The weekly examiner., 1891-08-01
TAX PERFORMERS IN POLITICS.

We had occasion in last weeks issue to consider in general way the wholly H. legal, unauthorized and unpopular course of our city and town officials in hiring and sending broadcast an army of hired asses sors, to sneak into every mans business, daily salary from the city and town treas ury, all in plain, open and defiant violation of law and the statutes of the state. This gang of prowlers,-many of them boys, some of them br oken-down political hacks, none of them men of judgment or capacity in the burdens they have assumed have now added another week to their illegal work Unless stopped, either by the good sense of our citizens by town meeting called for that purpose, or by private en- terprise in applying to the conrts, this sys- tenn of plundering our treasury will go on until at or about election day. One of our weeklies seems, in a long editorial, to doubt the present. expediency of an injunction, because it is assured by one ofrnour best lawyers" that an injunction against the treasurer will not lie until these cockroach- es ''present their bills for payment" THE EXAMINER man dislikes to differ with any celebrated legal authority on a matter of this sort, but if such advice is good, the remedy would come too late, for the bills will be rendered and paid t'in the twink ling of an eye," and the injunction would fail by delay. Good legal authority, on the other hand, assures us that an injunction is now the proper remedy,-not only to prevent the payment of such illegal bills, but to prevent these wandering monde scripts from doing the work on which the bills are based. It is said by contempor- ary that "they may be doing all this on their own private account, and, if so, they have right to do so, and an injunction from tax payers would be useless" That is only superficial view and, we venture to add, it is unpaid-for legal advice. Here are set of men, assuming to act by author
 ity-that authority is the action of the se- lectmen and court of common council-that action is wholly outside of the legal powers of either of these bodies of public servants, for they have no sort of legal control over the subject matter of assessments for taxa tion nor for paying for them when made. These boards themselves have violated the plain law. Their underlings on the com mittee are doing the same. Yet, in so doing, they assume and claim to act, not as private citizens ''for curiosity alone" but as public body, under public ap- pointment, and at public pay. It is pub
 lie act, although an illegal one, which sets them in motion. Clearly, then, an injunc- tion lies in behalf of citizen tax payer to prevent any further nonsense from them, either in work or in pay. There is no use in wasting any words on so plain fact as this.
 Again if there was any provision for such a committee and it's work by law, it should. if the evils are of the magnitude set forth so glaringly by the mayor and other off cials, be composed of our most clear-headed far sighted, level-minded citizens. A lot of lawless boys collected for this purpose, and to hold them ready for political service on election day,-a lot of equally lawless and toothless broken down old men, who have long ago owed to Time more than their time is worth, h,-shopld not be the set to saddle thus upon the community, to be paid by lthe community. There are many tax payers wAo anasary pay more taxes in support of local government than all the committee put to- gether ever have paid or ever will. Does it not seem peculiar that most of the howl