The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1919-11-21
The Commercial, Union City, Tenn.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 81. 1919.
Facts and FIGURES.

WIN ali SOfI6 OF anxiety and con-
Germ about the floating debt and sink
ing fund, and the way and manner
in which they have been handled in
recent years, and it appears to be
the impression of some of our citi-
gems, that in late years the old con-
servative order of things have been
abandoned, and that municipal af-
fairs have drifted like ship without
a rudder in mid-ocean.
1t is my purpose in this article
to answer these insinuating charges,
In so far as they relate to my tenure
in office, and to show any fair mind
ed reader that the floating debt at
the time of my retirement in 1918
was not much in excess of the in
debtedness when was first elected
in 1910, and that the sinking fund
which ! am frank to admit is a live
vital question was more out of har-
mony before l became a factor in
Union City politics than it was two
years ago.
If were an artist I would paint a
picture of Union City, true to her
condition ten years ago. would
hrst throw on the canvas a little
city of 5000 refined, cultured people,
indicating wealth, happiness and
prosperity, and in the back ground L
would show an old stately school
building with an attendance of 700
pupils, provided with an abominable
cesspool to dispose of the human
waste, the overflow from which
meandered its perennial flow down
one of the principal streets in an
open ditch to take on new burdens
or pollution and repulsive fumes from
q steam laundry, and a little further
on to be contaminated with the in
tolorable odor from toilet connections
from few residences, the hotel and
the Union Station.
/ would paint on the canvas in soft
colors the image of Uncle Joe Turner
twho is gone but not forgotten) the
faithful old colored scavenger, with
his long handled shovel, bucket and
scavenger wagon, as he reigned SUI
preme over the sanitary affairs of
Union City.
With this picture before you am
going to take an inventory of some
of the things that were done during
my first and second terms, from Jan.
1910, to May 1918, which was before
there had been any bond money ex-
pended by me. When / came into
office in 1910 the city owed $67,500
6 per cent interest bearing bonds, |
and floating debt of $4,000 and
there was not one cent in the sink
ing fund, or any money in the treas
ury.
$4,000 of these bonds matured in |
1911 and $500 in 1913, the remain |
der $4,000 run until 1921 with a
proviso in $4,000 of them, that they
could be called for payment at the
option of the city in 1911.
We managed to refund the $40, 900 |
and $4,000 blocks in 1911 and the
So 500 block in 1918 and sell the new
issues at 5 per cent instead of per
cent interest on 20 years time. The
interest saving in this transaction |
alone has more than paid your may
or's salory ever since
This transaction eliminated the |
sinking fund up to that date SO far
as the $37, 500 of the bonds were con-
cerned and left the remaining $780,
600 which could not be called and
refunded in status quo.
1t certainly does not require man
OF letters to understand this simple
proposition. Are these facts not suf-
ficient to show any one who wants
to know the truth, that these secu-
rites, taking them as whole, were
in much better condition so far as
the sinking fund was concerned in
1918 than the were in 1910 with two
issues practically due, with no sink
ing fund whatever to provide their
payments.
To this time we had built and
paid for (without bonds) nearly nine
miles of sanitary sewer costing
$4,000, had no floating debt and was
able to transfer $4,000 cash out of
our savings to Improvement ac-
count" which was used in the street
and side walk improvement. Here
it might be interesting to note, that
Ii we had been satisfied with the side
walk and sanitary conditions as we
found them the above two items ag-
gregating $4,000 would have paid
off 70 per cent of the entire bonded
Indebtedness and left no floating
debt whatever.
We could go into detail and show
MOW We HuduCCu Poo, LAOsVU WI Cn
of improvements the last eight
months of 1918, with the aid of the
proceeds of $25,500 street and side
walk bonds, and that we only left
a floating debt of $13,560 for our
successor to take care of in 1914,
$10,500 of that being what was
known at the Westover school note
with one hundred and ten citizens
signatures to it.
When / was elected to my third
term in 1915, the floating debt had
increased to $4,000, $4,000 of which |
was borrowed from our local banks
bearing s perc ent Interest. inn
mediately retired these s per cent |
notes with perc ent money.
It can be showed that we passed |
$40,537.O7 to permanent improve
ments during my last administration,
over and above the proceeds of the |
school bonds, and floating debt of |
a little. over $4,000 above converti-
BILE assets which have been collected.
What pity these calamities how
lers who can tell how near / got /
municipal affairs on the verge of
financial ruin cannot get vision of