Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1912-09-22

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pay it, proportion into this fund. II
certainly is not going to pay itself for
the uso Of ito own property. nor can
It levy . tax for the purpose Of pay
ing into the city treasury rentals for
the use Of municipal property. II It
contributes anything to this fund. It
will necessarily have to levy tax
annually for the purpose Of raising
sufficient revenues to pay It's propor-
tiorate share or reasonable rate in
contributing to this common fund that
is to be used to purchase this prop.
erty.
Another Serious Problem,
AT this juncture, however. the city
will be confronted with another serious
problem. When 1t engages In public
ownership of 4 water system and sells
water and charges rates to individ-
ual consumers, the receipts from this
source will at once become an income,
under the provisions OF section 3. ar
ticle 8, OF the constitution. which It
is forbidden to pledge or hypothecate
for more than the current year. and
yet It 10 hypothecating that income for
20 years. In other words, it purchases
property which. in the ordinary
course Of business. would produce a
revenue or income to the city. As
soon as these rentals are collected,
they will belong to the city, and the
fund.- whether 1t be a general or q
special fund will belong to the city
and be city or municipal property.
"As said by the supreme court Of H.
linois in city Of Joliet VS.. Alexander.
So N. 1c. 1858, 1t does not make any
difference that the certificates (bonds)
are payable out Of the special fund,
II the city Is the owner Of the fund
All its obligations arc payable out Of
some particular fund. = The sec.
ton OF the constitution limiting in
debtedness provides that at the time
of mourning any Indebtedness the city
shall provide for the collection Of a
direct annual tax sufficient to pay the
interest on the debt as 1t falls due.
and to pay and discharge the princi-
pal within 20 years from the time Of
contracting the debt, and every in
debtedness is payable from some par
ticular fund.-
Mere Jusslsry Of Words.
after 1t owns that property. the re-
ceipts from water rents would clearly
be an income or revenue within the
purview and meaning Of the constitu-
ton. but in advance of the purchase 1t
undertakes to appropriate and hypoth-
ecate that income for a period of 20
years SO that It may not be an income
after the purchase is made. This Is
mere jugglery with words. This reve-
nue. will be no less an income after
this transaction is contaminated than
1t would have been had the city bought
and paid for the property at the time.
If this method can be pursued for pur-
chasing a water works system. the
same method could be pursued in
purchasing an electric light and power
plant, and a. similar method might be
adopted for the purchase Of a tele-
phone system within the municipal
ity, and so also street railway, and
there will be no limit either to the
power of purchase and acquisition or
to the power Of the city council to in
cur Indebtedness upon the prospective
consumers or patrons. as the case
may be. The consumer, not the tax
payer. may well sigh at the mere
statement Of the possibilities Of such
proposition carried to it's natural
conclusion and lose himself in con-
templating the cost Of water. light.
telephone and transportation when the
consumer alone is paying for those
public utilities.
Subtle and Dangerous.
Most subtle and dangerous Of all Is
the method pursued for raising the
revenue to meet the obligation. This
is to fall not upon the property Of the
municipality or the property owner,
but on the consumer-the man who
rents house and must necessarily
have water for domestic use. He
must pay rates so high that the net
income from such rate will enable the
city in 20 years to pay for the entire
system and in the meanwhile operate
II and keep it In repair. In the mean
while. the property owners have had
the protection which a water system
affords against fire and in improved
sanitation, and at the same time the
taxable property of the city and the
property owner has been allowed to-
escape taxation for this purpose. Such
a proposition is clearly repugnant to
the constitution and at the same time
shocks the sense of justice and mu-
nicipaI honesty and integrity. But
the constitution says that before. such
an indebtedness is incurred which ex-
ceeds the income and revenue for the
current year. 1t must be submitted to-
a vote of the people and be author
lied by two-thirds Of the qualified
electors. The allegations OF the COM
y,l, t,,f t,, 1,te ..r,Av
wisdom and Importance OF that pro-
vision and qualification contained in
the constitution. 1t is alleged here
and for the purposes OF this case Is
admitted. that about two years ago
the question Of purchasing this sys-
tenn for $134,000 was submitted to a
vote of the people and was by the
electors rejected. After this express
sion Of the will of the people. the city
council determined by ordinance No.
$50 to adopt the present method of
purchasing this system without con-
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