, 1892-10-04

Editor Tribune
We see you intimate in one issue, that
city politics are oYershadowed for the pres
ent by more important ones. With plebe-
lans city politics are most vital of any. II
mistake not, we believe that majority
OF the city are of the opinion that we have
no need OF city assessor. Spokane voted
their city assessor out last year. We have
tried it twice and it has resulted in oppres-
sion and extOrtiOn every time.
The city assesses on the same principle
that the landlord charged Bill Nye three
dollars for supper of hOe-cake and but
termilk-because they need the money. 1t
costs considerable to have separate assess
or, and all Just taxes can be levied from the
county roll. A county assessor of anv
judgment, when assessing farming or un-
improved land at ten dollars an acre. would
not raise to two hundred as soon as he
passed the town line, if there was no pros
pect OF there being any city there for fifty
years. 1t is not sufficiently considered
that nearly the entire tax is spent in the
business part OF town. The sewerage the
electric lights, the hydrants, dOn't reach
the remote parts of the town, and the DO.
lice don't even keep the bears off of it.
had to meet one, alone, last July.
And if we want any roads we
are told that they cannot go into
the wilderness to make roads, when
the demand is so urgent in the business
part OF the town. During the whole his
tory of the town [ have paid my road tax
and then had to make my own road, for
the most part. | have spent several hun
dred dollars on roads. The first move was
this last time, after some boss got the CITY
assessor in our charter was to place false
valuation on the town, not only to levy
exorbltant taxes, but to borrow all the
money possible. The tendency to run in
debt to the greatest possible extent is not
peculiar to Olympia. New towns gener-
ally do.
More than 40 years ago the new towns in
the state of New York ran in debt and op-
pressed the people to such an extent that
the legislature passed law that no town
should incorporate until it had ten thous-
and inhabitants.
The county, also, will need some good
hnanclerlng pretty soon. The county
voted to build a court house, but l think
it would not have voted for a one hundred
and forty thousand dollar one, 1t don't
have the effect anticipated on strangers.
They admire the building, but when they
learn the POPULATION of the city and of the
county, and that we borrowed money to
build it, they pronounce it the peoples
folly. 1t is said let posterity pay for it,
forgetting that the present generation will
have to pay foI it, by way ofinterest, three
times as much as it would cost to rent all
necessary buildings for county purposes or
to build what was really necessary.
When lawyers must have carpeted pal
aces, plebeians must suffer. In state Dol-
itics, the two leading parties, according to
their orators in their conventions have
both nominated some wonderful men. II
is questionable if it would be safe to elect
such eminent men, for fear we could not
keep them in this remote corner of the
word long enough to complete their term
Of office. Salaries though, are pretty fair,
men that were glad to get and keep as long
as possible, offices under the United States,
while we were a territory, as soon
as we become a state, must have nearly
twice as much salary. 1t is thought by
many the peoples platform ought to have
plank to call convention to revise the
constitution. 1t is not understood gener-
ally that politicians aim to make salaries
high enough so as part can be used each
election, to elect themselves or their party
friends again. The shot strikes the tax
payers all the same.
d. r. BIGELOW