Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-05-09
TuupaDAY ..MAY 9, 1896
r.. ar,cxation Question.

u the discussion which loon Pi"NN
II, h.,oro last at the Chamber OF
Commerce meeting sufficient proi''i'ie''
wss not given to the fact that 'he pr.
-, movement In favor OF the anheHa''o"
was not initiated by Manchester '"' ~
Richmond. o ,,,o
Norcbes,er is not begging to come i''o
our corporate limits. As Is Wen hho",'
,hore 70 a very influential element !"
Manchester immovaby opposed 10 '"e
.,on ~ the two cities. once upon
lev. Manchester did solicit union WIN
,tohnond but her proposals were re-
ieeted-so ungraciously. as she 'nous"''
hat for many years afterwards her peo-
,,o fol, very resentful towards hio"-
nond. ..,,o,
-r,ov always said that the suggesuoh
,or annexat,on would have to come the
~, time from Richmond. And come
4, did. this year.
4 conference committee, represen'"e
Two Councils of the two cities, mas Dee''
n. work for some weeks gathering u"'"
-, tho subject OF annexation. but II mas
90. advanced far enough In It's mpois
.,. 6,acIose what terms Manchester wouid
.-, or Richmond would give should an
,rxotion be deemed desirable. so IL ~
not fair TO assume that Manchester means
to demand extraordinary Inducements no
no nrice of her consent 10 merging eha'
corporation into Richmond.
orr earnest desire is so to discuss the
lending proposition as to leave no s'iis
.i,,, the Manifestations in case the an
ovation scheme shotld be defeated
rbore are hundreds of people In Man
chester who are heartily in favor OF an
,exation. and who are ready TO come
nto Richmond upon such terms as are
,suoIIy made in such cases, but
a.bo. IL they thought that their city mao
been ridculed or unjustly dealt with'
would. TO a man. join the ranks OF the
opponents of annexation.
The experience Of Chicago, Boston. ana
scores of other cities Is that annexation
Of urban and suburban territory has
value beyond the mere gain In popuia-
,ior II is a great thing for a city to
make good showing in the census
.ablcs of population. but that is not the
only good TO be expected. Unity OF
government and Of business interests Is
"A valuable consideration. Experience Is
nearly all in favor OF the consolidation
of municipal corporations where they
stand towards each other as Richmond
and Manchester do. In our case, how
oyer there Is dread in some quarters
that II we annex Manchester we shall
take upon ourselves a vexatious burden,
and that we shall. at the same time, put
ourselves into the hands of an obJec-
tionabe combination composed OF coun-
cllmen from the lower or outer wards
Of Richmond and councilmen from Man
chester. This isn't saying much for these
wards. and 1t isn't saying much for
Manchester. We believe that it does
yross Injustice TO both parties. Besides,
there is a movement now on foot-and IL
ought to succeed-to rearrange Rich
mond's ward system. and in that event
1, would probably not be possible for any
evil-minded persons Of such there are)
TO organize a nefarious combination.
AS to the suggestion sometimes heard
that MANCHESTER Dc dHnNASN vi wv to'N
terms that Lee District has been. we
must say that the cases are not at all
analogous. Manchester has a population
of ten thousand which we want; Lee
District has a very small population. 1t
is true that the property-owners of Lee
District are being specially taxed for
street improvements; but we believe that
the constitutionality OF this tax Is to be
tested, and who knows that the Lee
District property-owners may not be re-
lieved altogether from the payment Of
the tax in question? At any rate. 1t is
much too soon for us to congratulate
ourselves upon the bargain-the hard
bargain-that we drove in that instance.
But. however the courts may decide as
to this tax, the Dispatch will not re-
greet the annexation of Lee District.
Richmond must either so forward or
backward: We shall not be allowed to
stand siill. For our part. We cannot
see anything better that we can do than
follow the example OF annexation and
consolidation set by other cities Of this
country. whose names are synonymes
OF conservative progress.
In the exhibits OF Manchester's finan-
cial affairs made in the discussion night
before last there are discrepancies which
we do not know how TO reconcile. We
call the attention Of the Manchester au-
thorities TO them. They need explana-
ton. II also appeared during the dis
cussion that both Richmond and Man.
chester have for some years been living
beyond their incomes-that is to say.
have been selling bonds to make up de-
hciencies In current expenses. Do our
businessmen realize what this means I?
Ought this state Of affairs to continue?
III Tuesday nights meeting should cause
our people to look more closely into our
Guys financial Affairs It will not have
been held In vain. annexation or no an
nexation.