Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-10-24
WHERE DIDIIT co?
Money Provided to Meet Alleged
Items in Floating Debt
of County.
BUT STILL LIABILITY GREW
Argument Advanced by the Union in
Defense of Present Regime Re-
quires More Explaining.

4
the money is the object of a long di
gression on county finances published
in the Union last evening-which pa
per, by the way. is still on the defense
in relation to its county ticket 1t was
called forth by The Argus explanation
of the purpose and significance of the
proposition TO impose a tax of 30 cents
on each 800 of the assessed valuation
beyond the legal limit of - cents, or
in other words. to continue the present
extra rate of taxation voted 10 build
the court house after the court house
bonds have all been retired.
The Union attributes the financial
ENHANCEMENT into which the county
has gradually worked itself to the fact
that 100000 was appropriated as a
bonus TO secure the location of the
WatertOwn hospital here. to the fact
that the court house itself cost more
than the original estimate to the eX-
Il penditures that have been maze in as
sisting townships in building bridges.
and TO the increased cost of running
the county government due TO larger
expense in caring for the poor and
longer sessions of court. and all in the
face of an alleged decrease in the ac-
| tual revenues received
/ Has saved Equal sum.
/ With reference to the 100000 which
was devoted TO securing the site for
the WatertOwn hospital the Union
! acknowledges that the county. through
saving in cost of Transporting insane
patients TO and from the hospital and
! through an increased quota of patients
| that have been cared for at state eX-
! pense as a result of having an insane
! hospital within its borders. has effect
! ed a considerable saving Without any
doubt Rock Island county is already
even. if not actually ahead on this
score. But il is asserted that there
! had been some 100000 saved up AT the
! time the hospital site was purchased
and so, confessedly. this appropriation
did not work any hardship at the time
| it was made-did not anticipate future
revenues or impose any Indebtedness.
According TO the Unions figures the
court house bonds. the face value Of
which was S125.000. with the premium
!netted $4,000 and the actual cost of
the building was $1S5,O00. As a mat
ter of fact the total expenditure was
less than $4,000. and the difference
between the estimated cost and the
actual cost was practically all provided
for when the special tax of 30 cents
was voted 10 years ago. At that time
there was and had been a special tax
of 30 cents collected to meet current
expenses. This lapsed at the time the
court house tax was voted and the
old 80 cent tax was renewed. and an
additional 20-cent tax put on to provide
for redeeming the court house bonds
Thus the actual court house tax was
but % cents Careful estimates show
ed that this would pay off S12.50O of
the prin cipal yearly and pay besides
interest at 6 per cent on $125,000
for 10 years But in reality the entire
amount was not drawing interest all of
the 10 years. When each bond was re-
tired interest on that ceased. So that
the interest actually paid during the
period amounted to but that on half
the total amount of the bonds In otli- |
or words. the tax of 90 cents was sufIl- |
cient to pay double the interest ac- |
tually paid and this it was figured. |
would settle for the extra cost in eX-
cess of the estimated cost The in |
terest on S125.OOO for 10 years. would |
have been $4,000 AS but half of that |
was really paid the county was 1880
TO the good from the court house tax.
This. added 10 the proceeds of the sale
of the bonds, Sl35,OO0. gives s172.50O |
which in addition to actual interest
paid the special tax yielded during the
n
the actual cost of the building. There
fore there was no occasion to start the
floating debt here
About Highway Bridges.
The Union asserts that another
cause of the deficit the voters are now
asked TO provide for. came from some