Los Angeles herald., 1890-08-28
REFORMERS WORK.
Municipal Government is
Business, Not Politics.
A Premature Cry for a Third
PoliticalParty.
The Meeting of the Reform AssOcia-
tiOn Last Night.
The Present Administration Severely
Scored.-Where Does the Money GF?
High Taxes and Poor Govern
ment.-Some Addresses.

The Reformers met last night at Ill
inois hall. They were represented by
a fair sized audience and the criticisms
against the city government were re-
ceived with considerable enthusiasm.
Mr.. Ralph E. Hoyt opened the meet
ing by an address stating the object OF
the association, and giving as its basic
text the aphorism that municipal gov
ernment is business, not politics."
Rev. j. H. Collins then followed in a
speech cauterizing the city officials.
He spoke substantially as follows:
The loud and prolonged calls for
municipal reform now heard every
where throughout this city, coming as
they do, from the better class of citizens,
l consider serious blotch upon our
fair name. When political trickery and
official treachery walk arm and arm into
nearly all the various offices of our city
government, is it not time we should
cry out with loud voice and spare not =?
When upon our public works drunken
ward strikers, heelers and thugs, inter-
spersed with aliens, have been given
preference over young men of sober and
industrious habits, who are tax payers,
and who have widowed mothers and
younger brothers and sisters to support
and educate, as personally know cases
to have existed, do you wonder that a
pastor should step upon this platform
and shake hands with you, my fellow
citizens, in an effort to politically para
lyze the mighty arm OF ringism, bossism
and corruption which now holds our
fair city in it's deadly grasp.
My friends, where are our city officials
today? Have they not fallen into the
sewer of political corruption? Are they
not head downwards and up to their
ankles? Is the filthy slime into which
they have jumped ever rippled except
when the partisan hook baited with
Doodle is dropped in and another sucker
caught? Again | raise the question,
what shall we do? Something must be
done. Shall we of the different
wards attempt the dirty job of fishing
out our supposed to be representatives
and playing the hose on them in an at
tempt to purify things? For two rea-
sons l answer mo" My first reason is
that it would take too much water and
until the city can own its own water
works the cost would be great. My
second reason is that Sits hard to teach
old dogs new tricks" There has been
100000 expended in the advancement
of our school facilities, and the district
in which | live has its 800 scholars
packed for the past year into four rooms
of poorly ventilated shed, with noisy
pipe works on two sides of it, so that it
was, and is, almost impossible to hear a
class recite; that district, l say, gets an
b,,I
blocks away, costing in the neighborhood
of $4,000. The lot on which it stands
was bought for $4,000, and $4,000 will
buy it's equal anywhere in the neighbor-
hood, l have figured it up this way:
Lot, $4,000; commission, $500; Doodle,
81 900; query, who got the Doodle?
During the last winter, / represented
myself at the council and asked for
sidewalk across New Main street, as
ladies and children could not come
to church. On Monday morning
l carried thirteen children across,
with mud from four to eight
inches deep so that they could attend
school. That day I asked for a cross
walk; l got the promise of it,. and 81
days afterward we got the walk when the
wet season had closed. Down here on
First street the base ball crowd asked
for walk on Monday, and it was ready
for the following Sundays game of ball.
Why should this partiality be displayed? :?
Is it right? Is it honorable?
Are the widows on the lofty hills of
First street, in whose interest and pro-
lection his honor claims to have vetoed
a certain ordinance, any more entitled to
his official protection than is the widow
who not long ago besought the police
commission in tears to save her 15-year-
old boy, and her home from the clutches
OF villaious rum-seller, who was sell
ling liquor in violation of state laws and
city ordinances? He has been false and
recreant to his oath of Office, and in my
opinion has forfeited all right or claim
upon the honest intelligent voters Of
the city.
Ladies and gentlemen, am not here
to dictate any policy, but may l give a
little advice? These men want to be
buried; they have dug their own
graves; they have wrapped about them
selves the dark grave clothes for the
burial; slowly they are, by their official
acts, stepping down into the coffins OF
their own choice and make. They are
we'll nigh dead to the best moral, social
soon it will be our sad duty, but never
theless our honorable duty to take the
citizens spade (the ballot), and bury
their corrupt political carcasses from off
the face of the earth.
Among other speakers was Police
Commissioner d. Gilbert Dexter. Space
will not permit of giving his effort in
full. 1t was very strong arraignment
of the city government, scathingly so in
many points. A few excerpts are here
with reported:
1 take up the scheduled list of both
the city and county assessors and find a
very singular disparity in the listed val
ues of the two. In some instances the
lists of the same property in this city are
double on the one over the other. 1t GER
tainly shows very strange condition OF
estimating values. This should not be.
Men of keener and more accurate
Judgment should be employed.
1 am inclined to ask right
here, whatdo we want of a county board
of assessors anyway? Is it not about
time to set up housekeeping on a
different and more improved plan? Will
some one tell me the necessity of assess
ing the property in this city by two
boards at the same time? Does it not
1ool, =, +bo,rb xua daliUhtnd tO SppnC