Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1884-03-29
A UBURBAN PROTOGRAPH.

To the MINING JOURNAL.
In your issue Of last week "a Tax
payer" says he thinks that l am an
honest man and mean well, etc, and
alludlng no doubt to his letter of two
weeks previous in which he exacts from
candidates for our corporate govern
ment pledges to furnish night watch
men. He says l am entirely mistaken
when speak of his desire for protec-
ton at night as q hobby or scheme. 1t
is one of the blessings which we buy
and pay for but do not get.
wish to assure "a Taxpayer" that
| feel very grateful for his good opin-
ion of me, and that did not allude to
his letter in the JOURNAL particularly,
but to the practice Of exacting pledges
and promises from our candidates for
Mayor and Councilmen generally.
Now, if l am mistaken in my con-
illusions as regards pledged candidates,
/ will try and prove that "a Taxpay-
err" is far from being correct in his
conclusions. ] don't think he buys
and pays for night watch, because it
takes all of the tax that he pays for
other expenses that are really indis-
pensably necessary. leaving nothing to
pay for this blessing that he prizes so
highly. And real and genuine bless
ings are not an article of commerce
that can be bought at any price.
If it is right for him to exact pledges
from the candidates 20 furnish him the
so-called blessing Of night-watch, it
would be just as reasonable and right
for others to exact pledges from them
to extend the fire protection to every
taxpayer within the limits of the cor
poration, because they do now really
help to pay for protection for others
and are deprived of it themselves.
The same argument will hold good in
respect to street light, but when we
come to street affairs it caps the eli
max, The unjust discrimination that
has been going on ever since the town
has been incorporated-people paying
taxes straight along for ten years to
improve and keep up other streets,
whilst those they themselves live on
are in the same condition the plowman
left them when he turned the last fur
row. Delicate women and children
are practically quarrantined for weeks
at a time, as if they had the smallpox
or yellow fever. Ihave known teams
to stall in the street within this present
month, the wagons having sank hub
| deep in the mud, and the teamster
having to unload in order to get away.
| The condition of the streets around
and leading to our public school is a
disgrace to any town, especially town
that is incorporated. Little children,
compelled to wade through mud and
| slush ankle-deep to get to school, car
rying pounds of mud with them and
sit for hours with cold, wet feet
Think of the condition of that school
| house floor after two or three hundred
pairs of feet have deposited each one
its quota. A school madam would he
an angel indeed who could keep he.
temper serene under such circum-
stances. Is it any wonder that so
many of ours little ones are hurried
away to fill untimcly graves7 The
doctors say they died of pneumonia,
catarrh, scarlet or some other fever.
They know not, or say not how con-
| tracted.
| Now, Mr.. Taxpayer" do you not
think that We have as good light to
exact pledges from our candidates for
protection for our dear little ones lives
and health as you have for your stores
or other property
suppose it will take from 20 to %
per cent. of the tax we now pay for an
efficient night watch alone. I am in
| favor OF night watch as we'll as every
.
other protection for the whole town,
but conceding that each one has an
equal right to exact pledges from the
candidates, what condition the Board
OF Councilmen would be in supposing
them to be strictly honest in trying to
fulfill their pledges.
Some of our citizens want our pres
ent rate of taxes reduced. How could
any Board then keep such pledgess
ldon't want to take up too much space
to discuss Unanimous" this time.
| have seen some of his illusions be-
fore. He is not deigned to speak of
ten. History chronicles but one other,
l believe, a long time ago to be found
in Numbers xxi. IS. He was not
recognized by the same name then.
A CITIZEN.