The daily gazette., 1882-09-09
rnnlIal, Isronaa.

The ridiculous claim Is made by certain
parties that City Treasurer Pierce has no
right, at this time, 70 pay any money to the
Board OF Education On aec1unt of the sale
of the schoa Board loan AnthoFlsed at the
last session d tte Legi$atnFp. y.
Now, we respeetfuIly infoRm these know
ing people that CITY Treasurer Pierce has
nothing TO do in the matter, except to pay
all orders passed by the City Council TO
whomsoever drawn, under one restriction,
VITO see that none of the appropriations
are overdrawn. He can keep on paying out
checks, regardless Of consequences, II the
city has not q Dollar IN bank 70 Its credit,
but be is liable on mis- official bond If be
allows q siagle appropriation to be over
drawn, even If the bank book showed that
the city had half million dollars on de-
posit. For instance, suppose that the water
appropriation, on Thursday, showed bal
Anse of only three hundred dollars, and City
Council, that evening, had passed, bin for
Eve hundred dollars, to be charged to this
appropriation. The City Treasurer, in this
case, would have no right to allow this check
TO be paid out Of his Office, Notwithstanding
his books reported balance In bank OF
nearly one hundred and fifty thousand
dollars to the credit of the city. On the
other hand, suppose that the water appro-
pViation was three or four thousand dollars
and the bank balance only fifty the City
Treasurer could then pay the check to the
party entitled TO receive it, utterly regard
less of the oYerdraft In bank thereby
| oceasioned.
In regard to the School Board money, all
that City Council has TO do Is TO draw al
order in favor of the Treasurer Of the Board
for twenty thousand dollars, to be charged
TO loan No. so, in the same manner as the
other orders of this character, amounting u
forty thousand dollars, were drawn and
charged. The balance of this loan remains
as an appropriation on the books of the
City Treasurer, against which orders TO thu
ence of this appropriation was known wheI
the tax rate for the current year was estab
llshed. From a cowardly fear of increasing
taxation this item was ignored, and nov
Council refuses to pay the School Board th'
money justly due 1t for fear of increasing
the deficiency certain to exist even If tn
Board never gets cent of the money 1t l
now asking for.
We hope we have made this matter suffl
ciently clear to show that while the recen
City Council was responsible for the ex
penditure of the School Board money, tn
present Council not only has the ability, bu
is lawfully bound to restore 1t to Its origins
channel, and was guilty Of a gross negieC
of duty in falling to make positive al
rangements for the repayment. Whe
the matter resolves itself to a question {
the actual use of the money, per Sc, we wi
readily prove that its use was justifable an
was effected openly, without the slightei
attempt at concealment. And finally, "
stand ready to show that Republican Cit
Council, in 1873, secretly sold School Boar
T bonds to the amount of thirtee
thousand dollars and surreptitiOusly e,
pended the money for Street DepartmeI
pay-rolls amounting to fifteen hundred do
lars in a single week, and other like extravi
gances, the whole transaction being 8
quietly disposed of that the sale of tn
bonds and the expenditure of the none
were unknown to the public until Dem,
cratic Council took charge Of the eli
affairs and investigated the old accounts.
m Il