The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1911-06-20


love, Commissioner of Publ
Safety. He FavOrs the Municipa
Ownership of the Water Work
and the Electric Light Company
New Fire Stations and Bette
Equipment A Bond Issue.
At the meeting of the Chamber
Of Commerce held yesterday after.
noon, Judge S. C. Fullilove, Com
missioner of Public Safety, whel
his views were requested in tn
water works question expressed
himself fully in his advocacy of tel
municipal ownership of the watel
works, of the electric light plant
in new fire stations and equipment
in a sanitary Jail and in needed i'm
provements for which bonds mus
be issued. During the day in an in
terview he said in substance:
Shreveport has now about 10000
people and her needs are very much
greater than in 1900. when only 16
600 were here. We are running a
city with facilities which were put
into effect to serve what was little
more than a village. The following
propositions have been carefully
considered by me. Many people will
object, just as they do when any
proposal carries with it an increase
in taxes. If all these plans are
adopted, it will increase our present
tax rate by 3-8 mills, or 43 3-4 cents
on every $10O of assessment-pru-
vided our municipal light and wa
ter plants do not make a cent. |
believe that they will not only take
care of themselves. but will earn
enough to materially reduce our
taxes. I, therefore, suggest bond
issues as follows:
Milis-2 IA special tax rate now.
Mills 49-40-S -S35O,000 bonds for a
municipal electric light plant.
Mills 98-40 100000 bonds for a
municipal water works plant.
Mills i4-4O- 100000 bonds for a
State Fair Park.
Mills 80-S25, 900 bonds for re-
formatory purposes.
Mills 7-80- $25, 900 to purchase lot
adjoining City Hall and erect mo-
dern humanitarian Jail.
Mills 7-8O- $4,000 bonds to erect
brick houses to replace the two
wooden ones now used for fire sta
tions.
Mills 7-s0-s25, 900 bonds to be
used for abolishing grade crossings.
Total rate 6 5-8 mills yielding 81;
250,000 for the material, moral and
economic betterment Of Shreveport.
All the bonds above provided for
to be 10 years, i-2 per cent serial
bonds, similar to the paving bonds
just issued.
All the bonds above provided for,
except the water works bonds, to be
issued at once and sold and pro-
ceeds devoted to purpose for which
they are voted,
Water Works
The water works bonds to be is
sued, but not sold until needed. The
tax to accumulate and held as sa-
cred to this purpose. The bonds to
be sold and municipal plant erect
ed in sufficient time to care for the
at the expiration of pres
ent franchise of Shreveport Water
Works Company. It being provided
that should the commissioners se-
cure an offer Of sale from the pres
ent company at this time, the pro-
ceeds of said water works bonds
may be, on vote of the people, used
for such purpose, and providing
further that at the time of issue of
said bonds, all matured bonds and
matured interest coupons thereon
shall be cancelled and the money
collected from taxes assessed for
such purpose, used if necessary,
in the purchase, erection, extension
or betterment of such water works
system.
The object in voting bonds for
water works now is: The sum of
100000 will not be sufficient to
care for the water. The
tax however, will be assessed, and
on the present assessment will yield
about s35, for each year, which
will elapse before this is undertak-
en. This will add to the available
fund without increasing our taxes.
Bonds are the same as mortgages.
A mortgage this large should not
have too many other mortgages
ahead of ii, for they would seriously
affect the sale thereof.
The report of the Board of Ma