Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1898-02-05
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| biueraOie PAIN. nc uses doout tout
columns of his-excuse us-we
mean the Republican,, to tell all
about the financial condition OF the
city, in reviewing the late lamented
bond case aud In attempting to
strengthen his claim to a fee of
$500.
This Is all well and good, and we
are truly glad TO see that the ami
mails are stirred up. Twill do 'cn
good. Norton and the Republican
carry on at a terrible rate and say
that when we was a member Of the
council we drew sundry and divers
sums of money from the city treas
ury. This is only partly true, how.
ever, and Is trifle misleading.
When we served the people in
the capacity of councilman we was
a member of the firm of Gardner *
Smith, proprietors of the Baxter
Springs NEWS, and when we drew
money from the city treasury for
printing or publishing II WAS for
the firm of Gardner & Smith, not
for Chas. L. Smith personally. They
charge that $33 was charged for the
publishing of an ordinance. This
Ia true, and If the full legal rate
had been charged $i4 would have
been the proper price. They say
$l.50 was charged for registration
notices, dog tax notices, etc. This
is true. The price of reading no.
tices in this paper is five cents per
line per insertion. OF course, hav-
ing been member of the firm of
Gardner & Smith. we remember the
Baxter Springs Normal and Busi.
ness College bill. Gardner & Smith
did considerable work for the col
lege, and the pay for some of II was
guaranteed by the city council, but
we was not a member of the city
council at the time; neither was we
a member of the city council when
the printing bills of the college
were paid. Our term as council
man expired in the spring of 1895,
while the college bills, or the part
guaranteed by the council, was
paid the following June and No
vember. Mayor n rton says If we
will pay back into the city treasury
all that we have received from 1t he
will make the city present of
$500. But as we have never been
paid anything by the city except
for labor and material, aside from
our duties as councilman, we have
nothing to pay back, and Mayor
Norton will of course not do 80.
He also Gays If all former coun.
cilmen and mayors will pay back
the money they have wrongfully
taken from the city that he will
make the city present of $500.
Really, we don't know who he re-
fers to, but II would seem that he 10
trying to make people believe that
Cooper, Hornor, Fribley, Opper-
man, Harvey and others who have
served our people in the capacity of
mayor have wrongfully taken sums
of money from the city treasury.
Oh, yes; those ordinance books !
Well. the council awarded the firm
of Gardner & Smith the contract for
printing them, although we wasn't
a member of the council at the
time. The Republican iutelligehtly
remarks that such books can be
bought in almost any book store
for IS cents each. This 10 the first
intimation a suffering public has
had that ordinance books are sta
pie goods on the shelves of book
stores. However, we will print such
books for Is cents each IL the num-
her taken is large enough to scale
the price per book down.
With our esteemed contemporary
we have no quarrel. We believe its
editors are as much opposed ut
heart to the payment of these big
attorneys fees as we are, and II
pains us to see them uphold such
things when we believe they go
against the grain. With this we
drop the Republican for good, and
return to Mayor Norton's talk of
giving the city $500 If certain
things are done. This 10 equiva-
lent to saying ~ believe that some
body in years gone by has done
wrong, 30 l will, too" II 10 merely
an attempt to justify his own &C.
tions, and will be so regarded.
But the fact remains that the at |
fees in the bond case are
high and the tax
payers know il. Very few approve
Of paying them until they are cut
down to a reasonable amount.