Omaha daily bee., 1883-02-26

such as exists on the llDe Of north and
south Omahs creek, there are numsr-
Gus eddies which through cooperating
Influences give out vspors that absorb
poisons in the atmosphere that once
inhaled infect the system.
How about paving.
AS to that / don't know but what
Mayor Boyd IL right, and ! am willing
to coroede that, all things considered,
It will perhaps be- best to dispose OF
the 500, 900 already authorized, and
then AJAX for more; THE BEE. l noticed
In its last issue, labors under a mis-.
apprehension on this poiht. The
city's share of expense will be nearly
one-third Of the cost tf paving streets.
The 500, 600 alluded to In my report
was q suggestion as an additional
amount that will have TO be provided
for to pave all Intersections of Ninth
and Sixteenth streets to be paved
this year, SIS the 500, 600 now pro-
vided for will only cover the present
contracts for Tenth and Douglas
streets, aud the business center COM
prising Harvey and the interesting
streets.
jrter--How about our borded
tndebtedness2 Can we issue the
amount proposed under the present
lawl
As to our bonded indebtedness, 1t
is now S487, 900, counting In the
$3.50 coo OF school bonds for which
the city is guarantee. Under our law
we can issue bonds to the extent of 10
per cent of of the assessed valuation.
Tois at present is 81, 200 600. Ten
per cent of this is $3.50 900. This,
then, would leave us q balance OF
$233, 0O5 that Gun be legally Issued.
fhe 800, 900 of paving bonds now
authorized will reduce tho available
issue, under the present low valua.
ton, to $133 600
Rsporter-How will our bonded In
debtcdness compare with other cities
City Engineer--Vsry favorably.
TIE comptroller's report Of Kansas
City for 1881 showed a bonded debt Of
81, 800 900, and a taxable valuation Of
apout $40, 0O0, coo, or about 13 per
cent, and a rae oer head Of popula
ton of about 800.
st. L u,s has a bonded debt of ovpr
1922 QUO orc on an assessed taxable
value $l72,(00 900, or IL par cent,
aud D rate OF 500 per head Of p,pula'
tim. Cleveland has q debt If ove'
So 600 COO on u valuation OF abou
$1,000, 900, or a little owe 10 pei
cent, ana based upon population
debt of about 500 per head, 10 yor
can rec that Omaha's debt is aooul .
per cent on valuation, and lpss thar
$40 per head on population. L. tina
respect some of our people, have, i,
my judgment, erroneous ideas on thu
l ~ihfaences III 1t develop cities. Abou
six years ago Mr.. Poppleton in an ad
dress Def IRE the BOARD of trad
opposed water works upon tn
broad grounds that that 1t implied
sewerage, and Of necessity the incur
ring of a large bonded debt, said he:
Let MS 60 slow, Kansss City Is going
headlong into debt now, and If we but
hold back quietly the bonded debt o.
Kansas City will 'eer long deplete 1t
, population, while Omaha will bene6
In growth proportionatly. I refer 20,
to the files of the daily papers her,
for this speech. DR.. Miller then, an
at that very meeting, took the op
posite view and was opposed by MI
Kountse and other wealthy men, VIII
coinoided with Nv. Popleton. In plsc
OF proving true, Kansas City boast
/ to-day of 80 600 population, or abou
t double that of Omshs.
Reporter. -How does the city cree
1t stand at this time.
l.. Mr., R.-No city has any better
s Through the careful and, I must 90!
. painstaking management OF Nj
Buck, our last 6 per cent. eve bono
r brought a premium of nearly $l0,00
8 ana even our one, two, three, four an
FIVE year district bonds were dispose
o of at par, despite the opinion
express d by the Omaha banks th'
1t could not be done.
t Reporter-Do you think that bono
will he carried If a proposition is sui
n mitted?
n City Engineer-Yes, air; althoug
, the law requires a %two-thirds vo'
n upon it. l believe if Mayor Boy
, himself had had more time to care
fully examine into this matter l
y would have favored the proposition
as 1t was he was sick at his home whe
IS I left the plans and recommendation
il with him on the subject. May
d Boyd has always favored public In
provements. He pays yer n p
cent Of the entire taxes of the Of
d and has more money proportionate
IF invested In large enterprises than al
other one man In Omaha. The int
ests of Omaha In o large sense a
m his own. I am very much il
10 debted to his hearty CO operation
D. the furtherance Of public works &c
10 orally. I believe ii I had q fair o
al portunity to present In detail sil t
q, features of the work proposed as
ID did to the board of public works
Of would have given the large part of
10 his support. The recommendatio
re as to paving, of course, l conoede
his views, and If we Issue the 500
D. 900 for sewerage we can at best on
7e issue $50, 600 more for paving Il
season, a. the present assessed vAlr
<. ton will admit of no further Issue.
ne ---
Do PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT TT.