The morning call., 1894-04-12
COST OF MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT

An extra census bulletin furnishes some
figures on the cost OF municipal govern
ments in cities of over 1000 population. A
comparison of the cost Of the luxury per
capita reveals the spots where machine
politics and incivism have bred corruption
and the robbery of the taxpayers. 1t is not
agreeable to observe that the cities OF Cal
ifornia occupy bad eminence among the
cities which are extensively governed.
AS rule, the cities of the grain States
in the river valleys are run at compara-
lively small expense Illinois is bright
example. The tax levy in the city of Chi
cago is only S12 so per head of the pOpula-
ti0D, and with the exception of Cairo. East
st. Louis. Spriu gfeld and two or three
others. all the cities are run for less than
SO per head. In one city of Indiana
Lafayette-the tax levy is SIT 26 and in
few others it is from $40 to S12, but the
greater bulk of the cities get along with
tax levies falling below $40. in Iowa it
costs the people of Council Bluffs SIS 81
and the people of Des MoiDes SIG 03 per
head to run their city government; most
OF the other cities get the work done for
$40 or less. and in many the levy is less
rate in TopeEa is S12 go. in Wichita itruns
up to S14 IN Leavenworth to S12 AZ. but
the smaller cities do not average SO. In
Michigan the rate is below S14 at Detroit
and below $40 in a majority of the other
cities. In Minnesota the rivalry between
st. Paul and Minneapolis has swelled the
ante in the former city to SIS IS and in the
latter to S21 45. The average of the other
cities is above rather than below $40. /
Nebraska the rate is well below $40 In
Ohio it is SIS 96 at Cincinnati ana S11 SO
at Columbus. In the smaller towns 1t is
below $40.
Turning to the Middle and Eastern
States we find the rate high in the large
cities. In New York City it is S21 92, in
Philadelphia So 40; in Pittsburg. where
the riot debt has got to be provided for.
SIS %; in jersey City S12 81, in Boston
S24 95; in Springfield, Mass, S13 %; in
Hartford S17 a., IN New Haven S11 4S.
All through this tier of States the tax levy
in the smaller towns is, on the average,
below So Where il exceeds that figure in
the great cities the excess is due to public
works on which interest has to be paid. In
some cities which own their own water
and gas works the cost of these items of
living appears in the tax levy, and does
not appear in the budget of the private
citizen.
The banner city in this State in regard
to the cost of municipal government is
San Diego, where the tax levy is S26 IA
per head. This Is a legacy of the late
boom. Los Angeles follows, with tax
levy of S23 49, which may be ascribed to
the same cause. Other southern cities
where spectators were scrambIing for
corner lots couple of years ago are now
paying the piper in the shape of increased
tax levies. The municipal taxation is
S21 04 in San Jose, $40 in Santa Cruz,
$50 2S in Pasadena. SIT 81 in San Ber-
nardino. San Francisco compares favor
ably with the larger cities of the State.
Our municipal tax levy is SIG "a per head,
whereas Oakland's is S17 3S, Sacramento's
SIS 81, Stockton's SIT IS. Through some
peculiar good luck Fresno's rate is lower
than ours, being only S14 %.
AS general rule the taxation Is kept
down in small towns through the vigilance
of town councils. In small communities
peo pie mean business when they elect coun-
cilmen and city officers; when cheating be-
gins somebody gets hurt. La large cities
incivism prevails. everybody attends to
his own business and leaves profession al
politicians free to rob taxpayers. In this
city the tax levy only reflects portion Of
the burden which property-owners have to
bear. The sums which are extracted from
the latter in the guise OF street improve
meDts, if they we're added to the product
of the regular tax levy. would bring the
cost of the municipal government in San
Francisco up to the level of the most ex
pensively governed city in the country.
Every time the Street Committee meets it
means that some poor person-perhaps
widow or orphan-is going to be i'm proved
out of a considerab bic share of his property.