Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-12-06
REFORM REPUBLICANS.
What B. COhn Has to Say
of Them.
INTERVIEW WITH A REPORTER.
Road Taxes-The Street Expenses.
The "Hole" on Spring
Street,

N Ilbn<A LII SRohsSh JNoeShNHy oOuS
short interview with B. Cohn til,
Democratic candidate for Tax Collector
in order to obtain his views on the SO
called "reforms" of the Republican
party since its accession to power, tw,
years ago. Mr.. Cohn has long heac
and what he doesn't known about tn,
G. o. P. and its sanctified doings is hard
ly worth knowing. The gentleman wa
rather disnclined to talk upon the sub
iect, as he had his hands full of business
connected with to-days election, but {
few judicious questions brought him out
"Mr. Conn.," said the reporter, etc
what extent have the virtuous Re, ubl
caus improved things over their prede
cessors, the honest old Democrats?"
"Well," answered Mr.. Cohn, as a
look of disgust spread over his face,
''ruke the Road fund as an instance.
Two years ago the Supervisors levied a
tax OF 25 cents for the Road fund, which
gave them over $4,000. I'd like to
have some one to show me the improve.
ments that have been made on any of
our county roads out of that money.
Point them out to me, ii you can. This
year another 20 cents was levied. Now
that Democratic Board of Supervisors
is to have the handling of the funds you
may expect something that is percepti.
BILE to the naked eye"
tsuom doaS Papu hlioop o,o,,ar,,
ment, as instanced by the last two years
rule, impress you?"
Mr.. C.-"My dear sir, in building the
present City Hall and city Jail, the Re-
publicans threw away good money
They, no less than the partizans Of
Democracy, Labor, Prohibition, call it
which ever you like, will have to admit
that it was an absurd waste of cash.
Look at that city Jail. 1t is a disgrace
to civilized nation and would be one
in a far less advanced country. 1t
amounts to nothing. You could not
keep a person confined in it three
months without being guilty of delib.
crate murder. 1t is damnable cruelty
to put people, whether they have done
something wrong or not, in such
mousetrap and sewer hole. When the
city shall have great need of Jail they
will have to build one or they will be
compelled to make arrangements to use
the new county jail"
"The expenditure by the Board of
Public Works has never been less than
S400 week and has often neared $500.
Tell me one substantial improvement
that the city government eau show us
for all that waste of bard-earned money
the money of the people? The Su-
perintendeut of Streets has had an un-
reasonably large payroll every week and
what have they to show for it. The law
declares emphatically that all improve
ments to be made exceeding $500 in
amount must be advertised and
given by contract. Has this been
done? Not at all. The Republican ad-
miuistration has done that for which the
Democrats never established prece-
dent. They overcame that section by
having the work done for S299 OF
course it was an evasion of the law, and
was neither legal nor moral. But since
the Council became entirely Republican,
aud they could do as they listed, they
have never bothered about evasions.
They did not care any longer for legal
bubbles, and that is one of the reasons
that a superintendent of streets can
come calmly before the Council with a
800 pay roll and get warrant for it
without sigh or cough. Oh, yes,
they have given us reform with ven
geance. Why, even the money ex-
pended in parks-a move in the right
direction, you must admit-would have
been better invested in improving the
two large tracts dedicated for public
parks, one Of which is in E lst Los An
geles, where it is q laughing stock,
and the other lies between the Catholic
and Jewish cemeteries.
81 said that the Council, since its large
majority makes it virtually Republican,
scorns at legal bubbles. Take the case
of Elder Santee as an instance. Twelve
months ago they knew that he was not
resident of the Fourth ward, from
which he was elected. Ever since he
has been building railroads in San Diego.
Notwithstanding all that, they have
persistently refused to declare this
mans seat vacant, and that in the face
of the charter, which positively provides
that the seat of Councilman shall be
declared vacant if he remain absent
from three consecutive Council meet
ings."
R.-"You have heard of DR.. French's
assertion that whilst Chairman of the
Board of Public Works he expended
5000, 900 for public improvements in this
city, have you not p
Mr.. C.-"Yes, have. He made that
boast at the last City Republican Con.
vention. All l have to say is, that an
itemized account of that 5000, 900 would
immensely please the taxpayers who
paid the piper. All that we of Los An.
geles ever saw performed by DR.. French
with that 5000, 900 was during the flood
of 1888. That is the time when he
had ex-Captain of Police Billy Stormer,
under Crazy Mccarthy, superintended
the building of sandbag levee. The
laborers got 81 an hour. The doctor
enriched Horatlo Marteen by buying all
the old sacks that his secondhand es-
tablishment on Also street was full of.
He also bought all the gunny-sacks at
tho Newmarks and Hellman, Haas q
Co. Then the sacks were filled with
dirt and placed in the river, and they
were no sooner in place than the water
washed them away. The taxpayers of
1883 may get relic yet of their taxes
by hunting for a rotten gunny rag stick
ing out of the sand at Florence, in the
river bed"
"The hole in the ground on the
corner of Spring and Second streets is
another instance of the benefits we de-
rive from Republican administration.
If they start in again on the Titus prop.
erty as they did on Second street it will
be funny, won't it?
Snow here we have Chinatown. Dur
ing the two years that have passed their
oft.repeated promises to raze that eye
sore have always remained unfulfilled
On the eve of the election they take the
very first steps towards remedying the
evil by filing petition for condemnation
in the Superior Court, Election tactics?