The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-11-20
The PAYMENT of City Warrants.


YESTERDAY afternoon, in Common Council, Mr..
Hetzell made an effort to secure the repeal of
the obnoxious ordinance approved January IT,
1868, whose title facetiously declares that 1t is
"to enforce the prompt payment of city war
rants" We have already commented at
length on the oppressive operation of this
ordinance, especially in connection with the
teachers OF our public schools, all OF whom
are now forced to go into the market aud
hawk about their promises of payment from
the city, as, in the present state of our fuancss
it is impossible to secure the cashiDg of a war
rant for the most insignificant sun within a
period of five or six months from its date.
In urging the indefinite postponemeut of the
bill to repeal the ordinance in question Mr..
Harper, who originated it and secured its
passage, claimed that the ordinance would
work properly if carried out, arguing that the
City Treasurer is alone responsible for the
present state Of affairs. The best refutation OF
Mr.. Harper's position, and of the practical
working of the ordinance, is its reproduction
in full, as follows-
Thereafter, upon the presentation OF city
wsrranIs at the office of the Ouy Trcas asurer,
IL shall be the duty OF The City Treasurer TO ply
the same on demand and Ia the order OF their
present alton. And IN Inc event of the inability
Of the City Treasurer 10 so pay the same on
their first presentation, he snail cause such
tion and numbers. and he snail tnen
announce 10 the holders the earliest pro-
bsble. time within which no shall ne
able TO pay the same. and Thereafter
no ne,U itnStamped Wdrrqnts shat be eashed
until all those stamped have been first paid,
and those stamped sh4il be entitled TO he first
paid, and in the order OF their Numbers. the
Treasurer making previous, licition, by
printed notice posted on the door Of his o hce,
OF the time at which he will be able To com.
mence the pay ment of stamped warrants.
"Provided, That the City Treasurer shall,
however, in nowise refuse to cash uuStam ped
warrants when the funds ia the Treasury are
sufficient 10 meet the stamped warrants as Well
as those presented and not stamped Provided,
further. That the City Treasurer shalt not re-
fuse to cash any stamped warrant In its regular
stamped and not preseq med shalt remain in ne
1reoSt,y subject al all hnes {, payment, and the
interest on all such unpr- re ted warrants shall
cease when notice il pOste that the same Will
be paid on presentation, as herein above pro-
vided."
A subsequent ordinance, approved October
8, 1868, provides for the publication of the
notice in the daily papers, as we'll as its post
ing on the door of the Treasurers ofi,s; and
another supplementary ordinances brings the
outstanding warrants Of date previous to
1868 under its operation.
AS far as we can learn, the City Treasurer
has complied with the letter and spirit of these
ordinances in every detail, and We are unable
to perceive how their oppressive operation is
to be charged to anything except thsir pro-
visions. At the last monthly settlement
of the Treasurer's books, about $500, 900 were
found to be available for the payment of war
rants and notice was accordingly made that
those numbered from l to 1000, which
approached that sum in amount, would
be paid on presentation. At the
close of the present month new
adjustment of the books of the Office will be
made, and new notice published, which may
possibly run the figure up another thousand,
But, as the law now stands, the hands of
the Treasurer are tied, and he cannot
divert any of the money required for
the payment of stamped warrants below 1000
to the payment Of any one presented subse-
quently. The only relief that is afforded to
persons holding the city's obligations exists
when the warrants are less than 500 in
amount, in which case their holders can sue
out writ of mandamus before an alderman,
and recover the amount in five days. This
relief is frequently sought, and large sums
are paid out OF the City Treasury
every week, in defiance of Mr.. H,rper's ordi-
nance. We hope that Councils will give the
matter prompt and decisive attention next
week, either repeating the ordinances re-
ferred to in toto, or so modifying them as to
afford relief to the school teachers and others
who are dependent upon their salaries from
the city for support.