The Parisian. (Paris, Tenn.) 1907-1962, 1919-09-19
Cash Discount Of Ten Per-
cent VIII Be Discontin-
ued At Once.
COUNCIL MEETING
In EXTRA SESSION
More Money Needed By City
But Statement 10 Not Civ
en- Publi: Why.

When the housewife goes down
town on October 5th to pay her el-
ectric light bill and finds the usual
discount of ten percent for her trou-
BILE and prompt payment is not Civ
en-, there will be proverbial weeping
and wailing and the said gnashing.
Monday night the city council met in
extraordinary session and ordered the
ten percent discount discontinued
Just why this was done the council
has made no published statement to
the public-to the people Of Paris
paying taxes, either poll tax, proper
ty tax, or otherwise, and which peo-
pie own the water and light plant.
Thus it would appear the council ID
following a policy of "the people be
damned" that has apparently been
in effect in this city for several
years, and which policy several more
recently selected members Of the
council have been unable to over
come. In fact, former Mayor A.
B. Scates was unable to carry the
publicity point although he insisted
in council meetings and ON the out
side that tire business Of the city was
the business of the peops living in
the city and paying taxes, and that
they should have a full statement
of it's affairs from time to time.
There is no statement offered the
owners of the electric light plant as
to why their property, already earn
ing dividends which are not issued
to them, should increase its selling
cost to them. A reporter from The
Partisan office attempted 20 make an
investigation, but We were incompe-
tent to analyze the financial status
of the city, and all that could be
learned was that more money was
needed. The only excuse given was
that everything else was increas-
ing" From one source it was
! ascertained that money was needed
to buy new boiler and stoker for
the water and light plant.
An investigation into the books
of the water and light plant, howev-
er, revealed that there has been moth
ing charged off for depreciation to
to take care of requirements such
as boilers, etc., and it is supposed
that money is needed for this pur-
pose. .....
However, the books show that for
the last fiscal year that the water
and light plant turned over 10 Jno.
s. Dunlap, for use Of the city, exact
ly 100000, representing net earn
ings, over and above operating ex-
penses. And, year in and year out,
the water and light plant has been
turning over proportionate sums to
the city to make up the deficiency in
property tax. Thus, the sharehold-
ers who own small property in the city
and store and other renters have
been "feeced" out of their dividends
to one end and one only, and that
has been relieving the large property
holders and corporations from paying
full necessary rate Of tax on their
property.
Just who is responsible for these
conditions, it is hard to determine,
even by tracing back, but it Is said
that one reason large property owners
have not been burdened with the cost
OF enhancing the value of their prop.
erty the 80 or 100 percent that il has
enhanced in the past five years, II
that, the city charter limits the am
ount OF taxation to $1.25, and that
has been taken up. Just Why an am
ended charter was not secured no.
body seems to know, or apparently
care. And, until such time az the
personnel of at least a part Of the
council is changed, no relief can be
anticipated.
The water and light plant earned
from the sale of electric current for
the last fiscal year $23,217.O9. The
ten percent that would have been al
lowed, had all bills been discounted,
therefore, woud have amounted to
$2,231.71. However, the actual dis
count during the fiscal year, as claim
ed, was $1,159.93. The net earn
ings of the water and light plant for
that period was $12,645.21.
There is to be deducted from the
$l6,O0O.O0 that was turned over to
the city for other purposes, 1926,
which the city paid the water and
light plant for street lights, ETC..