Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1913-02-14
MAKE FURTHER
INVESTIGATION
CITY COUNCIL ADOPTS MIN RESO-
LUTON TO HAVE CITY'S FINAN-
CIAL AFFAIRS FOR PAST TWELVE
YEARS LAID BARE.
VOTE 4 TO ,, COBOLINI AND KIRK
AGAINST-CANNOT ACCEPT CIV
&c LEAGUE OFFER TO CLEAN
CITY.

Alderman 3. L. Gains resolution, au
thOrizing the mayor to employ licensed
accountants to audit the city's financial
affairs for the past twelve years. which
was introduced and withdrawn by Mr..
Cain at Mondays council meeting, passed
through the councils mill yesterday af-
ternOOn by Il vote of four to two. The
result of the adoption Of the resolution
will be, it is stated, a thorough ~investi-
CATION into the city's financial and other
transactions from the year 1900 until
April 30, 1912.
4 poll of the council showed that the
votes favorable to the resolutions adOp-
ton were cast by Aldermen Cain. CriXell,
Thorn and BenavideS; the negatives were
cast by Kirk and CobOlini. Aldermen
Blackshear and Browne were absent from
the meeting.
Mayor Cole. who was absent from the
city Monday, stated that upon his return
he had read Alderman Gains resolution
in the newspapers. and had considered it
and thought over it. He believed its pur-
pose a good one. 1t would cover two
different political administrations, and
thus he believed no one would object to
the proposed investigation.
Aldermen CObOlini and Kirk voted
against the resolution, because they said
of digging into tn pockets of the taxpay-
ers for an investigation into the city's af-
fairs for twelve years, and thought it an
unnecessary expense. Replying to a state
ment by Alderman CriXell that graft in
situations had been cast, Mr.. CObOlini
said that he had never heard of any
charges of graft in the council, and that
he had never heard it charged that a sin
gle man in his presence had ever taken a
dollar of graft. He said that he himself
is a member of the council and that he
would consider any insinuatiOns of that
kind as affecting himself. Mr.. CObOlini
said that no demand had been made upon
him by the taxpayers he represents in
the city councils affairs for years during
which he had no connection with the
council.
Alderman Kirk stated to the council,
that though he thought investigations in
to the conduct of any city's affairs at all
times cOmmcndable. he thought it would
be unnecessary to 90 back so far and in
volve the city in a heavy expense. He
stated that he did not believe the council
could serve the taxpayers by going to the
expense of 50 lengthy an investigation.
Alderman Benavides. who voted for the
resolution. said there were two sides to
the matter. He could not see why there
should be any investigation at all. How
ever. he was of the opinion that, since tax
payers represented by Aldermen CObOlini,
Kirk and Browne had requested an in
v~eStigatiOn for three years, after the
council had submitted a financial state
mcnt for one year, he believed that re
Elections were cast upon the council and
that to serve all interests and purposes
he thought the council would be justified
in going back several years more.
Mayor Cole agreed with Mr.. Bcnavides,
and said that any desire to go back If the
financial report furnished by Messrs.
Mendenhall and Banker indicated an ul-
terror purpose. Mr.. Cole said the .cOun-
Gil had gone to the expense of 1915 to fur
niSh the financial report. believing that
it was the thing desired by the people
represented by Aldermen CObOlini, Kirk
and Browne.
Alderman Thorn said that Monday he
was against the resolution, but that. he
had since come to the opinion that. to
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