San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1895-06-14
The 100000 Bond Proposition.

1--WE tuo ueCcSpiIS duu eho SoStS VI
the next election.
You have published the election
proclamation under which San An
ionic will vote to pay of its judg-
ment creditors and old outstand-
ing Indebtedness. There will al
ways be opposition to any move
ment, made now, by any govern
ment be 1t local or genera, Republic
can or centralized, and some OPP
position to the above measure may
be looked for; not enough to- iefeat
ii, but still enough to show that
the ready taxpayer has a grievance
against the wealthy delinquents.
None will blame the honest i'm
poverlshed citizen, who from utter
disability to pay his taxes,
has unavoidably become a de-
linquent, and 1t is not to these
against whom the i'll will OF the
paying taxpayers is directed now.
The City Council-not the present
one-knowing that the tax col
lector could not coerce back collec-
tions, employed delinquent tax
collector; and not a taxpayer in
the city, with tax receipt in his
pocket, had any fault to find with
and rather upheld the action OF the
council, to see that delinquents
likewise be made to pay up, even
il a small commission had to be
paid to the man who undertook the
thankless job. Only a few
instances are known where de-
linquents discouraged others from
paying and nearly one and all in
private or public declared stakes
must be paid" But, unfortunately
for the delinquent tax collector, In
the course of his duty he stepped
on the toes Of some who
in the past and even now en-
joyed and enjoy incomes and
privileges, that are seldom vouch-
safed to public servants or private
persons without their being made
to do their duties also as taxpayers.
No sooner had the collector reached
the names of powerful delinquents
than a howl was set up by them
that reached the City Council, and
with "Punic faith" they declared:
"Remove the delinquent collector;
restore the old books to the elected
collector, and We and everybody
will SETTLE" This was the howl the
wealthy and powerful delinquents
enforced, through the public prints,
until the collector is now to have
all collections in his charge again,
and the rich man of duplicity is
laughing in his sleeve, to have no
one to prod him up. The argus
eyed optimists saw the cof-
fers of the city filling with
money, If the collector alone, and
not also the delinquent collector,
would stretch out to catch the
revenues of the city, but the eyes
of Argus are like, they eyes of the
peacock, their visions are hindmost
and were treacherous, and were
known to them to have been so,
when Minerva like, they jumped
full-armed upon the poor delin.
quent collector because he was to
receive So of the moneys they had
heretofore refused or failed to pay.
Still there will not be many Of
the ever ready Taxpayers who will
not again vote to clear the city OF
its debts, and the whole election
will have less Of bitterness than
former ones. Those holding the
judgments and claims against
the city, were to some, not
to say to great ex.
tent, inimical to the present
administration and tried hard to
defeat 1t before the people, but the
action of the City Council has con-
WINGED them that had the Legislat-
ure, recently adjourned, acted on
the measure then proposed this
Judgment and claims would have
been earlier settled and without
the expense Of an election.
1t is true the judgment creditors
will only receive the same amount
OF interest as the purchasers Of the
bonds will get, but in the present
deplorable financial condition they
will sustain the administration in
order to sustain themselves and to
prevent them from rushing to the
courts and invoking their aids to
compel the city to levy an imme-
diate and almost unbe arabic tax
rate. Such a course would not be
popular for these same creditors,
and they will be the gentlemen
who will subside as far as their
former opposition existed and will
vote and work to get their old mill
stones off the necks Of the present
city government, that fell heir to
worry and debts and opposition
from those who are perhaps not al