The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-07-18
Capt. Purse Explains.

Editor Morning NelUs: In your morning
issue, in the account of the proceedings OF
council last night, l am mad vertently
quoted as saying that the Liberty street
pavement imposed burden of Sos, 900 or
thoss owning lots abutting on the street
when the figure named was SIS, 900. OF
which s524 9l o. representing tw third.
of cost assessib bic to them, was obtained
from a statement ron ierei me by the CITY
treasurer to show my individual portion OF
the amount; the remainder is an estimate
based on the tax returns of owners OF lots
on iibe ty street, of their proportion of the
amount OF cost assessed by the city to be
provided for out OF the general taxes.
Alderman Myers claimed that the amount
as stated by the Il treasurer was subiect To
deductions tor exempted property included
in Il and assumed 10y the city, and also the
clty'S contribution for the frontage OF
biSecting streets, which would reduce the
amount to about 1920
had introduced these figures to institute
a comparison between the relative C st Of
the pavements on Liberty and Brougnton
streets. Thereduced figure | am willing
to accept as correct, say $4,000, for the
| purpose of the comparison. The assessment
for the two plvenelts on Brougnton street
charged against lot owners, aggregates
| S26, 62S r. By these figures the Liberty
street pavement has cost 50 per cent. more
than those on Broughton. A part
of this difference may be &C.
! counted for in difference IN
surface area laid on the respective streets
| chdrg'able for two-thlrdS Of cost to lot
owners, but there II be quite a dispari Y
as between the 70 streets even after that
| allowance is made. In another part Of the
report | am credited with saying, The
| pavrnelts were built as monuments for
ambitious politicians" when, on the con-
| trary, reading from manusc ipt before me.
in substance said | repealed a " such in
! situation and assigned reasons against the
ex stence Of any foundation for such a
charge.
Much stress Is laid upon petition among
the records of The city, signed BY q number
OF lot owners on Liberty street, including
myself, i'll regard to the manne' in which
! the street was finally laid off and
paved. W hen that petition was signed,
the paving had been determined upon
by the city against the we.l-known
opposition of nearly every owner Of a lot
| on the street. The aim Of the petition.
therefore, as | understood it then, and as
the la guage bea oIt the Interpretation
now, was as q last resort TO get The city to
psve both sides of tine street, aud use asphalt
instead of Belgian blocks, end only con
curing in the gcass plats, which were
orig naily Of the clCy's suggestion, to reduce
the space TO be paved.
IN regard to the preparation of the petit
tho and Its circulation for signatures, with
map accOmpa yng il, | had nothing more
TO 90 with tnem tuaA a Y other one Of those
signing il, nor as either, or 10th docu-
mentS prepared or Clrcu sted by any one
for my accou I more tina for that Of eaca
of the other property owners whose sigma
lures are appended TO it.
The property owners on the street when
the petition was being circulated were very
much like the criminal - no had baen PER-
~ tied c CO of agencies for acrelerating
his Hight to eternity aid his exercise of the
privilege was claimed as an evldence of his
approval of capital punishment
D. G. PURSE.