Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1875-04-10

I ton in which mention. Is made of Mr..
/ Browns nsme, have this to say, as
I yCu will see from the treasurer's report
1 for February, that there was then bal
[ ance on hand Of Sl597 IS, collections for
I March, and would have been over twice
that amount had it not bean for the
! change in the law; drafts
of Mr.. Brown were presented
over which he had no control, in the
aggregate 1929 IA more than the amount
collected up to the time Of presentation;
they were paid. Mr.. Brown has been
detained longer in the city than he ex-
pected when coming here; his draft has
been honOred for $500, upon his own re-
quest, hence it shows that the man
ddDlus tax disbursements are greater
than the receipts by S829 IA. The city
is still indebted to him $3.50 600.
Possibly it was unwise to ac-
cOmmodate him, but ss yet l am
unable to see how such acts as / have
here narrated could form part Of the ma
terial for resolution, that there is de-
felt in the city treasury OF SO, 072 Is,
for which statement am proud to say
there never was q shadow Of reason.
l am extremely sorry that have found
myself compelled to speak OF city Off
GERS so plainly, in reply to the unneces-
sary and uncalled for resolution Of the
finance committee. Much good could
be done 1Or the city If we were united
and harmonious in our actions, and
nothing good can come from the course
pursued at present. / plead for reason
and harmony 10 official business. II the
general council will cooperate with me,
or show me what good measures they
desire to put forward for the public good,
l will most heartily join in with them;
but good cannot come, think, from Sc
cret csucuses and the passage Of reso-
lutions aiming at taking from me my
name-that which have labored for
nearly forty years to secure. Very re-
spectfully, JOHN LOAGUE,
Mayor.
FURTHER QUESTIONS.
DR.. Hewitt-Mr. League, We have
listened very patiently to your defense
and statements; now l would like to
ask you two or three plain, common
sense questions. Do you not acknOwl-
edge that these books of the officers
show deficit OF $4,000?
Al am not disputing the reports |
made by either Of the officers. do not |
dispute their statements.
Q.-The treasurer, Mr.. Kelly, said |
that he had paid this amount of money |
to you. He said you used the money to |
pay the police force? Is that so?
DR.. Hewitt, who asked this question, |
was informed by a member Of the COM
mittee that the treasurer said he had |
paid the money on the mayor 'awarrants,
not to the mayor.
Al am sorry that you do not I'M
derstand it, Doctor. You have been iE-
fSNrs ooA ftof flnr k,
parties who held warrants. / feel as il |
questions. II Mr.. Kelly, the city treas
urer, said re paid the money to me, all
that have to say is, that [ am sorry for |
his memory.
Q-The party who draws a check at |
bank gets the money. So it is with
your warrants?
Mr.. LOsgue-The fact is that news /
came in one evening that it was provid-
ed in the new city charter that past-due
Indebtedness was to be receivable for |
taxes, instead of cash, as heretofore. |
Then all parties ceased paying taxes.
Q.-YOu knew the condition OF the |
treasury when you drew the warrants? |
A.-No, sir, did not know its exact |
condition. l felt satisfied, however,
that it was in healthy condition. Gen
orally it was not from funds in the hands
of the treasurer, but from the moneys
collected daily by the collector, so that |
at the end Of the week the collectors
settlements would generally be in war
rants instead of in money.
Odd you not know that to pay
that money would infringe on the in
terest fund?
A.-NO, sir; and do not think that
the interest fund was ever infriuged |
upon. l figure it up, and find that there |
is more CASH on hand than is reeded for
the interest fund.
THE FINALE.
1t is evident that the committee will !
not find the mayor guilty of any wrong, ,
as two members OF the committee say /
that 1t has been customary 10 borrow !
from one fund to satisfy claims and le-
gitimste debts against the city. One of j
the committee said that during Mr..
JohnsOn's administration, one fund was !
eighty thousand dollars behind hand.