Arizona weekly enterprise., 1890-08-02
A TAX PAYER.
Expresses his Views on Some Pertinent
 Issues.
crittenden Corr. Tucson Star.

I ask a small space in the columns of your valuable paper to express my favor of dishkes to things pertaining to the welfare of the county of Pima and the territory in general.
 As a law of nature the climate is so pleasant that the laborer, unlike in other climates, he can put in nearly every hour of every day in the year ill useful occupa- tion, but while nature Is so favorable the political management Is so bad that constant employment will still hardly produce enough to allow an honest Ari- zona farmer to call his time his own. l am pleased with what the anti-taX- committee has shown the taxpayers of Pima county, There is no question but the county ii nances can be well conducted for $60,000, and yet to the surprise of all 1t Is costing the county more than $1O0,000 annual ly.
 High taxes such as 30 to 40 mills to the dollar, with valuation of property above market prices in many cases, with this situation. there Is nothing left the farmers and miners but to get an anti tax meeting We know how New York freed themselves from the Tweed ring" also how Philadelphia downed Billy Mann" and Sam Joseph" the most mo- torious rings in the country, but they downed them, all the same. In order to do 1t we must have combinations and concert of action, which the tax-ridden people of Pima county must do and will down them.
 The movement is one of the highest importance, and it IS the peoples duty to themselves to look into their own business with "argus eyes" and see that not one penny Is needlessly squandered We will, in the near future, cite the people to cases where our officers have paid out money needlesssly, and they know it. This evil Is traceable to other sources than Tucson and Pima county. The leg islature must be seen, its members must be interviewed before receiving the l tax payers votes and they must let the people know that no officer can collect a higher salary from the county treasury | than $1 800 or $2,000 and less. Who can succeed as laborer with taxes at 30 to 40 mills on the dollar, a head tax of $2.50 and the money shark charging from IS to Fl per cent for money which all comes from the hand of the labOrer he getting but 6 per cent Allowing that farming pays about per cent per annum, as a rule, and taxes of the county S350 per cent and no law preventing IS to 4 per S10O rate of interest from being col i iected, making a total of $27.50 on the one hundred, which every honest man must charge himself with on settling with himself, and an migrant commissioner drawing 5000 annual salary to incour- age emigration instead of immigra- ton.
 Now take the exorbitant taxes and the inetficiency of our usury laws. What is the difference between the shylock tax gatherer and outlaws, other than ques- tion of time. The one with pistol says now, the other says six months, because Mir. laboring man, be you farmer ol miner, cannot give what you have not got nor what you cannot get from the bowels of the earth. Slavery and poverty is all that's left. The Czar of Russia could not make such exactions withou a revolution. There is but one outlet ol relief for the people, and that Is to throw off these shackles which are fast enslavinl us:
 See to the territorial legislature that i
 does its whole duty and gives us legisla ton that will choke the blood-sucker.
 and let every man who labors and hi
 family receive the full benefit of his owl
 labor. This has been done and the Pim
 county, Arizona, citizens are made of tn
 metal that will demand of their servant cheap and simple government and do
 this winter by the sovereign power an,
 intelligence that Is in them.
 We bid God speed to the ant-tax-com
 mittee, independent of party. There is great work to be done. We have nC
 right to pile up bonds and hence higl tax on our children. One quarter of million Is enough. Stop it.