Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1891-10-31
a Card from Mr.. NIB. Harlow.

last. s card from Capt. Gao-2e a &ushbach,
which. notgi5hs .auding my dislike to The
noiorleiy OF a newspaper controvetss, am
constrained to anewer so far as 1t rsfers to
me, feeling that it is rolf c;lon upon my
cardor of statement, and missepresenis ms
before ny teilow-ii lzeae.
While I do 20 think that Capt. Mcshbach
intends 10, or would Intentionally, misrepre-
sent me-, moss respectfully protest that ms
memory of what traDspireo between us 10
the Council, Chamber on Saturday last IL
somewhat defective.
His cord sta.es that Yin the course OF my
remarks I MADE thu statement that the ci'y
had already f5ating debt, which ondes-
stood to he S22 600 and inquired the amount
OF The oiiy's notes then asld ny ihe taaka
fer borrowed money" Aud shat " Mr.. Ear
low, tue City Treasurer, interrupted re WIN
nv permission, and etatld thss !hs clty dlo
not owe oue ce1s OF foa.ing debt, and that
the banks hsid none OF the city pspers.
These quotations taken from toe Captains
card, contain his recollection OF The colioquy
between ne. The reporter If tie GAZETTE.
however, who wss present and .ook down
the words spoken hy czech OF us Oh tast of-
C sion, 10 his report of the proceedings Of
Counoii does not support tee Captains ret
olIec.ion. Tbs GtZETTEs report saws thst
"Mr. Mushpact. said that Smoot q 90,
Messrs Al Gibson, Csc. & Hill q Go, Ice
Robert Poriner Brswing Comi aoy, w. 3.
Moors ct ais, cououcted factories aud did
not ask Ccunoil 10 buy houses FOR them.
Let this company buy tne property AID he
Wolld agree TO release them rom ground
rent. The city was 10 back now for over
L.. MI hQf
was mistake. TIE city wss not In bank
for cent The City Gas Works had Dor.
rowed money to be psid OUT OF the Gas
FuDds, and the city bad merely advanced
Ito credit"
correct Statement of what was said by both on
the occasion referred 70, although much at vari-
ance with the Captains recollection My State
ment on that occasion was absolutely true-the
city did ro5 then have and has not now, any pa
per in bsnk, and tho truth OF that statement Is
confirmed by the Captain in his csrd.
The Captains great complaint is that my an
swer 10 him was misleading and disingenuons IN
that eaid the city did not oce one cent Of floating
debt" l have no recollection OF using these words
attributed to me by the Captain, and the GA
zETTE report of my expressions agrees with my
recollection.
The fact, however, is, that tho city did not then
have and has not now any floating debt and had
not then and has not now any paper IN bank. Even
the obligation OF tho Gas Works upon which the
Captain hsngs as last peg (Which the GAZETTE
ssys and say was referred to by me in my au-
swer to the statement Of tho Captain made IN
Council on Saturday last) had then been paid OIL,
and the paper was then and is now held by the
city. Adopting the Captains own position and
method Of reasoning that the Gas Works belong
to The city ana that the separation of accounts,
does not alter the fact that the city owes debt.
The city baving pail the debt OF the Gas Works.
it certainly does owo IL, and this debt OF the
city u on which he lays such srress IN his caro-
according to his own theory, is only imaeinary,
the Gas Works being the property OF the city, the
debt of the Gas Works WAS debt OF the city, the
city having paid the debt, as necessary sequence
the city does not owe 1t.
In order to show to the plbl1c that was
neither Intentionally nor unintentl naily mis-
leading and diSingenuous in my statement on the
the occasion re erred 10. l respectfully present
the following letter aud statement from the City
Auditor, rec lived By me in response to request
made of him on my part This shows the relis-
BILE sources of revenue 20 the city for this fiscal
yesr to be $11O, $50 81, and that the amount
appropriated for the Same period is $lO7 ,36I .6O,
which will leave balsn:e at the end of the fiscal
yesr in favor of the city OF S., 2Oo VI to meet tho
floods and the thousand and one contingencies
which may not in al probability happen. This
staten en-. i Of Itself a complete answer to the
Captains card and more tn An sussains al sad
in Council on Saturday lsst.
In reference to the Auditors statement that
$4,000 would be necessary by January 10, leS2,
thst is nos Denied and il is pro6ltle that the Gas
Works will have that amount 10 raise to relm'
burse the General Fund, but the receipts OF the
Gas Works will be sufficient to Jay of this $oOUO
bsfore the cloae OF bus ness May 81, 1892.
NJ. B. HARLOW.