The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1875-08-19
rhs Au.tln sehool Bond.

the amount needed to keep II operation
free schools for even four months, anc
hence the trustees haze refused to con
sumo the fund for airy purpose. In tn,
rest Of the county the schools have been pui
into operstion, and the money due the
country districts for building school house.
has been applied for that purpose. Nine
school houses have been built in the
county, and six Of them have been
supplied with school furniture. There are
six school districts in Travis county. The
city Of Austin is District No. 8, and it is
in this district that no houses have been
built, though tax was collected for this
purpose. Il is very fortunate that the
I course Of events has been just as stated.
| The result is that District No. 6, will soon
have over s22, 900, which can be applied to
the erection Of such houses as will be a
credit to the place, and stop payments in
the future for rents. Below we give a
statement of the funds, which upon re-
quest has been kindly furnished US by Capt
s. q. Sneed, County Superintendent of
cisely as given:
!. We will have as available fund for
building school houses ON September /,
1875, $3882.69 from State fund, appor-
toned to Austin City school district from
appropriations for the year beginning Sep
tembsr !, 1873, and ending August 81, 1875.
2. From one fourth of one per cent. build
ing tax, levied by the Thirteenth Legisla-
ftnre (vvh ba oil .
3. From State appropriation for year end
ing August 81, 1876 (estimated), $2242 As,
payable by December 81, 1875.
A. From cIty's share of warrant issued on
old claims paid from Zone per cent" school
tax, $3407. 90.
Total available on hand and to be col
lected, say $22 0S7 %.
The county treasurer is the custodian of
this fund, ard we are further informed that
before q great while the board of school
trustees for the Austin district will act in
the matter of building school houses. An
act Of the last Legislature allows the fund
raised for paying teachers to be used for
this purpose.
Austin has at the west end of College
Avenue two squares, lying on each side of
this street, which are to be applied to
school purposes. With the $22, 900, at the
disposal of the trustees for this district,
suitable buildings, one on each of these
squares, can be erected. One can be used
for male and the other for female school.
There are other pieces of public property
which can be used for similar purposes, and
both the white and the colored opulation
can be suitably accommodated. The col
6ne piece of public property, which they
have been using for school purposes.
Upon the whole, it is fortunate that cir
cnmstances have placed these funds at this
time at the disposal of the trustees, and,
being all Of them most excellent and intel
ligenf gentlemen, the public may feel salts
fed as to results.
THE COLORADO TO BE BRIDGED. While
the people of Austin and Travis county
have been talking and wishing and dream
ing about bridge across the Colorado
river, far-seeing and enterprising st. Louis
capitalists have stepped in, secured an ex-
cellent charter at the last session OF the
| Legislature, and now their agents, Messrs.
Chaplin and Goodwin, are here making sur
veys and examinations for the bridge,
and our home capitalists are scratching
their heads with surprise, wonder and
amazement. Quite a sensation was
caused in the city as the news
was whispered about in the morning that
force of men were actually at work at the
south line of the Raymond plateau, making
examinations for suitable foundations for
stone abutments; and, during the day vari-
Gus law offices were besieged by different
parties, eager to ascertain the character of
the charter under which the enterprise is to
be contaminated, and the best evidence we
have that the charter members and stock
holders of the bridge company are really in
earnest in the undertaking they have COM
menced is the character of the charter un-
der which they have gone to work. 1t
gives them a monopoly up and down the
river for six miles for the next fifteen years,
and allows them to charge the same toll
that is now charged by the ferry boats, 4. e.,
one dollar for six-horse loaded teams, sew
enty five cents for four-horse teams, fifty
cents Tor two-horse teams, twenty-five cents
for single buggy, twenty cents for sad
die horse, FIVE cents for foatmen, and two
and a half cents for sheep, goats and hogs,
and teams not loaded half price. The char
ter allows them to build either an
iron, q wooden or combination
bridge, and requires them to COM
mence its construction within six months
from the passage of the charter, which
time is about up, and to complete it
in two years, and certainly good bridge
cannot be built across the Colorado at Aus
tin in much less than that time, and
Of course, sensible men are going to in
vest their money in no bridge but q good
one one that cannot be swept away by
the ferty-foOt floods that come sweeping
down the Colorado every few years. We
understand that Messrs. Chaplin and
Goodwin have made several surveys
across the river, and number OF
examinations for abutments on this side,
but that they have not yet decided where
the bridge will be located, though II econo-
my in construction is alone to be cousid-
cred, they would locate it somewhere above
West Avenue. or in the vicinity of stones
ferry, below the city. There are, however,
other things besides cheapness of construc-
ton to be considered in the establishment
of an enterprise of this kind, and possibly
few days win elapse before a location
| for the bridge will be selected. For
our part We are glad that foreign
fczpital u willing 70 do for Austin
what her home capital was not willing to
/ do or could not %, and we welcome to
Austin those who have the pluck, the en-
terprise and the money TO carry out such
La necessary and laudAble undertaking.
A PAssESaER DEroT. Learning yester-
day THAI Major Denny, civil engineer, and
Mr.. Robert Eigin and Mr.. Turnbull, of the
land department Of the Central Railroad,
had arrived on the morning train, their pur-
pose being TO select location for the erec-