The Charlotte Democrat., 1890-07-11
Meeting of the Board of Aldermen.

Meeting of the Board of Aldermen.
There was full attendance at the regular
monthly meeting of the Board of Aldermen
Monday, the only member absent being MIR We'd
bingham who is absent from town.
After the minutes had been read and approved,
the following communication from Wade H.
Harris of the Evening News was read:
al respectfully request that You reconsider
your recent action in regard to publishing the
lax returns of the city of Charlotte so as to give
each of the city papers the privilege of making
bids for the work..
When Capt Nash had finished reading the
above, Alderman DR.. Jos. Graham asked if there
were nothing more in the communication, "if
anything was said in there about charging mer-
chants $18 for column one month and chsrg-
ing the city $50 for one column 80 days to
advertise the bond election"
Mayor Mcdowell said the News ought rot to
have the face to ask this board for any patronage
| after he had published in regard to the Board
baseless, slanderous, and outrageous falsehood
| 1t was true that the News had had the decency
to copy his card giving the truth as to the bonds
Still when Alderman Graham and VanLanding-
ham On behalf of the Board had gone to the
editor of the Times about the falsehoOds pub
| lshed in his paper the editor of the News had
| only interviewed jerome Dowd as to that visit;
| he had given out an eXparte statement of the
| visit. and never even went to see either Alder
man Graham or VanLandingham The News
having treated the Board with such unfairness
|
| A city is judged by the paper it advertises in.
Journalism should be on high plane; it should
| not be allowed to become the medium for ire
| sponsble ISLANDERS Of anybody. paper should
not be allowed to become the shop where
| assassins of character sharpen their tools and
| make their dynamite bombs in the dark. It does
| look as if the three papers that have been CON-
cerned in circulating their falsehood about this
board. had entered into conspiracy to vilify
and misrepresent But behind all these
| cards and other statements which are as ma
licous they are false, turks the heavy villain;
| the plotter, the schemer, the one who abets and
encourages and yet shrnks into security; whether
| it be behind the coat skirt of the editor of the
DEMOCRAT, as "Many Citizens" or masquerading
under the title of Justice, it is not easy to say
/ but he will yet be stripped of his mask and
brought face to face with the people.
The editor of the Times had published what he
| knew to be false, and yet had not the manhood
| to publish the retraction, or correction he had
promised. He did not think the man whose
malignity would not stop at fa'sehood would
| stop short of other means to accomplish the de-
| sired end. The editor of the Times was engaged
1 in string up the passions of the people, of incit
| ing the farmers to enmity to the town, and he
| seemed not to draw any line of decency in the
/ means to his end.
| a beneficiary of the Democratic party, Jerome
Dowd was endeavoring now by speeches and
| otherwise to arouse hostility to the Democratic
org anization. In his role he reminds one of the
faoled adder, that was taken cold and almost
ll1eleSS TO q CnarlLaDle BOSOM, WneT6 WQeQ warm
| ed into life, he buried his poisonous fangs. We
ought not to compound felony, neither ought we
| to compromise with men engaged in defamiDg US
The treasurer's books have always been open for
all citizens and for all public information. yet
even false statement as to not being able to get
| fiscal facts, was published.
The Mayor spoke slowly but with evident
deep feeling, the only interruption being volun-
/ tarY endorsements from different members of the
Board as he proceeded with his remark.
L hon foil oA fho Mou
or He said that in the absence of the Mayor
| last week, he IS Mayor pro tenn had gone in COM
pany with Alderman VanLandingham to call on
the editor of the Times to ascertain the names of
the writers of the communication, and an article
pretending to give statement of how the bonds
had been SPENT and to publish card, not quite
as polite as the Mayors, but covering the same
ground Alderman VanLandiugham had show
| ed Mr.. Dowd the alleged statement of how the
| bonds had been spent, and had told him that he
| OoWd) knew that was a falsehoOd when he
| wrote it. Dowd then said it was piece of iro-
ny, written for fun, and that he would so state
| in the next issue of the Times. Dowd has said
the city treasurer had refused to give him infor-
| nation as to city expenditures. DR.. Graham
said he had not seen Captain Nash, but he ven
| tured the assertion that what Dowd said was not
| true, because he knew Captain Nash well enough
| to say so. Dowd then said that Captain Nash
had told him his (Nash's) statement was in the
hands of the Finance Committee, and was not
yet ready for publication. Dowd promised to
| make the amende honorable, but he has not done
So He was invited and all the other carping ed
| tors to attend all meetings of the Board and see
| for themselves what was going on. The Board
| invited criticism but would not tolerate misrep-
| resentation and defamation. Wade Harris in
| the News had said Dowd had said that nothing
but bullet could stophis investigation, whom
the fact is Dowd had said after VanLandiDgham
| had told him what he wrote was a falsehoou and
| he knew it when he wrote, that if we had come
then to bulldoze, nothing but q bullet could bull
| doZe him.
Mayor Mcdowell here remarked that as to
"Many Citizens" 10 the DEMOCRAT who seems so
uneasy about his tax returns being published that
he must be badly hurt, and that man low enough
to make false tax return, could be low enough
| to slander the Board of Aldermen,
| Alderman Carson asked if 1t would not be pos
sible to discover who MANY Citizens" is, and ex-
| pose him to the public
| Alderman Springs said that he did not think
| the Board ought to give any patronage to papers
that endeavored so to persecute the Board as the
| papers named had done
| Alderman Hall said there was no doubt that
| the papers had treated the Board unfairly and
that if Dowd had promised a correction he ought
| to have made it.
| After the matter had been freely discussed AL
| derman Springs said that all had heard the May
or and Aide man Graham, and he moved that
what each had said be given the cordial and
hearty approval of the Board Mr.. Springs put
| the motion, which was carried anonymously, and
| no action was taken as to Mr. Harris communi-
cation.
| The order to remove the Charlotte Hotel pill
| lars from the street by August first was rescind-
| ed on the understanding that when the present
years lease is out the owners will remove the
pillars voluntarily.
| Alderman Hall moved to resoiud the order for
publishing the tax returns; and Alderman Bon
ney seconded the motion. On suggestion, how
ever, that nothing could be done in way of pub
| fishing them, till The next meeting, motion was
Withdrawn for the time being.
Alderman Springs reported that the Finance
| Committee had examined the city treasurers
books for the fiscal year ending June 1st 1890,
and found them correct: the report was adopt
| ed.
| Alderman VauLaudingham reported from
Committee on Sewers in favor of extending the
| sewer from the rear of Ruford and Central Ho-
tells for 500 feet, which was agreed to; also line
of sewerage on Trade street from Church street to
| the creek; also agreed to.-ChGrLOtB Chronicle.
| SB II there is one man in the Demo
| cratic party who has been more iustru-