The Monitor., 1890-04-18

has taxes to pay he may be reasonably Ger
tain that he has something back of it to
pay taxes on.
| Such of our citizens as have visited the
p,blic buildings at the point where Broad
street intersects Market street in Philadel-
phia hardly realize, we assume, at what an
enormous cost this stately pile of arcei-
testure has been secured. President OF
lower branch of Council William NJ. Smith
gave little insight to the unintiated the
other evening in the following statement
| son the 1st of January, 1880, the total
| debt of the city stood at the enormous sum
| of s72. 2G4, $50. .76 On the fst of January.
| 1890. the total debt of the city amounted
to the sum of s56 $50, f59 80. a decrease in
ten years of $40. IA, 435 96.
And continued
"Since the commencement of the great
building at Broad and Market streets
Councils have appropriated altogether, nn
der the compulsory requirements ot the
act of Assem- ly creating the Public Build
ING Commission, about $13 900, 900, so that
bit appears that we have taken ont OF cur
rent taxation for the purpose OF complying
with the relentless demands of the Sinking
Fund, from which, of coarse, there was no
escape, and for the work upon the CITY
Hail. ouly triae less than $50, 0oo, 900 !"
In the meantime, the President said,
.'the public schools were inadequately pro-
yided for the main sewers in miserable
condition, and tie water supply behind
the requirements of the city. True, said
his Honor "we have under construction
for the generations to como the gorgeous
luxury Of IA colossal City Hall, but don't
think it quite the thing that the present
generation of taxpayers shall be compelled
TO 90 barefooted in order that their pos
terity may be enabled to enjoy the three
fold Injuries of carriages, silk stockings
and patent leather boots.
From the above statement of President
Smith we infer that it would require the
combined wealth of two or three respocta.
ble->jzed towns. like Woodstown say, to
build City Hall like that at Philadelphia.
In clancmg over Tuesdays issue of a
paper published in cur borough we
noticed an editorial comment on what
the writer claims is move to re-incot-
porate our borough under tie recent bor-
ough law. The editorial in question was
not an impassionate discussion of the
merits or dement's of the question under
consideration, but an outburst of insinul-
tions. reflections and innuendoes that, to
the deliberatse Judgment of the average
reader, must seem III exceedingly bad
taste The editor drew pretty severe con-
clusions from his premises. based, as he
claimed, on mere supposition. lie ave:red
he had not seen the petition, and yet
claimed as an undoubted fact that those
interested in reorganization are ''obstruc-
tionists, :" sschemers, fpeople at logger
heads" and ''those who opposed our first
successful incorporation. We have been
more fortunate than the editor in question
inasmuch as we have seen the petition and
the signatures thereto. II the editor will
allow us to enlighten him in this matter
wherein he is in error we will assure him
that the signers Of the petition are among
our most wealthy. intelligent, enterprising,
successful business men and men who were
most active in organizing our first bor-
ough government. They are men who
have a spirit of enterprise, who pay large
share of our taxes, and who lave desire
to improve and build UP the town. They
are not men so rutted they cannot get out
of the old grooves and so fossilated they
cannot keep march with the spirit of the
times. To call such men, in the exercise
of lawful privilege, "schemers' and
"obstructionists'' is in bad taste as coming
from one claiming to hold the position OF
a public instructor, and eyinces secret
motive that does not appear on the surface.
The petition prays for the privilege Of
allowing the legal voters Of our borough
to say which form of borough government
they will adopt privilege democratic
in principle and in accordance with the
Split of our laws. The person WHO OPP
poses such privilege, bc he editor or not,
is a reactionst in spirit and in antagouism
to the principles that underlie our free in
stitutions. The new borough law, as we
understand it, and we have read it care
fully, embodies all the desirable features
of the old law and its multtHdinous sup
plements. 1t goes further and takes onr
local affairs out of the jurisdiction of a
court of lag and allow us tn say for our
selves " hat shall be the character of our
public places. This is local self govern
ment, founded OH the will of tine majority.
The spirit that antagonzes this govern
me ntal principle is destructive in its ten
dency. 1t is the spirit of socialism, com
munism and nihilism. II is the spirit of
Ahasuerus as aga inst the one hundred and
twenty provinces of the East. 1t is the
spirit of Caesar as against Rome. 1t is the
spirit If the saloon as against the home.
If the interest of our public places was the
subject matter the editor had in mind
when he wrote his editorial structure, and
upon which he claims the people are at
''loggerheat,s," then we suggest for his
consideration the wisdom of Solomon's
saying in Proverbs Gle that -
meddleth with strife belonging not to him,
is like one that taketh a doc Inv the ears ~