The Lamar register., 1892-06-04
our ST. .ouls LETTER.
Tho Nicaragua CanaI-nusioes, Unim-
pairsd-workingm Prospscts-
NunioIpal AIateers

ST. LOUIS, May 80. 1902. * Great inter
est is felt In the Nicaragua Canal con-
vention, which meets here tho first
week in 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,
for the convention. Tke Canal com
pany wants subsidy from the govern
inent and the convention is to meet
June 2, in order that the national con-
ventions of both political parties may be
peti.ioned to put in their platforms in
dorsements of the company and its re-
quests. Morris NJ. Estee, the Repub-
lican leader of California. will be here,
ana will afterwards go 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 matter of fact the flood
touched the real business life of the
city very lightly. People who live
out of sight of the river would have
hho"H HoIHltly Ol IL DuI LOT lne papers,
and to many 1t was simply a spectacle
to be wondered at from the big bridge
and the decks of the excursion boats.
Thousands of dollars have been raised
by the Merchants Exchange and the
newspapers to relieve the distress of
the poor river dwellers whose homes
have been inundated, and this prompt
generosity has prevented much suffer
ing. The damage to therailroads and
the levce interests has been considera-
bic. Railroad men say that the de-
posit of earth left by the river when it
recedes will strengthen all the en-
bankments and trestles that have been
overllowed. 1t is remarkable that the
only accidents that have occurred on
the St Louis roads since the flood be-
gan have been caused by the careless
ness of conductors who ran their trains
against orders, and not by the water.
The worliingmen of the city will pro-
ft 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
nanufaceories along the river front. !:
Corrupt politicians who look on n city
as something to be taxed and plum
dered would not understand at all the
contest that has been going on in the
municipal assembly of St. Louis in the
last few days. The comptroller wanted
10 cents on 500 taken from the tax
rate, believing that the city would in
crease so rapidly in the tax values dur
ing the next few years that it could
afford the reduction. The house sus-
tained him but the council wanted the
surplus money applied to the payment
OF the citys debt. The comptroller
won, and the tax rate goes down. In
the discussion of the question in the as
sembly it was developed that the city
taxable property is increasing at an
average rate OF IS, 900, 600 year. The
increase next year, according to the
statements of Assessor o. Brien, will be
s11, coo, 600 The solid prosperity of the
city can better be understood when it
is explained that this tax reduction
is undertaken while the city is build
ing n city hall to cost million dollars
and system of water works that will
cost over five millions.