Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-06-13
WEDNESDAY, JUNE ,s, 1883.
what Republican Ruie Has Bone
for Eos Augcies,-Mason

what Republican Ruie Has Done
for Los Angcies.-Mason.
National and State affairs are quite
important to the people Of Los Angeles,
and especially SO as we are about to
choose our rulers for another four years
Notwithstaudin all this we risk nothing
in assuming that, after all, good govern
ment, like charity, begins at home, and
that our people are even more interested
in seeing that things are going right in
Los Angeles than in Washington. Every
one remembers the howl Of CONSERVATION
that went up in this county last year
when Mr.. Mason, the Republican
County Assessor, deliberately advanced
our assessment roll one hundred per
cent. Probably never in the history OF
county governments was such an infamy
perpetrated without note Of warning. 1t
was q thunderbolt out OF clear sky.
Its effect was to make Los Angeles coun-
ty contribute a disproportionate amount
to the expenses of the State government.
So great was the outcry raised by ou1
leading citizens that the State Board oi
Equalization was obliged to reduce Ma
Mason's unconscionable assessment ten
per cent.
San Francisco, Oakland and the peo-
pie of the northern and central counties
generally laughed in their sleeves. Here
was a Los Angeles man doing their work
for them, and doing it voluntarily. The
San Fraciscan who had got his property
appraised at one-third of its value
chuckled when he saw the way his Los
Angeles brother had been slaughtered in
the house OF his friends. Upto the 1st oi
January, owing 10 this most iniquitou'
assessment the County Treasurer was
obliged to forward to Sacramento the
enormous sum of SAP, 2,907.52. Yester'
day he sent up $71,775.44, making the
prodigious total OF 1914, ,6S2,96 thus paid
to the Sacramento Caesar. OF this
princely sum we have received back fol-
our schools about $126,000, leaving our
contribution to the expenses Of the State
government $416,000.
This large amount of coin has been
taken out of Los Angeles county during
the past five months, and yet some peo-
pie wonder that money has been tight
here. II left here it would have been
used twenty times over and made to dc
$4,000, 600 worth of business. There
are few communities that could stand
the deportation OF SO large sum with
out showing signs OF financial stringency.
We understand that Mr.. Mason is still
at his old tricks, and that his assessment
for the coming year will be as large Oh
larger than it was last year. The State
Board of Equalization is showing some
signs of modesty. We do not now hear
of experts being sent down here to shove
mp the assessments.
Meanwhile, Republican man and bro
ther who pays taxes, what do you think
of this county's being obliged to pay
nearly 5000, 900 year to the State Treas
ury, not one dollar in five OF which you
will ever see again, all owing to the
obstinate perverseness OF County
Tax Collector elected by your vote?
Citizens of Los Angeles, irrespective oi
party, what think you OF this deplorable
surrender Of your interests, which bids
fair to last for all time?
The pity OF it, The pity of it! Hall
a million dollars lost yearly to the
county Not even the luxury of having
an opinionated Republican County AS
SCISSOR can compensate for the exodus OF
SO much coin, Of standard weight and
fineness.
And the mighty Mason, initiating Boss
Tweed, attitudinizes and asks what the
people are going to do about it.
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