Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1857-1865, 1859-02-11
Gas Company.

icle that the city authorities have subscri-
bed five thousand dollars to the Gas Com
pany, recently organized here, and since
that time, we have been accosted by pers-
ons representing every shade Of opinion
upon the subject Of the propriety of that
ordinance-each asking us to sustain,
through our columns, his particular views,
We would like to please every man, wo
man, and ,hild in the city, if we knew
how to do it, in justice to ourself; but this
we cannot undertake to do by advocating
variety of opposite opinions; and there
fore, say to the citizens that our columns
are open to all sides Of the question, for
free discussion, conducted in manly and
respectful manner Our business is with
politics, and whilst we feel proper in
terest in all that concerns the well being
of the city, it is not reasonable to presume
that we are sufficiently conrersaDt with all
the phazes Of its financial business, and
the equity of its government, to constitute
us an umpire in differences of opinion that
arise out of particular ordinances. So far
from it, the particular channels in which
our thoughts and Investigations run, dis
qualify us, to a considerable extent, from
forming such an acquaintance with the af-
fairs of the city as should entitle our opin-
ions to much weight. The town contains
many men, fully competent, and sufficient
! ly posted, to discuss every question that
arises from the action of the Board-our
columns are always open to them, and to
them it properly belongs to elicit truth
and enforce justice by exposing errors OF
judgement and wilful mismanagement on
the part of the corporate authorities. We
have our own opinions, and are not afraid
to express them but it is an imposition
upon us to demand that we shall be the
mouthpiece of the several parties to To-
cal controversy.
But, apart from these reasons, there is
yet another which dsinclines us to med
die with the subject We live in a part
of the town which has been paying large
proportionate tax ever since the act of in
corporation and not one dollar has ever
been expended for its benefit, by the city
board. The streets are in a far worse con.
dition than nature left them, and there is
not dwelling or factory in that district
that is directly approachable, in more than
one direction and some are almost mac.
cessible from any quarter And 1T is a
we'll known fact that some of the citizens
of the ostracized district, are forced to ex-
pend their own time and labor upon the
streets before their doors, and this, too
while they are paying heavy tax to be
expended upon more favored localities
And now 10 seems this same Districts
entirely ignored in the distribution of the
benefits that ought to inure to it from
the city government-is required to beal
its share of the debt and interest incurred
for the procurement of gas lights-and fol
whose benefit? Can the citizens of tina
locality burn the lights? Oh, yes, if they
can afford to pay the additional expense
of getting it into that inaccessible region
But if they cannot, why they will have tn
satisfaction of helping to pay for the light
which others burn, whilst they pay fo
: their own. This is a sectional issue tina
does not touch the general merits of tn
s observation-disclosures the town ought to b
= lighted with gas-and we have chosen t
take this view of the subject because
shows clearly, that no matter what i'm
: provements are in progress, or in contem
pation, the cost falls heavily upon tn
G first Ward, whilst it derives-from its iso
!. lation-not so much benefit, in return, a
o falls to the share of other localities tina
t belong to the County.
The argument, that whatever promote
u the growth of the town, benefits all POI
- tons of 1t, is correct as general propC
J. sition; but can not be made to apply
: district which bears heavy proportio
of the cost, yet is entirely overlooked i
; the expenditure of the revenue from taxt
II ton and the growth of the town, undo
n such circumstances, actually confers grea
J. er benefits upon contiguous portions
II the County than upon such district, an
IL for the reason that the former pays nor
D. of the costs. Under this aspect of Il
IT case, it ought not to be expected that II
citizens Of the first Ward will favor an il
$ crease of the city debt, and consequeI
$ increase of their own pecuniary burden
lie when experience has taught them the S;
Y Al Al l., - 4,