Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1885-01-08

: In order to render effective all It's poWfyTB
( regulate commerce, and indirectly bear upo
this important subject OF quarantine, is ne
doubleday the deity OF every state ADMINISTERS
ton, and respectfully submit to your honor
. able bodies the propriety and indeed neces
. sity of tho establishment, by law and needfu
. appropriation, Of . quarantine system, nndel
1 which the State officials will be invested Will
, powers and discretion to prevent the intro
] duction Of disease from foreign countries
I and establish proper Ieceptacles for the in,
fected persons, In order mercifully to abste
! their sufferings, and, ut the same time, pre-
: vent the introduction and spread Of disorder
among the people Of our own State and thoee
Of neighboring states.
STATE BOARD OF HEALTH.
The third biennial report Of the State
Board of Health, in its review OF the sanitary
needs OF the State, the deficiencies Of exist
ing laws as to the securement Of vital statis-
tics, the abatement OF nuisances, or what
ever concerns the promotion or mitigation Of
disease, is an able and exhaustive treatment
OF the subjects considered. In view Of the
unusual interest manifested In the question
of public health, not only in our own State
but throughout the entire country, would
especially recommend that more general
distribution Of the report be had than here
tofore.
DELETERIoUs AND ADULTRRATED FOOD.
= would most respectfully invite your con-
sideration Of this important subject. The
question Of Bustenanoe is 30 vital and closely
connected with health that it should claim
the first attention at the hands OF the legis-
lator Adulteration is practlced to such an
alarming extent that 1t has been said that
almost every article Of manufactured food
that we purchase is more or less compound
Of deleterious ingredients. In most OF the
states health officers have the authority to
examine and destroy any article offered for
| sale a. food which iB found to be injurious to
health. | would suggest that our State and
local boards Of health be clothed with similar
powers, so that the evil may be as far as
i possible remedled.
RAILROAD DETERMINATIONS.
The question Of railroad determinations
appears not only TO be agitating the people OF
this State but the whole country. As the ex-
ecutiye OF the State do not call attention TO
this matter out Of any unlind feeling towards
the railroad companies. L am In favor OF
protecting THEM fully in all their chartered
rights. But am satisfied that the custom of
| freight discrimination, in the way Of draw
backs or special rates, TO particular individuals,
who may be more extensive shippers than
others, Is unfair and not only against the in
terest Of the producers but OF the railroad
companies themselves It is . practice that
tends TO build up monopolies at the expense
i Of the producers and consumers. Under the
system you cannot have competition and
| without 1t we are at the mercy OF the favored
Glasses. In recent important case tried in
the state Of Ohio, it was decided that COM
mon carriers could not Charge differing rates
for the same service, whether railroads
are considered as public or private corpora.
tions, whether they are public highways or
otherwise, 1t is manifest that the establish
ment Of these great railroads by legislative
authority, with all their great privileges,
ngaY md fron nj NIfr
ton, are largely due to the fact that their
right to take private property for that pur
pose, without the consent of the owners,
makes them, in some measure, at least,public
works established for the benefit OF the
public. They are common carriers, made 30
by law, and the public have . right to their
use and benefit, az such, on terms Of equality,
without unfair discrimination, and this re-
quiz IuenI or exaotion on the part OF the
public does not in my Judgment or in any
manner infringe upon the equitable or legal
rights of such carriers of freight and mer.
chandise." trust this important subject will
receive considerable attention at your hands
and the outcome Of 1t may be wholesomelaws
preventing discrimination in any shape and
protecting and favoring alike all shippers, be
they large or small, and especially preventing
companies from charging higher rate OF
ffeights on short than long distance. 1t
& plainly my duty to direct altention to these
matters, for the discrimination is constantly
occurring in our own midst.
WORLDS EXPEDITIONS.
Commissioners having been appointed on
the part Of this State ~ the Worlds Indus
| trial and Cotton Exposition, now being held
at New Orleans, it is gratifying TO me to be
able TO say that the various industries Of the
State are oreditably represented. As 5000
Of the national appropriation has been set
apart for the purpose Of assisting exhibitors
from this State, in the matter Of transporta
ton TO the exposition and the proper care and
display of the exhibits after their reception,
deem it proper to call the attention OF the
| General Assembly to this fact, and to suggest
| the propriety of providing for the return and
preservation Of the exhibits that may in the
| future be the nucleus Of State exposition.
| / would further recommend that proper
steps be taken to secure suitable representa-
ton Of Delaware at the American exhibition
of the arts, inventions, manufacturers, pro-
| ducts and resources Of the United States Ut
America to be opened in London, May LIST,
| 1885 also, representation at the Worlds Fair
to be held in San Francisco, California, In
| 1887. aud the Agricultural Exposition to be
held in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1886.
CIVIL SERVICE.
Economy and honesty are the corner-stones
i OF individual or state prosperity.
| The sspolls SYSTEM" in the use OF public
| salaried offices as means OF constructing
| and keeping in power political larty, is in
/ direct hostility to economy and honesty, and
will prove not less fatal to public than it would
| do to private interests. What is needed by the
/ people is faithful and intelligent service, and
| anything that tends to destroy fidelity and
efficiency is public injury.
Self. respect and freedom Of conscience Is
an essential where trust is to be reposed, and
a system which discards such considerations
must end in degradation Of public service
/ and in public loss. In respect to the relative
| wisdom and expedlency OF public policies the
best men will differ, and when popular
| opinion has elected to sustain one side in
/ preference to the other, it is proper, and in
deed essential, that the convenience or
| interests Of individuals holding official power
i should give way to such expression
Of the popular will, and the official
corps Of government agencies should
act as an organized body in the desired direc-
ton, unobstrueted by the views OF individuals
| in or out Of office.
But the public interest is the cause of Gre
ating offices, and should be the main object
| in filling them, and Of REQUESTING removals or
renewals, or the filling Of vacancies.
II is hard TO conceive the case in which a
competent and faithful officer should not be
| allowed to serve, unlets his opinions are
opposed to the policies which by popular
| voice have been declared best for the good
government OF the country.
| Asa meauB of fostering party spirit
against which the father Of his country 80
solemnly warned his countrymen, the "spoils
system has proved to be the most potent and
mischievous agency. 1t has built up an odious
machine in politics. which has proved de-
structive to the conscious and character Of
office. holding class, and visited with profound
injury the highest places Of administration.
To reform all this is the duty Of the hour, and
II should be done despite the clamor OF noisy
professional politicians who trade in offices
and degrade republican institutions.
| TAX REFORM.
The subject of taxation is closely inter
woven with the practical enjoyment of liberty
itself. It is idle to talk OF freedom il
citizen shall not be allowed to control the
products OF his own industry and enjoy an
absolute right to make contracts involving
his own labor and the property created BY It,
Taxation, direct and indirect, liz the involun-
tary subscription by the individual for the
use OF the public it IL taking OF private
money for the public benefit, and nothing eau
Justify tax but its necessity for public ends,
and when these are supplied anything in ex.
cess righfully belongs to those who paid, and
laws that permit more to be collected from the
ctizeDs than is so required should be 30 modi.
fed as 10 remedy the injustice.
| Reformation means strict and rigid hon.
esty in administration. In our State system
OF local taxes, these are under the scrutiny of
every one; but under the general government
the practical operations OF taxation are OBJ
scured by the complications Of existing laws.
The people of Delaware pay indirectly TO
the Federal government in taxes more than
eight times the amount they pay to the State;
and owing to the mode in which the tariff
taxes are laid, the general scale OF prices of
living as well as the cost of Agricultural and