The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-04-02
CAMPAIGN ID FIGHT
 NEW BOND ISSUE
Dr. H. L. Martin Made Chairman at Meeting
 Held Last Night

At q meeting held last night in the
 First National bank building, attended
 1t was stated by representatives from
 every section of the city, the "Anti- Bond
 Issue Club was formally organized and
 Dr. H. L. Martin of Avondale was elect
 ed president. He was also named chair
 man of the campaign committee and
 authorized to select a general committee
 which shall begin at once a vigorous
 campaign against the proposed issue. Dis
 cussing plans of the opposition last night
 Dr. Martin said:
 We will at once select campaign head
 quarters and appoint an active campaign
 committees and carry the fight into every
 quarter of the city. In the next few days
 we will issue statement setting forth
 why 1t is wholly unnecessary to have
 this bond issue and we promise to give
 some interesting reading Among other
 things, we propose to show that the
 deficiency in the city's revenues is di-
 rectly caused, in a large measure, by
 tax dodgers who assess their property
 at from 2o to 30 per cent of it's actual
 value, and we propose to show, further,
 that large part of those who are urging
 and clamoring for this bond issue most
 loudly belong to this class.
 'To sustain this, we will furnish to the public from time to time, the values of property as assessed and returned in
 the tax assessors office by those tax dodgers who are clamoring for this bond issue and the actual market value of the same property It certainly comes with poor grace from the city commissioners to attempt to intimdate and browbeat the voters on this question by threaten ing to close the public schools and cut out the fire department, when their gov- ernment and management IS largely re- sponsible for the present intolerable con-
 dition of affairs. Whenever they decide to take these progressive steps let them at the same time accompany their ac-' tion with their resignations, for if they do not do so voluntarily the people will do so for them. It is still fresh in the memory of our people that we were prom ised by the city officials short while back that if we would vote the million | dollar bond issue at that time, pay up all debts of the city and give them clean slate they would keep the expenses of the city within its income and run the city on a sound business basis. We voted them the bonds. They got the
 money, and now again. in less than four years. they are asking the people to
 vote them another million and a quarter bond issue This is certainly asking too much.
 And the monstrous part of the propo- sition is that the commissioners tell us that only about $I00,000 of the proposed issue is to pay present and existing debts,
 and they promise the people, upon their
 solemn words of honor, that they hope, by good business management, to be able tf, bo eif fu fin her n first of October next in an amount suffi- cient to consume the other $500, 900. 1n- stead of the city repudiating it's obliga- tons. is it not high time for the peo- pie to repudiate such city government
 and management? Because a person, or 1 in this instance, a municipality, owes d
 debt and is not able to pay it, such per- i son or such city does not thereby become !. a repudiator. The question of the city l repudating it's debts is not an issue in I this campaign at all.
 We are told that the alleged indebt- | edness for which this bond issue is sought to pay is due to local bankers. All that is necessary to be done is for the banks to grant extensions of the time for pay ment, just as they do to individuals and going concerns, until we can get relief by adequate legislation providing for the equalization of taxes. It Is conceded that an equalzat tion of taxes of property To- cated in the city of Birmingham will yield revenues more than double the amount now received. This will be suffi- cient to pay the interest on debts of all kinds. run the general city govern ment and pay handsomely each year on the outstanding indebtedness. and in short while pay off the debt entirely. Of course reference is not made here to the existing bonded indebtedness of the city. All that is necessary to show to the pro- pie Is that this bond issue is not neces- sary. We will wage an active campaign along these lines from now until the day of the election