The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-01-24
soUTHSIDERs FOR MELDRIM.
The ENTIRE LIBERAL ALDER
MANIC TICKET INDORsED.

Future of the City-Mr. O'COnnOr
DIssects the street Opening Ques-
| ton.
The South Side Club met at Yonge's
hall, on Duffy street, last night, and in
dorsed the Liberal Club nominees for
mayor and aldermen. The report of the
| executive committee upon it's conference
with the nominating committee of the
Liberal Club was received and adopted.
| The report stated that a request had
been made for two representatives from
the south side, one from east of Bull
| street and the other west Of Bull street,
but Maj. p. w. MeIdrim, who is large
| property owner in the southwestern sec
ton, having been placed at the head of the
| ticket, they were satisfied to have Mr..
| Krouskoff, large property owner on the
| other side, placed on the aldermanic
| ticket.
President Harris stated that the small
| attendance upon the meeting was due to
the fact that a number of the members
| of the club were in attendance upon the
conference of the Liberal Club committee
| men. The meeting was addressed by MAJ.
| Meldrim, p. J. O'Connor, Esq, Mr.. w. p.
| LaRoche, Mr.. S. Krouskoff and Mr.. r..
| f. Downing
j.
the matters Of interest to the club and of
| the issues of the campaign. He said that
| while not a resident of the south side,
| there is probably no one living south of
| Anderson street who has a larger holding
| there than himself. He referred to his
| connection with Savannah. If in the COM
| ing election he should be called upon to
preside over the city of Savannah, he said,
! he would have at least a sentimental in
! terest in its affairs. He had other than
sentimental interests, however. He had
| known it under all conditions, and had
| never lost faith In it. He said he had
never made debt that he could not pay,
| and the bill collector never called twice
upon him.
If he didn't have the money to buy
| cigar he smoked pipe. What little
money he made, he said, he invested at
| home, with the exception of some indus
| trial investments, every dollar of which
| had been swept out of existence in the
| last three years. When some of these
concerns got into trouble he Endorsed
| their notes, and some of these notes he Is
| now engaged in paying up. In some in
! stances the money he made in the practice
| of law went to help some of his business
friends who had gotten into financial trou-
| BILE.
Among his earliest investments, Maj.
| Meldrim said, was in the section then
| south of Savannah. He believed in the
| future of Savannah then, although some
| laughed at him. He spoke strongly upon
| the subject of the necessity for public
! spirit in a community and belief in its
future on the part of the people. He had
| been more hopeful for Savannah during
| last few months, he said, than ever before,
| because of the interest in its welfare man
fested by its citizens, both white and
| black.
Il did not come here to ask you to vote
= In 10
more at the practice of law than the sal
airy of the mayor, 1 deserve to have my
| name stricken from the roll of attorneys.
i don't want the office. 1 tried as earnest
! ly as l knew how TO avoid being candi-
date for it,
You can buy 1t for $1OOO0,' said Mr..
Henry Sack who was present
II will not buy 1t at any price," replied
| Mai. Meldrim. 81 will not buy a single
vote or bride a single man to vote for
me-"
This statement was received with ap-
plause.
Maj. Meldrim gave some interesting his
tory of the annexation of the southern sec
ton. He was in the Senate when the
| bill came up. He did not believe IL right
that the property, which was free of debt,
should be made subject to taxation for
the large bonded Indebtedness of the city,
| which it had no share in mourning He
| tee of council so, and proposed that they
| should exempt the new district from four
| tenthS of the tax rate, the estimated
amount paid for the sinking fund, for
| twenty-five years. The chairman of the
finance committee proposed that instead
of eXempting for four-tenths for twenty
five years they should make a total ex-
| emption for ten years. 1t was agreed to,
and this was the history of the annexation
of the district south of Anderson street.
! Unfortunately improvements had not
been made as rapidly as he had hoped
would be done. If the city had been de-
cided and prompt in the requirement of
| streets, he said, every street in that Sec
ton would have been opened years ago.
| Property in the southern sec
ton is becoming more valua-
Bile. he said, and in his opinion
it would be better for the city to incur a
debt and open up all the streets at once
than to go on at present opening them
up by piece meal.
In the coming election, Maj. Meldrim
said, the chief question is whether the
people, who have most at interest, should
control or not. He believed that offices
| had been created in Savannah unnecessa-
rily. and he did not consider it good bust
ness policy TO employ men who are not
needed at high salaries.
II am going to try to do what
is clean 'l and right he said.
II may not save dollar, out
! will not steal a dollar. If l am made
mayor the city exchange will not be pros
titued, as l am informed 1t is, by making
it a headquarters for politicians. 1t should
be kept clean, and it will be kept clean in
! that respect if / am elected mayor"
Mr.. OConnor who was the next speaker,
said he had some figures to offer, which
he had extracted from the mayors re-
ports. His attention had been attracted
to this subject, he said, by the published
statements contrasting the amount of
money spent by the McDonough admins
tration for the improvement of the south
side with the amount spent by the pres
ent administration for the same purpose.
| The report of the city treasurer for 1895,
he said showed that of the S23.847.12 paid
out in that year for opening streets on the
south side, every cent, with the exception
OF about $1,000, had been arranged for by
| the McDonough administration. Mr..
| O'Connor had one OF the pamphlet copies
of the mayors report in his hand. lie
| had been living in Savannah number
| of years. he said, and he had never seen
the mayors report gotten out i'm thar
| shape before. OF the amount spent for
| ananipy streets In 1gQA sol 0h4 20 q itQrniz-