The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1892-06-11
our ST. LOUIS LETTER.
rhs NIcsragus Csnal-Dusiness Unins
paired workingmsn's Prospects--
Municipal Matters

ST. LOUIS, May 80, 1892. Great inter
est Is felt in the Nicaragua Canal con.
ycntion, which meets here the. first
week "a June, and for which great
preparation is being made. St Louis
having the bulk of the Wholesale trade
of Mexico and Central America, Is 'es-
pecially interested In the canal project,
and that is why the city was selected
for the convention. The Canal COM
pauy wants subsidy from the govern
ment and the convention Is to meet
June 2, in order that the national con.
yentions of both political parties may be
petitioned TO put in their platforms in.
dorsements of the company and It's re-
quests. Morris M. Estee, the Repub-
iican leader of California, will be here,
and will afterwards 60 to Minneapolis
to urge the claim Of the company be-
fore that convention, and Don Dickin'
son of Detroit, will do the same thing
before the Democratic convention.
The fall of the water in the Missis'
sippi shows how immaterial has been
| the damage to st. Louis, although
| there have been scares of water and
coal famine in abundance the last few
weeks. AS n matter of fact the flood
touched the real business life OF the
city very lightly. People who live
ont of sight OF the river would have
known nothing of it but for the papers.
and to many 1t was simply spectacle
to be wondered at from the big bridge
and the decks of the excursion boats.
Thousands of dollars have been raised
bv the Merchants Exchange and the
newspapers to relieve the distress OF
the poor river jewellers whose homes
have been inundated, and this prompt
generosity has prevented much suffer
ing. The damage to the railroads and
the levee interests has been considera.
bic. Railroad men say that the de-
post of earth left by the river when 1t
recedes will strengthen all the en-
bankments and trestles that have been
overfiowed. 1t is remarkable that the
only accidents that have occurred on
the st. Louis roads since the Hood De-
gan have been caused by the careless
ness of conductors who ran their trains
against orders, and not by the water.
The worlsingmen of the city will pro-
At by the overflow, for every unem
ployed laborer here will be kept busy
for weeks cleaning off the levee and
digging out the buried switches OF the
manufac tories along the river front
Corrupt politicians who look on city
! rs something to be taxed and plum
dered would not und erstand at all thu
contest that has been going on in tn
municipal assembly Of St Louis in thu
last few days. Thecomptroller wante'
10 cents on 500 taken from the Ia
rate, believing that the city would in
, crease so rapidly in the tax values dur
ing the next few years that it coul
afford the reduction. The house sus
tanned him but the council wanted tn
> surplus money applied to the paym"n
D of the city's debt The comptr' e
z won, and the tax rate goes down
{ the discussion of the question in the a.
' sembly it was developed that the cit
! taxable property is increasing nj a
= average rate of $4,000, 900 year. In
. increase next year, according TO "a
= statements Of Assessor o. Brien, Will y
; s1l, OoO, 200. The solid prosperity OF Tn
o CITY can better be understood when
r is explained that this tax reducuo
l. is undertaken while the city is buii'
ing city hall to cost n million dolia
l. and system OF water works that WI
cost over five millions.