The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1911-08-02
3. r. PITT TELLS OF
FORMER COUNTY AFFAIRS

Pensacola, July %, 1911.
Editor Pensa cola Journal.
I want to correct a very serious
mistake made by Mr.. Trimmer in his
article about 1. B. Cooper. The stone
he speaks of is not in the court house.
1t is in the armory hall north Of the
court house, which was built by me
when 1 was county commissioner.
was first appointed county commits
sioner, I think, in 1875. I found the
county was in debt about $4,000. The
commissioners were paying all the
county debts in orders on the treasurer
at the rate of two and one-half for
one and the debt was increasing very
fast. After the first meeting I was
made chairman. There was no cash
in the treasury, about all the public
buildings was a ranshackle old jail,
what few county bridges we had were
badly in need of repair, the county's
credit was nix and we could not Dor
row any money. At that time a coun-
ty commissioner could only receive
pay for twenty-five meetings year
at $500 a meeting and he could not
hold any other office under the county
and state. Itfound the fee system in
full blast. Every pouper was given
$500 scrip monthly which they sold
for $500. One pauper was sent to
city hospital and forgotten. A bill
was brought to US for over six months
board at one dollar day. I found
law that gave the commissioners the
right to refuse any fee bill that in
their opinion was not just and we
stopped paying any fee bill until we
could examine it, and when 1 did ex-
anime it 1 found about 80 per cent of
what call hunted up" cases and we
cut them out I found the sheriff
charging constructive mileage. I cut
that out, and he threatened my life.
We had to have some money so we
gave county notes for $4,000 at 10 per
cent interest, and 1 endorsed them.
Well, to make a long story short, |
was reappointed four times in success
sion and was chairman for the whole
time. During that time we built the
court house, school No. 1, purchased
the arpent lot the court house stands
on, purchased the jail lot and also
bought sixty acres for the poor house
farm and built the poor houses. We
built the jail, built seven new bridges
and the county built a bridge across
Bayou Texar and Bayou Chico, paid
the county debt of $4,000. made con-
tract with a man to keep the roads
and bridges in repair, and paid him.
We reduced the county tax nearly 90
per cent and when I quit we left
money in the county treasury and for
all this we only issued $4,000 county
for at any price in any city in the
north. and had to pledge my personal
credit to a home bank to induce them
to buy the bonds at 96, although they
were an per cent bond. I presume
that my way of financing the payment
of these bonds was one reason our
home bank did not want to take them
Our state law required US to invest
the sinking fund in our state or United
States bonds, and we could only pur-
chase either at a premium. We de-
cided to make the bonds redeemable
to the amount of the sinking fund each
year as they were numbered, begin
ming with No. l. That would dispense
with a trustee, and would reduce our
interest charge every year. Not
banker or financier agreed with me.
No one ever heard of paying bonds
that way. but before the bonds were
all paid they were selling at a pre-
MUM of per cent and I notice all
county bonds of this county have been
made payable the same way and for
all this my pay was $50 a year. When
J. B. Cooper was elected the county
credit was established and the county
bonds were paying per cent interest
think they were sold in Chicago at
a premium.
Y r PITT