The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-05-17
A.CITY DISTRESSED.
BAD PLIGHT OF ELIZABETH, N.
Strarslluv with a Big Debt and no Way to Ps,
It On-Ths Merchants Threaten to Leave the
City ia ,Maadanas Is serIsd-Nhat
the Eject viii Doabtlsss Be.

NEW YORK, May lG.-Mr. George n
McKenzle's ultimatum to the citizens ol
Elizabeth, N. j., that unless they come to
some settlement OF the city debt question
he will serve the mandamus he now holds,
compelling the city to raise the amount
claimed by tax levy, has created no little
CONSERVATION in that beautiful though
hopeless borough.
As has before been stated the status ei
Elizabeth is that Of city with only $l2,.
100000 OF taxable property and bonded
debt OF 100000. The Singer Manufac-
turing Company is brought into protni.
nence in the case, because some years since
1t made loan Of 100000 to the city and
its officers purchased large amount OF the
city bonds. This debt Of $500, 900, with the
bonds that were bought by heotficers OF the
company as individuals constitutes what
Is known as the "Singer amount, and for
the payment OF which judgement has been
llobtained and mandamus Issued. Mr..
mckenzie recently issued letter to the
Taxpayers OF Elizabeth, in which he e1-
Eplains that the Singer Company 10 large
Taxpayer, and that his personal inteies In
Elizabeth are also large. In the course oil
This letter he says that he does not think 1t
ought to take 'foreyer" to settle, especially
when interest is pilng up at the rate OF
$4,000 q month. Meantime, he says,
lsome creditors have been obtaining man.
ldamuses for 100 cents on the dollar.of the
principal and seven per cent interest,
while those he represents have been pay.
ing them in full. Is 1t quite reasonable,
he asks, TO expect that those creditors,
who are also taxpayers, would consent to
keep on paying others at that rate and get
nothing ior themselves?
At the Singer Manufacturing Company's
establishment in this city representative
Of the company said yesterday that it had
agreed to hold open its offer tosettle on the
proposed fifty per cent basis only until May
i is, provided all the other creditors would
combine in the offer. After that date
the company would not settle except
upon one hundred per cent basis, and
unless such an offer were made by the city
1t would press It's mandamus. This was
not done, however, and the mandamus must
be in time for this years tax levy II served
before July Is.
A meeting was held on Monday after.
noon In this city. There were present a
delegation Of the City Council liof Elizabeth,
the City Attorney and number OF the
creditors. The Financial agents Of the city,
General Woodford and General Fitzgerald,
who are to get two per cent for any satisiac.
tory settlement they can make, were also
present. The meeting was short one, and
matters, 1t is understood, remain in statu quo.
UNFORTUNATE TAXPAYERS.
Close fgurers have said that the presen.
tation OF the mandamus will increase the
tax to fifteen per cent Hitherto it has been
estimated at from twelve to fourteen per
cent, but the most accurate mathema,i.
\ clans now put it one per cent higher. The
rate now collected il three per cent, and
this serves to run the city and leave little
balance to satisfyIan occasional judgement
creditor. But il the mandamus is served
the taxable people say that they will not
pay anything.
The fact Of the matter appears to be that
the Elizabeth muddle is growing too much
for the average citizen. The more he reads
on the subject and the more he talks, the
less he appears to know. Every other man
you meet has plan for "the settlement Of
the debt" and every bondholder will con.
sent to no plan but his own. The result is
interesting as well as instructive. The
local papers TEEN with scathing editorials
OF this method or that proposition. 4
TO DESERT TIE CITY. r,a
It should be borne in mind that this
wild delirium is not observable in the
Elizabeth streets or marts. It is only in
the minds OF the citizens. At the present
rate Of depression the streets will be de-
serted in a very few years. For five years
the trade OF the city has been decreasing,
but the merchants have hoped that the
Legislature would assume the debt or
some philanthropist pay 1t, or lightning
metth bond holders hearts. Micawber-
like they have waited for some Of these
things to happen and as they waited have
seen moneyed people, or rather the people
who spent money, pack up and leave.
Now three years OF waiting has been re-
warded by the probable increase Of their
tax rate from three to fifteen per cent?
The result is that the larger merchants
propose, in that case, 10 move and the
smaller ones will be frozen out by the
Sheriff. ....,,....l.., -. -.
The mandamus is directed to the city
authorities and requires them, to put an
amount in the tax levy sutiicientto paythe
Judgment The result Of the levy will fall
heavily on the holders OF personal property,
because the Sheriff can find something
tangible to seize. Under this head will be
the storekeeper, to whom fifteen per cent
on their stock would be ruinous. The
owners OF real estate will not suffer 60
much, 1t is thought, for the following rea-
sons: r- =
After the Sheriff has seized the land be
will sell it. No one will buy it, because a
tax title in New jersey is not worth six
cents. .'"
The city will buy tin.
The original owner will remain in pos
session, because he cannot be dispossessod.
The city will get no money, the owner will
keep bis land, the Sheriff and lawyers will
collect their fees and the world will roll
oil. That is the programme. Of the real
estate owners.
The storekeepers will adopt other plans.
The large grocer will send all his stock
TO New York and serve his customers by
orders. The large dry goods merchant
will close his store because he cannot sell
by samples as the grocer can. The smaller
stores will have TO shut up. sv
The unhappy merchants say that they
might possibly stand the fifteen per cent
Tor one year, but the rate must necessarily
increase, as other mandamuses will be
procured, and the end would never come
until the S., 100000 were paid. They prefer
TO shut up shop and pay no taxes at all.
So the serving Of the mandamus means
ruin to Elizabeth. The street lamps will
20 out, the schools close, the stotekeepers
will put up the shutters, the festive police
man will no longer pace his weary beat
from corner (saloon) to corner tsaloon) and