The morning call., 1891-08-17

In New York, us in California, the resi-
dents of the metropolitan city are protesting
against an assessment which makes the city
pay One-third Of the taxes of the State. 1t
appears that in New ork City property is
appraised as rule much higher than coun-
try property. In this city, as is known. real
estate is also assessed high, while in some
of the interior counties instances are numer-
Gus where property is only assessed at from
80 to 30 per cent of its value. In this way
the property-0wner in San Francisco pays
about twice the proportion of State taxes
that the country landowner in some favored
counties pays There appears to be no
remedy for the evil. The country assessors
are the judges of the fairness of theirasse
ments, ana the Board of Equalization can
only deal with their returns as whole.
Thus it happens that the assessed value eff
real estate in San Francisco increases regu-
larly with each assessment
The Injustice proceeds from notion that
largely prevails that city people are rich
aud can afford to pay, likewise that they
are corrupt and ought TO be made to suffer.
This notion is not altogether the offspring
of envy and jealousy. 1t is founded Oh a
close and prolonged study of the city dele
cations in the State Legislature. That
study has been conducted in other States
besides California. 1t has been prosecuted,
for instance, with some thoroughneSs in
New York and Ohio. In those States, as
here, the delegations from the chief cities
are generally corrupt, and fail to command
the respect of their fellow members All
the grOsser jobs which have materalized OF
late years at Albany have been concocted
by members representing the city Of New
York, and the worst members of the Legis-
lature at Columbus have hailed from Ham
llton County, which consists of the city of
Cincinnati. Hence the representatives of
these cities are held in disrespect by their
fellow members, and they are powerless to
protect their constituencies. We know how
it is here. The city delegation to Sacra-
mento generally occupies a position of sola-
ton in the Legislature. 1t never acts as a
unit without suspicion that it is on the
scent of plumber, and in consequence its
wishes ale contemptuously disregarded.
To 60 back step farther. The people of
the rural counties and the people Of the city
being of the same stock, the same kith O.
kin. the. same training and the same gen.
eral views, how does it happen that the city
members are usually corrupt, while the
country members are generally less open to
the representative system of government is
more thoroughly carried out in the country
than in the city. In the country the fittest
men in each party are selected to run for
the Legislature; in the city candidates for
the Legislature are chosen by conventions,
whose members are slated by boss. The
best citizans will neither accept nomina-
tons nor even take the trouble TO attend
the primaries. They abdicate their citizen
ship in favor of ring of professional poll
ticians, who relieve them Of the task of
governing. Every now and then, goaded
by some particularly outrageous wrong,
they try to form no-party faction, which
often falls into the hands of the professional
politicians because its founders are too
busy with their own business to spare the
necessary time to carry out their aims to
the end. In other words, the people of the
rural counties govern themselves, while the
people OF cities are governed by ringsters,
who are all the time busy in quest OF
Doodle; and that is the reason why legis-
latiye delegations from large cities usually
figure so unfayorably by the side of dele
cations from the country districts. 1t fol-
lows as natural corollary that, to the
extent of its power, each Legislature favors
the country al the expense Of the city.
It is often said that universal suffrage is a
failure in cities. That is proposition which
cannot be admitted. The accident of resi-
dence cannot invalidate the principle on
which universal suffrage rests. But it ap-
pears to be fact that the cares of business,
the pursuit of gain and the turmoil of city
lie do tend to sap civic virtue and to make