The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-07-26
The DAILY REPUBLICAN,
81. Goa. THIRD AND xiNa sTRHsEs
The Republican Printing
I and Publishing Co
eCBl. IsHED DAILY, EXCEPT SUNDAYS
lLtered at the Post Orfics at Wilinlnston
Del, as second.ciass mail matter.
"WEDNESDAY. JULY 20, 1900.

M THAT the nndnCeS OF tue county
have been run in a loose manner,
there can be no doubt. The collec-
tors for years have not been respon-
sible to any one for the collection of
he county taxes. They collected
what they could and had stricken
from their books thousands Of dol.
lars every year as unsolicited. We
gather from the report of the Audi
tors, Messrs. Dandy and Rossell,
appointed by the court to examine
the county finances, that it could
not be definitely determined by the
books what was owed tc the county
In years past, by the failure of the
collectors to make collections. BY
the manner IN which the collections
had been made they contended that
thousands of dollars that could
have been collected have been lost
to the county. Three loans have
been made since 1888, to take up
the floating debt of the county and
strange as it may seem, none OF the
loans have as yet been paid off
The first loan was made in 1888,
and is understood to have amounted
to 5000, 900 and the second loan in
1893, consisting of 100000 of the
first loan. which 1t was found nee
essary to refund, while in 1897,
$l5O,O0O additional loan was auth
orized. At the beginning of the
present year, there was $500, 900
bonded debt outstanding, on which
$4,000 have been paid this year.
To show where we are drifting, we
would call the attention of our
readers to the Court House loan
that was made in 1877, amounting
to 500, 900 at 5 per cent. which has
in the past Is years doubled itself.
Not one dollar of the loan has been
provided for or paid off during that
period. The original loan was re-
newed this month at 81 per cent
The Levy Court had but 5000 on
hand to pay it with. If they keep
the interest paid up and pay the
loan off as required, it will amount
to $lS0,000, including the original
loan and interest. With the work
house loan of 500, 600, the bonded
debt of the county will, at the close
of this year, amount to SOLO, 600
This enormous sum will stagger
the average tax payer, when he
fully realizes. its proportions. There
should be every proper effort made
whereby part of the county debt
can be paid off every year, and the
increase OF the aggregate amount
prevented. BY the issuing of new
loans periodically, to refund floating
debts created from time to time, VIC
only fall further and further behind.
The only safe rule is TO keep up the
annual payment on account OF the
bonds outstanding, not by creating
additional loans, but by applying
the receipts from taxes to this pur-
pose and keeping the current en-
penses strictly within the receipts
as whole.
WILMINGTON needed a new High
School, but did not and will not
have the money for ten years to pay
for it, out of its yearly appropria-
tion. This school house will cost
the tax payers of this city over two
hundred thousand dollars, before
1t is ready for scholar to set foot
in. 1t will be the biggest boomer
ang that any of the present mem
bers of the Board of Education
ever ran up against. The members
of the Board were told when they
accepted Architect Pierce's plans,
that the school house would cost out
of all proportion to the estimated
cost. But then, some of the men,
bers wanted High School that
would be a credit TO Wilmington
and they will get it at the expense
Of the Wilmington tax PAYERS, who
are already overburdened with
taxes. The question has been ask
ed more than once. il the members
were spending their own money,
would their ideas have been so eX-
travagant'