The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-01-17


 the history of the city,, said Mir. Bog gan T have had more actual gold money passed over the counter to me since Jan uary l than I saw all during the entire F months of 1914. The way merchants and business men are paying their 1915 licenses is simply amazing"
 MT. Boggan could give no estimate of receipts for the year 1915 which he had received in the past two weeks, stat ing that it would entail much work to go through his books and arrive at an estimate accurate enough to be used. He stated, however, that he was sure of what he said. just from daily contact with the business of his office.
 s-~.-~--~-~-~~~~-~~~~~> MT. Ellis, building Inspection electric in- spection, plumbing inspection. weights and measures; MT. IIillelSe, municipal in- dustries, North Birmingham waterworks and electric lighting plant, and MT. Se- vier and MT. Sims. education.
 The fuil report of the committee as a whole and excerpts from the individual reports will be found as follows:
 Full Subcommittee Report
 Following is the general report of MT. Sims committees
 Our conclusion as whole is that the administration of the city's affairs has been efficient and economical The work Of every department should be commend cd, and when We consider the fact that the city's current income is far less than that of any other city in the country of 25,U0 or more population, with one pos sible exception, it is surprising that we are getting so much for our money. Each of the appended separate reports shows that If the public desire the continued de- velopment of all the present municipal departments, they must furnish more money rather than retrench; for none of them can be run much more econom;caify and still justify their existence. This is particularly true of the department of health and sanitation, the department of highways and sewers. the police depart ment and the schools So that the prob lem of reducing expenses is about what President Ward says in the letter asking the appointment of this committee, the determining on what branches Of muni- clpal service the people must give up.
 Police Department Too Small
 1t must be admitted that under public pressure expenditures have been made in some directions at a sacrifice to others which would seem to us more essential to the public safety. Perhaps the most essential function of municipal govern
 
 light, is the protection of public safety by an ample police department. Our po- lice department Is much too small. At night we have only 40 policemen on duty; with the result that in certain quarters Of the town, not far from the very center, grocery stores have been broken open all most every night by shattering the front windows and personal assaults, and even homicides are not uncommon in many sections of the town, as a neces- sary result of the utter inability of the police to cover the territory assigned to them. If the income of the city cannot be increased, it is evident that many other departments should be cut off rather than further reducing the police force Indeed. the police department should re- ceive more funds, even at other depart ments' expense, and in this connection the less important departments need not be specified. for if opinions materially differ, several departments might bear reduction approximately to increase the fund for public safety.
 We do not wish to be understood as the abolition of any branches of the citys activity if revenues can be raised to supply them. They are all doing good work, and in the main there is little expense, so far as we have been able to review the work, which ad- mits of criticism in comparison with the field of municipal government.
 A few changes. however. might be made to advantage, even if the present scale of current expenditures is not altered. We do not approve of the method in vogue of dispensing charity. The city spent last year nearly $19,000 in appropria- tions to charity besides some 5000 to maintain the welfare department. and most of this was donated to the various charitable institutions. without any ap- parent rule for determining the needs of each one. Some of them appear to us to be duplicate organizations. and some of them are state institutions.
 A board of public welfare, of which MT. J. D. Moore is chairman. was or Ganized during the past year or two In response to general demand that all charities be investigated; and 1t would seem that the distribution of mu- nicipal charities might well be entrust- ed to that or some similar agency, to the economic advantage of the city.
 Pavements Would Save Money
 Again we learn from the very full report of one of our committee (Mr. on the streets and their main lenance and repair, that considerable current expense :s incurred in that de- partment from the failure to extend pavements in certain quarters where conditions warrant the property own CTS being required to pay for them. The streets in some of our most close " settled residence sections arc still l .npavec; and where they are hllly, ia street newly chcrted may have ruts in 'ome cases six or eight inches in depth l ut by heavy rainstorms within Q few ncnths next ensuing. There are eases of streets being cherted threc times ] within two years, and we think the expense of the department in such cases should be reduced by such a light | form of pavement being put down as g.ill at least be waterproof" instead of being carried by the general fund l If the city. l
 Similar economies in the current eS- penses. we learn from the same report. 1 san be attained by a reasonable exteit- sion of the sanitary sewers into quar- ters from which sewage material is rcw hauled in city wagons Surface closets alone now cost the city's gen. sral fund over $1O.O0O a year, much ,f which Is an unjust expense to nut upon the entire community. when the property owners immediately benefited | -hould bear it by paying for sanitary sewer extensions.
 Moreover, certain departments cups
 (Continuea sn Pags sax) .