Smyrna times., 1897-02-24

use of his name but Mr.. Higgins told
a friend Monday that he would not be {
candidate. It is said that he fsvors the
appointment of William G. Spruance,
of Wilmington, a prominent member
of the constitutional convention.
If the present Legislature will dc
something to make freight rates on
fruits and vegetables about half what
they now are, they will indeed deserve
the eternal gratitude of the whole peo-
pie. Fruit growing would double in
acreage and yield in five years time if
the Pennsylvania Company were COM
PEELED to cut in half their exorbitant
charges. If cut in half still the rate
would be a very liberal one.-Afilford
Chronicle.
SEEKING HARMONY WITH ADDICKs.-
Despite the opposition of Mr.. Addicks
to the plans to bring about harmony
between the warning factions of the
Republicans, the New Castle county
Committee held a meeting Saturday
afternoon and appointed a committee
! to discuss a scheme of harmony. The
Higgins men are eager for compro-
mise. A ticket was slated with view
of bringing about harmony at the mum
icipal election. This is the ticket:
For mayor-Henry G. McLear.
For city solicitor William S. Hilles.
For Treasurer-Seth Feaster.
For president of City Council Henry
c. Conrad
The COUNTY OFFICERS. The Bour-
bOns in our State wish the Governor
to appoint the various county officers
as heretofore. They fear that the vo-
ters are not competent to make proper
selections of persons to transact pub
lie business. While protesting Dem
Ocracy they hold that the Governor is
less likely to err than the voters. In
other States the county officers are
elected, and we think the people of
Delaware are just as competent to per-
form this duty as those of other COM
monwealths. We trust the members
of the Constitutional Convention will
not heed the Bourbon appeals. .-Er.
The proposed bill to erect work
house to be paid for out of the State
funds, will not pass the Legislature.
The Kent and Sussex members are not
in favor of such an institution. They
contend that New Castle county and
the city of Wilmington especially, fur
nlsh the greater number of prisoners
for such mn institution, and that if New
Castle wants it, it should provide the
money to pay for it. The Republican
adds; New Castle county pays the
greater part of the money that goes in
to the State Treasury and gets
the least back from it. The two lower
counties want all the money and has
no wish to give any thing in return in
the way of improvements and some
thing that is badly needed in our
State.
The POLL TAx.-A writer in a Will
mington paper says there are fewer
than 5000 voters in Kent county, and
One-third of them are real estate own
ers-55OO poll taxables, of whom 1900 |
are cOlored. About these taxes the
writer makes the astonishing state
ment: ''The assessor is paid cents a
name for assessing all these poll taxa
bles, and cents for every name of the
bogus men he puts on the list "Jack"
O'Hara, whom assessor in Wilmington
recently, had three times as many
bogus as true names on his list. The
Clerk of the Peace gets cents every
time he writes the poll taxables name.
and that is at least five times. The
Levy Court Commissioners, nine
Of them in Kent, spent one month over
these poll taxables in order to get
enough of them disfranchised to keep
the county safe Lastly the collec-
tor gets per centum for collecting
this poll tax, which has been known to
be thrust upon him at the muzzle of a
pistol. The assessor, the Clerk of the
Peace and the collector together get 81
cents out of every dollar of poll tax
in Kent county. Add to this
this the $1,000 which is paid the Levy
Court for its work during = month,
and the total cost of collecting poll tax
will reach Al per centum."