San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-09-23
LAST NIGHTS MEETING.
THE ADMINISTRATION HUMPS
ITSELF,
Arrays Its Forces and Discusses
The Waterworks Question
OuIy On One Side.

Stalked into Convention Hall and asked a
LIGHT reporter if the meeting that was
being held there was the waterwOrks
meeting. He told the scribe that the
street commissioner had asked him to
come to the waUerworkS meeting TO be
held at the Mutualista hall, and wanted to
know if this was the place. In few min
utes the reporter had accompanied this
employee of Fritz Russi to the hall in ques-
ton, and mingled unobServed among the
crowd of men at the guarded door.
What meeting it was! The house
was packed with city employees and one or
two anti administration men. There were
about two hundred MexicanS, fifty
other white men and thirteen negroes
present. No notice through the press
had been given, but the administration
bosses had quietly given their men the
money, were put to thoroughly investi-
gate the waterworkS proposition, and
above all there was no James V. Digno-
witty present to inform the speakers that
their ten minutes were up. The admin
iStration was about all that was repre-
scented. Street Commissioner Fritz RuSsi
was honored with the craftsmanship, and
torney of the present administration, ad-
dressed the audience. He wanted his
hearers to discuss this thing thoroughly.
The city must have the waterworkS, for
the public water will in ten years cost
$4,000 against S25, 900 today. The talk of
an increase in tax was an immense hum
bug. The ten per cent. fund was only an
error and the ten per cent. will
be changed to two per cent. by the
bankers say, what Mr.. Groos says, for
they have fine roads and good carriages
and can afford to pay higher water
rates"
The city, he went on to say, would go
bankrupt and also bankrupt Col. Brack-
enridge, if it built water works system
of its own. Look at these men, every
Stare the fellows in the face, and you will
see that they are the men who have
opposed every important enterprise that
has been undertaken in the city"
Then he harped on the glOrieS and the
beauties of the land at the head of the
river. The vision he had of our future
park at the head of the river, which he
said would only cost $4,000 to put in
proper condition chow, Joe Heller
sublime idea of paradise out in the
cold. mo gentlemen, when you
consider the value of the land thrown in
with the sale, you cannot possibly soy
that the price is too high. The
way to get the actual market val
ne of the land" he said, lis to go out on
River Ave. and ask one of the real estate
agents what one lot is worth. He will
tell you $1,000. On this figure out what
52S acres are worth at five lots to the
acre. knock off couple of thousand dol
lars in order to make low estimate, and
you will find the land worth over one and
one fourth million dollars" and cOnyinc-
ing the large number of citizens who
carry all of their real estate on the soles
of their feet, that their taxes would not
be raised one mill, he retired amid cheers.
Fritz Russi called upon Juan Cardenas
who delivered an address in the native
tongue of the majority of of the listeners.
The man who stood guard at
the door told the reporter that
Juan had said about the same thing in
Spanish that Oscar had said in English.
As he evidently was an administration
man, the scribe took his word for it..
Then arose the almighty Fritz RuSSi,
the street commissioner of the present
administration and put in some ticks for
the purchase, that touched the heart of
every man present, the most of whom
only paid poll tax and wiggled at that.
But Fritz RuSSi spoke and the men under
his employ cheered most vigorously and
vehemently. When he finished the meet
ing adjourned and the administration
bosses and their forces returned to their
homes, thoroughly convinced that they
will have to save the city from eternal
disgrace by casting their votes at the
polls, If they possibly can.
ANOTHER ACCOUNT.
Editor LIGHr:-A very amusing meet
ing held last night at the vote breeding
hall for the administration, the Mutual
iSta hall, was attended by about $50 per-
sons, all employees of the city adminStra-
ton. | also may safely assert that the
taxes paid by the whole audience do not
exceed $500 year, but nevertheless the
smallneSS of the contribution toward the
maintenance of the city government, the
boiSterOuS speeches would to person not
acquainted with this circumstance, APP
pears as though the largest tax payers
were present. OF course the speakers
were all in favor of the purchase of the
waterworkS, cal led all opposition moss
backism, and advised those who would
not vote for the proposition to sell out out
Grafton. have managed the affairs of
the city satisfactory so far, and
will continue to do so, said the Mexican
Fritz RuSsi. The mainstay of the speeches
were, the inducements, to purchase, taxes
would not materially be augmented but
water rates would be very low for the
consumer, and then the beautiful park on
the head of the river, worth sl,000,OOO
alone to the city. They always forget
that San Pedro park illustrates every day
how much interest the city takes in beau
tifying such parks. The meeting with
hurrahS for Callaghan, adjourned.
meeting will be held again at Convention
hall in few days.
QUICK CURES WITHOUT DRUGS.