The Elk Mountain pilot., 1882-02-09
an AGGRLETED CITIZEN.

DEAR sIR:-If you will be pleased to
allow me space in your paper in order
to make few comments in reference
to our camp, you will confer favor
on the writer and l have no doubt on
some few OF the citizens of Irwin.
In the first place we would ask the
County Commissioners of Gunnison
County if they are aware of the fact
that in the Ruby Mining District there
is small camp known as Irwin. 1t
may be owing to the fact that, seeking
their pleasures and transacting their
business in that vast metropolis of
Colorado, Gunnison City, vast rail-
road, commercial, and political CEN
tire, we are dwarfed into such insignifi-
canoe as to be beneath the notice of
such high dignitaries. Still in all
our insigni6cance we are compelled
to call on those gentlemen in all the
humility ofcur littleness, and ask them
to recognize the fact of our existence.
1t may be from motives of economy
that they never visit us, for we would
inform the county fathers but not
withstanding taxes, etc., neither in
gress nor egress can be made to this
camp without paying dollar toll,
but then this may be to add a slight
freight on goods thereby compelling
us to live more sparsely on our 'sew
BELLY and thereby be spared the
pangs of dyspepsia; we live too high
in this altitude any how. Notwith-
standing that we would be pleased to
see you here gentlemen, and be inform
ed how, by your great economic
schemes you have sank the county
close on one hundred thousand dol
lars in debt, please bring along that
dollar; we would still be pleased to
remark that walking IS free-but bad.
And taxes we'll, allow us to exclaim
in parenthesis. ooh ye capitalist of
Irwin, you Webbs with your 81, 200
tax list, you Rose, Reed & Co., you
merchants away up in the hundreds. }
Taxes are only a mite-only six per
cent. on the full assessed value of the
property, but in order that node
should grumble an additional Is per
cent was added on the 1st of Feb.
increasing it to seven and one half per
cent. Come west you sluggard east
crn capitalists, come to a country
where you can encourage improve
ments by having charged in taxes ON
such, one and one half, perhaps twice
as much as you can borrow money for
IN the east. Come to country of
advanced ideas, aestheticism thrown
in, for here the County Commissioner
buds into financial bloom as the SUM-
flower into glory. Thanks to the
interposition Of providence, through
the instrumentality of our town re-
corder, we escaped levy of one and
one half per cent. more, making in all
nine per cent.
And still our poor are uncared for,
our roads unbuilt except by toll COM
panies, our churches without a minis
ter, and our dead, when poor, only
buried by subscription raised when
necessltated among the kind hearted.
When will Gunnison City, the assem-
bling place of our county officials
cease to think that it constitutes the
vast area of Gunnison County? She
can raise melitia under arms as last
year to take care Of us, she can, through
her County Commis sioners inform us
that our poor cannot be cared for
because we are on the reservation.
and then through the same channel,
in the blind idiocy of her dwelling
infancy demand a taxation exorbitant
asit is unjust. With the narrow mind
edness in small affairs of money, as
are remarkable for extravaganza in
large, the poor companion of crush
ed and mangled miner on whom rests
suspicion Of instrumentality in his
death is onl. exonerated by the gra-
tultous services of a justice acting as
coroner, who calls jury and medical
aid. for which compensation is never
\ A.