Evening journal., 1897-02-27
NEWS OF NEW CASTLE
OPPOSING THE CHAR TER
Residents of New Castle De-
mand Printed Copies.
SAY IT WILL Be DISASTROUS

>
COUNCIL HAS POWER 10 RAISE
PROPERTY ASSESSMENTS THOU
SANDS OF DOLLARS CITY LA
BILE FOR EVERY sPRAINED AN
KLE.
A number of well-known New Castle
citizens called upon an Evening Jour
nal reporter to voice their sentiments
IN opposition to the new city charter
which is now being considered in com
mittee of the House Of Representatives.
at Dover Probably these citizens were
prejudlced against the measure because
i was drawn by a nonresident. for
when asked:
Don't you think the charter as a
whole q good thing?"
we think it is an outrageous affair.
4 it passes in its present form" was
the reply
Their attention was then called to a
draft OF the proposed city charter and
they began their criticism in toto.
CHARGE OF cERRYMANDERING
In the FIRST place, some of the men in
teresred in the new instrument have.
they claim, so gerrymandered The -four
districts or wards proposed for The city
that one faction, for years prominent
among the two or three warning cliques
IN local politics, Is insured perpetual
control of the city government. the
Western and Southern districts being So
enlarged as to give a preponderance OF
votes at every city election. If some
bad councilmen are elected. there is no
rdress for two years
LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGE.
Nov it is all right" said one Of the
charter opponents, for some of our
ambitious young men to get together
and say: We want q greater New Cas-
tle, but Il is as necessary to look
ahead.and any far-sighted man in Della
ware sees danger in this new charter.
As the late George B. Rodney argued.
You cannot make a city in the coun-
Try Dy legislation; people make the city
every time, and eur trouble is now we
haven't quite enough people.
Now probably the greatest peril APP
pears IN the clause giving Council SUI
preme control over streets and high
ways. &c is a fact that this very power
Is what IS causing the city of Whining
ton all OF its trouble through incessant
litigation for damages. Under such law
any resident spraining his ankle on an
upturned brick or loose plate In the
dark can come on the city for heavy
damages. and jury would award them.
such q thing would be an abomination.
AT present we are under what is
known as the common law. whereby
the owner OF the property whereon such
injury Was sustained is liable and can
alone be held. That is why there are So
few lawsuits ever heard of here. That
Is why the case Of Louth VS.. the Mayor
and Council Of New Castle fell through
CAN RAISE ANY TAXATION.
while there is no provision allowing
Council TO raise the per centum of tax
alton higher than 96 cents on the S1OO
yet there is no limit to the assessment
they can make on property. Should
Council run short Of money, it can meet
at the proper time and say: Well, we
want Sl,50O more this year; Wen sim
ply raise the maximum assessment S15,-
600, and 60 ahead
IN other words. my property now as
sessed at $1,000 can be raised to 50 500
or $4,000, and there is no redress. ex-
cept by long litigation in some court of
equity"
PRINT THAT NEW CHARTER.
Before leaving the opponents of the
charter assured the reporter that
they wanted to see New Castle greater.
and II was probably co-equal to their
interests as the projectors Of thescheme
II not more SO, and they were not op-
posed to new charter, but they want
every citizen Of New Castle to know
an about this bill now al Dover and its
consequences.
Therefore they viii demand that in
accordance with the House resolution
OF Representative B. A. HAZEL. the pro
posed new charter of New Castle be
printed in pamphlet form and made ac-
cessible TO all members of the corpora
ton, which means every taxpayer Of
the city Of New Castle