Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1875-06-24


would Obviate the necessity OF having
commercial agencies. What think you
Of these suggestions? MEMO.
MIR. Hanson on the City Debt gain, and
for the Last lime.
EDITORS APPEALING gentleman
possessing the least degree of self-respect
could notice the badinage and balder-
dash Of your editorial ofyesterday, there
fore leave you to indulge that peculiar
propensity to your hearts content, as
Stunning that it is the modern style Of
journalism when the inconsistencies OF
editors have been so exposed as to need
a screen behind which to hide from pub
lie gaze, But you and his honor, Mayor
LOsgue, in your midnight efforts to
devise means OF arresting public Opin-
ion, have again Over-stepped the mark
and have been guilty of gross injustice
to me in the intimation that l had neg
lected my duty in not reporting Mr..
Farrington's judgment. Now the facts
are, that l carried the coupons upon
which that judgment was rendered, to
the mayors Office the very day they
were filed in the court, and
rendered them to Mr.. Newsom, and he
said the mayor was the party to receive
and cancel all coupons. The mayor re-
fused to receive them, and directed the
comptroller not to receipt for them or
make any entry Of them, and said il l
left them they were in my custody still.
/ had carried them there to be can
Celled and entered on the books for the
and | left them there, and they were
placed in the safe in box, labelled
"genuine," and when the city settled
with Mr.. Harrington yesterday the
mayor took them out and delivered
them to Mr.. Newsom for that purpose.
MIR. Farrington's judgment was at least
three times before the finance commit
tee previous to April last, and l was in
structed to take an appeal in the case,
and yet, fOrsoOth, you have the state
ment that it never was reported. III
am to make formal written reports
with red tape and large seals of
every judgment against the city, l will
have no time to defend the suits. But
this controversy has gone far beyond
any design of mine when l wrote my
letter to the council. My object was to
arouse them and the people to our
alarming condition. have since pre-
pared list of items of the city's liabil-
tiles that are contested, it is true, but
there is great danger that these contests
are like all others we have made. But
as [ have resigned my trust, and as
some one else is to make the fight in
these cases, I do not desire to place my
humble Judgment or opinion in the
city's way, SO as to bias the public mind,
or that Of courts and juries, notwith-
standing you have taken occasion to res
peat it in your columns that my opinion
will not have a feathers weight. A
feathers weight even may turn the
scale. AS to the city's books, OF as to the
comptroller, l make no war
upon either; il the comptroller was to
enter every liability that is contested
on his books, he would soon get into
endless confusion. But must say that
there are in all the courts judgements
amounting to at lest five hundred thou
sand dollars, including L. E. Browns.
There are other claims against the city
OF the doubtful or contested class, very
large amount. 1 will not enumerate,
but then the claim for suits and taxes,
made by bondholders, of the navy-yard,
the claim of the waterwOrks for hydTanG
rent, and thezclaims of Mr.. Brinkley for
property taken for various purposes and
by which a long account has been run
up, year after year. Mr.. Brinkley has
been persistent and energetic in his ef-
forts to get q settlement ever since l
have been connected with the city gov
eminent, but nothing has been done,
and he figures largely in the lists Of as
sels, but he thinks he is not well treat |
ed by the city's statement OF account. |
Now, Messrs. Editors, the po-
sition appears to be just this:
The city books are well enough as far as
they go, but they need an accurate |
overhauling, because they do not con- |
tain everything, and our course for the |
future must be guided by higher order |
of care and ability than in the past; and |
instead OF our getting through on the |
debt as shown by the books, fear we |
will go beyond my own estimate of |
six million five hundred thousand dol
lars. You have so ridiculed Doy |
communications aud statements that it |
is but fair for you now to look to those |
worthless assets and cut out what is
worthless, value those below par, and
consider the three hundred thousand |
dollars or more that 1 have shown may,
with certainty, be put upon the books;
then add interest to that, and contingent
resisted and contested, and
then candidly own up that you have
been deceived as l was until | looked for
ulSsGili dlI(l luhL your SAuiS 1uu SuS6TS |
have been without warrant and unjust.
I have no fear but the people will be
benefited by it. In New York they
were gulled into the belief that their
debt was less than fifty million dollars.
They began to investigate, and were
alarmed at seventy-one million dollars,
or thereabouts, and now, 1 am informed,
it is one hundred and nineteen millions
dollars. Still New York was benefited
by the discovery, and the robbers who
were thus deceivipg her people are in
exile or in prison. Your suggestion that
q board Of finance be established is a
good one; but, Judging Of what they
may expect from your treatment Of me,
they would likely be gibt eted as soon as
they would report, Still, Messrs. Editors,
[ have been candid and fair and frank in
dealing with the subject; and if you will
,bi1ak and Investigate (that is what l
have tried to arouse the council and
people to do), and when you are advised
IDLY, if you will not become ashamed
If your editorial and make the aDaerede
then l am willing that the
public shall Judge between US. For N.Y.
self, shall say no more, unless driven
o it by unjust aspersiOn, as heretofore.
n q. A. HANSON.