San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-03-31
SHORT STOPS.
wbat the People are saying.

It is somewhat refreshing to the public
| to see even a little discussion or city
| finances in the city council. A few chinkS
are opened to the light of day even upon
that darkened chamber of municipal rot
tenneSS.
Mr.. Beckmann's ordinance to submit a
proposition to the taxpayers to authorize
the city to borrow money on notes, Tor
current expenses, was voted down OF
course. as it would do away with the bond
scheme of the administration.
But the proposition brought the two
famous financierS, Lockwood and
Gregory to their feet, and the Mayor also
TOOK hand in the running fire OF the
discussion, and while the faithful ten
voted no." they didn't feel easy after
they did so.
Beckmaun and Hoefling delivered some
staggering blows at the financial policy of
the administration, and laid bare its
utter weakness. The attempt to use the
credit of the city to secure money
for current expenses, by the issuance of
bonds, is unparalleled in the history of
municipal corporations. Mr.. Beckmann
offered the only solution out of the finan-
cial difficulty that the city has been
plunged in by Mr.. Callaghan, and he
didn't have sense enough to give the
proposition respectful consideration. \
But of all the bosh emenating from the
administration side Alderman Gregory's
speech takes the cake. Some of his state.
ments are not only ridiculous but utterly
without foundation; he said 1.-The public
lands, among them the head of the
river, were sold in order to carry
don't know any better, or he purposely
puts out this statement to account for
the Callaghan deficiency because the city
lands were all disposed of before he came
into power. IL he would look back over
the city records he would see that the city
lands were sold or given away in 1852, ON
50 years credit,-that the proceeds were
devoted to building bridge-a court
house, and the establishment of public
1867 this fund was looked up and the city
made responsible for the funds, much
of which had been paid in con-
federate money; that later on, during
Mr.. French's' first or second term, the
city, to quiet titles in land sold on this
account, placed the amount due the
school fund at 500, 900, which has ever
since formed part OF the permanent city
school fund.
During ten years of French's admins
traton not dollar was derived from the
public lands for the support OF the city
government, on the contrary the city
paid interest upon the permanent school
fund. An alderman, who would like to
pose before the public as a smart business
man,who would be guilty of such state
ment, ought to be promptly sat down on,
at the first opportunity.
tighten the citizens upon the financial
situation. What has Cohen been doing
all these months: what do all the tinan-
cial statements mean?
Gregory calls the present financial sys-
TEN ''pernCiouS one"-if it is, Callaghan
has been long time finding it out, and it
is certain he would never have discovered
it, and Gregory never have thought about
it, if Col. Breckenridge had not put
stop to it by refusing to continue to lend
the city any more money until they paid
up.
vi, IL w d. d sSSbeul. d. iOuS
as there was no difficulty 10 Mr.. CalIag
han endorsing his notes, and Col.
Breckenridge, paying them, but the
moment Col. B. snapped his pocket
book, it was a terrible bad policy, and
the mayor goes about pleading with his
chums, to vote for the bonds so that he
can get out of the clutches of that heart
less, grasping Individual, Breckenridge.
Not only has the system been discover
ed to be perniciOus, but Col. Brecken-
ridge, has turned out, in the eyes of the
administration, to the werst enemy the
city has ever fallen a victim to.
All this won't work; the people don't
care fig about cooked up financial state
| ments. They know the city is all right
but that the Callaghan administration is
| NC.
They are not going to vote for one
| doll lar OF bonds to pay current expenses
| Callaghan must get along the best way
he can until the people have chance Il
| put him aside.
REAL ESTATE.