The Washington critic., 1886-11-29
WASHINGTON, NOVEMBER 30, 1886.
MIR, BLAINE's MISTAKE.


The Boston Saturday Er6ni0g
Gazette, which two years ago was CIV
ing Mr.. Blaine It's most cordial support,
has hanged its tune of late and feels
constrained to say that the Maine states
man "is rapidly becoming the spoiled
child Of the Republican party and
sorely trying the patience of his best
friends. He is doing more to iniure
himself than was accomplished by all
of the campaign attacks that were
ever made upon him" Special refer.
encc is had here to the late Blaine
Edmunds episode in New York, which
appears to have stuck In the crops"
of quite a number OF siaunch Republi.
can newspapers in manner that BODIES
a serious cooling of in the cordinlty of
MIR. Blaine's old supporters.
The remark Of the Rutland HcraN,
for instance, ia anything but respect.
full: perhaps Mr.. Blaine thinks he
can afford to treat George +. Edmunds
with disrcspcct bui he cannot Afford
10 make a fool of himself"
How small thing will sometimes
trip one In race. Mr.. Blaine no
doubt has an abiding remembrance of
trivial remarl; towards the close of his
last campaign which IN the judgment
of very many persons lost him the
State of New York.
In the present case, however, he has
only himself to blame 1t was not es-
sential, in the first place, to the reposo
of Mr.. Arthur's soul or his proper in
terment, that man who had so little
love for the ex. President should attend
his obsequies but admitting him to
have been formally correct in doing SO.
there was certainly no justification, in
the second place, in his declining to
shake hands with the Vermont Sem
ator.
If Mr.. Blaine could so far forego his
old resentments and prejudices as TO
pose in the attitude of mourner by
bIr. Arthur's coffin, 1t seems exceeding
odd that he could not have choked
down his antipathy to Mr.. Edmunds
sufficiently to have permitted the eX-
tension of an ordinary salutation on
meeting him. 1t might not have been
sincere or courteous, but considering
the solemn nature of the OCCASION 1t
would at least have been decent, and
there would have been an end of it,
AS 1t happened, Mr.. Blaine, for the
nonce, forgot his cunning, and thereby
gave himself away to the relentless ex.
coriation of many critics, whom it
may be difficult to paclfy.
Strange things happen in polite s
nowadays. 1t might be that in attend
ing Mr.. Arthur's funeral, Mr.. Blain e
was attending his own.
PERSONAL TAXES IN NEW YORK.
A long table printed in the New
York World yesterday gives the names
of over five thousand persons and
corporations in that city who have
made returns to the assessors of per-
sonal property amounting to $4,000 or
upwards. The total amount of the as
oScoCd Va BIl l''bhl l'lbpCltN
for the current year Is S2l7027,29l,
an increase over last year of Sll,3j3,-
355, the rate of taxation being 2.2)
per centum on each 500, except upon
corporations, joint stock companies,
&C., subject to local taxation, on which
1t is only 100 per 800. There is to be
collected on personality S4,S4l,702, of
which the banks are looked to for
S1,351, ,312, and these institutions, as
usual, are the last and slowest TO pay.
The World says:
The heaviest Of the individual payers are
the estate of William III. Vanderbilt, SlS3,.
2OO, against s24, 900 last year; the heirs oil
John Jacob and William Astor, each of
which pay 500, ,S6l60. Last year William
W. Astor paid S32, ,496, while John Jacot
Astor's estate was taxed only So 600
Frederick W. Vanderbilt pays sl,1l5 on
$4,000 and Chauncey NJ. Depew lays claim
10 only $1,000 worth of personal property
on which he pays $ll4 so. The late Mrs
Her paintings alone were valued at nearly q
million. Judge Henry Hilton is taxed
Sl1 ,450, while Jay Gould pays on person
atty of 100000 only. Cyrus w. Field aud
Eugene Kelly each pay S2,290 on 500, 900
The Rhinelander estate pays 81, 1865 and
the estate of Adolph Hallgarten S5,5S7
In New York, as elsewhere, there Is
good deal of "shirking" on the par
of personal taxpayers, and principally
among the rich and well-to.do Tier,
is not much chance for the poor t
swear their taxes Off, and they are cou
sequently forced to make up the de
ficiency caused by the remlssness o
others. An instance is mentioned of
colored barber who, after many years
has saved up and put in savings bank
$4,000, on which he gets 800 year in
terest, and pays in taxes $6S.70.
Evidently there Is urgent need o
tax reform amid the multiplicity q
other reforms.
ONE OF the best things which tn
President is credited with saying is /
regard to the tariff, that ut should b
arranged with reference to economi
interests instead of nOlilIcal conditions