The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1897-12-04
GAY ON THE RACK.
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IConti lned from first page.
The mayor: AS | have stated to me o.
cot but Very little encouragement, and
! stated the other night. am in hope
~ tirStinu IS sc't!el /, there Is
no particular HURRY in paying Owe" this
money and we can improve every ODi.or-
tunity to inform the bond buyers all
through the East that the dlfiicult:es be-
tween the company and the tit;' are set
tied; that the city is supplied with pure
water. and that consequently we may
be able to get. premium on . per cent
bond that will make it equal to a per
cent. do not know whether it would be
advisable to offer Az per cent bonds and
have them rejected and then offer the 5
per cent; it might interfere with the sale
of the s. However,. these are matters
for after consideration, and 1 think we
should take pains in the meantime to
advertise the financial standing OF the
city.
Alderman Sang: Suppose we do not buy
this and it is sold and bought in by the
bondholders and run by them, would they
be free from the taxes?
Mr.. Richards: Certainly, they would.
it is no liability of the purchaser at the
mortgage foreclosure sale. .,-,-
Alderman CrassWeller: Do you think
there would be any possibility Of getting
the Duluth Gas and Water company, in
connection with this purchase in which
to put up surety bond that they would
pay whatever amount the personal prop
erty taxes may be?
Mr.. Gay: They would decline to do that.
The stockholders will be wiped out of
existence anyway by this foreclosure suit
and they would not assume any liability
Of that size.
Alderman Stevens: Mr.. Richards, on this
question of hydrant rentals, that is in
ton, is it not?
q hot hot n11nf n
A-Those judgments amount, to $4,000,
and hydrant rentals have not been paid,
aside from that amount, since Oct l,
1896, up to the present time, practically ca lily
two years of hydrant rentals. The $4,000
include to a year up to Oct. l., 1896, and
the rentals since then have not been paid,
amounting to nearly $4,000.
Off the gas and water company beat
the city in that suit and get a judgment
for those hydrant rentals, would not the
county. if the gas and water company
to some trust. company In New
York, would not the county garnishee or
reach it some way or other if they had not
made that assignment of course we know
the hydrant rentals have been assigned,
but If they had not done that?
A.-This property cannot be garnisheed
could garnishee the city, I think it is a
doubtful proposition at least. If the rent
ais were assigned before they attempted
garnishment they could not do it.
Alderman Simpson: Do you know what
the company pays for the use of the
plant?
' ' R. MURCHIsoN,
Stenographer.
Aid. Simpson read a petition circu-
lated against purchase at a former cleo
ton. He wanted Mr.. Gay to deposit
$1,000 to guarantee the expenses of the
election and by various motions sought
to defer final action for another week.
Aid. Jefferson went after Mayor Tru-
elsen. He read the appended speech
and quoted from the platform of the
Municipal Reform League, on which,
besides himself several of the aldermen
now in favor Of the pending proposition,
and also the mayor, had won their
election to their present positions. This
platform, he explained, was written by
the mayor himself, who had insisted not
only that the various league candidates
their names must be signed thereto
along with his own. The platform de-
clared unalte7able opposition to pur.
chase at higher price than $1,114,0OO.
'sMr. President: When I took the
oath of Office it was with profound
sense of duty and the sacred rights of
the people, and 1 shall feel false to both
if at this critical moment I should be
silent as to certain conditions which
must sooner or later come to light. and
I fear at time too late to mend and
at great cost to the public.
1T is a common assertion that the |
electric current has entered into and
injured tho mains of the plant of the
gas and water company. Considerable |
litigation has arisen over similar in
stances in Omaha and other cities. It |
is also common assertion, amounting al !
most to fact, that the present mains |
of the company's plant are of INSULT |
Gent strength to afford adequate fire |
protection.
''The plant, in the first instance, was
not built as a permanent institution,
but as temporary plant, and at best
is but a piece of patchwork, and much |
of it has outlived its usefulness and is |
weak and rotten. Stronger, larger
and mower mains must be laid on Su- |
perior street, or the mains On Fourth |
street must be taken out and replaced |
by larger ones, and probably both must |
be done.
These matters are known by those |
persons acquainted with the true con-
ditions, and in pamphlet and on the
stump have been pointed out by our
mayor in the most emphatic terms as |
recourse to the newspaper files during
the times of his Campaign will show.
Nov, hold that at least S250.0OO |
will have to be spent in order to put this
plant in proper shape, or even in de-
cent shape, which, added to the 81 $780,
600, will make the cost S1,50O,O0O. In
making these improvements the streets |
must be torn up anyway, and in place of
tearing them up for repairs, why not
tear them up to put in new and sub
stantial plant? There will be no more
inconvenience, but far greater advan-
tages by SO doing.
1T will not cost to exceed $95O,0O0 to |
parallel both the gas and water plants
and have new article. The money |
will be spent here to pay our own labor