The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1870-05-04

/ Respectfully submitted.
| E. O. VAN RIPER,
/ M. MUHEHAUSEN,
| q. w. DOUGHTY.
Evansville, Ind, May 2, 1870,
The statement of William @. Weir,
referred to above, Is kind of infor-
NAL estimate, made out for the informa
tion of the last Council, and was pub
lished in the JOURNAL Of March last.
So far as the public are informed. the
present Council has had no commu-
nication with the Holly Water Works
Company Of any kind whatever.
The report of the Water Works
Committee is very indefinite. It con-
veys the idea that Water Works. on
the Holly plan, with eight miles OF
street pipe, can be constructed at a
cost to the city of only $167. .735 80.
Ii this be true, we presume that there
is not a voter in the city who
would not say go ahead and order the
work done Immediately. The ques-
tion arises, however, in submitting the
matter to a vote of the people, will
the Council construe an affirmative
majority as only comforting authority
upon them to construct Water Works
at cost not exceeding Mr.. Weir's
estimate? Or will they regard it as
comforting authority to build Water
Works regardless of cost? Will a
vote in the affirmative authorize an
expenditure of one hundred and seq
enty fUe thousand dollars, or an outlay
of HALFsA MILLION?
We think the City Council did moi
act as shrewd business men would aei
in the management of their Own pri-
vate affairs, in ordering an election
without first ascertainipg definitely
what kind Of contract could be
made with the Holly Water Works
Company When the vote is taken
and a majority is found to be in favor
of the construction Of the desired and
much eeded improvement, the Holly
Water Works Company will construt
the vote as an order for the Council
to contract with them at their owl
price and on their own terms. Oul
Council will, therefore, soon find |
stiffeuing in prices and a want o
liberality In terms that will prove
very embarrassing in the negotia
tions, and very burdensome wher
it comes to footing the bills. |
strikes us that not a single membe
of the Council woald have been s
foolish in the transaction of his ow
individual business, as to first motif
the owner Of any particular piece {
property that he had made up hi
mind to buy it anyhow, and the
gravely propose to consider the terms
. It would have been far wiser o
: the part of the Water Works Con
mittee to have first ascertained wht
4 kind Of a contract could be mad
Ii with the Holly Water Works Con
: papy, to see what quantity of Ci'
Bonds they would be willing to Al
cept, and on what terms, and to lear
what time would be given for pa,
ment of any part Of the money agree
upon. To also determine what IL
bonds could be sold for. and whe
:, they could be disposed of. It r
quires no fuancier to see, at a glanc
that the ordering Of the immedia
construction of Water Works and Il
= sale of bonds to meet the expen
of the same, without any prelimina
arrangement for placing the bono
- will result in their depre citation to
extent that will prove ruinous to t
credit of the city. Our ten per Gel
m bonds are now selling at only sevent
e FIVE cents on the dollar. In additi
- - to this, the Council has just order
the issuing of $500, 600 more bonds
favor of the Carmi Road. Our
no debtedness now exceeds ONE MI
M LION DOLLARS, on which the
ar will be an annual interest of at le;
EIGHTY-FIVE thousand dollars,
~ nearly one half the City Duplicate
IN last year. This is a gloomy fact Il
tax payers will have to face for 81
t. eral years to come. and while Il
will no doubt face 1T manfully, tt
ought to consider carefully the p
prioty of swelling it to yet grea
TT magnitude. The debt may reach
- it has not already done So, a DO