Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-01-17
THE ORGAN ON CITY FINANCE.
The esteemed, but at times incoher-
emit. Intelligencer remarks:

The esteemed, but at times ncOner-
ent, Intelligencer remarks:
The public is sensible to the point of
making up its mind that any attempt to
bring into the record of the present Re-
publican administration and its Republl-
can predecessor a proposed measure that
was never anything else-the ~refundlng
measure-can have no bearing at all.
While not exactly clear as to our
neighbours meaning, we surmise it in
tends to argue that the refunding ordi-
nance, advocated so s~trenuously a year
ago by the ring and its faithful organ,
has no bearing on the present cam
paign.
In this our esteemed contemporary
in mistaken. 1t has the most apt and
decided bearing or the present city
campaign, since it is the concrete ex-
preston of the rings whole municipal
and financial policy, which is Grab
everything, spend everything while
you've got the chance and let the flu
ture look out for itself, for tomorrow
you may be out of office"
When the refunding proposition was
before the people the ring organ did
not take the view it now finds it on
venient to hold, namely, that it was a
thing of no Importance and without
bearing. At that time it produced al
legged arguments by the column show
ing what a fine thing it would be for
the city to stop payment on its debt
for ten years in order hat the money
thus used might be given to the ring
to %squander.
Has the organ forgotten all this so
soon? Doubtless it would like to for
get, or to have the people forget. So
would the ring just at this juncture.
But the people who turned the ring
down hard on that proposition, have
not forgotten. Nor can the ringsters
and their organ eliminate from the
present campaign that most vital and
important part of the record.
Had it not been for the efforts Of
the Register backed by the people, the
ring proposition would have carried,
and in that event the organ would not
have had the present excellent inan-
cial showing to brag over, for not a
cent Of the refunded debt would to-
day be paid off and we would be as
deeply in debt as ever ten years hence;
and although we would have paid an
enormous aggregate sum in annual in
terest to the bondholders in that time,
We would not have reduced principal or
annual interest charge me cent!
Has all this mo bearing at all" on
the situation? The people, the tax
payers, are inclined to think it has a
very heavy bearing as showing the
rings lack of capacity to finance the
city. And the ring is now on trial.
The esteemed Intelligencer goes on
to rehash the recent city debt state
ment, holding it up as highly compli-
mentary to the rings economic exer-
lions when it is not at all compliment
tary to the ring in any particular, but
on the contrary is a severe arraign-
ment of ring methods since it repre-
sents a situation which would not exist
if the ring had had it's way and its re-
funding scheme had gone through.
Every time the organ prints a line
in praise of the present financial con-
dition of the city it brings an indict-
ment against the rings financial policy
and gives the lie direct to it's own ar
guments of n short year ago.. The
present excellent condition Of the city's
finances is due as we have repeatedly
pointed out, to the fact that the peo-
pie forced the ring to abandon its own
and follow the peoples, the Demo-
cratic, policy of paying the city debt
as we go and as we can, the wisdom of
which is now acknowledged even bv
the ring and its organ, which have the
brazen effrontery to try to make cam
paign material out of the situation.
The people of Wheeling are NOT n
short of memory as to be ~humbugeed
in this fashion, however.