El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-06-28

IS time to wean them and put them out
on the public commons to Craze.
The second plank in our platform is,
that every man, every citizen, has the
inherent right to aspire for office.
There was a time when man who
wanted to run for office would have to
go to the boss first. and then get the
approval of the ring. failing in that he
had to abandon the idea of running for
office.
Another plank is the fact that the
ring has been in office so long they con-
slider it an invasion of their sacred
rights for anyone to even announce for
an office. The people are to blame for
that, because they have been inactive,
and have not asserted themselves.
They have now asserted themselves,
and on July %, when the result OF the
primaries is known, the common re-
mark on the streets will be, thought
the ring was stronger than that
TT is about time, after these long
years. that some one else should have
a right to look at the city and county
books.
Ineompeteney Shcwn-
some time ago. either on their own
volitiOn. or someone else's, the move
ment to have the city books audited
was started That report has never
been made public. I understand from
the papers that it was the purpose OF
keeping system, as by that method
thousands of dollars would be saved the
city each year. If that is true, then
the converse is also true. For if that
amount of money would be saved by
using the double entry system, the
city has lost thousands of dollars by
its failure to keep the books in that
way before. This does not argue for
any dishonesty on the part of the city
officials, but rather shows an incOm-
potency on their part 1t shows such
an incomDetency that it suggests
change
Now there is little to be said about
the waterwOrks system, for which
5000 600 was paid therefor (Someone
cried it was not worth it, 1t is i'm
material what the system was worth,
but if more was paid for it than 1t is
worth, that is so much taken from the
people.
1T was announced that after the
city had acquired the plant, that il was
a profitable proposition, and 1t was
purchased in pursuance to the desire
of the people expressed that the city
should own its own waterworks-
IF it was a paying proposition, how
do you account for the fact that the
price was increased from 20 cents per
1000 gallons to so cents per 1000 gall
Ions.
4 want to call your attention to the
city sewerage disposal plant, without
charging dishonesty on the part of any
petencey, gross incOmpetency, in con-
nection with the plant. In the first
place, the contract price was 100000.
suppose YOU as a business man,
entered into a contract calling for the
expenditure of $4,000 and did not
know anything about the character of
the construction of the proposition you
considered investing your money in?
IF you wanted to build a house.
you would go to an architect would
you nOt2 So it is with the disposal
plant. If you did not know anything
about a disposal plant you would en-
ploy someone who was familiar with
such projects and you would ask for
his advice, plans and specifications. You
would also require a bond of indemnity
to make you safe Double the amount
of the contract price would not be I'M
usual But in this case what did the
city do2 It only required a $4,000
bond. The city has paid out all the
money due on the contract but $4,000,
and that is all il has to show for the
disposal plant-that, and the bond,
which it will have to sue on.
Il have been informed that it would
be impossible by any expenditure of
money to make the plant work. Grant
ing that there was all the integrity and
honesty possible, the incident shows
the utter incOmpetency of the officials
to handle a proposition of that magni-
tude.
Then there was the lake YOU had
out there, the poisoned atmosphere of
which the winds carried as far as they
could.
The plant has proved a great disas-
ter Now, say that you had an agent
and he had made such mistake, would
you let him continue on in your service?
You would have to apply the rule to
the effect that he had been weighed in
the scales and found wanting.
The Reservation.
There will be another plank incor-
Tr.NN
that the people of Ell Paso are opposed
to the reservation, which is within
two blocks of the heart of our city.
Why is this 50, this menace to the
public morals of the city2 Because
some of the officials of the county have
a fee simple title to some of the houses
on Broadway. They are eXacting from
those fallen women not only an enor-
nous price in rent but also blood
money. Yet they ask you to continue
them in office. The reservation as
it now is. should not be maintained. An
appeal to the ring should be made to
remove this eyesore which is at our
very doors. Fair warning had better
now be given for the ring to remove
the reservation from the heart of the
city. Notwithstanding the fact that
some of the members of the combine
will be injured financially, I hope their
conscience is not so hardened that they
viii ignore the request of the people in
this respect"
Judge clark spoke of the system Of
taxation and said that all property
should be equalized and equally taxed
The ring has circulated the report
that the ants are statewide prohibit
uOniSts. I want to say for myself and
on behalf of the other anti-rinS men,
bers that this is not a fact. It is just
a human cry, a desperate wall on the
part of the ring to be maintained in
office. All this hullabaloo about the
ants being prohibitionists is false"
judge Clark said.
While prohibition might be all right
in other portions of the state, the judge
did not think it would be a good thing
for FL Paso, on account of the prOxim-
ity Of Juarez. This point raised by the
rings he stated, was just plea for the