Omaha daily bee., 1889-08-15
OPPONENTS OF ANNEXATION

OPPONENTS OF ANNEXATION.
AT the present time very decided
opposition is manifest in South Omaha
to annexation. First and foremost come
the dealers in liquor. They are unit
against annexation because the liquor
license in Omaha is one thousand dol
lars as against five hundred dollars
year In South Omaha; and be cause the
Sunday liquor traffic in South Omaha
has become very profitable since the
rigid enforcement Of Sunday observance
in Omaha. Estimating the population
OF South Omaha at eight thousand, there
is at this time one saloon for every one
hundred and sixty persons, while in
in Omaha, estimating the population at
one hundred and ten thousand, there
Is one saloon for every four
hundred and seventy-elght persons.
The difference in the ratio
between the number of saloons to the
aggregate population OF South Omaha
and Omaha exhibits forcibly the differ
ence between the FIVE hundred dollar
and one thousand dollar license, and
rigid Sunday observance as against no
Sunday observance.
1t may be expected, therefore. that
the liquor dealers OF South Omaha will
continue to oppose annexation until
they are put on an equal footing with
the liquor dealers in Omaha proper.
That the license in South Omaha will
be raised to one thousand dollars q
year In the near future is anticipated.
The law provides that whenever a city
has ten thousand or more population
the license must be not less
than one Thousand dollars year.
Even if the census OF 1890
falls below ten thousand in South
Omaha, the next legislature beyond any
doubt will raise the license in all cities
of the second class to one thousand
dollars.
While the Sunday traffic in liquor is
tolerated in South Omaha, the dealers
run the risk of having their licenses re-
voked and there is very little doubt
that the state legislature will extend
the metropolitan system over all viii
lagos and towns within three miles of
any metropolitan cities and cities of the
first class.
Next to the liquor dealers the most
formidable opposition to annexation
comes from the packing interest. 1t
is an open secret that the municipal
government of South Omaha has been {,
and is yet, under the absolute dolnina-
tion OF the packing house and stock
yards managers. Their opposition to
annexation springs from the desire to
keep their grip on the municipal ma
chinery and anxiety to avoid city taxes.
They enjoy all the benefits that Omaha
affords 70 its property owners in the way
OF fire department, water works, pave
ments, sewers, parks, etc., and in emer-
gencies, such as great strikes and
riots, they expect Omaha to give them
police protection, but they do
not want to bear tho burdens for
maintaining city govern nment. This was
the animus of opposition of the Chicago
packers to annexation of their suburb
to the city Of Chicago.
The question that confronts South
Omaha is-what will their city do to
keep up public improvements? The
bonded debt of South Omaha is already
| two hundred and fifty-seven thousand
| dollars. The assessed valuation for
municipal purposes is one million,
seven hundred and twelve thousand,
nine hundred and three dollars. On the
face OF it, the debt is in excess of the
limit fixed by law, which prohibits the
issue of bonds above ten per cent of the
assessed valuation. Every dollar OF
| South Omaha bonds issued above one
hundred and ninety thousand dollars
was issued in violation of the law, and
we doubt whether they are worth the
paper on which they are printed. Before
South Omaha can legally raise another
dollar for pavements, sewers, fire engine
houses, or any class OF public improve
ments, she must raise her assessment
enormously. That means doubling her
city tax, and raising it way beyond what
it would be if the town was annexed to
| Omaha. Taxes in this city will be
lower from now on. Our property
values are constantly increasing by rea-
son of the rapid increase of buildings
many of which are valued at hundreds
of thousands of dollars, while the ex-
pense of the city government has
now reached its maximum.
The KILLING OF TERRY.
| The killing of Judge David s, Terry