The record-union., 1895-05-28
Let Us Progress.


| EDS. REcoRD-UNIoN: presume you
have often heard the old but true
saying, that too many cooks spoil the
BROTH" Well, this will apply to us as a
people to-day, and especially so in refer
ence to this city debt. We have for years
past been giving out the impression to
ourselves, as well as to the general public,
! that we were ruinously in debt, and that
foreign bondholders owned us body and
soul, when the facts of the case are that
We owe the least of any municipality OF
our size and commercial importance on
! this Western slope, or in the United
| States, for that matter.
| 10 prove this. find if you please, an
other city of the size of Sacramento.
with nearly forty thousand inhabitants,
with debt of less than q half million
of dollars. Why. it is a mere bagatelle,
! when compared with our wealth and sur
! roundings; and, if needs be, we could
wipe it out in two years by raising our
assessments, but this is not necessary.
| What we want now is TO refund the
debt with 4 per cent. forty-year bonds.
This will wipe out our debt, TO all intents
and purposes, and be a saving to us OF
some 100000 per year, which we are now
! paying.
| Then lower our present high tax rate
too 81 on the hundred on property values,
or even less and you could quickly see
| the grand results that would come from
it. Homeseekers would come and in
vest in realities, new business houses
would spring up, and this city would get
move on her that would surprise the
Oldest inhabitants; for there is absolutely
nothing SO conducive to the prosperity of
any place as low tax rate. 1t the first
| question the hOmeseeker asks when he
hnds locality that suits him, and II the
tax rate is high he has no use for the place.
This old debt refunded with new per
cent. forty-year bonds, we should not
sit back and suck our thumbs, but go
further and issue series OF bonds at the
same rate of interest, sufficient for this
city to build and properly equip a new
system of water works-from wells or
other wise-that we could be supplied
with an abundance of good clear water,
as the present system has been curse
to us and always will be.
We then should turn our attention to
our sewerage system. and not patch up
the present one, but build entire new
sewers throughout the city.
The above are all within our possibili-
ties-in fact, they are a necessity to our
future welfare.
Let our Trustees 60 on with this good
work which they have already begun.
Suppose we do raise another half million
OF DonQS, Whlcn. aQQoQ TO tho OLD DEBT,
makes a total of 81. 100000 or 81 200, 600. at
per cent. We would only have to pay
about 81, 900 year interest, beside por-
ton Of the principal, and as this sum
would be running for the next forty
years, see the amount of good it would
do us.
With good sewerage good water and
fine, graded streets, the city would
double in population in few years; and
the beauty OF it is. the generation coming
would have to pay their proportion for
these improvements. The city Of Stock
| ton, with population of less than half Of
our own, is now raising by popular sub
scription over q quarter of million
of dollars to assist in building railroad,
and as result her daily real estate sales
amount into the hundreds of thousands.
But few years ago she bonded herself
for some quarter of million of dollars to
build Courthouse; but Stockton knows
that money we'll spent will bring her
good returns upon her investment; and
this is just what we want here-a little
more push and much moro confidence
than we have shown in the past, and our
natural resources will do the rest.
j, G.. MARITIME