Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1915-01-04

Ever since the bonds failed to sell
last July the springs water commits
sion has been figuring on some feas
ible plan whereby the mineral springs
project could be put forward.
The bond market was off and it
seemed improbable that Ashland aux
iliary water bonds would be absorbed
by the regular market at par. Under
the ordinance the council could not
offer them except on sealed bids at
not less than par and accrued inter
est. The problem was how to sell
bonds at par on bad market and go
forward with construction work.
Four months ago Smith, Emery &
Company came forward with an offer
to install the complete physical
springs plant and accept bonds for
the work. This the springs commits
sion was unable to do because no de-
tail plans and specifications were at
hand and the commission had no
funds with which to secure them.
The springs commission ransacked
the country for bid on the bonds
and the only bona fide offer was from
an Ashland citizen, through the First
National Bank, who offered to take
five thousand dollars of the issue at
par, provided all the bonds were sold.
The only other offer was by a bond
house on a basis of 81 cents on the
dollar. These two offers only were
the fruits of diligent and persistent
effort on the part of the commission
for five months. So the commission
despaired of being able to sell the
issue to bond house en- block at par,
as it was hoped to do. The present
market being so glutted with more
attractive issues, it appeared that
months would pass before a par bid
would be forthcoming.
At the same time several Ashland
citizens stood ready to take small
blocks of the bonds at par, simply
to help the project forward; thus
some ten to fifteen thousand might
be absorbed. The commission start
ed in search of a feasible, and legal,
plan whereby that might be accom-
plished, the work started and the
rest of the bonds be either traded on
contracts or sold as the work
progressed.
1t would require about sixty days
to complete the detail plans and not
to exceed ten thousand dollars would
be needed for the purpose. The local
sale would meet that, and allow sixty
days in which to offer the bonds be-
fore more money would be needed.
In fact, more funds would not be
needed for ninety days, for that time
must elapse before contracts could
be let and work on them progress to
point where estimates would be
due. So, the problem resolved itself
into how to get the funds to start,
and proceed with work while the
bond market was improving to a
point where our bonds would be alb
sorbed through regular channels.
The commission devised this plan ::
1t proposed to have the council ad-
vertise for bids in the regular way.
A member of the commission would
file bid of par and accrued interest
for the whole issue, thus meeting the
requirements of the law, with a stip-
ulation that the bonds would be exc
cuted and placed in the hands of the
city treasurer with instructions to
deliver one, or any number, or all of
them, upon payment of par and ac-
crued interest to date of delivery
That would complete the sale, as far
as the council was concerned, protect
the city by not allowing any bond to
be delivered until the money was
placed in the hands of the city treas
urer, and leave the issue in such
shape that any citizen, any day, could
drop into the treasurer's office and
pay for one or more bonds and have
them at once delivered and the funds
become available for the work as
needed. Moreover, If at any time the
market became normal so that some