The herald., 1894-08-06
HOW PUBLIC MONEY IS WASTED.
Useless Expense of tie License
Collectors Office.
Why Cut Should Be Made in That
Office.
The New License Specifically Provides
That the Police Department Shall
30 the work of License In
spoctors-A Se5, 200 Out.

After spending several days In DELHI
Grating thereon, Mayor Rowan has at
last signed the juggling ordinance re-
Gently devised by the council which
provides that one of the present license
collectors ehall hereafter be known as q
license inspector.
When the ordinance was originally
presented in the council several of the
members raised the objection that mas
much as the new license ordinance will
cut down the revenues of the city $685.
0O0 per annum by removing the mer-
chants tax, there should be marked
decrease in the expenses Of operating
the license collectors Office, which is
now scheduled at $1,000 per annum.
These appeals, which were made in the
interests OF economy. and designed to
save money foi the taxpayers, were un-
availing, and the mayor has now made
the ordinance law OF the city by sign
ing the same.
Any fair minded taxpayer, who will
take the trouble to examine into the
facts of the case, will discover that the
removal OF the merchants license has
reduced the work in the tax collectors
Office fully one-third, yet the only
change that has been made has been to
shift one employee from that Office to
the city clerks Office. The general pay
roll will remain the came. Az a matter
OF fact the license collectors Offices hould
cost the city only $1,000 per annum in
stead of s11, 200. In order to do this.
however. the mayor and the chief OF
police will have to do their duty and
see that the law is enforced. The Ii
cense law contains the following signi-
fcant provisions:
Sec. IL. All police officers are hereby
appointed assistant inspectors OF Ii
censee, and in addition to their several
duties as police officers are hereby re-
CURED to examine all places of business
and persons in their respective beats
liable to pay license, and to Hes that
such licenses are taken out.
Said assistant inspectors OF licenses
shall make out once month list OF
persons, firms or corporations having no
license, with their place of business, and
deliver such list. carefully and legibly
written, to the city clerk, and also re-
port to the city clerk the names oil all
such doing buiness without license
Immediately upon the fact coming to
their knowledge.
ANY police officer failing or neglecting
for more than thirty daye to report any
person, firm or corporation who or which
il engaged in transacting business with
out having paid the required license.
shall be guilty OF neglect of duty, and to
be either suspended from duty or dis
missed from the police force in the dis
cretion Of the board of police commits
sioners.
The chief of police is hereby directed
to carry into effect the provisions OF this
section.
There is nothing uncertain about the
above section. The chief of police and
the member OF the force are specifically
held responsible for the performance OF
certain duties, which, if performed, will
make il possible to make big cut in
expenditures of the city. This is mat
ter for the taxpayers to think about
when they are called on TO pupgle up
their money for the support of the occu-
pants OF the city hall.
1t is hardly likely that the new license
ordinance will be allowed to stand with
out further amendment. The commis-
sion men who handle home products OF
the garden and ranch feel that an injue-
tice is done them in placing tax on
their home induetry. and the same is
true of each wine grower and wine
maker and brewer. They use the grapes
and barley raised here at home, and
they naturally feel that the council, in
putting q license tax excessive in
amount on them, is putting restrictions
on the utilization Of home products and
the keeping OF Los Angeles money at
home. These two features OF the new
| ordinance will doubtless be amended.