Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-06-21
LOCAL INTELLIGENCE.
wlLLlAMspoRr kEADJusTERs.

Compromising With the nOudholders CT
the BankruPs CITY.
In pursuance to an announcement
the committee appointed by the
councils Of the city Of Williams
port, met the bondholders Of Lancas-
ter county in the Office of William Lea
man. esq. for the purpose Of cOmprOmis.
ing the debt After conversing with each
bOndholder for short time the chairman
of the committee said he would make q
statement, alter which anybody could ask
him any question he chose. He said Viii
Transport, although the handsomest city
in the Union, was in ! financial straight.
Old Pete Hertlsc did it all by issuing city
bonds and rendering no account to the city
for the money ; that there were s126, 600
wasted somehow that could not be ac-
counted for, and that the city was in debt
over S735, 900. Now what have We got to
show for it, nothing but q miserable
Nicholson pavement 81 miles long, and .
Dutch neck. canal from the Herdic house
to the river. over mile and a-half long,
that cost slS,OOO. The Nicholson pave
ment was in such bad order that the peo-
pie could not drive on it any more. and
were compelled to use the back streets for
pleasure drives that it was SO full of
holes they had to be continually filling up
with gravel to keep the citizens from
sueirg them for damages. We have no
gas works, no water works, no convent
ences at ali, nothing but the Dutch canal
and Nicholson pavement for which
Pete Herdic charged them S13j, 900. II
the said Pete.ever comes around your city
stone him out. Now gentleman, our
proposition is for you to take 4 per cent.
bonds for your 6 per cent. bonds and ac-
crued interest, in that way We can save
ten to twelve thousand dolla.s of interest
a year for 4 sinking fund. In closing he
made very poor mouth, begging the
boudholders to make the reduction. TIE
next gentleman said that wherever their
citizens registered at hotels all over the
country they were called repudiators ;
that they did not want to be So called, but
that they would pay the interest for their
debt if the bond holders would just make
it little lower and the bond holders at
torneys said they would do it if the bonds
were their own. They all told the same
plaintive story and said they could enter
tain no other proposition than the one they
offered, strongly intimating, il the bond
holders did not accept that they would get
nothing. One of the committee concluded
Oy saying that he would sooner rot in Jail
than pay cent Of this Indebtedness, ii it
was not that the bonds were held by inno-
cent parties. sand (sotto voce) the decisions
of the supreme court. Still they struck
just the best country in the world to plead
poverty. It was ascertained that about
S61, 900 of the bonds are held in this coun-
ty and that ~, 900 worth were represented
at the meeting Of which about two-thirds
then and there accepted the proposition.
Now. what will the result be. Will the
next set of councilmen be Is good gentle
men as the present, if not will they not
have a better defense to the new bonds
than they have to the old oEes. inasmucll
as part of the new bonds will be bearin.
compound interest.