Birmingham age-herald., 1895-04-03
Meets and Discusses the Present
 Financial Situation.
KETTIG SCRIP RESOLUTION
Adopted by Vote of 8 to '. The O'Brien Plan Ois-
 cussed-Budget Read.

day afternoon according to adjournment
 last Saturday. The following members
 were present: Mayor VanHooss; Alder
 men Ward, Duncan, Ullman, Enslen,
 Pearce, Jackson, West, Kettig, McCartn,
 Gillespie, Meade, Parker, Sims, Mcknight, Jones.
 The regular order of business was dis
 peused with aud the discussion of the Ket- tig resolution, with reference to the use of
 scrip, as published in the AGE HERALD of Sunday, was resumed.
 MT. West said his object in asking that
 definite action be postponed was for the' reason that the discussion at the former meeting might be generally known and an
 expression obtained from the tax payers. He had hoped some one would come here prepared to make some suggestion that | would avoid the issuance of scrip. There l is nothing dishonest in paying employees in 1 scrip who knew at the beginning of the | month that such would be done. He op- | posed going on until the interest 0 the cou- | pons fell due and then defaultlng on 1t. | Let us execute our note, and If the school | teachers and other employees don't want to accept it let them quit. We may then be 1 able to get laws passed that will afford | some relief. This inferior court is forced | upon us at an increased expense of about
 S3J00 year. 1 believe by issuing scrip we can meet all our obligations.
 | Capt. F. F. Brien was present and on 1 motion of Mir. Keltig was accorded the l floor.
 He said in justice to himself he wanted
 to make sn explanation with reference to his action in the bond commission. He l said he thought it would be better to have | a commission of five people who were not l financially interested to go to the bond holders and act as an intermediator in the
 matter of refu nding the bonded debt. Captain O. 'Brien said he had submitted | plan to Messrs. Kettig and McCartin and | he offered it for what 1t was worth. He
 then tersely stated it as follows: That the bond commission procure com | plete list of the bondholders, and submit l the following proposition, to- wit: When 1 the next two successive series of interest coupons fall due, that the mayor and board | of aldermen be. authorized to issue an ln- | terest coupon certificate of indebtedness to
 run three years and to bear 5 or per cent | interest, payable semi-an nualiy. Example,: A. B. holds S200, 900 per l cent bonds; September i, 1894, six months
 interest fali due, amount SIP, ,000; issue and 1 attach the coupon certificate of indebted | ness for the amount above stated to the
 batch of coupons, which the city authori-
 ties agree to pay three years after date, re-
 serving the right to take them up sooner if | they so desire.
 You say the holders of these coupons are | scattered all over the country and could | not be reached in time. Your financial | agent knows where they are and can reach | them for you in short time. MT. Shep- | herd who handled some of the bonds, felt | that Birmingham was busted city and
 feared that she would default on her in- | terest. He had undeceived the gentleman, | who felt much better after the conversation. | In reply to a statement of MT. McCartin
 that if the city went on paying out cash | for the next six weeks and the plan failed | then 1t would be too late to set aside money | for the interest and the city would have to | default, he said the bankers of Birming- | ham, good business men and sensible men, | knew if the city defaulted they would be
 effected and every other interest in the city | would be effected. He thought the mayor | and aldermen should call them together
 and lay the true situation plainly before
 them. The moment you stop paying cash
 to your employees, who are now barely
 making enough to keep their families up, 1 you will have trouble.
 MT. Sig Steiner addressed the board. He
 agreed with Captain O'Brien in the main,
 but he believed the Kettig resolution
 defaults, said he, no more mortgages on l Birmingham property will be extended
 and loans cannot be secured. He believed
 the issuance of scrip good thing. Other | cities had issued scrip for years and got
 along very well. He was not able to say | whether such thing would be legal CT not. Mayor VanHoose said he believed the | O'Brien plan the more feasible of the two.
 Mir. Steiner didn think so. He preferred l the scrip and didn't think the bondholders | would object to the city doing that. We can | issue scflp and arouse an interest in the
 matter at home and at the next state elec- | tion be enabled to pass an amendment al- | lowing us to increase our taxes. But if you default on debts away from home you will
 never outlive the disgrace. He didn't think l the O Brien plan practicable, but the other he did. His bank would take scrip at 97h. | MT. EEslen believed scrip would relieve | nsA f>ro oho.. ufx
 to know if Baltimore and New York capi- | talists wouldn't take the scrip for six l months this year and six months next year. l MT. Steiner said it could be taken there; l also that it could be floated here.
 Mr. Kettig said the O'Brien plan was l good one if 1t could be carried out; so said
 Mir. Enslen, but all agreed that it would be
 bad to default.
 I am not welded to my resolution or plan, and if another one that is better can
 be offered I will be for it. Here is the | matter that confronts us: We are paving
 out cash every day. When the interest
 falls due the money must be in New York, if not we must have defaulted. With my l plan we can tide over this year and ger
 haps next year. think we ought to go l on and arrange somehow with the bond l hold ITS, but in the meantime we should
 provide for the interest tbat is falling due. l Mir. Enslen thought $50, ,000 of coupons | should be foated al 6 per cent interest, and
 be believed it could be done.
 MT. Steiner wac of the same opinion. MT. McCartin thought the best thing to do was to pass the Kettig resolution and
 then go on trying to make these other ar-
 rangements. At the same time it will be l understood that should one of these other | plans that will obviate the use of scrip be
 adopted the city employees will be paid | cash.
 MT. Uilman agreed with Mir. Keitig and l MT. McCartin that it was necessary to pass tue kettig resolution now. and that done
 he WAS willing 10 go ahead and hypothe-