Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-08-26

April l9-Fees of ce................... 800 69
April I9--Fees of offiee.........-........ 10 o.
May 3-Services rendered as Clerk in
ascertaining Indebtedness of fShelby
county, In obedience TO an order OF
this Board, Nov. II, ls6s..........-.... 800 %
mittee on coupons labsenfJ fJ..'...,.,-... IS 90
sl5,g74 IS
Bills on table in hands of Committee
on nAccouhts.....--...... LUIS W
sI7,d2 s.
Recommendation for the Immediate Con-
struetion OF Workhouse.
We recommend the building of a work.
house on the most economical plan for the
custody and employment of minor Offend
! ers. OF these we find in the County Jail
and station houses large numbers of all
| ages. They are maintained in idleness at
| large expense to tho county and city.
I Often number are confined in a single
cell. Youth confined for the first and per-
| haps trivial otfense, or even being who'll
| " innocent. are thus thrown int the bad
| company of the worst criminals, and pos
| sibly to their great injury. They may be
I by this means initiated into career of
villainy and Obtain their first lesson in
crime. They may come out far worse
than they went in. Without establishing
| new court, when we already have too
many, we would recommend that it be
made the duty of the Police Court or one
of the oldest Magistrates, to try these mi
nor offenses, and hold such a court every
day. There are about twenty such Offend
ers in Jail all the time, some of them for
months at a heavy expense to the tax
payers, for whom ii would be far better
as well as for the community, if they were
made to earn their living. 1t would be
better both for their health and morals.
Experience in all other cities has shown
aaf rlrh fn1I = Faax pvr
are self-sustainiRg. That In Detroit,
Mich, pays $4,000 above expenses. To
this may be added the advantage gained
by reducing the number of petty larce-
MES which will pay community well Of
itself; besides the still greater advantage
of saving some from becoming hardened
criminals. As to the expense, although
the county is in debt, we think it can af-
ford the expenditure necessary for such
purpose. 1t need not be large, The saw
ing from labor will be competent return,
and many public Improvements now
much needed, may be accomplished by it;
the opening and repairing of bridges or
streets, and such Improvements as may
be needed. The city needs water works
very much land it is a stigma ON US that
we have not got them). Other cities point
with pride to their public improvements.
There always will be work TO keep them
profitably employed.
Increase Of FiAe and Imprisonment for Car
Fyias Concealed Weapons Recommended.
Wewould most respectfully recommend
to the Legislature and City Council to in
crease the fine for carrying concealed
weapons 500 and up to $500 and impris
Onment in CoERty Jail or Work House
from thirty days to six months. Let the
community make il so odious and dis
graceful for any one to go armed that sll
will cease to carry weapons. TheFe IS no
necessity for any one TO carry deadly
weapons. EYerY day you can see the
country Taan coming into the city with
Aafge pistol or knife buckled on him, in
plain sight so as to evade the law and be
terror to the whole community. It looks
bad for the city as we'll as the individual,
for it carries the impression that he thinks
himself IN danger, and that the city is
bad place, and that men are worse than
brutes. Let our clergymen-everym mother
and sister and lover of good society=talk
and work against it until il will be re-
membered as only ihipg of the past.
In RegasG 10 the Prompt Registration of
'' Property.
We would also recommend that the
LEGISLATURE pass an act reqpirlpg every
one owning real estate, and every time 1t
is transferred, 10 have 1t registered IN
s.o0k Kept 'forthat especial purpose, and
chat it shall be done otherwise the title
would not be good, just giving the real
owners name and exagt description of
land, The trpGble has been to find the
real owner and proper description OF the
pronerty. The State has and Will con-
tinue to lose vast sums of money by sell
ing property for taxes without proper de-
seription. Many heavy taxpayers take
this advantage and never pay any taxes.
-lr,1 NEb N xx~i1
not pay taxes, but leave it for their neigh
bUrs to do, never will be of any good to
any community. They never build or
improve for the prosperity IF the city.
They are not charitable or beneficial to
any community, but a drawback and
curse. For the want of proper descrip
tion of property, in the two past years the
State and county have lost between one
and two hundred THOUSAND dollars. The
assessment Of property has cost good
deel and been very imperteetly done.
Heretofore much Of il was copied rom
the Register Books or old Tax Books. We
are informed that nearly three millions
dollars worth of property i'll this city has
escaped taxation altogether.
The plats gotten mp by Ia White and
others, at the co4utys expense, it is
Thought viii pe very serviceable in future,
they Being intended to tell by said plats
the exact amount of land, giving a cor
rect description, and being the means of
collecting all the taxes.
The County Indehtetness--- Severe Stric-
. gFss apop Coanty oficers.
Our county debt is very large, when We
LOOK and See what there is to show for It,
The resources Of the county are large,
brilg Us all right, Iou must reduce the
expenses, abolish every unnecessary
office and hanger-on, have more effective
means of collecting the taxes, put honest
and capable men into office, make your
income larger than your outgo, and IN
short time our condition viii De such that
capital and emigration win pour into the
citv and caanty. The greatest evil is, all,
g nearly all, county officials take every
possible advantage of their position and
put moneyin theif own pockets, If they
were as particular concerning the interest
of the cbupty as their own, they would
make excellent officers, and our affairs
would be very different, and warrants at
par value,
One Grand Jury for the c0ultY ReeOp-
megdeA
IYa would most respectfully recommend
to the Legislature to pass an act that there
shall be only one Grand Jury for the
whole county of Shelby. 1t will save
/
all the indictments and return them to the
Court having Jurisdiction of the same;
and let the Prosecuting Attorneys of each
Court frame their own indictments. We
would also recommend that the iurisdic-
ton of this Court be extended over the
entire county, except in such cases as al
ready specified in the code to belong to the
Municipal Court of Memphis.
Excessive Outlay for the Burial of Paupers.
In regard to the buryiIig of paupers we
find that McCatfrey and Cornelius have
received for the burial of such persons
from July 10, 1867, to April 5, 1869, SO, 569,
they receiving ali the way from SIS down
to $40, and now receiving for adults 81 90,
and children 81 80. Owen Smith offered
and made a formal proposal TO bury in a
| like manner as they were buried, and had
done previously, adults for 50 and chill
dren at 50. His bill was not accepted, on
| ly by Commissioners White and Shaw,
| leaving the contract as it was. We would
recommend that there be at least one res
ponsible person as voucher on each certih-
cate. and register kept of 1t, together
with the name of the party buried, age,
sex, time, etc. Every precantion should
! be taken to prevent imposition. We also
recommend that the Doctors certificate
accompany all applications,
The Individual Accounts Of County Commits
si0nerS.