The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1913-10-30
Those Juggled Light Funds.

AlOoC JuSSiCo LiSiil uiiNo'
Dr. Zimmerman's withholding of the city
rent for street lights from the municipal plant
is characteristic of all his past methods and
at the same time of such significance to taxpay-
ers and property owners the whole matter de-
serves one more recapitulation.
During the past four years the city has paid
no rental for it's street lights. At the rate for
merly in vogue this would total for four years
about $4,000. This means that DR.. Zimmerman
kept in the city's treasury $4,000 legitimately
belonging to the light plant.
In endeavoring to explain this astonishing
procedure the mayor has claimed desire to pay
off debt left by Schillinger without raising tax
rates or leaving deficit If this is the true ex-
PLANTATION, and we don't doubt it, his action was
very surprising indeed.
For 1t amounts to nothing less than this In
stead of taxing all the citizens of Richmond he
taxed only patrons of the municipal plant! They
were compelled to meet debt contracted by the
whole city!
And why did he do this? Because he knew
an increased tax rate would ruin his chances of
reelection And why didn't he leave deficit
as his predecessor had done? For the same rea-
son.
This desire to make as good showing as pos
one through most of the tortuous abyrinths of
the doctors strange methods of carrying on the
city's affairs. 1t was for this that streets
laid with thin veneer of macadam on top. The
more miles of street lads the better his record
would appear. It was for this the health depart
ment kept to the bare bone of insufficient
funds, the garbage disposal plant left inadequate
and the street cleaning department made a farce.
In all these cases the mayor has cried economy,
economy" which mean no economy at all in the
long but desperate attempt to be able to
present bold front to voters at election time.
The fact that the municipal light plant has
been able to make progress and money in
spite of having been MIXED by the administra-
ton reveals that it could have made the same
cut three or four years ago it plans to make next
January. Had it not been robbed of it's own
funds it could have given it's patrons their long
desired decrease This means that every patron
of the plant has been paying all this time rs per
cent more than necessary. The average family
paying about 81. so per month for lighting might
have saved in four years $13.
At the same time if the municipal plant had
cut it's prices four years ago the Light, Heat and
Power company would also have met the de-
creased price. Therefore, its patrons have also
suffered
But While their money is shipped OFT to the
east in the form of dividends the municipal
plant customers have seen their money used in
paying the citys share in public improve
ments' And what public improvements ?"
improvements used by the entire public.
All of which is to say that the patrons of the
municipal plant have in four years paid $4,000
more toward improvements used by everybody
than have all other taxpayers.
Dr. Zimmerman has spoken of the municipal
plant as one of the glories of his rule. 1t may be-
but the way he has bled the supporters of that
glory in order to have clean bill at election
time shows he doesn't extend to the patrons the
same consideration he processes for the plan