Arizona republican., 1907-01-11

[ head. Throughout all the department | the best available men were selecte with as much care as for a private cor
 poration. The force still remains in tact. Together with the commission CTS, whose board has been broken onl,
 by the death of Mayor Austin, the,
 form an administration as continuou
 as that of any business concern. Gal weston, instead of changing manager;
 every two years, has been governed
 by trained and experienced men
 This government has now served five
 years. It mas ceased to be an expert.
 ment It has had ample time to prove
 itself.
 FINANCIAL SAVING. ONE THIRD
 Its brilliant success is best shown by
 It's financial record. This is stated in
 a few words. The Commission found
 the city bankrupt, it has raised its
 credit to above par. It has saved Gal
 weston one full third of her gross run
 ming expenses. The annual cost of the government of Galveston has averaged
 about $60,000. In the four and a half
 years of commission government end-
 ing February 2S, 1906, a saving of at
 least S1,000. .OO0-over $22O,O0O a year
 had been made in comparison, not with
 vicious period of the ward aldermen,
 following 1895.
 ! The government in the four and a
 half years preceding the Commission
 had incurred $25O,O0O of debt for cur rent running expenses: the new gov
 ernment incurred absolutely no debt
 for this purpose. The former govern A,l #a fe
 more in assessed taxes than the new
 one. After making allowance for the inefficiency of tax collection under the old regime. the Commission. during it's first four and a half years, had saved the city at least $5O0,O00 which it must
 have raised by taxes or added debt If the old administration had been in
 charge In addition, the Commission had saved $500. 900 more. Oc this s2OO- GOO, was laid away by reducing the net debt by that amount, and $500, ,0O0 was put into permanent improvements, which. if made at all, must certainly have been paid for by bonds if the for mer administration had been in charge. IL might be objected that the slightly smaller population in the second pe- riod. under the Commission. would call for smaller expenditures. But this is not true. The second period has called for larger outlays-for all kinds of re- pairs after the storm, and for the ex- tension of the city's functions in every line, excepting possibly one-the fire department. And all this has been done under a slight average decrease in the tax rate.
 These results have been secured by straight, careful business menthods, such as any man would apply to his own affairs. Great pressure and in genuity has been used to add to the source of revenue. An additional s30.- 900 has been secured in the four and a half years from a vehicle tax, not col lected in the period before. Nearly $60 900 has been secured from interest on city deposits which. by an eXtraor- dinary piece of carelessness. was given out previously to the city treasurer.
 Some s7,500 has been realized from taking over the costs which had for merely gon to the chief of police and the prosecuting attorney in the city court. The water-works. at practically no increase in operating expenses. have yielded $115.00O more. And when the streets were rebuilt the street railway paid it's share of them-a matter Of $40. .OOO Added to this is compara- tive saving in the four years and half of S6O.000 and $40, ,00O in the police and fire departments. from a reduction in salaries and force, and nearly s4O,OO0 from the cheaper operation of the electric light department.
 But the one source of immediate in- come. where the greatest gains over the preceding government have been | made. has been the collection of taxes. 1 could have been looser than ! the methods of collection under the {. ward aldermen regime. Delinquent i taxes were let go not merely for few l years: a great share of them were lost | forever. In 1897. after the reform !. movement of 1895, S115,OO0 was marked | off the city's books at one time; since l then. sums probably equally large have | also been charged off as worthless. The | government of the general aldermen | taxes better than it's prede- eessor. but it. too, was making large osses. In its first four and a half | years the Commission collected s90.0OO | nore in back taxes than the proceeding government did in the corresponding .ime. The showing in current taxes vas even more striking. Although the assessments were s425.- 100 less in the period its collections were within S175,OOO as much as those If the administration before-a gain of '250, 900. There is no miracle about all his. It means simply that for the first ime Galveston is operated by business nen on a business basis. Every pos ible corner of the citys operating sys- em is now being watched with care, 10th to increase income and decrease expenses.
 THE GREAT SEA WALL-A STUDY
 IN MUNICIPAL CREDIT.
 Of the building of the great sea wall, f the raising of the grade of the city. f the financing. by a bankrupt com nunity. of public works costing one fifth of its assessed valuation. it will e necessary to speak only SO far as , Il this concerns the credit of Calves on; for although part of this work the grade raising-was inaugurated nd Is now under the general oversight f the Commission. the financial plan ras not made by them. nor is any of he operation directly under their harge. The cost of all the improve lents will be s4,2OO,OOO. Of this. the ounty, of which Galveston forms So 7. CT cent in a financial way. assumed J