Amador ledger., 1900-08-24
The Incorporation Movement.

corporation movement has advanced
beyond the mere talking stage, and has
taken practical shape in the publication
OF petition requesting the Supervisors
to call an election, | desire through
your columns to present the matter
fairly before the citizens of jackson. l
do not propose to discuss the question
of the propriety or otherwise of those
who have no property in Jackson TAX
ing an active part in movement to
saddle heavy additional taxes upon the
realty of the town. The law gives them
the right to work and vote on such
matters, and hence the question wheth-
er that right shall be exercised or not,
must be left for each individual to settle
for himself in the domain of his own
conscience. But, when it is urged in
behalf OF non-property holders as an eX-
cuse for activity in this double-tax
movement that they ARE residents and
voters of jackson, and that the life and
health of themselves, their families and
friends are matters of vital considera-
tion to them, " are We to understand
that from their standpoint the life and
health OF the property-owner and of his
family and his friends are of less ''vital
consequence TO him." Does the mere
ownership of property cause a man to
undervalue the Importance of life and
health? If so, what curse the possess
sion of property necessarily entails.
The fallacy of the attempt to offset the
love of life and health against property
rights, when thus pressed to its logical
conclusion, must be apparent to all; l
will therefore follow it no further.
L have no sympathy with the effort
to SANDER Jackson by denouncing it as
an unsanitary, unhealthful and filthy
town. On the contrary, it is one of the
most healthful towns in the State.
That the death rate is high here is
probably true; but this is owing not to
unhealthy surroundings, but to the fact
that so many of our people are engaged
in the perilous and unhealthful occupa-
tion of mining, and because the indi-
gent sick from all parts of the county
find an asylum here in the hospital.
Those in favor of incorporation seem
to have gone into the thing blindly. At
any rate, no effort has been made to en-
tighten the people op the subject.
They talk of sewer system as the
certain result of incorporation, and
there the song ends. No attempt is
made to estimate the cost of general
sewer system; no figures are given to
show what tax rate it would entail.
The only effort in this direction was
made by an anonymous 'friend" in last
week s Dispatch, who ventured to place
the assessable property within the pro-
posed city limits at one million dollars,
and the revenue for municipal purposes
at 70 cents on the S100, at 500. Allow
me to say that if all the figuring by the
advocates of Incorporation is on q par
with this it behooves the taxpayers to
steer clear of these financiers. Think of
800 as the revenue from property taxes
with which TO maintain a municipal gov
ernment for one year. What princely
income to support city airs. But the
truth is 20 cent tax on million dol
lar assessment roll would yield S7500-a
very fair starter. The trouble. how
ever, is that these financial statements
are nothing but guess work. There is
nothing like million dollars worth of
property within the municipal limits.
The writer has taken the trouble to 90
over the assessment roll of AmadOr
county for the express purpose of de-
termining this point. The assessed
valuation of property within the entire
townsite of Jackson for the current
year amounts to $4,000. But the
petitioners have left out half the area
of the town site. They propose to
leave out Newmanville, Bright's ad-
dition, and the whole of jackson Gate,
all of which are now within the bound
aries of jackson. Within this elimin-
ated territory one of the wealthiest
taxpayers of the county resides. Is it
surprising that the incorporation
scheme is viewed with distrust, when
the first break its promoters make is to
ask the people to reduce Jackson from
a town OF over 5000 to city of 25O0 in
habitants, at the same time robbing it
OF one half OF its territory, and cutting
off about 1880, 600 from its assessment
roll. BY this backward process they
desire jackson to grow into city.
Surely the incorporation movement
ought to be labeled San effort to be-
little the town of Jackson"
The proposed Incorporated city will
have about 1875, 600 assessable value.
A 75 cent tax would give $2812.50 per
year to support the dwarfed city. OF
course this would not be half enough
to pay salaries and running expenses,
to say nothing about permanent i'm
provements. The balance would have
to be- furnished by the business inter-
ests. Every business house saloons,
stores, etc.-would be required to pay
a special license tax. How piling up
expenses upon business. houses would
help toward building up city | leave
to the friends of Incorporation to ex-
plain. In my humble opinion it would
tend to drive business from jackson.
Business houses just outside the city
limits would be able to do business on a
more economical basis, and would be in
q position to undersell the city houses.
Our tradesmen can judge for them
selves what effect that would have up
on their business.
The sewer question in relation to in
corporation 1 reserve for another arti-
Gle. In order to set people thinking, |
will say, without fear of successful con-
tgslicti0n, that sewer system for the
proposed dimiputive city would cost at
least 500, ,00G, iuciIding connections.
This would amount to mors than one
fourth of the total value of city prop
erty. Whether paid by the issuance of
bonds, or by direct assessment against
tie property, the effect would be the
same. 1t w9uld practically ruin large
percentage of property holders, es-
pecially the small owners. With the
editors permission | propose to sub
stantiate these statements hereafter |
trust | have written sufficient to cause
our citizens to ponder over the situation
and discuss it among themselves. That
is all that is needed 10 secure the nyer-