St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-04-16

Charles Walsh got paralyZed on distilled
JOY, and he attempted to break in a door
and smash window. He will languish for
thirty days.
AN OFFICr0US MEDDLER.
An Outside Newspaper Attacks ST.
Paul Finances.-.What the
Comptroller Says.
The Minneapolis Evening Journal of yes
terday devoteS column of its space in the
desperate effort to prove that the city of st.
Paul in general, and Comptroller Roche in
particular, are engaged in en- Legitimate
struggle to boom the new city bonds author
lied by recent act of the legislature. Among
other statements it was charged that
ST. Paul had sold her bonds to a number OF
Maine savings banks, the paper in question
claiming that this was contrary to the law
of that state, which permitted its banks to
make investments only in the bonds of mu-
inequalities owing sums less than 5per cent.
of their assessed valuation. 1t was also as
serted that after bonds of the city of st.
Paul had been disposed of according to the
above requirements the city debt had been
increased to 10 per cent. upon that valua-
ton. Bp specious line of argument
the writer then attempts to
back up his assertions by quoting
from the bonded Indebtedness of st. Paul,
and among other items it is stated that st.
Paul bonds are held by the savings banks of
Maine to the extent of $4,000 1t is fur
Their claimed that, while the assessed valua
ton of the city of st. Paul is $61, 1000, 900,
its actual debt is SIS, 100000.
THE CONTROLLERS STATEMENT.
The article was shown to Mr.. Roche last
evening and that gentleman made the fol-
lowing statement concerning it:
MY statement of the bonded debt OF the
city of st. Paul to the 31st of March, 1885,
published last Sunday and Monday, show
ing S3,027, 140.T as the total bonded in
debtedness of the city of st. Paul, on that
day, is true and correct in every particular,
and the malicious and willful attack on me
and the city by the Minneapolis Journal is
Infamous, and the writer of the article
in the paper knows full well that he has
published a succession of untruthS. This
article SAYS, Mr.. Roche failed to include
the mortgage of 100000 on the water
works. / did not include this item in the
statement of the bonded Indebtedness be-
cause it does not belong there. Accompany
ing the statement of bonded Indebtedness [
publish under the head of remarks the fol-
lowing:
The St Paul water works have been self
supporting since owned by the city. One
million eight hundred thousand (Sl,S00,000)
dollars is the minimum value of the works,
which includes the mortgage of 100000 upon
them at the time of purchase by the city.
Said mortgage cannot be figured in with the
debt of the city until legislation is obtained
recognizing it as such, although it was recOg-
nized by the city of st. Paul in the purchase.
THE GREAT AIM
of the city of st. Paul has been that her
gross bonded debt, including all the bonds
issued for the water works, should not eX
ceed per cent. of the assessed valuation,
which upon SOL 600, 900 assessed valuation
of the year 1884 figures shade under 5
per cent. Any other statement would be
erroneous and false. The city of st. Paul
is advertising for sealed proposals for the
sale Of S600,0 600 5 per cent. thirty-year
bonds, which when disposed of will make
the then debt S.. 627. 140.71. 1t is probable
that the assessment for 1885 now being pre-
pared by the assessor will figure about S75,
900, 600. and yet the bonded debt of the city
of st. Paul will then be shade under
per cent. of the assessed valuation.
In this article in the Journal the writer
attempts to show that l have attempted to
misrepresent as to the number Of Maine
banks that hold our bonds. know of but
one. and that is the Maine Savings bank of
Portland. This bank holds $4,000 per
cent bonds, which it values i'll its assets
at S47. $50, being per cent. premium. The
fact that the market value of city of st.
Paul per cent. bonds. in the city Of Port
land, Me-, is at premium Of ! per cent. is
good enough evidence Of what moneyed in
NTni,. i,,1- cf ii
bonds. and it will require some
thing besides the presentations and open
falsehoods of the Minneapolis Journal to
disturb the credit of ST. Paul The paper
might as well attack the credit Of the cities
of New York. Paris or London. AS long
as l have been comptroller of this city |
have never heard word Of complaint from
the state Of Maine or any other state in re-
gard to st. Paul bonds. On the contrary |
have recently received numerous letters
from Maine seeking investments.
1.-The Journal says the assessed valuation
of st. Paul is SCI. 200. 600, and the
actual debt is $4,000, 600, or nearly 10 per
cent of the former sum. This paper er
roneously includes in this statement
ALL THE BONDS AUTHORIZED
by the last legislature, and seeks to convey
Tit iutd tildt illt JULIUS dIt W Dc
ately issued. while the assessed valuation Of
the city is sci 900. 600. Now, as a matter
of fact. it will take from two TO three years
to issue all these bonds. In the meantime,
the assessed valuation of st. Paul is greatly
increasing. so that by the time these bonds
are all issued the assessed valuation Of the
city will be over 500. 900, 600. So that then
the bonded debt will be still a shade under
per cent. of the assessed valuation.
In conclusion, | will say that.no bank
ing institution in the state of Maine has
ever purchased of the city of st. Paul any
of her bonds. The st. Paul bonds held in
Maine have been obtained through sources
unknown to st. Paul. | may state further
that | know the bankers OF the state Of
Maine are still anxious 10 get more OF the
bonds Of St Paul. and hold the credit Of
the city of ST. Paul in the highest e5tiIna-
ton"
Death Of an Old Settler at Mendoza.
The subject Of this obituary, Michael
Dupuis. was born in La Prairie, Canada
seyenty-One years ago. and having Travelled
extensively in the states settled at Mendoza
in 1854. where his brother HypOlite, who
was post-tTader with the Indians. then re-
sided. Mr.. Dupuis took sick in October.
and was obliged to keep his bed for FIVE
months He rallied little. however. in
/ March and was up and around. which was
a source OF 10Y to his family and numerous