The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-14


 question before the citizens Is whether or not we shall issue bonds, and not whether we shall issue bonds for a more or less amount. The exact amount necessary has been determined by com petent certified public accountant. And it Is estimated that by the time the cleo tion will have taken place and all the prelminaries of the bond issue have been handled it will be December, when the proceeds of the bond issue will be forth coming Hence the estimate of the de- felt up to that date. The only matter, which 1t would appear therefore, still to remain for consideration of some of our friends, is whether the present commits sion is to be trusted in the funding Of the floating into a bonded one.
 Accumulative Deficit
 Many of our citizens have been in doubt as to the necessity of issuing such a large sum of bonds for the de- ficiency of our expenditures over our revenues alone, and they were not en- frightened by the technical statement heretofore published. It should be re- membered that the s1,9Oo,ooo proposed bond issue is deficit of some twenty years accumulation, part of which was met by the $2e9 600 issue for the purpose of refunding certain deferred coupons. The pressing and past due floating indebtedness of the annexed towns going to make Greater Birming- ham, at time when Birmingham could least afford to bear the burden, made the issue, a year ago of s4oO,ooo deficiency in revenue bonds, imperative. The pres ent net accumulative deficit of s1,3Oo,000 is the amount which it is now proposed to fund for thirty years per cent bonds, and there will remain nothing | from the proceeds with which to make some badly needed and labor and ex- pense-saving improvements.
 One Per Cent Tax Rate l Tt has been a matter of serious speculation among municipal experts
 how a city of 100000 inha bitants or | over can exist on 1 per cent tax
 rate based on d 40 per cent assessed valuation especially when the city like | ours must by constitutional provision
 wait so long before getting the bene- 1 fits of it's raise in valuation.
 Our commissioners have at best | tackled a big job and in their wisdom have realized that Micawber like we could not float along waiting for something.to turn up and that the time had come for heroic means. There is now nothing left to lay down on but the default of the bond interest and if we are ever to continue to be a reputa- ble and self-respecting community chances of doing so are not to be 4I af tpdaX after 9 l3nSe of 16 years under the laws of some New England states Birmingham bonds are barred from portfolios of certain financial institutions, and I am told that 1t will take four years more of good behavior to regain our good name among those institutions"
 Our House in Order
 We must realize that wash day has come The axe has been yielded judi ciously, I trust, but certainly necessary. The proceeds of the proposed bond is- sue will be necessary to clean up and put our house in order and put us on q cash basis, after which reconstruction and adaptation to our new conditions can be effected more inteligently If our citizens will stand as unit | in their support of the administration, l refrain from embarrassing them about small personal matters and consider the Interest or tue coliiIluiilA tHtliS' sste | no reason why we cannot look forward | to a promising future for the munici-
 pality. The Legislative end, however 1 is going to be a matter for serious con | sderation, but we can rest assured that with the composition of our commis-
 sion no possible legal relief will be left untried.'
 The commissioners, it is stated. con
 sider the views of MT. Eustis as the most 1veirhty and logAcal that have lbeen expressed upon the, sond issue con