Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1884-08-11

the council Why, gentlemen, Is this
such calamity? have written since
coming into Office about 1875 ordinances,
and have always written them cheer
fully when requested so 10 do. They
did not reply 70 me then. | did not
give IL rs facts, but simply made the
remark and thought that IL was true;
vet they say there have been but forty
written and that they wrote portion
OF them. This puts me In mind Of the
remark / heard my friend Capt. Pad
dock make about six or seven years
ago, before he was AS well Off a. he Is
now. He said that he and Peter
Smith were worth more than any other
two men In town outside OF their
exemptions; he was worth about a
hundred dollars, but Peter" could
make up the balance. Maybe they
have written two or three, but they
forget have written many ordinance.
that were never passed, consequently
not on the books. Then for the benefit
OF the gentlemen, although this reso-
luton was read in council without a
moments warning to me, and |
hastily referred to the ordi-
nance book, which began
with 900 and ended with 3il.
and not intending 1t for publication or
thinking OF the enormity OF the num-
Der, | made the remark, not expect
ing the public to even hear Of II. Yet,
II / had taken pains TO have looked up
the matter, and had said instruments
of writing instead ofordinances, such rs
contracts, bonds, ordinances, resolu-
tions, ETC., my calculation would not
have been far wrong,
The gentlemen 90 say that j have
neglected 10 attend to certain duties
which have delayed important inter-
eats Of the city.
Now let us see what are those i'm
portant duties. The first one 10 which
my attention IL called il that of the
bond OF G. McDougal. Mr.. Nichols,
our city treasurer, Is on that bond and
II il also signed by r. +. Tackabery,
who since signing the same, and be-
fore II was known that Mr.. McDougal
was behind, died. The bond OF the
ely secretary was for $500, while his
arrears amounted 10 "a little over 600.
This makes complicated affair. Nc
Dougal has nothing out Of which the
debt cun he made ackabery Is dead
and his estate Is In such a condition
TO say the least OF 10 will make the
suit troublesome aud complicated.
Besides this, the city council will
know that was told by them that II
would be far better 10 compromise than
to bring suit. haven't the least
doubt but that / can do
better to compromise the suit
now than TO sue. Nor until
IA few days ago did Mrs. Tackabery re-
fuse TO pay her portion, or II portion Of
the bond which her dead hu ,band had
signed. Mr.. Nichols has always re-
quested that should not bring the
suit; that he was willing to pay his
portion Of the bond, and that lie " ould
assist me To compromise. Mr.. Daggett,
the father.ln-law of Mr.. McDOugal,
has sent me word that he will pay 800
OF the bond.
The city of Fort Worth to-day holds
I several hundred dollars 40 not re-
member the amount) of city scrip,
which has been issued to Mr.. Me-
D0ugal and which said money is In
the hands of the city treasurer, subject
tn the payment OF said scrip, aud
venture To say that would wager that
there are some members Of the city
council who do not know that. Mr..
Nichols has ust told me that he
NtIt ntT-
fected by which the bond would
be paid, and told
him that If arrangements
were not made that the suit was bound
to he brought this week. Some emf
nent members of the bar seem to think
that upon suit we cannot recover
agalgst the bondsmen, because the Eitp
secretary under the law had no right
to receive fines, aud that there was
no such Office known to the statutes of
Texas as clerk of the recorders
court. While | materially differ
with these eminent gentlemen, none of
whose names remember except that
OF the Hon. Hyde Jennings, still Mt the
same time think IL wise 10 compro-
msewith Mr., McDougal aud his boiids-
men IL we can do 50 reasonably, taking
oil the circumstances into cunsidern-
ton. IL Is true that Mr.. McDougal
has transferred his claims against the
city before there was money In the
treasury with which TO pay them.
While these parties are justly entitled
To their money they tell me that they
TOO VIII help pay OIL the bond
If we will turn the scrip
over TO them. Yet | haven't
done anything, hduont /: The mem
bers OF the city council who signed
that Infamous document against me
forget that an instrument of writing
In this state IL goou for four years
then where Is the loss in this case.
The old saying, penny wise and
pound foolish applies here, The
next Is that of Cleveland n Cameron
on the Slattery bond. Let us
see what have done wrong
here. | will not say, but 1t is my
opinion that the bond was never for
feited straight-out, but that Cleveland
4 Cameron, the bondsmen, who
had an instrument OF writing which
was referred To me for my investiga-
ton when they desired the council to
turn the money going TO Slattery over
to them. gave II then as my opinion
that the instrument of writing abso.
lutely IA to third parties made them
partners, and 1t was useless To forfeit
the bond. and that they could safely
allow Cleveland n Cameron to 20
on with the work, which was for q
long time after Siattery was ont OF the
way, prosecuted by them, Messrs.
Cleveland 4 Cameron have always
said that they would like to make AR
rangenients to settle their matter.
This all happened considerably less
than q year ago. As understand the
matter, before the work was completed
aud when we least expected, &. w.
Slattery left with his family
most of us thought for visit
to Missouri. Imagine our surprise
when, after having paid Mr.. q. w.
SlAttery's partners, Messrs. Cleveland
and Cameron, or to their order, several