The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-02-03
New Move Of Opponents
to Dodge Response
bility Of Voting,
ESTIMATES SHOW
WHATCOST w ILL BE
Increased Assessment, With Drop.
ping Off of Office Holders
as Terms Expire, Will Make
Manchester Self-Support-
ing in Two
Years.

Opponents Of consolidation of Rich
mond and Manchester are preparing
| as a defensive move in the event that
they have not enough votes to defeat
the ordinance for the union OF the
cities when 1t comes up in the Com
mon Council on Monday night, to move
as substitute to Council action, that
the question be submitted TO yots
of the people OF Richmond The sug-
| gestion is taken by some Councilmen
as an effort on the part of others To
dodge the main issue. and to get out
OF going on record in tho face of the
coming spring election. for or against
| the measure. The cost OF such an
! election has not been considered, but
| ii would certainly entail several thou
sand dollars, and probably delay the
whole matter until too late to have
the consolidated population appear in
! the Government Census of 1910. which
| Is admitted to be the greatest single
| advantage of the annexation.
| Former President of the Chamber of
| Commerce /. D. Morris summed the
matter up concretely last night when
| he said. "The whole question is
| whether we shall stand still and dry
| rot. or go forward. The little mon
cannot see anything bigger than the
! putting In of a few alleys and gut
| ters.
Bigger men look to the future and
see big. progressive. united. yigor-
| Gus city. advancing steadily along oil
| lines of commercial, industrial and
! civic progress
Would Dodge RespOnsJbilify.
! Among Councilmen it is admitted
| that the matter has reached n critical
i stage; that it hangs on vote or two
! In either branch and the move of tho
opposition is taken by some as an ad-
| mission OF defeat In the Council. for
4 there are number who VIII vote for
4 tho measure If II comes to a square
! Issue. but who would be glad to side
| step the responsibility by voting for a
1 resolution to submit the matter to a
vote OF the people.
| Such an action, according to SONS,
| would leave the people of this city to
| vote without the advice of their Coun-
| cilmen. The men who have been elect
| cd to represent the various wards in
I the city government are regarded as
In one sense experts in city govern
nlent. They are men who are at least
! supposed to give large part of their
/ time to consideration of civic matters.
! and TO be in a position to give n mora
! intelligent opinion than the mass OF
! voters at large. Business men who
/ faVor consolidation are clear, however,
that they do not fear the result of an
/ election. however strong an organi-
/ zatton might be effected by those who
| have private interests at stake. bur
| they hold that it is matter for the
1 Council to determine as men, regard
| less of the threats of ward leaders
| who predict dark things for the com
ing election. Since there has under
the law to be an election in Manches-
ter, 1t Is evident that to call one in
| this city would result in delaying the
| whole matter until after the census
The mere matter of securing a list
| OF the qualified voters of this citv on
] the basis of those qualified to vote
In the June general election. accord.
Ing to court officials, would he a
work of several months. as the large
number of precincts requires that such
list be printed and corrected. Even
i under ordinary circumstances 1t will
4 require every effort to have the list
/ ready for the proposed counclImanic
\ primary late In April
j Outlying Wards Lose NothIn.
I Besides the Office holders of the two
cities. who are almost universally op-
/ posed to the union-those of Manchcs-
ter because they fear that they will
eventually lose out, and those of Rich
.,mond. who anticipate additional work
the chief opposition in Richmond has
come from the outlying wards, which
are in need of large improvements
Clay. Lee and Marshall Wards secured
\ the largest slice of the annexation al
1906 and have to-day the largest area
4 or unimproved territory, and generally
4 speaking. the representatives of those
wards oppose further enlargement OF
Y the boundaries of Richmond Chair
man Pollard. of tho Finance Commit.
tee, is authority for the statement
that not one penny that would have
! been spent in the recently annexed
!, territory will be diverted on account
OF the Manchester annexation The
area taken in in 1906, While far from
I being finished, has received far more
than the city promised.
; In addition to the s426O00 bond
\ issue agreed upon In the terms OF the
Il annexation, practically all OF which
: has now been spent the city has re-
!, Gently issued Sl,500.O00 of sewer and
I. water bonds. of which more than s..
| 100000 is for expenditure, this year II
the annexed territory. AS soon as the
main trunk sewers and water mains
Il are in, the gravelins Of the surfacc
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