Daily Los Angeles herald., 1878-12-19
n a nfcipai Matters.

present q proper occasion to In
dulge In q brief review OF some as
poets Of our city affairs.
First as to sprinkling the streets.
which is a duty that should not, by |
any means, be neglected. The out
going Council found itself embar-
rassed In making permanent con-
tract for sprinkling the streets by |
the provision of the new charter,
which stlpulates that no contract
to an amount greater than $500 can
be made by that body unless on an
Affirmative vote of twelve Of the
fifteen members. AS the expiring
body did not contain twelve men,
bers, 1t was Of course powerless to
make any contract except from day
to day, and 1t could not contract
for any work of q merely tempo
rary kind beyond their term of of
fee. In the hurry Of the re-organ-
ization of the new Council that
body overlooked the necessity for
renewing the weekly street
sprinkllng contract. If there Is one
thing more than another in which
the Councilmen will be heartily
sustained by our whole people it is
In providing for measure so vital
to the public health and so essen
tial to the comfort of the visitors
and invalids who ordinarily form
very large element in Los Angeles.
With the advent of the winter
rains the necessity for street
sprinkling will disappear.
We understand that some $685.
900 will be turned over to the new
City Treasurer. Some $50, 900 of
this money belongs to interest and
other funds. OF the thirty thou
sand remaining much belongs to
various sinking and special funds.
There is now at the disposition Of
the Council in the cash fund, from
which all such expenses rs street
sprinkling, etc., should be paid,
only some seven or eight tli jusand
dollars.
T. There Is in the City Treasury of
Los Angeles considerable sum
which has accumulated as a sink
ing fund to extinguish the
only portion OF our munich
pal debt which carries ten per
cent. interest. Singularly enough,
in the law creating this debt
amounting TO some S25. 900, there
is no option of redemption at the
city's pleasure. This debt has, we
believe, some seven or eight years
yet to run. The IN ,ney accumu-
lating for its payment lies perdu in
the City Treasury, with no power
on the part of the Cornell or any
one else to apply it to II purpose
usefu! to the city.
With the exception of this small
portion of our Indebtedness, there
Is no impeachment to the refunding
OF our whole municipal debt, thus
decreasing the burdens of taxation
and putting on the shoulders of
future Angeleiios a portion of the
onerous load we are now obliged to
carry through faulty system of
finance. We learn that there is
quite demand in San Francisco
Just now for seven per cent. mu-
nicipal AMI county bonds. Our
own county bonds now command
premium.
We reiterate our suggestion that
tho earliest possible steps should
be taken to refund the city debt.
BY SO doing we can largely reduce
our rate OF taxation and so distrib-
ute the burden that those who,
hereafter, may share in the bene-
fits Of our city improvem ents, will
also pay some of their cost. In at
tempting to pay of portions of our
debt, principal and interest, in
sich times Of depression as the
present, we are unnecessarily Grip
pling ourselves and doing an injus-
tlce TO the present generation. A
seven per cent. bond, with n pro-
vision for redemption at the option
Of the city, and running for, say,
twenty years, would tighten the
load of every taxpayer and enable
the city, should the rates of inter-
est sensibly diminish, ,sto refund
again.
We have heard it stated that
there Is an intention on the part OF
some members of the new Council
to remit the license tax. AS a very
large portion OF our city revenue is
derived from this source, amount
ing, we believe, to about $22O0 o
month, we do not see Just where
the deficiency can be made up.
This sum is ample to pay the police
force. Iu addition, the tax levies
for the ensuing year have already
been made; and, for the life of us we
cannot see how the experiment can
be safely attempted. A difficulty
to the carrying out Of any such
project Is presented in the fact that
tae new City Charter expressly in
hibits the Council created by it
from diminishing any of the exist
ing sources OF the City's revenue.
such provision in our organic
puunicfnaI law itaeIf IL cnpnIus;yo