The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1902-03-07

by SO doing all claimants against the
citv could he satisfied and further ex-
| penSe avoided "a
RI the Intention of the people had
been carried out and only the $4,000
/ expended, no question hnW nc
raised as TO whether all the legal tech
nicalities had been adhered to or not;
+ Hin. &c ef the School Board
had been adhered to and properly car
ried ont by them, by not paying Con-
/ tractor Vaughn more than the cen
tract provided for, viz: SO per mt o.
/ the labor nerformed and the material
furnished then much of the present
trouble would have been avoided:
More than that, however, II Ihe
| bonds that were taken from Vaughn
had been such that they could nave
been enforced in our local courts ana
their solyency known and passed on
nv Al nersons interested, tits probable
| that the material furnishers would
NOT now be unpaid. and the prospect
| Of extensive litigation on the part o.
| the city unless it pays THESE oeDts,
would not be imminent.
n is proper to state here thai the
School Board has believed that une
bond made by Vaughn and others 70
sneciallv nrotect the material furnish
ers was solvent. and that perhaps re-
coyery could be had from Vaughn
| himself to make good the pehdluy III
completing the work. ,oa
The School Board it appears, mas
| thouoht the M tterial furnishefs should
look alone to Vaughn and his bonds,
and not the city, for the payment OF
their claims, !, 80 49,
This might have been well had the
School BOARD taken such bonds as the
law reouires-good and enforceable at
home in orr own courts; BUTT appears
from the report of the special agent
sent by the city, filed herewith, thaG
of the bonds taken from Vaughan ana
his snreties neither of them is solvent
nor GOOD for ANYTHING in law should
indUment he obt4ined on them.
do not feel confident to enter INTO
an adindication of the relative merits
of the different classes OF claims now
unpaid, but it seems to me G1do Ulle
material furnishers and mechanics
have equally as strong a moral claiin
against the city as any others, peGduoe
it is their brick, tin, lum per anu ia 10
that now protect the children u ttle
city frcm the inclemencles OF tne
weather, and makes 1T posslDle lor Vli0
school to go at all. -, s,u
1t has been said the material l9r-
nishers should have no recourse on Ille
city, because they SOLD 10 vaughn,
and should have sold for cash only, VI
should have had written ordefs from
the School Board to make the safes.
regard this as untenaDle because
the law required the SchOol bodfu W
take a bond to protect the maIerldl
furnishers This the Board ala, ouG
unfortunately did not take a goou
one.
Further, the School Board was re-
ouired by the contract to not pay over
so per cent. of labor performed anu
material furnished on the contract 10
Vaughn, until the work had been COM
pleted and accepted-thls TO proGec1
the CITY, as well as the material iuI-
nishers More than that, the fatal err
ror was in taking a bond enforcaoie Ia
Kentucky only. the suretles on Which
are totally insolvent.
If creditors could be sent to Ken
lucky to collect their claims, could
they not as well be sent to Vermont
or New HAMPSHIRE? [ am advised
that. if il is conceded that the city
owns the land on which the school
huilding is located, the lien for pay
ment for the material surely is good
i'm law, and can be enforced IN the
usual way-by sale of the property, eIc.
Now have thought it necessary TO
90 into all this because, if the present
Board does not legalize the acts OF the
School Board by ordinance or by as
suming and paying part OF their Deus,
then the material furnlshers would
probably have no standing IN Ine
courts to enforce their liens by SAFE
of the school building.
When we consider that the errors OF
the School Board were caused in part
bv the lack of legal knowledge as TO
their rights and powers under the eX-
! listing law, and further to the many
untoWard circumstances connected
with the contract with Vaughn; and
that the School Board has given large
lv of their time without pay. it is GER
tainly hard to think that they may
have to defend suits at their own eX.
nense and probably pay large sums OF
money for which they may have be-
come individually liable, should there
he found no way for the city to assume
and pay the debts, the sum OF when
appears to be 81, l2S.
When it appears that the debts ex-
listing mot including the claims OF ma
terial furnishers) are larger than can
be paid outof the current revenues, OF
the city for the present year, and that
the Board of Mayor and Aldermen Can
contract no debts for borrowed money
that will be binding on the city. should
they be so inclined, and that any at
! tempt to do SO will only end in making
themselves individually liable for suct
|, debts so contracted, it will be seer
what is before us. ItwOuld surely 81
a source of modification for the city K
. own and daily use house as an lnstl
tuition of learning for the children o
! the city that the very bricks and NOR
: tar, the tin and painted walls were
: standing monument that because 0
y technicalities under the law, and er
y rors of her own servants, she refuses
Z to pay for-and those debts due Target
+ to her own citizens.
e Ithas been suggested that the publ