Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1893-1895, 1895-08-09
MUNICIPAL BOOMERS


elearDes., setting forth the financial
condition Of Oregon's tsx-ridden and
ring-ridden metropolis. For all prae-
teal purposes the city and county are
one, 20 far ss population and property
for puTpOees Of taxation are concerned.
To all appearances the county has been
much the better governed Of the two,
a. the county debt is less than 500 900,
while the city debt is over S5,COO,OOO.
The total debt and interest charge Of
both city and county is S5,57S.13l 81.
OF this sum &4s, ,7ls29 Is due the state
treasury a. interest On delinquent taxes
for the past four years. All this debt
has been created since 1887, the besir-
ming Of the boom period Ia Oregon, and
Ar. Teal says: "By far the grester
part Of this huge debt has been author-
iEsd or created by the votes Of men bers
Of the legislature, who are not even
taXpayers in our midst, and has be- n
expended without the consent Of
or submission TO the voters Of the city,
by commissions created by the same
legislature and 10 the cheiee of which
the voters had no voice and over " hs m
they had no control" In aDother
part Of his able paper Mr.. Teal COZ
ciudeS "that commissions created hy
the legislature, self.perpetuating and
responsible 70 no one, are foreign to.
our institutions. That they are posi-
lively astagonistlc 10 the principles Of
local sslf-gOyernment and individual
responsibility, and their effect is sct-
ually haFmfuI." This is very interesting
In the face Of the efforts made last
winter by the old Portland ring, that
has created most Of these commissions
and this debt, to create another COM
mission that was not elected by the
people and that was TO be the sole
governing power Of the city Of Port.
land. But what assets has the city OF
Portland to pay its big debt with? II
has still enough Of this years tax
collected TO run the city for two
months. Then for ten months It will be
running in debt for current expenses.
It has 1874, ,2Ol.74 OF public money due
1t from three bankrupt banks that can
never be collected. The city owns the
water plant and, including water, the
rates to be paid by individual coDsum-
ers at $4,000, direct tax VIII be
levied for the current expenses Of city
and county, including interest on the
public debt, OF Sl,754, 900, or nearly
twenty dollars piece for 80, 900 people.
When 1t is considered that not over
1900 are voters and that not over one
third Of those pay any taxes to amount
to. anything, 1t will be seen that the
double-headed x-eatIng machine OF
Multnomah county consumes some-
thing between three and four hundred
dollars per capita Of the taxpaying
population. Mr.. Teal comes to this
now interesting conclusion: iThat It
10 no particular safeguard to have heavy
taxpayers on commissions; that the
men best qualified to conduct city
affairs are men Of moderate means
who feel their taxes; men who own
little homes, who are raising families,
who have no interest to serve save that
Of the city, no friends TO reward, no
enemies 10 punish. After all II IL on
such as these the city must build.
They are the element OF substantial
strength, therein" Mr.. Teal deserves
great credit for his fearless statements
10 the Portland men OF greater wealth.
Three fourths of them have been made
what they are by manipulation Of the
public revenues ahd through advan-
tages gained by legislatlon and over
reaching their neighbors while they
slept. or course no serious effort will
made TO make the public leech bankers
dlsgorge and the same gang Of small
Doodle politicians win again be sent to
salem who have got the city into ito
present deplorable financial condition,
20 not only make It's laws In the future
bus 10 a large extent TO corrupt Its
school, county, state and national poll
lies. 1t was only by efforts OF out
'lders that their corrupt schemes TO