The age-herald., 1898-10-25
WHO CONTROLS THE CITY'S FINANCES Mayor Ellard'S Statement at AVOndale
 Meeting. STEINERBR0S. .ClTYS AGENTS Arrangements Made With Them by Yan-
 HOOSe Administration.
STEINERBROS, ClTYS AGENTS
THEY RECEIVED ABOUT 100000
For Arranging the Bonded Indebtedness The City Council Has Not Yet Considered Lane Resolution
 MT. Kennedy's Card.

l. In Avondale'S anu-annexatloh hieeliHS' Mayor Ellard of that city made the state ment that the finances of Birmingham were controlled by B. Steiner. He also said that
 MT. Steiner received s90,00e in payment for arranging the bonded indebtedness of the city.
 tne statement has been contradicted by several gentlemen, and an investigation or l the citys books and the agreement wth l the Steiner banking firm show the follow l ing facts: The agreement was made during l the term of the VanHeose or reform ad- ministration It was found that 1t was inn l possible to meet the maturing coupons with l cash, and a contract was entered into with l Steiner Bros, appointing them financial l agents, to make some arrangement to pre- l vent default The agreement stipulated l that the financial agents should be paid I about $13,0 900 for their services in arranging with the creditors and bondholders for term of five years For nearly all of this amount the vanHoose administration gave !, the city's notes to be paid by this and suc- l ceeding administrations. The present city | government has fulfilled the contract left | them legacy by their predecessors. Interest upon the bonded indebtedness of | $1,61O, ,0OO was involvd in the transaction.
 and by the arrangement the city has been at peace with its creditors, paying about
 half the coupons and agreeing to pay the | other half at future time.
 The city council has not yet considered the Lane resolution. When it is brought up it will involve a great deal of discussion. Some exact line can be drawn before the
 matter can be satisfactorily considered.
 This will probably require the appointment of to thar oh n Q and go over the territory proposed to be | annexed. Whether the matter will lay over
 until a regular meeting, or a special one l called, has not been decided.
 Mir. Kennedy Agaip
 l To the Editor of The Age-Herald:
 1 am truly glad to see so many Of the | advocates of Greater Birmingham confess | ing that selfishness Is the true reason for annexation and are not trying any longer to lead the people into the belief that 1t 1 is beneficial to the outsiders or that they are moved by philanthropy. 1t is said that we desire all of the benefits of city and none of it's burdens" In answer, will say that each and every man who carries on any business in the city pays for the priv | ilege or works for a man who does, and, furthermore, many poor man who was not able to pay all of his earnings for high rent and taxes moved to the adjoining suburbs, where they could get cheap rent or buy a cheap home and make an honest living for his wife and children. And yet they would come out here and take that man into the city unheard and place upon him double taxes for the express purpose of paying debt he had nothing to do with its creation, and in my opinion, is now pay ing all of 1t he should. It would be just as fair to force the country peddler who comes to the city every day to sell his produce to pay for the privilege of driving
 on these beautiful streets as us. He gets his living out of the city as much as we. It is true that a great deal of us make some of our money in the city, and it is also true that we spend 90 per cent. of it here for license to do business in the city, rent and the necessities of life and when we do not buy direct we buy from mer- chants who do buy in the city As to the Lane resolution, l must say that it is neither fair nor just towards our people, and, in my opinion was not intended to be such, but was railroaded through for the fear that some of the people of the out side might get a chance to be heard. The author of that resolution, in his answer to my argument at Woodlawn, said "that those who believe in justice and fair play
 may not be mislead," etc. If his resolution has one word of justice and fair play to- wards the citizens on the outside I cannot see 1t, and if that is the justice and fair
 play that we are to receive from our guard
 ian, Greater Birmingham, for the sake of
 humanity, leave us out. He also says "that
 good cause does not need to be rein
 forced by misrepresentations." In answer.
 l will say that good cause does not need
 to be railroaded through and the parties
 most yitally interested not given a chance
 to be heard. Any good cause will stand
 argument. =
 If they had had a good cause and wanted
 to be just and fair, why did they not give
 us chance to be heard before the resolu-
 ton was passed? He also says that "abuse
 is not argument" We were not given the
 right of argument, and must we quietly
 submit and say nothing? The Age-Herald
 was kind enough to inform the citizens of
 Avondale ---at they 'are free American cit
 1zens, but l say that, in my humble opin-
 ion, they, as well as the rest Of Us. have
 not been treated as such
 The honorable mayor of Birmingham as
 his last years report truthfully said, that
 the power of self-taxation is one of the
 great divisions of American liberty" and I
 may add that one of the fundamental prin-
 cipies Of democracy is local self-govern-
 ment, and yet the Lane resoltion denies us
 voice in the increasing of our taxes and
 the right of local self-government Yet we
 ''are free American citizens" We are de-
 nied voice, for if the city is to vote we
 are placed with our 5000 votes against the city with her $500. Yet we are free
 American citizens and getting Justice and
 fair play" If i've are free American cti-
 zens' why did they run the Lane resolution
 over us unheard? They knew we would kill liiSiA SSAASahO III itS SoHCSPllOu. am truly glad that great many of the good citizens of Birmingham, who are in favor of an-
 nexation, are not willing to take us by the nape of the neck and pull us in after the
 order of the Lane resolution. The right to
 tax has been said to be the right to destroy and the right to increase the taxes of some of the poor men on the outside may not de-
 stroy, but it will greatly decrease their supply for their family which is now too
 meager. It is said that we will be consulted about saloons. The city council consulted