The sun., 1899-04-30
WOMEN AID A GREAT WORK
PHASES OF THE CANVASS FOR NEW
ORLEANS'S IMPROVEMENT.

One-Third the Property Held nv Women
Alien Landlordism Disappearing
crease in Wealth of Hebrews-B"om for
Woman Sunrage-Property Well Dis
tributed-A Taxpayer In Each Family.
NEW ORLEANS. April 2S.-Some curious facts
have been developed by the canvass to secure
signatures to the petition calling for special
election on the question OF raising FUNDS TO
drain the city and secure an abundant water
supply. The law requires that Mt least one
third of all the taxpayers. both in numbers
and In the amount OF property. shall ask Tor
! such an election. and IL also requires that such
signers shall be voters. The only execution IS
/ in the matter Of women. The Constitution
! provides that women who are taxpayers In
their own right and who would II they were
| men enjoy the hight to vote-that is those who
/ are II years of age. can read and write and
have been residents OF Louisiana Tor two
| years. &c.-can participate In tax election.
either in person or by proxy. This is the first
! concession made to woman suffrage in Louis
/ lana. Heretofore the opposition to 1t in any
| shape has been extreme. A few women who
organized a club favOrlna female suffrage
: ever in a modified form got no consideration
! from the Constitutional Convention or the
LEGISLATURE. and little sympathy or support
! from their own sen The concession mad"
! by the Convention that women who owned
| property Ill tnelf own rlGnJ SnDulu De uliONcu
! To vote on the question whether or not that
| property should be taxed beyond the Consti-
rational limit aroused the greatest enthusi-
| asm among the women and has probably
stimulated the movement for equal suffrage.
| 1t undoubtedly assured the success of the
drainage petition. without the aid of the wO-
men of New Orleans. this great work which
means the sanitary regeneration OF New Or
.eans and the protection OF the Southwest from
! the danger Of yellow fever and the Disturbing
| Influences OF quarantine. would have failod
The canvass OF the assessment rolls devel-
| oped the fact heretofore unsuspectei ana proh-
ably not true of anv other American city. that
nearly one.third of the tax payers OF New Or
! leans were women-not women whose hus-
bands had placed property in their name rs a
| protection against creditors. but women who
| Cwned the property as their own paraphernal
| possession inherited from their parents and
absolutely free from the control of their hus-
| bands. The civil law OF Louisiana. which is
very Jealous in the matter and makes the
| courts the special protectors of thc property
| of women aud children and throws such safe
guards around it that any alienation is almost
impossible. is responsible for the large num-
| bsr of women taxpayers in New Orleans.
In regard to alien landlords the tax rolls
showed an immense improvement Of late
years. Alien lahdordism. one of the greatest
| curses OF New Orleans. has almost disappeared.
| Formerly one.third OF the property in the city
was owned abroad. mainly in France and
| largely in Paris. The creoles OF Louisiana
have always until lately looked upon France as
their home. and those who acquired sufficient
property to live on its income hurried Off to
France to spend their days there. The story
| told of a creole grocer on Dumaine street well
illustrates the sentiment. Having suddenly
| anuuirnI "a In rpe a a a n n ouDpAl his
parture for Paris the next day. and invited his
nelphbors in to help themselves and thus get
| rid Of the stock; he was in such hurry to get
away that he could not wait for an auction.
Nearly all the creoles are descendants Of tho
| jhpior branches OF families established in
Trance. Many OF the creole heiresses married
Frenchmen. and the result was that about
ons-third OF the real estate in New Orleans
was until lately owned in France. The sys-
TEN worked as badly In New Orleans as alb
sentee landlordsm has worked In Ireland.
The French owners OF property in Louisiana
lost Interest In the city and State and looked
only at the rentals they could gather. They
were unwilling to spend money Tor repairs and
steadily opposed improvements OF all kinds. 1t
was largely due to this influence that nothing
was done in rhe way Of drainage and sewerage
and that New Orleans won the reputation OF
being very unprog ressive city Their policy
OF killing the goose that laid tho golden eggs
worked dlsastrously 20 their alien landlords
1t had the effect Of driving business from the
creole or French quarter of the city. in which
their possessions were mainly situated. and
in building up what is now tie ommercia
centre. American New Orleans. A study OF
the assessment. rolls shows that this element
has very materially shrunk and is DOW Of
little Importance. 1t was hurt BY the high tax
alton OF reconstruction days. and the French
holders OF Louisiana property largely sod out
after the Franco German war.
Another striking fact brought out by the
study Of the tax rolls was the wonderful in
crease in the wealth OF the Hebrew citizens of
New Orleans. Twenty years ago they would
not have figured at all in a lis. of taxpayers {:
ten years ago they would have attracted little
attention. but when this year l. was proposed
to select five OF the largest individual tax
payers to serve as Drainage and Sewerage
Commissioners, and the Mayor asked that tho
names OF the ten largest taxpayers should be
furnished him to select from. seven out OF tho
ten were found to be Israelites. similar list
twenty years ago would not have had a single
Hebrew name on it. AMI ten years ago not
! more than one. The Hebrew POPULATION of
New Orleans has more than doubled during
that period. but its wealth has increased far
more rapidly. In fact. New Orleans 10 rapid
ly becoming the Southern capita al OF the Amer
lean Israelites. where those who acquire for
tunes in the Southwest congregate for the
Pocal advantages the city offers them.
The large number OF taxpayers who could
not sign the petition because they were not
citizens greatly increased the difficulty OF get
ting the requisite number OF signatures. The
pattion frs. presented had 10 be withdrawn
for the reason that many persons who signed
1t had no right tc do So and 1t was sent bac X
| for additional SIGNATURES Naa auVad hv
the women. They organized an Auxiliary
Sewerage and Drainage Association met con-
stAntly canvassed for names and secured the
requisite number. Almost without excep ptton
every woman owning property In New Or
leans who can vote signed the petition and
worked for 1t. and there is every reason to be-
leve that the ballot granted them in this case
stimulated them to action.
Tho law allows them TO vote by proxy or In
person. and it is certain that there will be very
few proxies. The woman vote will carry the