San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-09-26
THEY WILL DEFEAT 1T.
A DETERMINED MEETING AT
THE MISSION GARDEN.
Some Very Sound Talks and Inter.
esting Disclosures About the
Waterworks.

| Shortly after O'Clock last night the
largest portion of our main tax-paying
citizens filed down South Alamo street
into the Mission Garden pavilion, eager
to hear the report of the citizens COM
mittee, which was appointed at last Sat-
urday's meeting and to listen to what was
| to be said upon the other side Of the
question.
Mr.. John A. Green called the meeting
to order at about 9 o'clock with some
eight or nine hundred tax payers pres
| ent.
The report of the committee was called
for and read by Col. w. b. Wright. The
| report, which was continually cheered
| and received with considerable applause,
makes the following points:
While the report is of necessity I'M
satisfactory and incomplete, it begS leave
to report that the land at the head of
the river which it is proposed to buy
amounts TO about SIS acres, and a large
part of it belongs u parties outside Of
| the waterworks company. This land
embraces number of springs which con-
Stitute the head of the river. But it does
not include the place Of confluence of
these springs, which is, more nearly than
any other place on the river, the key to
the control Of the water supply, which
place with ample grounds adjoining it,
belongs now to the city (being leased by
the WaterworkS company. On this
ground, owned by the city, are the upper
pumphouse and race, which have given
the main water supply to the city for the
past thirteen years, and during most of
the time, the only water supply" The
land has two pumphouSes, one not COM
pleted, fine river front of three miles and
good water power.
The whole water mains. stock and fix
lures as rendered to the state and county
is S575,0OO. The entire land to be bought
is assessed at S91, 900. and the company
pays tax on land, fixtures. franchise and
all assessed at S77l, S43 TO state and county.
A portion of the land was recently sold to a
syndicate for s254 per acre. The water
works property is bonded for S6S0,00O,
which bonds are secured by trust deed
upon the property.
After this report was read, Mr.. Green
announced that he had statement from
Mr.. l.. w. MadaraZ, secretary of the
WaterwOrks company. The statement,
he said, was incomplete and unsatiSfac
tory, and could be taken for what it was
worth. The report counted up what the
land was worth in his opinion, how beau
tiful it was, how much money the COM
pany had received and what it cost the
company; in fact, ii was detailed re-
hash of the statements made by the
speakers who had favored the purchase.
After the statement had been read, Mr..
Green spoke in reference TO the reports
that had been presented, saying that
great deal had been said the night before
at Convention hall that showed great
expectations, but could not be borne out
by facts. The first question, he said, was,
who should have the right to vote, and
read the statue which showed that only
those could vote on the matter of raising
funds, who owned property. To make a
loan, the question was TO be voted upon
by the property taX-paying voters. He
said that none but those, whose
property has been assessed could
be regarded taxing property holders and
he argued that only those had
a right to vote who had paid their tax for
the current year. He then defined the
meaning of the word X-payer, as he I'M
derstOod it, as meaning only those who
held property whether real or personal.
mo matter whether it is personal or
real, every man who pays taxes on prop
erty is covered under the term of tax
payer. That is my opinion" Some one
wanted to know if dog was not personal
property. The speaker said he knew of a
law that made it miSdemeanoT to shoot
dogs, but whether they are personal prop
erty or not, they are at least not taxed.
He argued that If the purchase was
made now, we could not help but make
the sinking fund ten per cent The con-
StitutiOn says that the sinking fund must
be at least 2 per cent, it may be more. In
this case ii is more, being 10 percent and
he COntended, that the charter with all
errors in it,waS the law. He further con-
tended that the city cannot legally sell one
inch of land, and every bit of it must be
kept and used by the city if the SIS acres
are bought.
So much for the legal difficulties; now
for the business portion of it.
The sale meant an interest of five
per cent on the S2,OO0,0OO without
chance TO redeem the bonds. The 2 per
cent sinking fund, as they claim it will be,
must be kept invested in something that
may prove insecure. He said no man
could tell what may happen in the next
fifty years. Things may come to pass that
would make it impossible for us to re-
deem them. Gentlemen, | would rather
have the city to pay the original $780,
Geo than have these bonds run for fifty
years, and unredeemable Until then" He
thought that the mayor had hurt himself
politically by refusing to postpone this
election. He said il would have been fair
enough TO have the bonds redeemed, a
number at time after certain intervals,
but not unredeemable for fifty years.
The next question was, is it policy to
make this purchase? He said that the
city did not need all of that land. Oh,
that beautiful head of the river!
He had been here since 1872 and had not
seen il yet. In those days it was closed
TO the public. but it is open now.
The city wants the head of the river,
but at a reasonable price. The land has
actually been recently sold for 1854 per
acre, and the price the city would pay for
it in this bargain was from $500 TO $4,000
mol pat 70 XK~a do ut oil
Of the land. The present system could 6c
duplicated for about $4,000. He re-