New-York tribune., 1879-02-03
" THE STORY or FLIZ4BETH.D

All travellers upon the Pennsylvania Railroad
will remember the pleasant little city OF Elizabeth
n. .J.-Elizabethtown IT was called when II was no
more than hamlet, i'll the days OF tho keYoutlOh'
But pleasant as it appears it has come to gret Oh
the financial sort. Tho travellers above men1loned,
If they had ears 10 hear. must have heard the citl-
zons Of Elizabeth they iournoyed TO and tro' DIS
--Issng the financial affairs of their munici-
pality and saying hard things, as taxpayers WILL oi
those who levied taxes and collected them. Now
there is crisis. and the tall, is hotter and more
vOluble than ever. Elizabeth doesn't pay hei
debts Her bonds due on Saturday last were
NOT paid nor the interest thereon. with but $4,000
on hand and R36 GOO to pay, the problem SIM
pie but pathetic. Mr. Micawber stated il long ago !;
and bv whatever name they are called. munich
palities may be Micawbcrs. Moreover Elizabeth
owes something like 500, 600 to her policemen and
school teachers and Others In public service
rhen again. to make matters very nearly rs bad as
possible the City Council which ought to lind
way out of these scTapes for its constituency, can
not even organize, having been trying for a month
to elect President, and trying all IN VAIN. city
owing about ST, 900. 600 and without Il city coun-
ell, is evidently III "parlous state" 1t cannot
borrow temporarily; it cannot sell its bonds; TO
uso n familiar metaphor it is at the end Of its
rope for the time being.
Even those who are not Ehzabcihan taxpayers
may be curious to know how this disagrceable
chain of uncomfortable things came about Well,
# all seems to have of what, If II be not over
worked is not only harmless but laudablc, VIZ:
Improvement. Elizabeth has boen improved to
obstruction. People who say how nice looking 1t lS'
as they ride through il, httlo know perhaps
how much all this beauty has cost. and how
Elizabeth has been curbcd and severed aud
a 4 ir4, stT
streets which were not needed were cut through
farms. and made metropolitan thorouGh1ares. the
whole cost of this being thrown upon the city and
not upon the land spectators, who ought 10 have
paid it, as they alone were to be benefited by It.
Well the city ISSUED ITS bonds to meet che cost,
and the prOperty-OWucTs gave Their bonds 10 pay On
time. and miles of wooden payemcnts were laid.
and then the Court of Errors decided that
the property owners were under no legal OBJ
hgatlOn to pay anything; the wooden pave
ment4 were worn out; the city had not grown
greatcr-hal indeed scarcely held its Own. The
debt, elabOratcy stated, is $J,s23sG5, aud 16
cents over. There is a population OF 2S,OOO. To
accommodate this there are seyenty-hve miles OF
streets There is gas. There Is water There are
sewers There are fine public bindings. There Is
everything except money. There Is even an Eliza
bethtown Savings Bank, with $4,000 of the
cItys bonds. That institution has of course passed
into the judicial hands Chancellor Runyon.
We will not insult the readers understanding by
drawing the moral Of this tearfuy figuratye story.
When man does Is Elizabeth has done, 1t Is not
difficult to know what to say about him. If this
were the only town in like bother, 1t might be
necessary to say nothing about the matter. As it
is, the story of Elizabeth is forewarning; though
If times should become flush again, it would
hardly warn anybody.