The herald., 1896-01-09
RUNNING BEHIND WORSE
Not $1,000 Left for the Balance
of January
CITY'S CASH FUND TO DATE
Stab at Retrenchment Made by the
Engineer
The Prospect Is Remarkably Good for $40 700
CITY'S CASH FUND TO DATI
The Prospect Is Remarkably Good for $4,000
Deficiency by the End of the
Fiscal Year

The financial knot into which careless
laundering has tied up the finances of the
city is, instead of being unravelled. becom-
ing more complicated daily. Thus far in
the first week of the present month, there
has so far been approved by the finance
committee, demands aggregating 81 $40,
which leaves just $937 still left of the $12.-
500 estimate of expenditures for the
month. Of the latter amount, the street
sweeping, garbage and printing bills have
yet to be paid, and as the former will foot
up to about $1,000. its liquidation will, with
the settlement of the other obligations
named, cause the usual monthly def
cheney.
A beginning in the direction of economy
has been made. and the engineers depart
ment having last Saturday laid off twelve
attaches, one of whom was a drauehtsnan
and the others being chainmen in the field.
Engineer Compton says that these em-
ployes should not have been laid off at this
time. He was, however, informed that the
demands for the pay of these employees
would be hung up and was thus reluctantly
compelled to lay them off.
The reduction of Compton's force cuts
the pay rolls of his Office down to between
$500 and 5000 month. The engineers
and street superintendent pay rolls aggre-
gate $500 a month, or a trifie over half
OF the allowance for the whole monthly eX-
penditures from the cash fund.
When the tax levy for 1S95-96 was
agreed upon last year provision was made
for a $4,000 deficiency in the cash fund,
the people of the city being. as a result,
taxed directly for this purpose, the first
time in the history of the city.
In spite of this extraordinary provision
there will be deficiency of between $780,
900 and $4,000 by next June, and moth
ing can now prevent the state of affairs
which stares the council in the face. 1t is
an open question that the merchants who
furnish the city with supplies will, when
il is generally learned that their payments
are an uncertainty, decline to honor the
acquisitions made upon them for goods. in
which event the city may have to quit do
ing business. Then the tribe of warrant
shavers will get in their deadly work. and
speculation in the city's paper will. for the
first time in years, become again some
what respectable industry.
The city clerk yesterday sent to every
department of the city hall and to every
commission of the city government, let
ter, as follows:
Dear Sir:-At a meeting of the city coun-
Gil. held January 6. 1896, l was instructed
to notify all departments of the city gov
| ernment that they must not purchase
| goods for their departments without first
having obtained a requisition therefor, and
| that the supply committee will refuse to
approve acquisitions for goods purchased
before the requisition was granted, or for
| help employed before the necessary au-
thorizaton therefor was issued, and that
this action is necessary owing to the con-
| dition of the finances of the cily, and SO
| far as the supply committee is concerned,
| will be rigidly enforced.