Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1906-03-20

which they can pay taxes. costs of 70
pairs and maintenance, and have left
. OF q per cent. net profit. the total
rents Of the property Of which q
speak would amount In one year to
$4,000. With twenty families In tn
house this would mean an average
rental Of $3.50 q year for each fam.
or $40 O month.
with a tax rate OF 1.49 the tax on
a 10000 piece OF property would be
$1.iS0.40. II the rate were AS, how.
ever. the iax would amount TO only
$1,000. Accordingly, the landlord
would save $500. and could accord.
ingly afford to cut down his rent by
this amount, and still realize his old
profit. The saving would therefor,
be enjoyed by the twenty families,
each of which would pay 500 less a
year, Of $3.50 less q month. In 9th
er words. the man that was paying
$40 q month for his nat wonld pay
$34.b0. All rents would be affected
more or less the same way. or every
500 paid In rents at the present
time $12.75 would be saved.
1T must be remembered, Of course,
that much of New York's debt Is due
TO expenditures which are now bring.
Ing In revenue. London has done like
wise. but In q more economical fash.
ion."
Enormous Salary List.
Salaries for city employees con-
sumo by far the greatest amount OF
the municipal revenues. The city pay.
roll IL nearly AZ great as the cost
Of the United States army. At the
present time there are $4,000 men and
women drawing S65. 900, 900 yearly out
of the city treasury. The a~ppropria.
tion for the army. which congress
has just passed. amounted to only g.,
zoo, 900 more. or every 800 that a
New Yorker pays In rent, It Is esti.
mated that S12.25 goes into the peck,
cts OF municipal "~servants."
In spite Of the fact that the great
majority OF city employees earn their
money far more easily than they
could IN private life, the Tamanany
heads Of departments are constantly
increasing salaries. In one month OF
December OF last year they raised the
wages Of men under them to the OK.
tent OF $4,000. Salaries are also
advanced because Of apparent care
lessness. A considerable Increase.
for example. was caused recently in
the salaries Of t~wentv-three oil-sur-
veyors connected with the bureau Of
combustlbles simply because the Board
OF estimate and the aldermen last
year seemed to overlook the fact that
there were more than one man in the
bureau 80 designated. Both boards
placed the salary of oil surveyor at
81, 500. The intention at the time was
to provide for an increase for Franz
8. Wolf, who was acting as secretary
Of the explosive commission without
extra compensation. The twenty-five
other inspectors also demanded the
same increase. and the courts not on
~ awarded It, but also several thous-
and dollars In back pay.
Indeed, half Of the $500 900 paid
to the city employees, 1t Is said, might
be saved II the city were run on
strictly business principles. II mum.
cipal officeholders worked as hard and
efficiently as they would be compeli-
ed to do In private employ It Is said
half Of them would do as much as
they all do now, As Fl. w. Wilmct. Of
) the Arm Of Jones, Caeser, Dickinson,
1 Wilinot 4 Co. who are the account
ants Of the United States Steel corp.
roration. put 1t: III the of~fice-holders
~ the city were in the employ Of the
United States Steel they would do
twice the work"
II the salary roll Of the city, there.
fore, we're cut down one-half the rent
payers would save 49, SOC. 1000 a year,
which would save them 1912 Of every
$1,000 they now pay landlords.
Whenever a New Yorker sees city
department clerks loliing In their
chairs at IL a. m. Of g~ossiping for
hours together In Railways, or locking
up their desks at 4 p. m. to catch a
train for the golf grounds, let him
think Of this.