Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1891-01-23
Unfair Representation.
A State of Things which has offered a
chance for grievous complaint.

Astonishing as was the revelation in
regard to the unequal adjustment of
taxation of last week. even more sur
prising are the circumstances under
which this abuse has been allowed to
creep in. The burden Of taxation has
been pushed unrighteously aud unlaw-
fully upon the shoulders of the country
districts. That must be fact indispu-
table from the figures which the Board
has given. The foregoing article must
have established that beyond a doubt.
We. in the rural districts, are paying
taxes today on 81 ,496,690 more than the
assessment rolls say we possess; while
on the other hand the cities of the
county are paying taxes Oh S4l7,S73
less than they themselves admit they
possess. The State and County tax is
5.4 mills on a dollar. y pencil and pa
per will readily show anyone just how
much more money the country is pay
ing in taxes than it should and how
much less, on the other hand, the cities
contribute toward the expenses of the
State and County. The amount is
large enough to raise q mighty howl all
over the country. "A fair approxima-
tiOn Of the amount we, in the coun-
ty. will be unduly tleeced out of this
year is $1,000. and 500 in this township
alone. And these rich cities of Port
Huron. Fort Gratiot and st. Clair will
pav $1,000 less than they justly owe
towards our governmental expenses.
Their is a point i'll forbearance be-
yond which even the slow-thinkiug
countryman can not be bulldoZed.
That point is reached when it comes to
effect his pOcketbOOk. Now they de-
mand redress; and measures are afoot
by which they will obtain it. The
unequal distribution of representation
on the Board of Supervisors, between
city and townships. IS the point that
will he attacked first. Vt present there
are fOTty-One members of the Board.
or these, twenty-three are from the
country and eighteen from the city.
But ON the basis of taxable valndtiOn.
the twenty-three representatives. for
50. l90,5i0. on which we are now paying
taxes. allows one representative for
every 1895. .0S7. while eighteen repre-
Sentatives for 1881. 107. the amount Oh
which the cities are paying taxes. al
lows one representative for only sS26S,-
42S. This shows on the face of it "a
conspicuous injustice to the country
On the basis of the city there is Sl3l.-
059 in every township which does not
have u just representative on the Board
Of Supervisors. The reason for this, as
is claimed by those who are thoroughly
acquainted with the condition of the
county. is that there is no provision
made in the law for any representation
from incorporated villages. Tins the
town of }rockway, in which Yale is
situated. village of about 1000 inhab-
itants. has only the same representa-
tiOn on the Board OF supervisors as
those townships in which there is no
village whatsoever. It is easy to see
how i'm this manner q thousand citizens
are deprived, comparatively speaking
of representation. On the other hand
the law allows a supervisor from every
ward of city besides one ut large,
giving to the city an opportunity of
obtaining supervisor for every little
clique Of houses which they may term
ward. There is no specification as to
the number of Inhabitants who com
pose the ward. The country town
ships. according to the rules that govern
their choice. have had majority on
the Board, but still have proven them
selves incompetent TO cope with the
city delegation. The property of the
villages has been placed in the hands Of
the township Supervisors and they have
shown their inability To protect it.
This has opened the eyes of the village
communities TO the fact that they have
no representative in whom TO confde
their interests: and what is more. the
equity of the case and the figures them
selves show that we deserve a repre-
sentative on that Board The fairness
Of the demand can not be disputed It
is open TO the demonstration Of
school boy It is the only remedy at
hand for the abuse To which we have
been subjected. The matter is being
pushed by prominent men of the county
and immediate action will be taken.
At an early date there will be meet
ing held in this village for the cOnsid-
Grafton Of the subject Representa-
tives will be present from all over the
county and it may be put down as sure
that some decided stand will be made
at once. The plan of action has been
pretty well decided upon even now.