The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1878-02-19
How the City clerk rigurss.

The time for holding the annual city
election is sdrawing nigh, therefore, as .
section in the amended city charter de-
mands, the city clerk, to-day, over his
signature publishes statement of the re-
ceipts and disbursements Of finances by
the city during the past year. These
statements are required to be published
annually that the taxpayers and voters
may have an account of the stewardship Of
the mayor and council who are their SER
wants, and who exercise the entire control
over all the funds which the city treasury
contain when they take possession of the
respective Offices, or receive during the
term which they occupy them.
Those statements are supposed to lay
before the people, not only the
real condition of the treasury
at the time they are made. but
also to show plainly and honestly to what
use the monies paid into the treasures
during the year have been put. The
law which requires these publications
presumes that they will be for the purpose
of enlightening the people and not for the
purpose of defending them.
The Union of to-day in commenting
upon the clerks statement says:
One of the gratifying exhibits in the
report is that concerning the water works.
The operating expenses for the eleven
months were $5,l04.55; the extensions
cost $I,850.19; and the interest on the
water works bonds amounted to SIS, 438. AZ
more Here is total of $l2, 1913. while
the receipts from water rents amounted tc
$l3, 764.34.
Thus does the editor with years expe
rience demonstrate to the people that il
will require at the very least Z years
more before he will have had sufficient
experience to enable him to approach The
truth in publishing matters of public
concern. The facts are, that instead O
$5,43S. 43 being the interest upon thu
water works bonds for one year. the inter
est amounts to $9,500.O0 annually; thu
we have $4.06l.57 to add to the expense
account of maintaining the waite
works, which added to tn
Union's $l2,393l7. and from whisl
deduct $l3,764,34, the gross receipts, an,
wefnd difcit of 81, 900, 40 which sum rep
resents the amount paid out of the genera
fund to carry On the water works. An
again the general interests account show
that but $l3 ,69S,l2 have been paid GU
during the past year for carrying the foat
ing debt, which we are told amounts t
$4,000 and to hquidate which the cit
has issued $4,000 of bonds during th
past year. The Floating debt has bee
bearing interest at the rate of ten per cent
payable semi annually, which would max
the expense of carrying the interest bearin
orders for one year ST 900, thereby lea'
ing the sum of IS, 30l, 88 of accrued mtere
still unpaid. If the present ADMINISTERS
tion succeeds in closing out the entire issu
Of bonds before it eiires into permaneI
obscurity it will have increased Il
public debt during the year, as show
by facts and figures added
City Clerk Reeds figures. to an amour
if honestly stated, which would read
put in plain figures about this wise:
Interest on water bonds
not shown in annual
statement. ............$ 06l.t
Interest accrued on debt
not shown in state
ment. 3Ol.i
! Loss sustained by anex-
change of city obliga-
/ lions. .................... IL O50.l
Pay role of February in
excess of receipts
aOUut. Z.0
D Total not mentioned
IN statement. $40 Sl3.
from this amount deduct the "a,