The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1913-10-14
TAXPAYERS DEMAND
MAYOR DEVOTE FULL
ATTENTION TO WORK
Continued from Page u

lack of business judgment, or by such
acts, as will make the dividing of the
orange" an appropriate story.
1t is a matter of record that in the
fall of 1895, appraisers were appointed
to determine the value of the plant OF
the Light, Heat and Power company
and majority Of said appraisers re-
ported its value at $55, 277.01. On &
motion to place the resolution upon
the table being carried, it was decd
ed to build a lew plant.
Lacked Sound Business.
The best evidence of sound business
judgment being lacking in building
such plant lays in the fact that the
city plant up to January !, 1910, has
cost the city 1903, 658.83. as compared
to $55,277.01, the appraised value for
the Light, Heat and Power company s
plant, capable of performing practi-
cally the same service.
We are spending this year about
100000 more in extensions and new
machinery, which will bring the plant,
on it's cash investment value, to APP
proximately $4O0,O00.O0.
Think Of it. If I were personally
called upon to explain the merits of
municipal ownership, | should find it
mighty convenient to omit the first
costs of Richmond's electric ligh.
plant.
Is it to be wondered at? In the is
suing Of bonds to help pay for its con,
struction no regard was had to law
governing such issues. The sale Of
the bonds was never advertised, just
sold at par, in a nOn-cOmpetitive mar
ket, and sold for a period Of twenty
five years at four per cent interest
which means, that the consumers OF
electric current must pay the face
value of the. bonds in interest, plus
the face value. In other words, $288,
10000 interest and principal must be
paid on a bond issues of $144, 10000
Could Have Saved $4,000.
1t is a patent fact that had tEe
bonds been advertised and Competi
ton invited, that issue of bonds could
have been so arranged as to save not
less than $25,00000 to the people of
Richmond.
This transaction is one of the
starr" performances Of Mayor Tim
norman. and anyone desiring to put
the prefix of Harry" to Starr" will
find no objections coming from this
direction.
This feature of past history might
add light to the orange story, at least
some one got a decidedly luscious
specimen of the fruit, division or no
division.
If the people of Richmond would
care to take the trouble to trace the
purchasers of those bonds and their
present place of business, they would
have no difficulty in understanding
what is meant by "invisible govern
ment," as those bonds were bought
by the very parties who have controll
cd the municipal politics of our city
for many years, and IN whose hands
Mayor Zimmerman is as plant as clay
in the hands of the potter.
Not Enjoying Full Fruits.
Thus it can be seen that we are not
enjoying the full fruit of q municipal
lied light plant, hampered as it is by
bonded debt, larger by one-sixth
than it needed to be, and still carry
ing burden OF approximately $4,000
per year by furnishing free lights to
the city, and furnishing money from
its sinking fund to purchase bonds, is.
sued by the Zimmerman administra-
ton, to pay back a $4,000 deficiency,
caused by Zimmerman using the
money of the street Improvement
fund" for general fund" purposes.
That feature Of manipulation, on
Zimmermans part, is worthy a mo-
ments thought. especially by you, Mr..
Property Owner, who has had TO pay
for improvements TWICE.
When the damages, assessed against
your property for improvements, were
up for collection, you, temporarily,
were not prepared to pay taking the
advantage of the law which allows you
ten years to pay it in. bonds were is
sued to cover the amount OF your as
sessed damages an you paid five pei
cent interest on that amount.
Used for Other Purposes.
However, the next year following
the bond issue. you find you have suf-
ficient money to pay off the debt and
you do so to save the interest you are
paying. The money" is paid and you
go away believing the debt" is paid.
1t is, abstractedly, as far as you are
concerned, except, instead of the city
using the money you paid to redeem
the bonds, THEY USE IT FOR 9TH
ER PURPOSES.
The city. and by the city | mean
YOU and every other taxpayers, must
continue to pay the interest for the
uneXpired period of those bonds: in
other words, interest must be paid on
n debt that does not, or should not ex-
list. as you have already paid it,
The time has now expired. and
those bonds have fallen due and there
is no money wherewith to pay and
$4,000 is found short, additional to
the interest that has already been
paid. More bonds must now be issued
to make up that deficiency and for the
purpose OF covering up the transaction
and shielding it from publicity as
much as possible, the sinking fund of
the light plant is going to be used to
purchase the bonds, to cover the short
age. so Mayor Zimmerman can come
before you and say, as he has already
said, Il am not going 10 leave the city
in hole and | will not find it in a
hole when | take up the duties again"
EurIesque on Efficiency.
Can you think Of greater travesty
or a more complete burlesque on eff