Los Angeles herald., 1890-11-30
RULE AND RUIN.
Are the People Going to Continue the
Republican Regime in Power1

writer that it is time for Republican as
well as Democratic taxpayers of this
misgoverned city, to speak out plainly
and call things by their right names, if
they expect to avert the grave disaster
now impending, of another two years
rule like that of the two years just
drawing to a close. Unless the voters
arise in their might and thrust the local
Republican party out OF power and out
OF office, as they can now do in legal
manner, if they 80 choose, there is
danger that the old clique, indorsed by
the Republican convention, and grown
insolent by lack of opposition, will do
its feeble best, Intentionally or uninten-
tionally, to bankrupt the city and
the property holders thereof, thous-
ands of whom are more or
less in debt, and many of
whom-and no man knows how many
are in danger of losing their home
steads and their all.
During the last three years, what has
been the situation? A reaction from
the great boom-phenomenal in its
magnitude-which was indeed like
tidal wave, has been going on, leaving
many, if not stranded, at least more or
less financially embarrassed. Our citi-
zens have seen their income as rule
diminishing, whilst their taxes have
been increasing they have seen, within
the city at least, the market value of
their houses and lands steadily shrink
ing, whilst at the same time their taxes
and their assessments have as steadily
grown larger. The city government
under Republican rule, for whose acts
the Democratic party is in no wise re-
sponsible (and l say that as Repub-
lican, and no one can truthfully say
! less) has been the least responsive to
the situation probably, that this city
has ever had since it was city. We
| old citizens well know, but our
citv councils heretofore have SYM
pathized with the pc pile and with
their condition; and when times were
| hard they endeavored not to distress
| the taxpayers. But the present coun
! Gil, having had its own way without any
! opposition whatever from any other
party, like Tweed of old, seems to have
been drunk with power, and has shown
| by its work that it would do as it
pleased, without restraint of any kind,
with the impudent implication "What
are you taxpayers or anybody else 60
ing to do about it? Help yourselves if
you can"
Every department of our present city
administration, with one or two honor
able exceptions, has been run in the in
| terests of the tax-eaters instead of the
tax-payers-run as if we were having q
rising tide instead OF a falling tide-as
if the great body of our people were
millionaires instead of being, as they
are, householders in moderate or strait
ened circumstances, with slender and
diminishing incomes. Offices have been
multiplied, streets and sewers have been
made where they were not needed,
or at least where they could
be dispensed with till the
poor, badgered, bedeviled property
owner was better able to pay for them.
1t is estimated that at least one half of
the taxpayers OF this city are compelled
to borrow money to pay their ordinary
annual taxes, and then on top of this
they have TO meet as best they can, ex
| traordinary assessments for streets, side
walks, sewers and what not, which a
reckless council inaugurates or orders,
more for the benefit OF greedy contract
ors than for the comfort and welfare OF
the citizens at large.
One grave count in the indictment
against our present council is that it i'm
bibes its notions OF progress andssmunici-
pal improvement from the contractors
and from those who are to receive the
money expended, rather than from those
who have to foot the bills, or from the
citizens in general, who have only the
best welfare of the city at heart.
The belief is wide spread that this is q
| 10 no., 10, ,
council, and that belief fire can not burn
out. Whenever times get dull
with the contractors and grass
gets short with them, the machinery
of street-opening or side-walking, or
paving or grading, is set in motion, and
thus business is made lively for "the
boys" First street is attacked, if moth
ing else serves; this council would cut
through or tunnel Chimborazo if it
stood in their way, and, as to the cost,
that is of no consequence" no matter
whom it ruins; streets on the outskirts
or in the sparsely-settled districts are
opened or widened or graded franchises
worth hundreds of thousands of dollars
are given away as mere baubles. Only
the other day, one of the members of
that "fifth wheel'' of our municipal
wagon, the street-opening commission,
said in an interview in the most airy
way, that they were going ahead with
the opening OF Los Angeles street, the
expense of which would be $l70O0O
Where in the world are those $40, 900
to come from? Where and how are the
mortgaged property-owners on Broad
way to raise the $64, 600 required to
open that street at the south end, and
the $3.50, 900 or more to open the north
end; and the quarter of million that
the cutting through of First
street will cost? Where are all
these and other similar large sums
for street and sewer work throughout the
city to come from? This irresponsible,
conscienceless council, which Repub.
lican convention has just indorsed, ap-
parently does not know, and apparently
does not care! And now the Repub-
lican party, or those who locally control
the machinery OF that party. propose to
foist this council, or majority of the
came, counting Wirsching's partner as
taking his place, on the people of this
city for another term! Can the people
stand it? Will they stand it? I think
not! l hope not And believe there
are thousands of families who have been
worrying as to how they shall pay their
taxes, and whose homesteads have been
I