The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1919-11-30
A PROGRESSIVE MEASURE

PROGRESSIVE MEASURE
..1,his 70 cents Of taxation requested for
tho municipalities is constructive COM
rensative and progressive measure LOT
the cities of the state and Will preserve
not waste. the higher resources Oh the
communities affected This tax is CO.
operative economic measure OF the nisH-
est importance to the people affected.
"Our streets in the city of Birmingham
have beenl depreciating heavily for the
last four years, at least. In tact we
have always lacked street conscience,
a constructive policy on streets. The tune
has arrived now when we must soon en-
for unou distinctly constructive street
nolicv in the city of Birmingham. Our
reputation abroad, the necessities OF our
fife the preservation of our business
49, attraction of additional industrial
plants. attendance upon our schools, our
churches. our social and fraternal lnsu-
tutions all call for live ana progress
i've era of street building.
"Our people are calling upon the com
missioner of public improvements for at
least s250.oo0 of street repair and improve
ments this year He has an appropria-
ton of 800 to meet the call. What
can he do with the small amount~of mon
ey at his disposal? The only thing he
can do is TO turn down four out of every
five calls for street improvement This
is hard on the callers and still harder on
the called What shall the commissioner
of public improvements do? Whittier shall
he fly? Who will bell the street cat?
He needs belling, and good belling pol
icy is needed badly.
"The city of Birmingham has more or
dinances for street Improvement at the
property owners expense, passed and
passing than was ever the case in the
history of Birmingham before. But it
will be the next spring and summer be-
fore the work can begin to show up to
advantage and, for use and enjoyment We
are doing more street repair work this
fall than for long time, but so much
is suffering to be done and remains to be
done that it looks to the citizens as If
very little was being done. The com
missioner of public improvements ran
over his budget $4,000 for October, 1919,
trying to do more work than usual, and
came near putting three commissioners in
bed with nervous prostration for fear of
bankrupting the city by his prodigaiity
on the streets, but they were finally rec
onciled by warm assurances of more pru-
dence in the future expenditure of the
city's limited funds.
NEED TO BE PAVED
'sThere are several important thorough
fares connecting busy. enterprising and
productive centers of our great indus
trial city They need to be paved. They
must be paved, if our city is going to
preserve, expand and promote its bust
ress in the near future. These thorough
fares pass through much Property that
is low-priced, unsettled and not able to
bear the full assessment necessary to
build a permanent street that will stand
the heavy traffic that will go over it.
1.-THE only plan that the commissioner
of public improvements can suggest to
~.
street Improvement bonds and the pay
ment of interest on these bonds out of
the general fund. These bonds would
have to be redeemed as the city's income
increased in the coming years. In the
case supposed A portion of the assess
ment on these streets would have to be
borne by the city. For this the city gov
eminent has constitutional and statutory
power Some streets in every great city.
where equity calls for it, ought TO be
paved in whole or in part at the ex-
pense of the city.
1--WE need some Of the additional reve-
nue. coming from the proposed tax to nav
the interest on these bonds and other
bonds already voted by the people. The
city government never has, and probably
never will, appropriate for streets any
more than is necessary for moderate re-
rairs to the streets. 1t is UP to the peo-
pie to ask for and launch a large con-
structive policy for the building of streets
in the city of BIRMINGHAM
when the people develop a street CON
science and a strong public sentiment for
a broad policy of street building we. shall
be able to put Birmingham alongside the
other progressive cities of the union in
regard to public improvements.
THE board of commissioners are unani-
nous for good streets and full of SYM
patty for the commissioner of public i'm
provenlents and the people on the street
question, but sympathy and unanimitv
does not build streets until thev crys-
.allize into material and money. The in
&C me does not furnish the money. Let
us all think about this Important ues-
ton 1t is a burning question You can
not travel TO your work, to the store TO
the school. to the church. nor on mis-
sions of humanity or pleasure or bust
ness without using the streets. Some of
these days Birmingham is going to be
one of the great cities of the union, and
one of its best institutions will be good
ctr &c