The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1914-12-10
STREET LIGHTS
CONTINUED from First Page)

OF $4,000. This is why the village is
A in debt, and why bond issue is neces.
Y Y sary. Next year, thanks to an in.
n creased tax duplicate, we will receive
about S12.500 which with the miscel
n laneous income may be raised to
4 sl3 500, but If we are obliged to pay
q the light company $500 of this, we
q will have remaining but SS340 to pay
Y officers and employees, repair streets,
N keep up the fire department and meet
n the thousand and one lesser obligation s
II which thel village exchequer is con-
stantly burdened with.
n If Mr.. Beecher and his company can
A figure. out how we can make ends meet
U under these conditions, we will extend
y to them vote of thanks at our next
\ meeting. We concede that the prob
A lem Is too deep for us.
\ Another error Is the mixing up of
\ the sinking fund with the ordinery
4 revenues. This is a separate and dis
tinct fund, provided for by law, and
4 is available only for the payment of
h waterworks and other bonds When
the light company says that we have
I S2l 900 or 1922, 900 to conduct the village
affairs, it makes mistake.
Again the light people say in SUBJ
stance that the bond election was
\ called for the purpose of clouding the
ISSUE" This Is wrong. Whether the
! light ordinance carries or not, light
Ing contract must and will be made.
and money will be needed for this pur
pose as well as for cleaning up the
present debt Of the village. The initia-
tive election will cost the village
something like 5000, so why not save
\ the expense of the bond election by
\ fixing it on the same date2
In brief the arguments are so full of
misstatements as to destroy all their
| intended effect, and merely resolve
themselves into an peal to the people
] to loosen the purse-strings Of the viii
lage in behalf of Mr.. Beecher and his
company.
Much has been said about the incon-
venience and danger of dark streets
and Of petty crimes being committed,
which the light people urge as reason
for supporting their light proposition.
Such talk is ridiculous. Accidents
4 occurred on the streets when they
] were lighted, and as for crime-the
4 town was never quieter, the few in
: stances of mischief not being out of
the ordinary and traced by the police
to the work Of small boys Indeed,
owing to the dimness of the old lights,
the transition from light to darkness
. has been scarcely noticible.
Notwithstanding this, Hillsboro
should have lighted streets. If we
haven't the money we must endeavor
to get it by a bond issue or other legal
means, and this council realizes the
necessity for taking acJion in the mat.
ter. We feel, however, that the light
company's demand is unreasona b e,
the price, $500 per year, is exorbi-
tant and the term of the ordinance
too long. The kind of light offered
! is not worth near the sum asked,
but if the light company will materi-
ally decrease the term of years and
the annual price, the council will give
it franchise without putting the
question up to the voters. We will pay
fair remuneration for what we get,
but we cannot grant pension to the
: light company.
The people have been very patient
They want light, but they have, we
think, sufficient faith in the officers
elected by them for this purpose, and
we do not believe they will arbitrarily
vote the public money away, when the
defeat of this measure means that
they will get what they ant just the
same, only much cheaper.
The proposed ordinance contains no
provision for bond to insure its full
tillment. 1t Is too extended in time,
is defective in several particulars and
one sided in it's terms. 1t was drawn
by the light people themselves without
any opportunity for council to inter-
pose conditions, and must necessarily
be partial to private interest. A vote
for this ordinance will help to bind
the taxpayers to an unreasonable and
unfair obligation continuing for ten
years. On the other hand, vote
against it does not mean continued
, darkness, as Mr.. Beecher and his COM
pany would have you believe.
d. M. MENELEY,
Ed. l.. BENNETT,
E. j. KELLEY,
b Light Com. of Council