The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-04-02

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4 ~ ns,es d hardly think u would be posss-
eIie tt correctly canvass the situation anu
ne acI, /, tleeidcd aaiicl as osi as 10 tse ie
Il BnitE, Il ,I .4 Y, .
l hate always found hoti, branches SLOW SLOW
X Il, eoIy,mit- ihclnselv ON riateria aues-
ations until all possible Hight was tnro%tl
\ Is n, y,e subject. hence the difficniis II,
y IN mating the, result OH ;,lltcSa-
Inn a. IRIS time, Tile Impression y have
q ~ h,.rhd from most CT the members 4
nave seen IS that they all favor q llttrN:,-
& ZION, IN, arr. not prepared to LAY AZ rcs-
mt whether they Will vote for the lines ne
q adopted by the conlmittee or NOT 3W ,.l
II +, icIlesve Il, be the position Of certainly
81, hr.,,. fn,,Y4 lis or tho members OF each
i,ra,,rl which I believe will lie the tnnl
q M (, Al lilo proposition. after the subject
sis fully discussed. J 4tl2 #
i ha1e heard no ai-e aIrssnt IL, opposition
10 the tggested lines that could not ho
u forctbly resisted by confpara tive Sex peri
ence Of other cities that nave ions sl,iss
niiSnyef1 he benefits of a sufficient AREA
y ~ sSnrnyiae comfortable homes for their
n n,.n,t,u "a The Il class who lock to comfort,
3 Nm, nay LUXURY, which Cl,Lss IS to-day and
nlways viii be largely ilt the ii1ajofii1S.
l8fis the result OF the Ordinance Cominfttee
Y yy.,,s reached after long and careful con
\ slfleration; in fact. some Of the committee
q n
q tho matter had been fully studied, pre-
ferins iu be fully satisfied rs to the al az
yisahiIqy Of annexation at this time De-
4 fore voting eli, any lines
Strongly Fortified.
the COMMITTEES invited tho public to be
heard either for 81 against the PROPOSE
tinn THE people We're heard. aho tl,e
arguments in favor We're strongly fortl-
fled while those in opposition which were
few. did not deal with the subject IN
general. and to my mind offered no MD
terial ron son against annexation; the dis
7,I,ssion in the commit e. advocating the
nrot,osition. invited reasons Why tho INES
a Should not be adopted, did not produce
& INC effect to change the minds OF those
tavorng them.
The fear expressed as TO the Z osl 70
the city 81 the Two bridzcs eonnec c., we
citv with Barton Heights and Chesthut
&lIiil. seems IL my mind without jus1lfacta-
ton for the following reasons.
~ i am informed that til erailway conf
l,,anv owns 60 PET cent Of the stock, the
minority ia held by individuals. One otgthe
( stockholders IN the Fifth Street bridge,
makes tho statement that no mas not
received dividend on ms holu,.ss ~! ~.
five wears; another holder Of stock Ill ille
FIRST Street Bridge says he has never
& received IA dividend. This does not. nI'-
penl. 10 lie A very favorable statement.
Such circumstances would not encouras Sc
many bidders TO offer to purchase at
very high figure.
Is For argument sake, suppose the owners
Il would say to Richmond We want three
hundred thousand for the two bridges
(which is doubtless bout twice as much
as they are WORTH, and Richmond would
purchase what would prevent her rom
4; recurring the railway company to pay her
[, per cent. OF, the investment for running
Its cars 5ffssg
Further. what would prevent Richmond
from condemning the bridges and purcllas-
ing them under such procedures #? i ne
court would then pass upon the value,
& and Nc would hardly be held up in such
a, event, which some seem to fear would
AZ he 4 he case. 5f 8 Il
Build Her Own.
Again, If Richmond could not acquire
possession Of the bridges on satisfactory
Terms, what would prevent her construct
g4 ing one Of her own from Second Street
To- reach the desired territory? This
would not cost over one hundred thou
sand dollars.
aG5 .rhn attitude Of some OF our manu-
featuring companies against coming into
il,e city is hardly tustifiahle, we ac-a
81 conf the conditions III most OF the manu-
featuring cities III this country.
8#5 For instance nur tax IA te3s Of Sl;io is
SIS than any OthercltA cldSseo US u 'iitlitis
flct,rinr city. Others run from sl.5D sS
# s2..5 per hundred. We estimate 81 valnc.
while lin most other cities values are
fully assessed and In no Instance known
of are they less than that OF Rich
= nOnd. YEA
. l have been Informed by the controllers
#$or plants in about thirty cities. that they
prefer being in the city on account Of
police and fire protectlo lon and on account
d OF other public convent ences, and, in some
Instances would not be otherwise slocated
e II entirely exempted from taxation.
Richmond has pIovdd fire and police
protection and other public conveniences
"a to Il number OF manufactures and has not 4,
received ono cent OF taxes. or any con-
sidcration In support Of those benefits,
hence the opposition from manufacturers.
THOR claim is that they have given
people employment who live in the city
q and contribute to the city's support. This /
So is certainly true, but haven't they received
service In return commensurate with the
amount OF wages Eaid? DO they claim tc
pay more wages here, t han they do in 4
other misunderstanding cities? ii so, such
& facts have never, been brought to light.
III their position is justifiable, wherein
lies the Justice to those In the city who
have theAS $40 tax 10 pay. and who enjoy