Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-11-27

This is the day for the special elec-
tion. on the refunding ordinance, wnlcn
appears in full in the advertising col
umns of the Register this morning, Tor
the second and last time. The polls open
at Z o'clock in the morning and CLOSE
at six o'clock in the evening. the poll
ing places are eleven in number, one
in each ward, with the exception OF the
Second. Seventh and Eighth, in which
there are two each, as follows:
First Ward-Vigilant Hose House.
Second Ward-First precinct, corner
of Twelfth and McColloch streets; Sec
ond precinct, Second Ward Market
House.
Third Ward-Police Court Room.
Fourth Ward-Atlantic Hose House.
Fifth Ward-Hook and Ladder
House.
Sixth Ward-Niagara Engine House.
Seventh Ward-First precinct, watch
box at Suspension Bridge; Second pre-
cinct, Island Hose House.
Eighth Ward-First precinct, Eighth
Ward Hose House; Second Precinct,
No. 4O33 Jacob street.
Three election judges, two Republi-
cans and one Democrat, have been ap-
pointed by Council to each of these
eleven polls, with the usual compile
ment of clecks, making a total of sixty
six election officers for the entire city.
They are paid three dollars a day each,
with the exception of the judge who has
charge of the ballot box, who gets four
dollars. The expense for officers alone
will, therefore, be 5000. The additional
costs for printing and advertising will
swell the cost of the election to at least
$500.
For the information of voters. the
object and causes of the ordinance
submitted to the taxpayers to-day
may be briefly summarized as follows:
After series of big public improve
ments during the years preceding
1893, of which the electric light plant
and the stone bridge were examples.
the city ran something like thirty
thousand dollars behind in current
expenses, and the panic of 1893 coming
on, together with the fact that Coun-
Gil was about equally divided polite
ally-exactly even for two years-the
floating debt was allowed to continue
and two installments of electric light
bonds were allowed to run over beyond
the time of their payment. The Re-
publicans went into the city campaign
of January, 1895, with a promise to
reform" the city government, pay off
outstanding floating debts, and bring
business-like methods to bear. They
were successful in the election, and
duly inaugurated their administration.
Instead of getting promptly to work at
the financial situation, introducing
economies, making early appropria-
tons and doing other reasonable
things, BETTING people making the
pretentions they did, they allowed
seven months of 1895 to roll around
before they made the annual appro-
priations for that year, meanwhile
running the city upon the alleged ex-
travagant and faulty basis pursued by
the former administration. In this
way they lost whatever opportunity
they ever had of putting the city
finances in shape, and when they did
finally make the annual appropriations
for 1895 they were stuck" in that they
could not make both ends meet, it be-
ing too late in the year to economic,
because more than half of the reve-
nues for 1895 had been anticipated and
spent on the basis of 1894.
After studying the situation over for
a month or two, they determined upon
an issue of bonds, which the Register
opposed, and which the people defeated
They then ruminated some more, and
finally, as the only way out of the diff
Guilty, determined to increase taxation
by virtue of the provisions for such
taxes incorporated in the various loan
ordinances, but which provisions had
never been enforced by Democratic
city administration. They accordingly
added lac on each 500 of taxable val
ues to the tax levy, which imposed ar
extraordinary burden of more thar