The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-11-17

certainly is Objectionable TO the ave.
age tax payer in the city OF Wheeling.
Every part OF the city Of Wheeling
can be improved by the deferment of
the rapidly maturing bonds, and, II I
understand right, this is the intent OF
this ordnance. There can be no U
for complaint that there Is not sufi-
Client money In the next ten years, at
least In the hands of the committees, to
dlsburse for the betterment OF the iso-
lated spot. II the present council is in
competent for the handling of these
funds, the citizens have a remedy. Mo-
ney derived and saved by this scheme
run for a period OF ten years. You
have an election next winter, and II II
be the pleasure Of the citizens to select
such men as they may deem more
worthy than the present members OF
council, they have an opportunity at the
polls to defeat all this extravaganza
which is now alleged. The period Is
not for a day, or a month, but for many
years to accomplish that which every
public-spirited citizen desires to ac-
compllsh, II there are but five good
points and two had ones in the ordl-
nance, / should judge that three good
ones could outweigh two bad ones,
Personally, I know OF no bad ones, and
It took u friend, Mr., Cruise a long
while to find one which he cannot ever
maintain.
1t matters not what ordinance You
present, objections could be found, but
politics should be left aside, and hon
est, fair business propositions should
be considered from a business stand
point. As Mr.. Horkheimer said the
other day, men who will fight this
measure must be owners of bonds, It Is
not pleasant to give up a Q per cent
bond for q 4 per cent one; and at the
same time he stated that with improved
conditions of our streets, alleys and
public institutions, every other part of
the city might be benefited by this
means, 1t would he a good deal easier
to pay S2l,00 0 ten years from now than
to pay $37, 900, and I believe that Mr..
Horkheimer's statement is correct, that
the city will never get out OF debt. and
that II she does grass will grow on the
streets. There Is no town OF any mag
nitude that ever gets out Of debt. The
enhanced value must necessarily come
by reason of the betterment and inn
provements.
I ON not going to dwell on the adj
vantage 1t Is to the working
man, because L believe he
must readily see that the de-
feat of this measure would increase the
taxes, and that could only prove to
him a disadvantage, because 1t is he
who pays the burden of taxes after ell.
The little home he owns is easily found
and assessed. and why, then, not let
u posterlty pay some of the city's
debt when we give them these improv-
ed conditions as our forefathers did for
us?
In conclusion I would like to say that
few of our citizens know that the taxes
in Wheeling, In proportion to the BEN
efits received, are not as high as they
are In many towns of the same popula-
ton, I take this from the table Mr..
Forgey arranged some time since. In
Pennsylvania, and I believe In the
state of Ohio, the property owner is
Obliged to pay for one-half of the
street and curblnG. This, in Wheeling,
the city takes care of, and relieves the
property owner OF considerable expense.
In fact, the provisions OF the state law
In all other towns outside OF Wheeling
make 1t obligatory to do this. and 1t is
only by reason OF the special charter
we have In Wheeling that the city re-
lIeves the property owner from this
burden; and in spite Of this, the city's
indebtedness is quite limited. when
you consider the amount of assets she
The newspapers OF our city should
allow at least a business proposition to
stand on It's own merits, and not at
tempt to make politics out of 1t, and
unless 1t feared the results would be
beneficial the Register would not take
the stand 1t does.
EX-MEMBER OF COUNCIL.
Wheeling. Nov. 16.