The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-05-31
ITS LAST NIGHT MEETING.
COUNCIL TO MEET IN THE AFTER
MOONS DURING THE SUMMER.

tutions Present to the Committee
of the Whole the Claims of Their
Institutions for Relief From Taxes
and street Improvement ASSESS
ments-COIIinsviIIe Property own
ers Not to BE Relieved From Tax
alton, But improvements viii Be
Made-MOre Time to BE Taken to
Consider Crematory Question.
The meeting of the City Council tonight
will be the last night meeting of that
body until fall. Meetings will be held in
the afternoon during the summer months.
This is an arrangement which Council en-
tered into several years ago, and which
has proven so satisfactory that it has new
er been discontinued
There is nothing of special Importance
announced to come before the meeting to-
night. There are several matters of in
terest which may come up, but it is not
likely that any decisive action will be
taken upon any of them.
Several questions now before the board
were discussed at the meeting of the com.
mittee of the whole yesterday afternoon.
The representatives of several of the
hospitals and orphan asylums were before
the committee for the purpose of pre-
sentlng the claims of the institutions
represented by them for relief from taxa
ton and assessments for street improve
ments. The charitable institutions of the
city were greatly crippled by their losses
IN the Central Railroad by reason of the
thorough manner in which that enterprise
was put through the mills of the United
states Courts few years since and they
nave never recovered from these losses
Ihey are now put 70 the necessity of
seeking favors from the city, which they
would not have asked in their more pros
porous days.
The charitable institutions of the city
nave always been exempt from taxation.
OUT until last year they have always paid
taxes upon the properties in which their
funds were invested, and from which the
greater part of their incomes are derived.
Last year they were forced to appeal to
the city for relief from such taxation.
These institutions are held to be legally
Liable for street Improvements in common
with other property benefited by such
improvements. The Improvement of Ogie-
thorpe avenue and Drayton street with
asphalt pavements affected several of
these institutions last year, and an appeal
was made to the City Council for relief
on account of their embarrassed condition
1t was thought thaI Chis appeal had been
granted, and in one instance a resolution
was adopted by the board of managers
thanking Council for it's generous action.
It seems now, however, that the matter
was merely demufred not acted upon,
and the hospitals and homes have been
notified recently that executions have been
issued against them for the amount of
these assessments.
case in point is that of the Telfair
Hospital. This institution owns consider
able real estate In the city from which its
income is chiefly derived The taxes upon
this real estate amount to $500 or 500
In the present embarrassed condition of
the hospital this Is quite an item An ap-
peal was made to Council last year and
the hospital was relieved from paying
these taxes for that year. A similar ap-
peal has been made in behalf of the in
stitution this year. In addition to its
taxes there is also an execution against
the Telfair Hospital for about the same
amount for the improvement of Drayton
street from which relief has also been
requested.
The charitable institutions were quite
generally caught by the improvement of
Oglethorpe avenue and Drayton streets.
The Savannah Hospital has an assessment
against it for $3.50. The Savannah Fe-
male Orphan Asylum at Oglethorpe ave-
nue. and West Broad streets has been no
titled of an execution against it of $914.70.
The Louisa Porter Home, which was clos
ed some time ago for lack of funds to con-
tinue its work is charged with s27S.5S for
the Drayton street Improvement In adj
dition to these the Savannah Port Society
1,1f lfrf
ing 10 $S62.65. II is also understood that
the board of trustees of the Union Society
have appealed for relief from taxes on
their city property.
Among those who appeared before the
board yesterday afternoon in behalf of the
several institutions named were Mr.. T. NJ.
Cunningham. representing the Telfair Hos
pital, DR. William Duncan representing the
Savannah Hospital, and Mr.. John NJ. Brv-
an, representing the Savannah Female Or
phan Asylum. Some of the aldermen are
also members of the boards or otherwise
connected with the several institutions
named.
Some time was spent in hearing these ap-
peals. Mayor Myers stated after the
meeting that the board had arrived at no
decision in reference to these appeals ana
that they would probably NOT
be taken up at the meeting TO-
night. If it were only one of these lnstitu-
tons that was embarrassed and desired
relief, the probability is that there would
be no hesitation upon the part of Council
in granting the relief or in making a do
nation to the institution equivalent to
the amount asked for. With all of the
institutions seeking relief, the question be-
comes more serious one as the total
of the sums for which relief is sought
amounts to several thousand dollars.
A delegation of Collinsville propertv
owners, headed by Mr.. j. S. Collins. APP
peared before the committee for the pur-
pose of urging favorable action upon their
petition presented at a recent meeting Of
Council. The Collnsvile property owners.
as has already been stated object to pay
ing taxes on their property until the i'm
provements, which they were given to
understand by the city would be made
have been completed. They find, however
that under an act passed at the last ses-
sion of the legislature, they are liable for
taxes whether the improvements are made
or not They claim that in good faith the
city should complete the improvements
agreed upon when the property owners