, 1876-05-21


whether the City Of Chicago shall resume
the business Of issuing city certificates, and
keeping from S4.oO0.0oo to $5,o0o,ooo of
paper of doubtful legality In circulation at
interest, for the mere Injury Of e1pending
$4,000, 900 annually for salaries for Offices
that are no longer necessary. The Comp
troller presented special case Of peculiar
circumstances calling for immediate action,
and the Council voted, weakly we think,
that a new issue of $500, 600 bo nndo-
Under the decision of the Court, certificates
Of Indebtedness must be issued for definite
purpose, and in anticipation Of revenue from
taxes specially levied md appropriated, and
under no other circumstances. 1t follows
that no certificate can be issued payable out
of the taxes levied for 1876 to taxa up IN
outstanding certificate issued last year- Tie
certificates issued in 1876 must be paid out
of the taxes Of 1878 and prior years they
cannot be taken up by certificates issued in
anticipation OF the taxes ct 1876. As the
81, ,OOo, COO or mora of old certificates can
only be paid BY collections from the taxes Of
1875 and prior years, there is nothing gained
by taking up ono overdue note and giving an
Illegal one in place of it. The better course
is to let ell outstanding certificates stand as
they are, and as tho taxes are collected LET
the certificates be taken up and cancelled
But whnt Is to be dona for the cuzrent
year? The appropriations and tax for 1875
cover the period ending Dec 81, 1876, while
k1n1 1%,J1 ~ +Fn% %ow Fev III Y.a+Sr1 1Yy{n mt
be collected before July, 1877. How ase tho
current expenses to be met Under the
decision Of the Court ii is lawful 10 antici-
pate the collection Of this tax By giving to
tho contractor or servant Of the dty state-
ment showing that the city Is indebted to
him, and that he will he paid Out Of the tax
levied for that purpose when the same IS
collected. But, except for payments On the
interest of the public debt requiring cash,
there ought to be no certificates Of indebted
ness issued The tax levied for the last nine
months Of 1876 can bo made to exceed the
expenditure at least one million OF dollsrs
This can be done by making the partial re-
duotions proposed by Mr.. HoYSH general in
ali departments Of the City Government,
and, when collected, this surplus tax can be
mado tie beginning d nsv system of
finance whereby each year's expenditures can
be paid ont Of each years current collections,
instead Of paying them yeaz aud a kali
later.
We know that tho Oomptrohns has stoked
his opinion on tho wisdom Of borrowing
money On paper which the city has no legal
authority to ISSUE Bus that 6ystcm IS none
the less vicious because the Comptroller in
sists on adhering to it. There has not been
day for two years and more when there has
not been outstanding certificates Of indebted
ness amounting from million and haR to
five millions of dollars. Outside Of the
Comptrollerts office, not citizen had any
knowledge how much OF such paper was out
standing. It has been the good fortune Of
the city that it has had such man as Mr.
HA7Ks in the Comptroller's, Office To anoth-
er kind of man The opportunity of issuing
bogus certificates by the million Of dollars
was almost unlimited, and, Ind there been
careless or dishonest man IN the Office,
there would probably b now an unknown
amount of this questionable scrip aaoat. As
it is, the sooner the whole volume df that
lind Of paper is taken up BY payment, and
not by renewal, the hetten The taxes Of
1878 will be largely collected within the next
ninety days, and as fast as collected should
be applied to this scrip. % take up scrip By
issuing renewals Is only temporizing it is
only putting of the day when the system
viii collapse. Now is tie time 10 stop it.
Let the back ta1es as they CONC IN be applied
to taking up the old paper, and let thare be
no new paper issued.