The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1868-12-22
The CITY MONEY QUESTION.

THE CITY MONEY QUESTION.
The Picayune informs us that it has plan
for the solution of the financial problem; and,
furthermore, that its plan has been for a long
time before the public. As the publication of
last evening is the first effort that we have
observed ON the part of our contemporary to
reduce its financial views to any kind of CO.
herence, we presume the statement that its
scheme has been already announced simply
means that its opinions are, as Mr.. Toots
would unques;ionably remark, of no kind of
consequence. We are driven to this conclu-
sion, likewise, ty the fact that of the two parts
of which the pltn consists, one is totally inap-
plicable to thu. issue, and the other has been
strenuously opposed by the Picayune itself
These two parts are simply reduction of the
expenses of the city, and the funding Of the
city notes. Ecoaomy in the administration OF
affairs is, of course, very desirable
and economy Sill preserve us, in the future,
from the einbarrassments which now
80 seriously .affiict us. But no res
olutions of rstsenchment will suffice to
save MS from the pa-alysing
effect of the city money, as long as we con-
tinue to receive that kind Of money in pay
ment of taxes Moreover, the Picayune does
not favor us vita any estimate of the amount
by which the expenses of the city govern
ment can be effectively reduced. beyond
suggestion thst the printing bills might be
diminished and that the Office Of assistant
city attorney ought to be abolished. To be
sure we are told that there are ga hundred
other ways" in which reductions might be
made, but as not one of the hundred is
specified, we take the liberty of rejecting the
suggestion as the basis of an argument or
even of SPAN" The proposed conversion
of the council into bureaucracy might suit
the ideas of persons who imagine that evils
can be cured and reforms effected by legisla-
4ive tinkering with the city charter; but we
are at loss 10 perceive how the shifting of
municipal duties from the officers by whom
they are now discharged to another set of
officers, With different titles, would prove
n cheaper gr more convenient method
of administration than the one which is now
in operation. The Picayune thinks that by
means Of this :change the city government
could be condtscted as cheaply as the affairs
of private COZ poration. But is such an OBJ
ject desirabltSi; The expenses of the city are
not mainly OF even largely embraced in the
salaries of municipal officers. They consist
principally Of charges inseparable from mu-
nicipal corporation, or, under our practice in
separately corrected with the municipal gov
ernment--sack as payment Of the police,
lighting the streets and supporting the public
schools II I'VE should exclude these ex-
penses from ia count, the municipal corpora
tion might wa1 cost no more than private
corporp ton. l,ut then there would simply
be no use for city government at all. But
the whole OF this discussion is irrelevant.
Economy as we have said is good thing, but
economy is Impossible as long as the city is
compelled 10 pay SIC for key of nails,
worth only; Sc, and $40 for barrel of
-four worth only IS. And just such
excessive prices must be paid, and in con-
tinually accelerating ratio, as long as we con-
tinue to receive and pay out city money. The
only way to solve this difficulty is to refuse
to receive it eny longer To palter with the
question would be to increase our perpiexities
and augment our embarrassments. The fund
ing plan, is, no doubt, good one. for the
purpose of providing for the ultimate pay
ment of the city money debt; but the fund
ing plan has been rejected by the people, and
in that decision the Picayune fully concurred.
There 40, ho~e~er, >sesssssy 80 ee.-set
these questions together. Each can, and each
ought, to be settled by itself. First let us
extricate ourselves from our difficulties, and
then We shall have time, and opportunity, tc
provide for the payment of our debts, tC
reduce our printing bills, to abolish useless
Offices, and even to resort to those "hundret
other ways of saving money which thu
Picayune keeps in a dim and mysterioui
background of fancy and invention.