The Brookhaven leader., 1890-01-30
The Charter Amendment.

scented and exaggerated by Interested
parties. we to-day publish full text
of the bill that our readers may see
for themselves what it really con-
tainS.
The supreme desire of the authors
of this measure, who are among the
wisest. most conservative and public
spirited citizens of BroOkhaven, is to
subserve through it the best interests
of the entire community. For years
past Brookhaven has had an expensive
and largely inefficient city admins
tration, which has been run chiefly III
the interest of the few and not of the
many. As Il matter of fact, no town
i'm the State of its size pays such ex-
brilliant official salaries, and but few
pay even half az much. Of the some
thing over two thousand dollars rev.
enue fund collected annually, over
fifteen hundred dollars of it is paid
out for officers salaries and COM
missions. The Mayor receives 5000
per month; the Marshal receives
$50 90 per month; and the Secretary
$15 90 per month, and all get perQul-
sites.
But the worst of it is, that even
with these high salaries, the city has
not been given creditable official
service. In fact, it has been called
upon to blush and sadly suffer in rep
putation because of the unbecoming
conduct of it's chief official. a farmer
from the country may not come to town
and become a little boiSterOus or
hitch his horse in the wrong place,
that he is not .icrked mp and held to
rigid account; while the city blood
and the town darkcy are generally
allowed the most unbridled liberties.
Until the grand jury broke it up,
lind-tigerism flourished right under
the shadow of the Mayors office I'M
molested. Within his last term, the
city marshal so far forgot his official
responsibility as to get on spree and
iniure the property of one of the most
inoffensive citizens of the town. Tin
Grant quacks have been openly llcen-
sed to violate State law, and for q
mere song, comparatively, oily
tongued street. hawkers have been Ii
censed to sell out their shoddy wares
day after day to the injury of our
legitimate resident merchants. The
act of the Mayor getting drunk last
fall and invading a death-chamber at
the dead hour of night and seriously
disturbing and frightening the watch
ers present, is too fresh in the memory
of all to need emphasizing here but
the most characteristic and samcful
circumstance connected with that
disgraceful affair was, that after a
committee of Aldermen appointed to
investigate the matter had made a
whitewashing repOrt-bnt damnlng
one nevertheless-thc whole matter
was quietly laid on the table and no
resignation asked, no resolution of
censure passed, and no other action
of disapproval taken then or since.
Because of this condition of things,
and because of the manifest DISPOSE
ton of a certain element to uphold
the Mayor, right or wrong, and above
all, to avoid the bitter and desperate
antagOnism which an effort to reelect
Mayor Brennan or any one like him
would surely precipitate, the peaceful
solution of the appointing power fol
the next four years has been in
voked.
A great clatter has been raised by
the same interested parties against
the bond feature of the bill. 1t is
a well-known fact that the Citizens
Association and nearly every citizen
of the town has expressed himself in
dividually in favor of the issuance of
bonds for the establishment of a good
graded white public school. The Cit
liens Association specifically instruct
ed its committee on legislation upon
this subject, Judge Cassidy who as,
sisted in drafting this bill, being {
member.
1t will be observed that the is
suance of bonds is not made Obliga-
tory in the bill, but is optional, and
no Board of Aldermen, whether APP
pointed or elected, would issue bonds
in any amount, without first consult
ing the wishes of the tax. payers
That portion of the bill is substan
TALLY copy from the Hazlehurst and
Wesson bills passed two years
ago.
A very important feature of the bill
is the cutting down of salaries, which if
placed hereafter at the maximum
named in the bill, would he a saving
in this item alone of $4,000 a year
enough to pay the the annual inter
est on several thousand dollars of
bonds at per cent. or if no bonds
are issued, to pay for good school
house itself in a few years. The saw
ing for the four years would amount
to the handsome sum of 5000.
There is not a syllable in the bill
looking to any interference with the
fire district ordinances and nothing of
the kind is remotely contemplated.
AS far as we can learn, only two per-