Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-11-02

= ShtCot pfOpltulb ever W SSN',
sideration of a people. 1t has awakened
and qu1ckened the public intelligence on
the subject of IRRIGATION, and Will ehapie
future Legislatures to legislate upon TINS
pre-emtdently important issue with aknowi'
edge and comprehension of their work
which they never would have had without
this much abused extra session
THE QUALITY OF MERCY NOT IN Mr.. SWIFT.
When Mr.. Swift deprecated the election
OF the Democratic ticket for the reason that
II would be the Endorsement of Stoneman's
administration and would justify If it did
not produce another of the same kind" he
laid the groundwork for another left-handed
attack ou the present Governor. he de.
clared that If he became the Executive OF
the State the law would have to take its
course. and that all convicts would have to
serve out their sentences to the full ex-
tent, and any person convicted of murder
and sentenced to death would have to hang,
and the Sheriff might pull the rope. Let
us pause in holy horror at the ineffaole afro
city OF this declaration. Has this man, who
hopes to hold the liberty aud lives of his
fellow-citizens in his hands, really any con-
ception OF the character of the pledge 70
which he thus publicly commits himself!
he surely cannot realize the meaning and
the consequential logic of his words. II he
does, he is not tit to be intruSted with Exc
cutlye responsibilities; and if he does not,
he should not be inirusted with q power, OF
| the scope and responsibilities of which he
is so ignorant. This man, at one fell swoop,
wipes away from the Executive office its
highest and nobiest attribute, and proclaims
himself Draco before whose throne the
Angel of Mercy shall teariully plead in
vain. He shall allow no appeal from the
fnfallibility of mortal tribuuals-no review
OF human testimony so subject to error; no
hope to the unfortunate convicted of crime.
He will shut out of the human heart, limo.
cent and guilty alike, every sunbeam of
hope that may enter Ii, and close the door
Of clemency so that the gate of despair may
be herm metically sealed upon all who enter
the portals OF condign punishment. No
error of weakness on his part--harsh, cruel
inexorable! No Pythias returning to re-
deem the pledged life OF his friend.
Damon, is to exalt this Dionysius into
the performance of clement act.
The pound OF flesh must be exacted
to the last scruple. Portia will plead
in vain to his indurated ears, and his
heart will only grow more hard when she
addresses him in the sublime words of the
immortal bard:
The quality of mercy is not strained
II droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath it; it is twice
bless'd;
1t blesseth him that gives and him that
takes;
Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his
crown;
His sceptre shows the force of temporal
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear OF
Kings;
But mercy is above his sceptered sway;
1t is enthron ed in the hearts of Kings
1t is an attribute of God himself
And earthly power dotn then show likest
Gods,
When mercy seasons justice"
Should Swift become Governor, and imi-
tate Draco in the severity of his admins
tration, let us hope that his admirers will
not carry out the parallel, and like those
citizens of Athens who smothered rhe law
giver beneath their gifts of garments, re-
pair TO the capitol and by their warm en-
braces create vacancy in the Executive
chair.
For my part, prefer Governor who errs
on the side of mercy aud whilst admire
the present. Executive for his relentless war
upon rascals of all grades, especially hon
mercy has at all times seasoned justice, and
innocence has had nothing to fear.
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND THE CORPORA
TIoNs-THE HEATH AMENDMENT.
The Republican platform in 1882 declared
thatthe neutrality-suspicious. should be made
to pay their taxes. The Democratic platform
made similar declaration. The people did
not believe the Republican party sincere, and
so declared at the polls by overwhelmingly de-
feating it. The people were right, and their
action has been triumphantly vindicated 1y
the action of the Republican party since
that time. No sooner did the Republicans
obtain power in the Legislature than they
used 1t to elect the president OF the Central
Pacific railroad to the United States senate;
an to further show, If further proof were
needed, that they were the party of monop-
oily and not of the people, they obsequious-
ly passed a constitutional amendment,
known as the Heath amendment, to take
the taxing of the railroads out OF the hands
of the ppople and place it in the hands OF
the railroad officers Themselves. BY this
amendment, which you will be called upon
to vote for at the next election, the railroads
are to be taxed alone on their gross receipts
their gross receipts as reported for the year
1885 they will be called upon to furnish
s47S,000 less than the taxes they were as
sessed that year. But this is not the worst
feature of this astounding proposition.
The Heath amendment will make the cor
porations their own assessors, and Will
place it in their power to return their gross
receipts at Whatever figure suits them. we
have already seen that these corporations
have one schedule OF values for taeirroads
designed to propitiate the purchasers OK
railroad bonds in Europe, and another
schedule to form the basis OF taxation on
their roe ds in this State. 1t Is needless to
say that there is a vast shrinkage n the lat
ter from the former; and as it has been with
values for the placement OF bonds and with
values for purposes of taxation, SO VIII 1t
be, sholld this amendmept pass, with gross
receipts Tor both purposes.
hOBBlNd HE sthOph rS-ND'
Another peculiar feature OF this new
mode of tqxation, which the Republicans
would foist upon the State is the provision
that one third of the moneys received from
this source shall go into the General Fund
of the State. Let US see how this Will oper-
ate. Last year the tax rate was made up oy
taking into consideration the entire assessed
property roll of the State, aud assigning 10
the several funds such proportions OF the
taxes derived therefrom as would meet the
expenditures of the Government. one OIL
these ite ms was for the support OF the pub
lie schools. The proportion set apart last
year for this purpose was IL cents on the
500. The Heath amendment now proposes
that the entire State proportion OF This rail-
road tax, that is. one-.nird OF the Wnoie,
shall 60 into the General Fund, thus roboing
the school Fund as its Just proportion OF the
tax. What are we to think OF such propo-
sition?
the taxes or the railroads and conse-
quently to raise those OF every otner
class of taxable property IN the state.
What, then, has become OF the proposed az
titude of the Republican party III sos2! me
Democratic party and its State adminlstra-
tion have done all in their power to compel
the corporations to pay their taxes; the Re-
pu ublican party, on the otner hanu, mas sent
Governor Stanford to the united States SEN
ate, and has done its utmost to fastsn upon
the State all amendment to the Constitution
by which the railroads will be able to assess
themselves and reduce their taxes nearly
five hundred thousand dollars per year.
Am justified in saying that the declara-
tions of the Republican party in 1882 were
sham? Then they said they were in favor OF
making the railroads pay their taxes-now
they advise their partisans to well consider
the Heath amendment.
The Democratic party has boldly de,
nounced that amendment as lnlqultous, ana
instructed its committees to place the words,
"a gainst the Heath Amendment" on every
Democratic ticket printed by them.
THE PUBLIC LANDS.
Butthe gravitation of the Republican
party toward the corporations and the mil
iionaires is not alone exemplifed by its ex-
ample in this State. 1t has been seen in
Congress, wnere it has been the firm friend
of the gold sharks OF Wall street in their on
slaught on silver, and OF the land,grabbers,
who have ribbon-fenced the pnnnc domain.
years been permitted to hold their un-
earned land grants, while the honest set
tiers of the country have been shut out from
homes Rut MS soon as the Democrats got