The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1911-02-17
cAIRo's FINANCES.

City Comptroller Nordman's report
OF receipts and expenditures for the
year 1910, published in Wednesday :
Bulletin. shows the former to nave
been s130,4742o and the latter $llo,'
0i4. the difference, or s14,430.2O, may
be assumed to represent the redue'
ton OF the city's floating debt for the
year.
There is nothing in the report to
show the amount of that floating debt
at the end of the fiscal year, Dec. 81,
and nothing to show the bonded dept
This. probably, is not in the province
Of the comptroller; but it is an i'm
portant matter and some official OF
the city, most properly the mayor
ought to tell the people at regular
intervals where the city stands.
In his message at the beginning OF
list year, delivered to the council
on May 8, Mayor Parsons spoke at
length upon nearly all other subjects,
covering space OF three columns,
but dismissed the finances of the city
with 15-line paragraph, In which
he merely admonished the council to
guard the finances of the city care
fully" giving no hint of what was
the state of the finances, or of what
had transpired the previous year in
this respect, or what was to be sx-
pected in the year to come-the pub
lie were left entirely in the dark.
Probably the reason for this fail
ure to inform the public is to be
found in the fact that the subject
was not a pleasant one. The comp
troller's report for the year 1903
showed receipts amounting to $685.
0G2.29, and expenditures amounting
to $l12,S54.34, which meant on in
crease in the citys floating debt for
that year of SIS 1925.
1t was different in the year 1910
when, according to the comptroller
there was reduction of the citys
floating debt amounting TO over $l4,-
900. This reduction came as a re-.
suit of greatly increased receipts by
the city, principally from the higher
saloon licenses and partly from an
increase in the taxable value of DroI-
erty The sum received over $780,
900, was the greatest ever received
FOR corporate purposes in any one
year, by any administration in the
history of Cairo, exceeding the re.
ceipts of former administrations by
from $4,000 to 100000. This being
true 1t was to be expected that there
would be marked decrease in the
city's floating debt, even considerin!
any increase in expenses on accouD
OF improvements made In some of tn
departments Of the public service.
a 1t may be assumed that the mayor
in his coming message, win dwell
upon this decrease in the city's float
ing debt; but If he should stop a
that, 1t would be unsatisfactory. RI,
ought to tell the city council and tn
people, exactly the amount Of tn,
citys floating debt at the close @
the last fiscal year, Dec. 81, 1910. A
stated the comptroller's report Joe
not show this and it is left largel
to guess work, not onIy by the pee
pie, but by the city officials as vel
According to estimates made soin
time ago. the citys floating debt wa
about $4,000 at the end Of the yea
1893; and If the excess Of receipt
over expenditures las, year may b
taken TO represent reduction ,
that debt. the latter s,ould hay
been about $4,000 on Dec, 81, 1871,
But this seems to be In doubt, TO
ty statement secured last octobs