The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-01-08
Street Improvement.
To the Editor of The Times:

To the Editor of The Times;
This subject Il Of enough Importance 70
Justify further discussion, so mat street
Improvement be place I'd on its proper
basis. Enich "B" conceives is not done
in your recent editorial, "B. ana tne
Streets and the Spells System. Primer
niles. not practices. which We both agree
are bad, will be discussed.
81" denies that taxaucn, Whatever II
may be in practice. is not case III WHICH
one man IS forced to bear another man
b:rden." Taxation in principle makes
each man ooar his own burden anu
therefore. each man is taxed ACCORDING
TO his ostensihl. possessions. Except III
protective tarins, taxation Is never aVoW
eddy to make one man pear ahothei
burden and. therefore. taxing one man
to improve another ward is protectlohlsm'
but not Democracy or polltlcal ecohonly'
"B." also denies that all the peopie
within that territory Uiichmohu) are
Jointly and equally Interested IN an the
parts of it." on the contrary, the topo-
erauhv of Richmond is such that there
Is little or no community of interests or
sentiment between some Of its parts, De
tyvee, Marshall and Clay between
Church Hill and Shockoe Hill or the valley
Intervening AS far as clay Ward Is ma
terially concerned, Marshall ward nllshC
almost as well be Manchester or Newport
Noys or. indeed not at all THEREFORE,
To tax clay TO improve Marshall ward'
ar vice versa. even though the city as a
unit b. irnproy ed, would be little different
from taxing the Third to improve the
Ninth or any other congressional as
trict. because the State, as unit would
thereby be improved Such exercise OF
the taxing power could never De ne-
Tended i'm the case of the districts neither
~. Of ha n
cilmen. therefore, come as near as may
be 10 equality and Justice when they
divide the street fund pro rata. though
they would come nearer If they distri-
buted according 10 taxes paid.
"B." agrees that the true and only
theory upon which money raised by
taxing all within that territory shad
be spent is that ii shall go 10 places
when the interest Of all require that IL
shall be spent" But here's the ruD-to
serve eduitaby the interests OF all. Taxes.
of course, may Justly be levied on all
for City Hail, police. courts of justice.
&c, because the interests OF all are
thereby subserved. But streets stand on
different footing, because. except 10
limited extent 1t is impossible 10 improve
streets so that all are equally benefited.
As a fact, every dollar spent In Gay
ward iniu-as every other vi I'd, because
Clay ward, naturally attractive. is there
by made more attractive, and thereby
drains the more the other wards. 10
tax the other wards to improve Clay
ward would be like lending one stick 10
break the lenders head. Your principle
OF taxation, therefore, namely, the IN
terests Of ALL" do not and cannot gen
orally apply to street Improvements;
hence not each ward, but each locality
should improve itself or go unimproved.
"B." denies that either New York or
Fredericksburg has any claim on the
country as unit to improve its harbor.
because il is impossible that all parts OF
the country can be equally benefited
thereby. There is no sounder timber in
the Democratic platform than it's oppo-
sitiOn TO internal improvements by the
national Government.
To test whether all are equally interest
ed In street improvements propose that
each ward tax itself 5000 extra to open
and grade the streets Of the annexed dis
trict and possibly not even Clay ward
would agree. The annexed district
should. OF course, be equitably improved.
'NNhere would b draw the line"
As already stated. by the property pay
ing, say two-thirds, and the city one
third Of cost. When an Improvement
causes injury, the property Injured
should be cquitably indemnified. But IL
our Court OF Appeals forbids this. then
rather than tax all TO improve part inn
moyemCnt had better remain urdone. II
Peter must be robbed 70 Jay Paul then
ii IS best that Paul never b. paid. The
plea Of public convenience or improve
ne1t can never Justify connscation, and
TO take from A 10 give 10 T., OF TO i'm
prove one ward at the expense Of anoth-
| cr. unless each IS substantially alike bene-
flied is practical confiscation. Fiat
fustitia" Il.