Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-11-15
dren will have to pay OF the principal
~ fha hf1 debt


Of the big debt.
| Mr.. ALL charged that several Of those
who have been most active in pushing
the refunding ordinance have endeav-
cred to rush it through hastily. It
might be said that it was under consid-
Grafton in committee for several
months; and it might be said that it
will have been considered as long as
any other ordinance, bue he ventured
| the assertion that not one out Of ten
citizens understands the provisions OF
the ordinance, and it should be under
stood, as it is deep and far-reaching
| in its operation.
] While the water works debt is not
| included in the refunding loan, he took
| it up for consideration. The debt Is
! 100000, bearing interest at six per
cent. At the present rate of paying off
the debt, it will not exist in ten years,
while if it were made a portion Of the
new loan it could not be touched be-
| fore the expiration of ten years. He
| showed that under the proposed plan
! the city would pay $4,000 more in in
| terest in ten years than by paying it
off as at present provided for, and the
! principal will still remain at that time.
| Mr.. Ali said the gentlemen en- the
other side failed to say how much
will be saved to the city. He admitted
that something will be saved in the
! first year, but he characterized Mr..
Horkheimer's system of financiering
as saving at the spigot and wasting
at the bung." He read the title of
the ordinance and remarked that it
should have been "Oil wanted to grease
| the City Hall machinery
Mr.. Ali then took up the different
loans which it is proposed to refund
and considered them separately. His
general argument was that within a
specified number of years, varying in
the different loans, the present debts
will have been paid; while if refunded
none of the principal of the new loan
| will be paid off until the expiration Of
ten years. He gave figures on the
amount of interest which will be paid
under present loans, and on the same
loans if refunded, and demonstrated
conclusively that the city will pay a
much larger sum in interest, in the ag-
gregate, in the event that the city's
debt is refunded. Each existing debt
| was considered separately, and Mr.. ALL
admitted that there would be a saving
during the first few years, but the city
would lose in the aggregate
He referred to the Main street bridge
loan and said he asked Mr.. Hork-
heimer what became of the money to
pay it, receiving the reply that it had
been reappropriated. He thought it had
been spent, and it is now proposed to
provide for it in the refunding loan.
Mr.. Ali has had various estimates of
the savings to the city during the first
year, ranging from $1,000 to $14 1000, but
he was urNole to figure more than $4-
600. In few years there would be a
saving in interest, but after that it would
gradually decrease until for many years
it would be an annual loss to the city.
This last statement was made in reply to
a question by Mr.. M. F. Tighe, who
| thought the people ought to know which
system will be the more expensive to
the city.
| Mr.. Ali, beore concluding his re-
| marks, referred to the franchise of the
| Citizens Street Railway Company
which expires within a few years, and
! suggested that it might be a good idea
! at that time to be in position to dictate
| terms to the company and buy road if
necessary. Another grant which might
we'll be considered in this connection, is
the electric light plant, which should be
owned and operated in connection with
| the gas plant. Mr.. Wilkinson took
issue with Mr.. Ali with reference to his
| statement concerning the railway CON-
pany, and the matter was left unsettled
as to the terms of the ordinance.
City Receiver Alex Forgey was next
called upon to give "fggers" concerning
| the matter. He read his remarks as fol-
! lows:
| Gentlemen of the Assembly: I am
present to-day without special invita-
| ton from this Assembly, by taking
advantage of a remark made to me by
my friend, Tom Salisbury, that my
name had been suggested as one of
those to be invited. If 1 am intruding
upon your deliberations a word from
you will suffice and l will retire.
However, as l have been at the front
in this extraordinary contest of
words, and having stood out as a tar
get of one hiding himself behind a fic-
titious name in the columns of the
Register, the only paper in the city OPP
| posing the r6lunOlnS ScneIne-dS that
paper calls it think you will not
deny me the privilege of being heard.
I propose laying before you some of
the figures my hidden foe, Anti Loan,
i has been so persistently asking for
I do not propose to go back further
than the beginning of the present year.
I think anti Lean" will get from this
enough to convince him that an issue
of new bonds amounting to $4,000
will not increase the Indebtedness of
the city to the value of one farthing,
ard, further than this, that this issue
of bonds will entail no hardship upon
anyone, except it may be the very
small portion of our citizens holding
city bonds: And these may be benefit
ted, too, when they consider that in a
few years the present issue of bonds
will be Cue, and the present ordinance
offers anopportunity to them to renew
their holdings by bonds running from
ten years to thirty-four years.