The herald., 1897-10-30
BOND ORDINANCEREADY
TO COME BEFORE THE COUNCIL
MONDAY FOR PASSAGE
May Be Vetoed by Mayor Snyder in
Its Present Condition-Disagree-
ment Over Interest Rate

It will be surprising if the city receives
any considerable premium when 1t
comes to sell the nearly half million
dollars worth of bonds, the final ordi-
nance calling an election for the issuing
of which will be presented to the city
council at it's next regular meeting.
That ordinance has been almost COM
pleted by the city attorney and his as
sistants and all that it now lacks is the
list of names of those who will serve as
officers of election in two of the wards.
The polling places have been inserted.
and all but two of the members of the
city council have sent in their lists of
election officers.
In the ordinance as it now exists
blank space has been left for the inser
ton of the date upon which the election
is to be held. That date will probably
be December 7th. This has not been
finally decided, but several members of
the council favor that date. which is
the first Tuesday in December. After
the passage of the ordinance it will be
sent to the mayor for approval and he
will probably retain it four or five days
SO that he can have an opportunity to
closely examine each provision. If he
signs it, which is doubtful in it's present
form, it will then have to be published.
Supposing that it will pass and that
the mayor will approve it. at least a
week will elapse before it can be pub
lished. The publication must be for ten
days, and after that notices of election
will have to be posted for two weeks
before the election can be held. 1t will
therefore be seen that fully a month
must elapse after the passage of the
ordinance before the election is possible
under the law. At the election the diff
ferent issues of bonds proposed will not
be voted upon together. There will be
two spaces on the ballots, one for an
expression as to the $3.50 900 Of school
bonds and the other at to the $3.50, ,OG0 of
bonds for the improvement of the fire
department. 1t will therefore be possi-
BILE for voter to vote against one prop
osition and for the other, as he may de-
sire.
One provision of the ordinance which,
in the opinion of some of the city Off
Cials, will prevent the bonds from COM
manding any considerable premium is
the peculiar one that they must be paid
for'in gold coin of the United States" In
this connection it is provided that they
must be sold to the highest bidder at
a price not less than par. When it
comes to paying them the city, under
the constitutional provision, has the
right, and the ordinance so states, to
pay them "in gold coin or lawful money
OF the United States" Unless the ordi-
nance is changed the city will demand
gold for it's bonds and pay them in any
lawful money, and this point will not
be overlooked by bond buyers.
In spite of the repeated declarations
of Mayor Snyder that he would insist
upon the rate of interest being per
cent. the ordinance provides that i,
shall be Az per cent. If the measure
passes in it's present form it is certain
to be vetoed by the mayor and several
members of the council will vote to sus-
tain his veto on the ground that they
prefer the lower rate of interest. Those
in favor of the higher rate state that
at per cent no premium would be re-
ceived. This is answered by the state
ment that the " per cent would mean a
difference in the interest of $2445 for the
first year.
lie JULIUS die " De Serial oDilSdtioIiS,
and according to the ordinance one
fortieth Of the total issue is to be paid
each year. If the issue carries at the
polls the board of education will disburse
the funds received from the sale of the
school bonds and the city council will
expend the money from the others. The
denominations Of the bonds are as fol-
lows School bonds. 32O Of $1,000 each
and 40 Of Ats each; fire department
bonds, 120 of $1,000 each and 40 Of $3.50
each.