Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1922-04-07
the town showed aba1ance overats IN

the pOWn showed a. Dalance over ptS III
debtedness. In 1921 this Favorable
showing was continued, although the
town still has outstanding in notes "a
sum of $4,000, which it will be COM
PEELED to fund by a bond issue in the
current year. ~ :,
Wallingford is being rejuyenated. 1t
is paying off its debts. Thes select
men, in their report for 1921, describe
how this result is being accomplished.
They say: r.. ..1'E e. l.,
1.-THE original issue of bond series
1899, was 100000, of which $4,000 has
been paid, $4,000 being paid each year,
"a sinking fund is being created by
depositing in the Dime Savings Bank
$1,000 each year, to retire bond issue OF
1912, at the rate of five bonds every
five years. as per town vote! ui.
Original issue Of bonds, series 1916,
was $250, ,OO0, OF, which 10000 has been
paid, $4,000 being paid each year, as
per town vote" NEa&
1t is slow process to get rid, of old
debts. Wallingford, emerging from its
years Of bondage, and beginning to
breathe freely for the first time,ais,
nevertheless, somewhat staggered as it
looks back and reviews the cost Of its
borrowings for the half century. 4
Wailingford today boasts Of some
fine public structures, but, with one
exception, none Of them was built by
the town. 1t has handsome library,
but this was the private donation Of a
public-spirited citizen, who endowed it
at a cost of $4,000. It has a new
armory, but this was put up by the
state at a cost Of about s100,000.a 1t
has a post office, but this was built by
the Federal government, with an ex-
pendfturesqf $4,000,
Wallingfdd had, placed, $4,000
mortgage on US old town hall in 1897,
and the entirA issue of bonds is. still
outstanding To-Day. The principal,
with interest compounded since 1887,
foots up to a bill Of s7s,s75. In other
words, in a quarter fof a century, this
antiquated and obsolete structure, nov
falling into decay, has cost Wallipg-
ford nearly twice its original expendl-
tture.. ..- a..
: Wallingford originally borrowed s40,-
900 for building it's town hall back in
1872. The original debt; with interest
compounded for half a century,
amounts to the sum of s295. tpS. IS
7, That is, the debt on the town hall
compounded, would havet paid for
erecting the post office and the large
new high school. In the SO years, all
told, from 1872 to 1922, Wallingford's
Inhabitants slowly grew In number
from $500 to $4,000. During that
period, this small population paid out
in interest on its borrowings for town
purposes, the sum of $321,916. This
enormous interest burden, not only a
dead waste but a handicap. could have
paid for the expense OF building the
state armory, the Federal post office
and the Simpson library with good
balance left over. -.
Had the citizens Of Wallingford an
nually deposited the interest paid. on
town loans since 1872, in one of the
banks In their town, that Institution
would have paid them compound inter-
est on their deposits, And the interest
paid out on the town loans Tor half ? a
century, If thus deposited. would have
mounted up to the enormous sum TO
day of s72S, ,S6S. = +-5 754.4 Z.
This example also may. be demon
strated as follows: - ,.;s !.
Cost of the central school district,
land. buildings and contents, $685. 600;
cost Of the new high school, $280, ,000;
cost Of the new armory, 100000; cost
of the new post office. ss5;6Qo; total
cost of all the towns new improve
ments. s731,0oO. Interest paid on town
loans for half a century, compounded,
s728,S6S; balance, s2,132. .g.
All Of which goes to show that the
interest paid on Wallingford's debts
which was money thrown away, would
have been sufficient within some $4,000
to have paid for nearly all the fine
modern public buildings which now
grace the town, including all of its
schoolhouses, lands and buildings
AL debts grow from small begin
nings. In its early years, had Walling-
ford chosen to pay it's way without
borrowing-which it might easily have
done by slightly increasing its tax rate
and establishing a sinking fund--its
future destiny would have been
altered. .r.S y.
Wallingford's experience is an elo-
quent example for other communities
not to follow. It's lesson is easily per-
ceived, especially when contrasted with
the fallacious theories of financiers,