El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-08-03

l
the outside of the chamber of COM
merce building, talking in low tones
and making frequent trips to- a nearby
garden for LIQUID inspiration for the
| coming discussion of the city's finan-
cial affairs.
Soft Chairs Unoccupied.
By twos and threes the crowd final
the chamber, the greater number
! standing in close formation behind the
| chairs which had been arranged with
arithmetica1 precision, surrounding the
! directors table The front rows of
/ chairs were vacant and no one could
| be persuaded to occupy the directors
| swivel chairs, the softest things in the
place in the comfort line There SEEM
/ ed to be feeling of timidity regarding
! these chairs as if the act of oecu-
plying one might appear as an official
seal of sanction on the purpose of the
meeting, whatever 1t was.
DR.. John F. Edgar, a reporter, and
s. j. Prudential were the only ones
to venture within the inner shrine OF
those swivel chairs. Two women were
present when the meeting started but
| were not there when 1t closed Just
when they left was not recorded, ow-
ing to the excitement of the overwork-
cd secretary.
Call to Order.
After requesting those who were
standing in the rear of the room to
come forward and occupy the mourner's
benches in front of the long mahogany
table. and meeting with no responses,
Mr.. Freudentha1 walked behind the ia
bic and called the meeting to order,
saying: As one of those who signed
the call for citizens meeting to be
held here two weeks ago, I am re-
quested to call this meeting to order
This is a meeting of taxpayers.
None others are to take part" Bust
ness of looking surprised by the null
titude standing in the rear of the as
sembly IT am glad to see the CITY
oficias here and am glad that they are
taking such an interest in the city's
affairs But I hope they will not take
part" More surprise among officials
present. including prospective and am
bilious to be prospective office holders
Enter DR.. J. F. Edgar with usual
scenic effect, whiskers. high hat a Ia
mode, medal on fawn co1ored suit Il
wish to nominate Mr. Prudential for
chairman OF this meeting" The ma
chine was not working smoothly yet
and Mr.. Prudential was elected as
chairman with but a few dozen dis
senting voices. Said he:
s. J. FreudenthaPs Address
There will be an election on -Au-
a
bond Issue for the city. I am in favor
of the school bonds. Another issue of
100000 or more for the purpose of
paying the city's funded Indebtedness
Is to be voted upon. I have put myself
on record against this bond issue I en-
terrain for the mayor and the alder
men the highest personal regard. They
are my friends. (Silence from the rear.)
1t is against their public acts only
L
Is wrong because it is wrong to ask
the future generations to paw for the
sins Of the present. As for the banks
who hold the $500, 900 there is no dan
ger OF losing one dollar of that sum-
1t is an honest debt and will be paid
The city has incurred a great expense.
There have been extravagances do
not say that this administration is
guilty of it, but it is not cutting It
down. If Ell Paso were run as you run
your business there would be no neces-
sity for bond issue.
ST don't care for q mere audit The
kind of audit we want is a thorough
going over of our city affairs, the re-
duction of salaries and the dismissal
from the public service of those not
necessary" Mild CONSERVATION among
a few of those standing in the rear. Il
hope you will not be carried away by
personal benefits and I hope you gen.
tlemen (bankers) will not insist upon
the bond issue for the purpose of pay
ing yourselves off. If you will join US
and help US to have business admins
tration you will get every dollar. There
is no necessity or justice in the bond
issue. 1t is not right to issue bonds
to pay indebtedness incurred through
extravaganza that should be paid by
economy"
Loud applause from the immediate
vicinity of DR.. Edgar, Capt. Steven
O'Connor on opposite sides of the room,
and a scattering applause from the
anti-bond issue supporters. Shutting
of feet and exchanging Of nudges
among the rear guard.
Wyatt as Champion.
From among those standing appeared
J. NJ Wyatt, cashier of the American
National bank and close personal and /
political friend of mayor c. E. Kelly. |
He proceeded to speak from the bank |
ers viewpoint Mr.. Wyatt is an orator !
of considerable ability and he GRATED |
to good effect for more than 10 min
utes. He said he did not know any !
thing about the policy Of the past ac- !
ministration but he thought that $780, !
900 of the Indebtedness had been for |
paving street intersections in the bust /
ness section. He said that he under !
stood from the present mayor mods of /
approval IIOHl hcllys SCdlOQ We'll I
down in front on the firing line)-he !
also understood, he said, that strict !
economy was now being carried on in |
the city's affairs
Speaking for the banking fratern. |
ity we have no ak to grind Six percent |
does not pay US We can loan our /
money at eight percent upon security |
as good as the citys. The city is now |
paying six percent. 1t has chance 10 /
II a
throw away one percent in your bust
ness. Mr. Chairman? The banks do not |
propose to or care to carry 1t. Do you /
want taxes increased? All this talk i
about extravaganza is silly. If your Of
ficials do not practice economy throw
'em out. When the citizens understand !