Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-11-10
Councils, or any committee of Councils, OF
my entire connection with the matters re-
1erred to in said auditors report.
The Committeeman Make signs.

The Committeeman Make Signs.
During the reading of the reply, when the
portion referring TO the Chairman OF the
subcommittee receiving license plates free
. was reached, Chairman Clifford pointed
his index finger questioningly at Mr.. Hen
ricks The latter raised two fingers in reply.
When the reading was finished Mr.. Hen
bricks said that in reply to the portion re-
ferring to him he would say that he did re
ceive two licenses last year, but he would
like to see the books with his name on.
That would confirm the whole matter.
Previous to the receiving of the commu-
nications from Wvman and Murphy the
committee meeting was as lively as Cove
nanter convention. Even Webster with
his dictionary was brought in to settle
dispute, and very conveniently old
Noah had given two definitions on
the word in dispute and thereby
was saved the horrors of an endless
war of words, The dispute arose over the
use of the word ''vicious" by the auditors
in reporting on the ''vicious, not to say
careless, manner in which the Mayors
books were kept"
Mr.. Wertheimer thought vicious was not
the proper word to use. He said the eN-
preston carried with it the appearance OF
malice in the report, and he wanted 1t
struck out. "'It is the absolute truth sup
a ported DN lilt ldclS III IiiC ShSc, piOfNS IN
MIR. Clifford.
eve are after facts without coloring,"
answered Mr.. Wertheimer
"We didn't hire auditors to decide this
case for us and they have no right to IN
innate that the auditor is a thief. That is
for a court of justice.
'"They didn't call him thief" said Mr.
Clifford with triumphant air as he pumped
a full-grown dictionary on the table and
read, "Nicious-characterized by vice or
defect
Defect" he repeated.
'fNice," said Wurtheimer.
"Well, Webster straddled the question
and guess we can," broke in voice and
with that the turmoil subsided.
Fought Over Another Word.
The reading of the report continued until
another objection was made, this time by
Mr. Boutwell, He did not like the term
supposed witnesses" as used by the audi
tors The books showed there were no wit
nesses and the auditors had no right to sup
pose.
Chairman Gilliford reported that the
books showed that fees were collected for so
many witnesses, while they did not show
that that number of witnesses testified. The
auditors, he added, were charitable.
''Nice kind of charity" returned Mr..
Boutwell,.
The report was then concluded and Mr..
Clifford submitted the following from him
self:
ALLEGHENY, Pa, Nov. g, 1891
To the Auditing Committee:
GENrLEMKN-The auditors are about to
resume their examination of the street car
accounts, and in the final report on that
subject, it seems to me they should be in
structed to charge the street car companies
with the tax on all stock dividends or other
property, or in the operation OF the roads,
which can justly be claimed as dividends.
The ordinances state that the dividend
ia shall be paid on all dividends.
The questions as to what is a dividend
and as to whether the word dividends in
cludes stock dividends, and as TO whether
a adiyision of profits need to be formally de-
clared as a dividend in order to be taxable
as Il dividend are / think, fully answered in
the following opinion of the Supreme Court
OF Pennsylvania:
In the case of the Commonwealth against
the Pittsburg. Ft. Wayne and Chicago
Railway, No. a, Pennsylvania State Re-
ports, page 3d. Justice Agnew says: "The
question in this case depends on the fact
whether the increase in the stock
of this company was a stock dividend. Ifit
WAS, il must be conceded that this increase
was the subject Of the tax. stock divi-
dend is thing well understood and has
been passed upon by this court in several
instances.
Call it All One Big Div dend.
The gentleman also cited a number of
other cases to prove his point and then pro-
ceeds:
1t seems very clear that the basis on
which the T.. 4. & NJ. Traction Company
issued its S3,500,0OO of stock to the stock
OF the lease of the property and franchises
of tn" old company. and that the whole
S9.5o100O of stock was profit to the stock
p, F" 4. & NJ F. Railway Railway Company. Company: Ut It
was clearly the intention of the
ordinance TO tax all dividends. A dividend
is the division of ascertained profits, and if
the Pittsburg, Allegheny & Manchester
Railway Company divided this profit result
iIig from an increased value of their fran
chise among their stockholders through the
medium OF another separately chartered
company, still it was no less dividend
which should pay tax and which it was the
intention of the ordinance to tax.
He then declared the fact subcommittee
of Finance Committee had been appointed
TO look into this matter instead of leaving
it with the Auditing Committee, was
suspicious. He also suggested the appoint
ment of sub-Auditing Committee to pre-
pare ordinances curing the abuses which
that committee has discovered
When he had finished Mr.. Wertheimer
said: ''Mr. Chairman, you state that the
Finance Committee wants TO intrude on
your functions the Auditing Committee.
That is not correct. In regard to the mar
ket house accounts nothing has been re-
ported by your committee to the Finance
Committee. You reported to Councils and
Councils reported to the proper officer to
collect. As to the street car shortage, that
was reported to us by Councils, and we
have already collected some of it.
!Scr:heimer and Henricks Grow Hot.
Mr.. Henricks-Didn't the Finance Com
mittee know of the weigh scale shortage of
S14, 900. and didn't you settle it for 81, 500?
Mr.. Wertheimer-We knew of that be-
fore the Auditing Committee was ap-
pointed.
Mr.. Henricks-I only wanted to call at
tention to the fact that debt of S14, 600 was
compromised for s., $50.
A change in the subject was caused here
by Mr.. Boutwell, obiecting to reflections on
the subcommittee giving ont reports to the
newspapers before they. were made to the |
general committee. He did not want re-
f1ections on the subcommittee of which he
was member. Directing his remarks
to Mr.. Wertheimer he said that what
was needed was young blood for
action and not old blood to reflect on the |
subcommittee. He Tor one, as a Young |
member, was not afraid to stand up and |
speak out.
Mr. Wertheimer-Neither am afraid to |
stand up and speak out for what's right and
honest.
Mr.. Bothwell-Why don't you stand up
then?
The Chairman interrupted the contro- !
versy, and Mr. Henderson reverted to the |
weigh scales subject He said that he had |
agreed TO that compromise on it being rep !
resented to him that there was no contract |