Birmingham age-herald., 1894-08-17
MUNICIPAL FINANCIERING.


 SUGGESTION AS TO HOW TO DO IT. | To the Age Herald:
 Relative to the financial situation of the city government of Birmingham, which | from matter that appeared in your edition l of this day seems to be rather unsatisfac- | tory, noting the many cuts that have been | found necessary to be made in order to sub- | serve the interests and protect the fair credit of the city, among which are the l abolition of the sanitary inspectors offices | and the placing of a tuition price upon the l heads of the children of the people, ques- l tion has suggested itself to me, the answer l to which l deem of sufficient concern to the | public to invoke the medium of your col l umns.
 | It has reference to the revenues of the l city. If we cannot raise by taxation of the l values such amounts as are necessary to | economically and thoroughly administer 1 the affairs of the corporation and keep 1 faith with the promises under which we l exist as city, then to what precinct should 1 we naturally turn for tho necessary funds | with which to defray expensesf
 | Shall we turn to the sick and poor, and l deprive them of the watchfulness by com. | petent off icers that is necessary to guard l away the evil agencies of disease that prowl I about looking for an opening. Is the sick | chamber, then, to feel the first influence or l this depression? When the father of a 1 house commences to cut of expenses for economical purposes does he stlike first at l the invalid, removing the fire from her l room, the pure water, the clean linen, the l W holesome food, and the care of the physl- clan?
 | ]. Or are there other quarters from whence | Ia saving may be called into requisitlonf | He taboos tobacco, starched shirt fronts, l his today, car fare, etc.-good man. | Or shall we say to the thousands of little | children, big children, budding girls and l maturing boys: We have incurred large | debts. upon which we now undertake to
 @ pey the interest, but the principal will fall upon your shoulders, as the future citizens, | to meet; yet, if you want education, look you to that father and mother who are re- l sponsibe for your existence, or, If per- l chance you have none, look to yourself, or | go without mental pabulum? What are
 the rag tag and bob-tail worth anyway what are they good for? Perhaps it is as
 we'll that, during the stress of hard times, l such luxuries asseducation, which in pros- perity have been granted them by protect 1 ing government, now be denied-and tb us 1 make way for Restitution and degrada- l ton of the future, mourning debt that | will be harder to pay to society and human l ity than any bonded debt that was ever | created.
 l dislike to suggest it, for it's poor | place to go for anything comforting or as- l sisting, yet if they must exist, let them
 first feel the burden; let them suffer some l or the wants, II u6SQ De, rcSuitluB Ou1 Oi l the necessity of the situation-the saloons. | Now the cry that is called the 'baby | cryp will be the first that will raise it's lit | tie feeble voice from out that quarter. It's | poor invalided institution, taxed already I beyond the traditional straw that broke the | camel's s back-there is your invalid. Have not dozen or so barrooms had to | close doors within the past year on account 1 of high licensef The poor, sckly shops | that are just barely able 10 hold up under I TaL I.o l i,t Inv fO acc | the bitter and hot tears of pain were an other penny placed upon theml 'Oh, 1 pray," would be their cry, "do not op- 1 press us more! We'll take care of the
 health of the city, so please cut down the | sanitary arrangements. Don't you see how nice and healthiul it is about us, and l how everything we have anything to do
 with is wholesome and hearty? Put up the l price of schoolin'-we'il Il tend to the educa l tion of the boys; the girls don't need any. l girls get along without education? They | get too bigoted when they're schooled. 1 Why, we ain't so much as got friend
 amongst lem. The boys, good fellows. l it. fluences which they will do we'll to feel,
 and that will make up for what they miss l at school. They gre thrown with very l mixed school anyway, and (of course, we 1 don't expect lhe children of those who l have mouey-tbey are able to have any sort Il of school they want-but give us the chfI H dren of the poor) they are ihe kind we like Il to educate for what we need in our busi- Il ness.'
 4 Are the citizens of Birmngha m, as rep- H resented by it's mayor and council, ready to j give ear to such an appeal as tho above?
 H Or will they Ste the drift of this business 1 and put on few more thousand 10 the Il convivial spirits load?
 Il Let these jolly companions of the bowl J have the good consolation Of knowing when I they gather together for a night of it Il that when the ''rouuds'' are called Il aud the money flows like water, out of I every dollar of profit that goes into the till 4 something therein shall apply to the eleva- Il tiou of young humanity through the pub- Il lie schools Tax the saloons and repeal I back those health inspectors. It eau be
 | of fear or brow beating or want of charac-
 I ter n the part of the whisky power should I prevent it from being done. Here nobody
 | suffers except the man who is intended
 l to ruffer. The drinker either has no chil
 | dren to educate, no invalid sisters or
 I parents to maintAin, or if he spends money
 I for drink it is so much taken out of the | supply of comforts that should go into
 l these other channels, and the tithe of it
 l which will indirectly benefit those depend | ent upon him is all of what he puts into
 | drink that will ever do him or anybody
 | else any good.
 Of course the consumer would feel it, as
 | Is the case in all matters Of taxation. The
 l consumer, now for instance, will feel the
 | Influence of this school tuition. The child
 will feel it-a greAt many to such an extent