The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1919-05-20

Five" had absolutely no part in making.
and which contract was ne onl! lhihG
that prevented the natural gas company
from charging us thirty cents per thou
sand cubic feet. IL requires an amazing
piece nf impudnnce on the part OF any
one Of the Big Five 10 claim merit for
refusing TO pay the natural gas company
the price asked. They couldn't have
done Otherwise without the groSsest sur
render Of public interest. and the means
OF resisting thr demand were not created
by them. but were created By previous
adminiSt rations.
Water Gas Plant.
Another peculiar section of this re-
markablc pamphlet gives crsdit to me
city administration for the sale for
lS.00N.O0 OF a water gas plant which
cost the city $34,000.oO. In fact.
throughout this. pamphlet tho sale of
city utilities. the breaking up ~ valu-
able property which has hitherto Kept
the city independent Of private contrac-
tors, il regarded by tho author as
thing of merit, Eventually. II the prac-
tice Is continued, we. doubtleSS.wIil tind
tho water plant and the fire department
in n few years sold out TO private indi-
| viduals. and the city will be gravely in
forming us that several hundred thou
sand dollars have been saved by de-
sIroy ing and wasting these properties
| which the city has spent immense sums
| ON. and which ii ought 10 maintain by
municipal operation.
Salaries
The final paragraph deals with alleged
savings in salaries. as TO which not a
one of them is correct. Offices have
! been changed under tho present admin
! iStrution, and names changed so that
ono office may be taken and compared
with the record under previous admins
trations 10 claim small saving has
| been mndc in it. IT is a fnct. however.
that the city Of Wheeling. during tho
past Two years. spent moro money Tor
! office holders and executive positions
than it over spen, any other TWO years
Of the city's history. Salaries have been
! Increased beyond all records. Depart
mental work Of all kinds has hcen made
more and more costly. and positions
Of the big Five" and their city mana
ger. without an accounting and without
authorization from tho council as a
council.
Do the people OF hWccling know that
the council OF the city OF Wheeling. dur
ing the past two years, has never pass
cd A. regular appropriation ordinance?
Under rcvious administrations no OK
penditures Of any kind could be con-
iractcd for by the Board OF Control or
by the mayor exceeding $500 without OK
press authorization Of the council.
Under this administration hundreds OF
, thousands Of dollars OF contracts have
, been made. cxp cnditurcs authorized with
officially Of n single item. and without
a single authorization Of record for any
one Of these expenditures.
| Payment Of Bills.
Under previous administrations no
/ bill even thr smallest. could be paid by
| the city treasurer until the same had
! been passed by the finance committee OF
| council and its payment had been nu-
| thorized after due and proper auditing
| by a competent auditor.
| For the past two years under the di-
rcction Of the Big Five. tho city OF
| wheeling had no finance committee OF
council.
Not bill has been audited or APP
| proved for payment by a committee OF
council.
There has been absolutely no check
uon any expenditure that the executive
! department saw tit to make. and the con-
dition has been and Is such as to invite
the most reckless extravaganza and
waste OF public money. II not worse:
The business affairs Of the city OF
wheeling, amounting to five or six hum
dred thousand dollars a year Of public
money belonging to the taxpayers. are
more carelessly and more loosely con-
Quoted than any private interest, cor