Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-08-03

THE CITY B0HD QUESTION.
Reply Of Mayor Brown to the Published
.tntn..aa..t Of L...I.... I,nn....

4
Statement of Judge Beatty.
Eps. RECORD UNION. In reply to Judge
Beatty's article in yourpaper of Saturday
last, I VIII say that as tise bankers Colonel
Hamilton, Major Miller and Captain Alb
bott are the biggest game, l will merely
refer TO them in this article, reserving for a
future one to show TO the people how very
much they have their interest at stake
Suffice for the present that the bankers do
not seem to agree with Judge Beatty and
Expert Hopper as to the amount used by
the Fund Commissioners, but they do say
that the Fand Commi sion has worked
so well as To bring the bonds up 20 par
Now, as 10 Judge Beatty's saying have
misrepreseBted figures and amounts, ! re-
assert that my statements are literally
true. That is, the present assessment
roll will be this year $12000C00; that he
has used S32i 900 of tax money TO buy up
$47S099 bonds and SI79, 600 coupons: that
during my administration five years inter
est has been paid to the bona iide holders
of bonds and sufficient given to the Com
mission to bEy over S200,000 worth of the
Indebtedness and that the regular annual
taxes collected have only averaged 81 rs on
the 500. The records of each department
will show these facts.
Now, how will u comparison of truth
fulness stand between Judge Beatty and
myself in regard to this bond qnestionE
Mayor Turner and others say that the cause
of the whole troubie-that of making an
agreement with few bondholders in 1881,
whereby the bonds were advanced in price
from 35 to "a cents on the dollar, and the II
coupons paid at par, and the coupons
of '7S 10 80 and 81 materially advanced,
A. - I'll
all the litigaGou-was not only concocted
by Judge Beatty, but at every meeting tc
push said agreement with few favored
bondhoders was urged upon the Trustees
by Judge Beatty, and that he was the NOV
ing spirit and spokesman in the whole af-
fair. Then after five years, in 1886, Judge
Beatty gets up before q meeting OF the Citi-
zens Association and denies his completely
in the matter, and says he was opposed
to it.
Now, every one knows that the agree
ment at that time caused the advancement
OF the bonds, and was the imme-
diate cause of all the litigation,
and these parties referred to know
that Judge Beatty was the concoctor and
spokesman in that affair; yet be has the
hardihood to deny it, and try to place the
blame On innocent shoulders. So much
for our lruthfulness.
Let US take now look at the workings
of the Fund Commission In 1872 when
the Commission was organized, the debt of
the city was, principal and interest, less
than 81, 100000, worth then 80 cents on the
dollar, making the market value about
$700,e00. They have been redeeming
millions, according to Beatty, since, and to-
day it stands thus: Principal and interest
81 100000, worth 20 cents. or market
value of 81, $50, 900, 100000 more than
when the Commission first started. BY his
rule of proportion in five years, when it
gets up to the bankers views-dollar for
dollar-by the admirable working of the
Commission, 1 ask if the market value of
the debt will be lessened?
As to MI. Hopper, he swore to a state
ment that is on Tile in the Auditors Office
which is in direct variance with the i'm
preston he tries TO create in his letter TO
Judge Beatty. | dcr't believe the bankers
or Judge Beatty-that fair and honorable
compromise cannot be made. | believe
that the bondhoderS would vet make a
fair compromise. 1 know they would have
done SO three years ago, and am decidedly
in favor of compromise. as, if for no
other reason, it would prevent Judge
Beatty's son from getting big fees from the
Fund Commissioners. 1t would also pre-
vent his sOn-in-law from harassing the city
by law suits to compel her to give all
the surplus money from the water works
TO the bondholders, and it would prevent
this same son-in-law from making, as is
rumOred, his thousands by having the in
side track on coupon purchases. II would
also place it ont of the power of the Judge
himself to do such an act as he did in 1881,
by making the agreement referred to, and
then huniliating himself before those that
knew better, by denying that he did and
trying to place the cause of the disaster on
other shoulders. J. Q. BEowN