The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-04-28
THE DEBTS OF THE CITY.

The City of San Francisco will, during
the present week, be forced to face again
the specter of its debts, and that in a way
which always proves distressfHl to the in
dividual debtor, and which is likely to do
wiseacres shall be able to point the way
out of its present dilemma.
The creditors of the City, whose claims
for the unpaid balances of last year and of
the present one amount in the aggregate
to about half a million dollars, appear to
be unwilling to go further in the way of
furnishing supplies TO the various depart
ments of the City Government without
assurance from some source that their
bills, at least for supplies yet to
be furnished, will be paid There
seems to be an impression that the State
constitution makes illegal all claims against
the City for goods furnished to it or for OBJ
legations incurred by it, when its treasury
is empty, and forbids the payment of any
debt arising during one year out of the
revenues of the succeeding one. The Sec
ton of the constitution referred to reads as
follows:
"No city shall incur any Indebtedness or
liability in any manner or for any purpose
exceeding in any year the income and
revenue provided for it for such year with
out the assent of two-thirds of the qualified
electors thereof voting at an election to be
held for that purpose, nor unless before OF
at the time of mourning such indebtedness
provision shall be made for the collection
of an annual tax sufficient to pay the in
terest on such Indebtedness as it falls due,
and also provision to constitute a sink
ing fund for the principal thereof on or be-
fore maturity, which shall not exceed forty
years from the time of contracting the
same. Any indebtedness or liability in
CURED contrary to this provision shall be
void" (Const., Art. XI, Section 49,
1t would seem at glance that this Sec
ton of the constitution could never have
been intended to be applied to that class
of the obligations of city which includes
either the salaries of its officers, which are
| fixed by law, or the necessary supplies fol
the conduct of its departments, and which
are essential to their maintenance, in
order that its functions as a city may be
| performed. The construction of the sec.
! ton of the organic law which would com.
\ pei Vic wy W SAOoS ASo dAiholOuSCo dIlu
hospitals, to cease the operation of its Fire
Department. to stop it's gas and water sup.
ply and to have general Jail delivery o.
its prisoners. because, forsooth, its siluriar
officials had failed to make an adequate
tax levy to meet these absolutely essential
expenses, is one which should not b.
adopted, if by any nicely of reasoning it
avoidance is possible.
A careful reading of this section of tn,
constitution would seem to disclose tina
its only object was to prevent the incurrins
by cities of those obligations which it
officers have the discretion to incur or not
and which are generally obligations fol
those civic Improvements or adorn
ments which find their usual form
of payment in a funded debt TIL.
idea seems to have been to prevent the
creation of funded indebtedness withou
first securing the assent of the qualified
electors of the City, and without also pro
viding beforehand for the collection Of
an annual tax running through a Ions
series of years by which this special
form of debt should be paid. Such
is the only reasonable construction to b,
given to this section. The construction
which is being attempted to be applied tt
it, and which is being used to alarm thu
creditors of the City and to inyolyt