The herald., 1893-02-14
A GOOD LAW IF PERFECTED.

The assistant city attorney has re.
ported to the council the progress made
in the passage of the bill amending the
street bond act. That measure is GER
tainly susceptible of great improvement,
for as it is now it is really of no value te
the city or to property-holders. The
principle of the law is excellent, and il
perfected go that the bonds would be
readily accepted by financiers, it would
work great benefit to our people, and
assure us fine system of paved streets
in all parts of the city in a very few
years.
Mr.. Childress, in a well-considered
paper given in these columns yesterday
suggests that the street bonds should
find no difficulty whatever in securing
purchasers at par or premium if their
payment were guaranteed by the city.
We can see no objection to such guaran-
tee if the council were restricted to or
dering the street improvements to those
parts OF the city where property is as
sessed at three or four times the value
of the bonds to be issued. No one
would let his property be sold for q
street lien if it were much more valu-
able than the amount of the lien, 80
that the city's guarantee would be per.
fectly safe.
The main object Of the law is to en-
able property-holders to pay for their
street improvements in installments.
The Importance Of such law at the
present time is particularly significant,
when we are about to lay down connect
ing sewers throughout the city. The
cost of sewering and grading street is
more than many of our property hold
ers can bear, if it has to be paid in a
lump. Spread over ten years, how
ever, great many poor people could
pay the assessment; whilst, on the
other hand, if they have to pay at once
in full, they will be compelled to let
their property 90. A law that will en-
able poor people to escape confscation
cannot but be approved by every right
thinking person, and the underlying
principle of the street bond law is to &C.
complish this benign object.
As the law now stands it works hard
ship instead of benefit. In the first place
the reluctance which fnanciers have to
t--l-.-r,
insecure condition, forces contractors to
forelay in their bids for large discount
upon them. Hence they must either
bid extortionately high for the work, or
else they intend to recoup all risks by
making cheap and nasty job of it. In
the former case the property-holder pays
from 80 to 80 per cent more than the
work is worth, and in the latter he gets
pavement that is very inferior in every
respect. If the bonds could readily
command their face value, he would
stand on an even plane with his fellow
citizen who can afford to pay for his
street improvements as soon as they are
finished.
The city would run no risk in guaran-
teeing the bonds. 1t has to collect the
principal and interest under the meas
ure as it is, the same as it collects taxes |;
and the fact tnat the city had become
responsible would insure greater care
and more conservatism in ordering
street improvements under the bonded
act.
We do not know what amendments
will prevail in Sacramento. But the
one relating to street railroads is too i'm
portant to be overlooked. There is no
practical way, under the law as
il is, to compel street railroads
to improve between their tracks.
When street is paved under
the bonded act, the railroads
claim the right to also come in under
that act. But the lien now only at
taches against the fragment OF railroad
that runs through the improved tract,
Such a lien is valueless, for if it is en-.
forced no one is going to buy small
fraction of railway track. The lier
should hold against the whole road, and
not merely an infnitesimal part of il
that is of no use to anybody. This
would compel the street railroads tt
pave their portion Of street whenever
the property holders are ready to i'm.
prove theirs.