Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-11-08

Y, ,..e bnt We paid Bill, and Bill !;
Maid Jim, and jim went to bed tnat r
pight as happy as clam, wlth =
inst as uueh money as he hau IN
the morning and three men out OF 4
debit" Q
The Court House and Railroad I
Fund.
To THE CHRONICLE: As some
persons may nisconstrue or not full
" understand my motive for offer
ing the resolution that / did on
Monday, Oct. y, propose through
the medium of your paper TO eA-
plain the same.
The resolution, or motion III ques-
ton, was about as follows:
"That the County Judge, by ana
with the approval and consent OF
the Court House Commissioners, be
authorized and instructed to use SO |
much of the railroad fund i'm addl-
ton to what has been, or may be re-
ceivcd by insurance on, ana SAFE OF
the old Court House property as
NAV be necessary ta pay Tor Court
House grounds, and fully complete
the building, including all actual
necessary expenses attending the
same, provided, that written reports
he made to each term of the quar-
terlv courts, stating the amount ex-
pended, to whom paid, and for what
purpose.
NV object in proposing this reso-
luton may be stated in few words
Although about $4,000 OF the
county's money had been used up
: to this date in paying for grounds,
the erection of the building, ETC., its
use for this purpose had never been
legally authorized by the court.
And although a large majority OF
It's members favored the use Of the
Il railroad fund for the purpose named,
u u and tacitly agreed (by refusing to
. levy a special Court House tax, and
= otherwise) that it should be thus
y used, no appropriation of, it hao
y ever been legally made, and there
% fore nothing showed upon the rec
~ ords of the court that the Coun
" Judpe or the Court House Commits
. sioners were authorized to use 1t TO
- the purpose named.
Now, as the County Court desires
20 tn have this fund used for the pul
~ chase of grounds, and the erectio
- of the Court House, | thought 1t bu
VI " right and proper for it to legally at
~ thorize the County Judge and Coul
House Commissioners to use 1t Il
H. that purpose, more especially as tt
,, law requires that all county none,
= before it can be legally used for an
- purpose, shall be properly appropr
u1a ated for certain named purposes
the quarterly courts.
And besides, it is legal questl(
" vet to be decided as to whether tn
We railroad fund should be used +
NY purposes other than that of payil
az off the railroad debt, and shou
sn' this question ever arise in such
Ear manner as would be likely TO pla
ho an unpleasant responsibility up
l ~ any one OF more persons, l deem
mn it but right that the court shou
-io share its proportion of this respon
20 bility.
The resolution, or motion IN gu
''IO ton. was not intended TO take
place of, or conflict In any way "
the one offered by Esqr. Bailey, p
not nosing to invest the railroad III
the in United States bonds; for l c.
lcen sidered his resolution a good o
heir and would certainly have voted
less its adoption, had it not been WI
ny drawn,
ton. If it had been adopted by
N OF court, and faithfully carried out
my would have saved or made the co
sub tv. in the way of interest, not
cor than about $1,000 within the n
+. to- twelve months, as can be eas
I'M proven by any one who will t
tbe trouble to make a few figure:
cen These United States bonds co
cor have been cashed at any time w
'tlVe it became necessary to make P
'urbs ,,,onts ON tho Court House buildi
have and as regards fiuctuation in pr
; out they would be just as likely TO
the tuate in favor of the county as {
Aopie erwise, for they are now, and h
hueu been for few months past, tend
" upward.
pay 1t is fact, now fully demons
u 'ile ted to the satisfaction of any int
the9e gent person, that If these fu
yohu had been invested when first
pehSe ceived, as the resolution of L
alton Bailey proposed, instead of rem
SUD ing as dead capital in the coun
liens possession, the tax payers w
Sc we be now fully from $1,000 to s.
'tlVes better off than they are.
IS OF So far as l am individually
say cerned, 1 have ever believed,
n the still believe that special tax sh
on a have been levied for Court II
purposes, and that the entire
road fund should have been use
iation redeemlng the in'eieS'
lnday bonds of the county. ~
TX, in And If las has Deen s'a'o1
e the holders of county bonds would
The give them up, even at par, theH
to at fund should have been inVesttff
$780, l---..,lle. other