Equalized (?) Valuations In Washtenaw County

The board of supervisors has raised the assessed valuation of Ann Arbor city $585,000, and has decreased the valuations of 14 or 15 of the townships in sums varying from 820,000 to $07,000 TLis exceedingly large increase for Ann Arbor is causing much expression of indignation by our citizens. The tax-payers of Ann Arbor will never object to a reasonable rise in taxes; but this increase of more than half a million dollars is unreasonable. It is well known, for the facts have been set forth in detail in these columns, that Ann Arbor has been improved during the past year. lts taxable property has certainly increased, but not to such an extent as to justify the imposition of such a heavy burden. The Register, Sept. 1, showed that residences, business blocks, and improvements, to the value of about $175,000, had been constructed during the year. These new buildings and evidences of prosperity undoubtedly had the effect of raising land values in the city slightly. There has been a steady, healthy growth in Ann Arbor, there can be no doubt, and no wellwisher of the city can desire to deny it; but there is nothing in these facts on which to base the conclusión that the city's valuation should be raised more than half a million at one swoop, while the valuations of rich and gruwing townships are lowered. Mr. Chamberlaix, who is coming to America to represent England on the fisheries conimission, of which President Angelí will be a member, seeins to lack the discretion of a good diplomat. He is fresh from making bitter speeches in Ireland against home rule, and has recently uttered offensive remarks concerning the Irish of the United States. Chamberlain is a deeply disappointed man. He aimed at winning the highest parliamentary place in England, and made a bid for the support of the growing democracy by playing the part of a radical reformer, while his instincts are conservative and aristocratie. Thomas Sexton, in a speech in the house of commons, well described him when he said that if Chamberlain had lived in the time of Nero, he would have played second fiddle while Rome was burning. Although his ability is second class, and he has no genuine sympathy with the oppressed, he might have become prime minister had he possessed more patience. But Gladstone pereisted in living ; and now Chamberlain'e speeches supporting coerción for Ireland, such as England has not attempted, before in this century, sound odd when compared with his denunciations of coerción of a few months ago. Such a sudden and unreasonable change makes it impossible to believe, that he] is truly patriotic. It is difficult to see just how Mr. Bruce's "race problem" differs materially from the "labor problem" as we see it everywhere. Mr. Bruce virtually recognized this when he said that material progress must come before intellectual progress. Illiteracy in the south is great, but the difference between the north and south in that respect is probably not so great as the census shows. And the blacks of the the south are hardly treated with more indignity than thecoal minors of Pennsylvania and some women operatives in faetones in the north. In Pennsylvania 125,000 children under 15 years of age work in faetones a:id mines, and 300,000 of school age do not attend school. This presenta the same difficult problem as the condition of the blacks and poor whites in the south ; and it is impossible to believe that national help to education can solve the question, although it may do a great deal. Mr. Bruce should try again to solve the "race problem." IüDErENDENT voting received a setback in the Baltimore city election last week. That city has long been the stamping ground of as hard a set of "toughs," political and otherwise, as can be found in the world. A large number of democrats became disgusted, and determined to overthrow the ring, which not only controls the city, but the state, by voting for the republican candidates. They secured the inspection of the registration lists by the courts, and a large number of names were stricken off; but in spite of all this, the democratie candidate was elected by an increased raajority. Somebody has said that "the government of cities s the great problem of the day." Independent voting will have to be very general betbre it can solve this one of the many great problems of the day. So far, the independents are not a match for the repeaters and thugs. "Maladib du Coit" is the name of a new contagious disease among horses in America, of which bulletin No. 29 of the Agricultual college gives the latest information. The disease has appeared in Illinois, and bas caused much alarm, but so far it has been confined to two counties. The mortality among horees affected with this disease is sometimes 70 per cent. Whkn reading the daily accounts of the attempts made by the English tory government to crush free speech in Ireland, one must wonder if there is not some strange mistake about it. They sound more in keeping with the spirit of the seventeenth century.