Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1912-03-27
the committee on streets.

i:G0rmaD, the healCn O1lcer, ASKING .lnat
the city take steps to establish gar
bage and incinerating plant as soon
as possible in order to avoid the ,;egu-
lar summer garbage troubles. This
went to the committee on streets.
Mr.. Smiths resolution providing for
the holding of an election to decide
on bond issue of 100000 for street
improvements and also the question
of whether such improvements should
be paid entirely out of the general
/ fund or under the present plan of hav-
ing abuting property holders contrib
ute, was the next business taken up.
Mr.. Smith said that he was sorry
that there had been any newspaper
misunderstanding of his measure,
which had been presented at the last
meeting of council. The meeting had
been a special one and he had laid the
paper on the clerks desk intending to
ask unanimous consent to consider
it and have it referred to the proper
committee but council adjourned in
the midst of discussion of another
matter. In that way his resolution
had not been read. His desire was to
settle the question of street improve
ment that he had thought was set
tied last year, and which he had since
come to believe council would never
settle.
Mr.. Brumback did not believe that
the city had any authority to hold any
such election or to submit these ques-
tions to the people. He thought that
the candidates for Office this year
should state their position in the mat
ter and let voters choose on this state
ment.. He favored improving streets
out of general funds, and issuing
bonds or borrowing money or some
other way to do this. If elected in the
coming council he would certainly
vote for bond issue.
Mr.. Snowden said that the QueS-
ton of borrowing $4,000 was sub
mitted to the people in 1902. 1t was
carried and the money was used FOR
improvements at the gas works and
the paving of King Street
Mr.. Burke thought the matter
should go to the voters of the city.
If street work was paid wholly out of
the general fund the center of the
city would get it all and the outskirts,
particularly the first and fourth
wards would get practically nothing.
MIR. Spinks also thought the matter
should be submitted. At the last few
meetings about 100000 had been ap-
propriated for streets and the city
was now entirely without funds and
he wanted to know the real wishes
of the majority of the tax payers OF
the city. In his opinion each Of the
wards should get the same amount
for improvements, and ne asked Mr.
Smith to amend his resolution to pro-
vide that in the case Of i $l00,0OO
bond issue, $4,000 would be spent in
each ward.
Mr.. Williams in q speech against
the resolution gave many figures in
reference to the city's funds. he
said that the new high school would
cost approximately $4,000 and that
while the committee on finance SAID
that annexation would cost about S25-,
600 the actual cost would be from
$50 900 to 100000, and that under the
law the city could only borrow about
S9O0,O0O. He said our present debt
was S7Ss,OO0, which leaves sll2,Ooo
as the extreme limit of our borrowing
capacity. If 100000 of the sum was
to be used for street work, it VIII
leave the city without funds for the
high school and the annexation pro-
ceedings with no means of obtaining
them. He did not care to have any
questions submitted to the voters OF
this city as he did not consider him
self so weak that he needed any dl-
rection to show the position that ne
should take and said that he felt fully
capable to decide for himself both OF
the questions that Mr.. Smith wished
submitted to the people.
He called attention to statement
that he had found on his desk in which
| it was shown that $4,000 was spent for
street cleaning and only $4,000 for
street improvement and ne belleVeo
that this proportion was wrong Mr.
Snowden called his attention to other
items inthe statement which shows
that total of more than s2l,OO0 hao
been spent for street and sewer I'M
provement during the past year.
Mr.. Birrell was glad that everyone
in council seemed so interested IL
III