Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1871-01-05
CITY EXPENDITURES.

CITY EXPENDITURES
The Press and Herald published some
figures yesterday morning about the rela-
tive expenditures of the Radical Board "
for 1869 and the present Board of Alder
men, which are the same no doubt COM
piled by Mr.. Van Glider and shown TO
several gentlemen on the streets. The fig
ures were published i'll answer to some
criticisms of ours upon the policy of the
present Board expanding So, 600 for police
force, and proposing to raise but s., 500 for
/ schools. Our article was intended to ex-
press what we then and still believe, that
the present police force could be safely
decreased, and the saving go towards
city schools. IN doing this, we did not ill.,
tend to say the police force could not have
been reduced in 1869 as well as now. We
are not responsible for the record of the
! Ec.rd of 1859, nor do we hold ourselves
esponsible FOR any other Board. The
mistake, the sheet referred to makes, is in
judging us by its own standard. No one
ever hears it criticising rascally things III
its own party, but on the contrary, we al
ways find it supporting every thing done
by its partisans, no matter how mean. We
do not propose to conduct our paper upon
this plan. We think the Board of 1859,
as well as the present Board,
might have largely reduced the
police force. One of the Board, now a
candidate for reelection, admitted to us
yesterday that he thought at least two of
the police force could be dispensed with,
and he would next year prove it. Our crit
icism was that about 81, 900 ought to give
us good force, and we would at least like
to see the experiment tried.
AS to the arrests made by the police,
year the police received part or all Of the
fees made. Arrests were therefore numer-
Gus. This year they are paid by the month,
and weare informed some members of the
force have made scarcely any arrests dur
ing the year.
One word more as to Mr.Nan elders
salary and we are done. We hope our
worthy Mayor does not fatter himself with
the belief that the people of this city who
have known him for years, believe he is so
entirely disinterested and unselfish as to
serve the city as Mayor without some re-
cOmpo}Sc. We know it is paraded with
some flourish in 1.-The organ that his sal
airy is $4,000, but then we know land every
body else knows that there are other ways
by which Mayor can repay himself and
friends for serving the corporation.
We do not of our own knowledge
know how the facts are, but a very general
Impression preUditS that the extensive inn
provements which he in part supervIses,
made during the year in the region of Mr..
Van elders extensive city property, has
very well repaid him for his services TO the
city. We say this impression very gener-
ally prevails, and it must have some foun-
dation. Men of Mr.. Van Gilder's careful
business habits are not often disposed TO
serve the public for nothing. In saying
this we do not wish TO be understood as in
tinlati,lg that he has not made an honest
and economical officer, but merely to sug
gest to him that his friends in advertising
his salary as $4,000, provoke comments
such as we now make, and such as we fire.
quently hear.
THE new tariff duties that took effect
OH the fist of this year, make hededuction