Los Angeles daily herald., 1890-02-10

eary one. Inc great leaks arc III sho
extravagant prices paid for supplies that
were not subjected to competitive bids,
and in the lack of economical business
methods that have characterized every
department of the government. Closing
the spiggot while the bunghole is LETT
open has never yet got city out OF hx.
Paving Streets ON the nstailment
Plan.
We have heretofore discussed the plan
of paving our streets by the extension OF
the city's credit to the property fronting
on the streets to be paved. No one will
gainsay the proposition that a city
which has streets that are well paved,
apart from the convenience and comfort
they impart, possesses powerful factor
in favor of it's rapid improvement and
growth. Well paved streets induce
strangers to make their homes in cities
that have them, and capitalists to invest
their capital in them. We shall prob
ably soon have very complete internal
sewer system, and that should
be followed by the paving of
all the streets within reasonable radius
Of the center of the city. Whilst prop
erty holders would generally refuse to
pave their streets under the immediate
payment system, but few would object
if they could pay for the work in small
yearly assessments, running over a
period of twenty or even ten years.
The plan that has been adopted in
Denver has worked we'll and to the salts.
faction of everybody, as we learn from
persons who are from there. We are
not fully informed of the details
of that plan, but We can, from
what we know of it, out
line the main features OF what such a
plan should include. The city would be
authorized by the Legislature to issue
bonds drawing interest, to run ten or
twenty years. Whenever the property
holders on given street petitioned to
have their street paved, the city engineer
would be required to report the cost and
the superintendent to be assessed to
each lot. The city would then order the
work and pay for it in bonds. The own
ers Of lots would be required to pay into
the treasury every year until the entire
cost was liquidstsd whatever fraction of
the whole amount the yearly assessment
would come to; 30 that at the maturity
of the bonds the entire amount would be
in hand to cancel them.
Let US say that A owns frontage of
100 feet on a street go feet from curb to
curb He would be required to pave to
the middle of the street; that would be a
surperfcies of 5000 square fest. Say
the cost of paving vas 25 cents per square
foot, his liabilities would be $3.50. Add,
say, per cent. interest, and the total
would be $7S7 so. If the bonds ran for
ten years, he would only be called upon
to pay $7S rs per year to meet them at
maturity; if for twenty years, $50 3711s.
In this easy way he could liquidate the
debt and his property would have the
benefit of the improvement.
If the paving we're general, as il would
be, the increased value of the property
would more than cover the cost of the
improvement. The great objection
people have to paving the streets, espe-
cially if their property is little removed
FROM the business center. is in being
forced to pay out a large lump sum at
once. In most cases they are not able to
do so without borrowing, and we know
what usurious interest they are COM
PEELED to stand when they are forced into
the maws of the money sharks. We
know people who have had to borrow
money to pay their taxes, and could only
getis from the brokers at the enormous
rate OF 2 per cent. month. Notes have
been shown US actually drawing this un.
considerable rate.
The plan suggested seems to us a
feasible one. There would have to be
legislation to carry it out; but if the peo-
pie favored it there would be no difficulty
in its passage. We would certainly
| secure much better and more durable
class OF streets in this way. There would
be an end to gravel pavements laid down
merely that the first STERN should
wash them away. In the course of five
or six years all our inhabited streets
would be finely paved, and Los Angeles
would then really present valid claims
emitting her to the distinction of being
the model city of the United States.
| AN EVENT taxes place in Salt Lake
City today that double-discounts Sena.