.s5 for the coming year, but then i
turns back about ten years to show how
recklessly extravagant the Republicans
had been before them as justification
for the era of Democratic extravaganza
which is just setting in in earnest and
which will be fully carried outfit the
Democrats succeed in carrying the cleo
tion on the third of June. We would
suggest to our friends of the Gazette as
well as to the people at large inter-
ested in paying taxes, that after having
been in power nearly four years, it is
. bad sign to see the taxes pop up sud.
denly to S1.35 on the 500, the last year
of power. Why was not this boasted
economy kept up? There happens to be
few who have not forgotten the means
used by which our Democratic friends
were enabled to run the city on low
tax rate. We exposed this fallacy at
the time and our exposition was never
successfully contradicted. In 1873 the
Democrats came into possession of the
City Council-there had been a Demo-
cratic Mayor and police for six years
before They did find floating debt,
1t is true, but we doubt if it was greater
than the present floating debt will be
found to be, if the Republicans will be |
so fortunate as to succeed to the posses
sion of the City Council, ten days |
hence, We have not forgotten that the |
Republican floating debt was to have
all been wiped out by an. act of the
Legislature, of which oDe of our edi- |
torial friends of the Gazette has full |
knowledge-he having been clerk of the
Senate at that time. All the bills due
and coming due up 10 the end of 1873,
were punched together and funded in
city bonds, besides permitting the city
to borrow large amounts of money for
the completion of Cool Spring Reser-
voir and laying a new net work of wa
ter pipes to correspond with the in
creased demand and supply of water.
The Democrats were given a clean
sheet to start on. There was not dol
lar of Indebtedness to disturb the cqua
namity of their dreams or interfere
with perfect eraaf peace and munich
pal prosperity, fres from debt and with
no occasion to 90 in debt. But Demo.
Gratis are Democrats and could not be
Democrats without the practice of some
dem agoguery 10 convince the skeptical
that they were really Democrats. The,
dear people could not be convinced
that the debt had been pa.id off and new {
err OF government had set in without
something tangible to show that went
right home to the pockets of the De-
mocracy. The Democrats were equal I
for the emergency.
After paying off all the press
ing claims against the olty, there was
still balance left of $4,000 not i'm.
mediately called for, and not likely to
be called for Tor some time to come.
This balance was the bait that led the
Democrats into the fatal snare of low
taxes. By farming over this amount to
meet the current expenses of the city,
the Democrats were enabled to reduce
the taxes that year to Sl.10 on 800
Then arose the cry of low taxes. Then
it was that the Democracy posed itself
before the people as reformer and
boastingly said, "see what we have
done for you; see how we have reduced
the taxes see how economical we are
compared with the Republicans who
have Just been hurled from power"
The gilded bait attracted number OIL
Republican ninnles, which were hooked
by the Democracy and landed over in
the Democratic camp. But $34 900
was not to be found floating around
loose every year and there was consid-
erable anxiety as to how the low tax
deception was to be kept up the next
year. Il
Treasurer of the Board of Public Edu.
cation. This SUM was demanded of
the Board but the demand was refused.
The Democrats however had full power
to enforce their demand, for it was not
hard for them to withhold that amount
from the appropriations due the Board
of Education. This enabled the City
Council to trudge over another year at
q tax rate OF 81. 10 on 800, and numbers
of psople really began to think that
the city could be carried on at so low a
rate, and that Republican extrava' Q
gance was fully proven. Then followed '
the Legislature.of 1880, the gerryma an. /
der of the wards In the Democratic ,
PORTION of the city to make more Dem d
Ocratic wards and more Democratic '
cou ncilmen, and the admission of West q