Newspapers / The Herald-Sun (Durham, N.C.) / March 11, 1915, edition 1 / Page 7
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THE MORNING HERALD, MARCH 11; 115 Autopsy and investigation into deatit of I situs; Hi. COOK, IN NEW HAVEN. S3 s SlliSOF New Charter a Direct Strike at (Representative Government. ShowsBusiness i Methods of Duiham to Be Better Than Commission Governed To t .-v ;t v March 9, 1915. Sam Swart z, Durham, N. C: . Mr. Dear Sir Your letter of recent date addressed to me as mayor, desiring to know my iews upon the subject of the new charter for the City .ot Durham has been called to my atten- t j0n I am not certain that you have a right as a citizen to demand or ro quest of a public official an expression of opinion in regard to a matter not mvolvin offclal conduct. Th ad- vantage or disadvantage ol mo- charter is a uuesJon To- the Individ ual voted to decide lumsen, ; uy me Viei exercise of his own intelligence and judgment. uo J,ot meuu 10 aiiat-K iue pnncip.e Assuming, however, that your let- of representative government because ter was written in good faith, I shall the new charter provides an "alder undertake to give you the results bl manic system" of government. TI1.3 iiph investigation as I have had in "aldermanic system" cannot be bad. i ; vv "V! mumcauuii vtaa tiuuiioutu. In order that there may be no mis- understanding, 1 desire to say that I 1 am. not a candidate for mayor um ..: . , J;,it, ,hthPf wm not ueuiui3 a ..-..uuv. Hip now phnrfer is adoDted or iiot. Thp naramount Question in this ' campaign is whether the present charter of the city of Durham is suf- i'Cient for our needs or neuier .e should adopt a new charter. A char- u r is simple , grant or delegation of -viiower In 'it'-elf it has no life, no motion and can do no work, it is .1 piece of paper. Changing of a char- ter or abolishing one and placing an- o'her in its stead will not work a mir- acle The adoption of a new charter wilt not in itself make inefficient 'men olli cient- nor create revenue out of nothing' nor cause streets and side- walks and parks and play grounds to grow in our midst like the gras j of the fields. These things are not born of a charter, but are born of the earn- in ornnnmv. natriotism and intelli- gembe of the whole people. nf lir eitizens desire a change They feel that there should tion of public affairs in this city has quested the city engineer to examine be a new order of things in Durham teen inefficient, and extravagant, the records in order to ascertain cost In most instances this is due to a lack This is a serious charge, and if true, of streets built within the past two of confidence in the ability or integ- there ought to be a change. Tlow- years per square yard. The total cost rity of some individual or individuals ever, it must be borne in mind that averages $1.17 per square yard. Tie or is based upon disconnected inci- the present charter of the city has total cost without grading averages dents V verdict and judgment upon not wasted money or been extra va- 74 cents per square yard. At my re unrelated facts or occasional errors gaut; it is simply a meek, unoffend- quest he compiles figures from olh or even upon individual blunders is ing, printed document. Cutting off er cities using the same kind of pave- usually an unfair verdict and an un- just judgment Certainly no man wnM vntp tr, abolish banks and iioMt-inp- -vafenifl on account of a lew failures- no reasonable man would ahniich mercantile enter- -if o,-cma ctmniv hp- j,......- ;n' cause a lew uiuiviuuais cugasvu . iincinoc f,npH nr dpfra.ndefl their WIC uuut.uu " vilimla gA not rmpfiRlire UD tO HIS 'ptrtonal standard of piety or right D conduct. Now why should the present char- ler nf rhe citv f llnrViom he nhnl- uj, , 'The answer usually given is that the. present charter should be abol ished because the "system" s wrong. Th-i friends of the new charter say that they have no grievance against any individual officer or employe but t hat the "system" is "depraved above all things and desperately wicteu.- creditors- nd reasonable man would list win inciuue a large r.u.m.ei ui sue mat :ur. tvuenners ngures are w... ,u .... ,-. vote to abolish the churches becaus" the best business men in thin city. I correct. This list included Spring- ot this department. Acting Chief ot .rfain in.iivirfnal or sets of indi- do not believe there is a single one iield, Mass.: Dubuque, Iowa; Cincin- Police rendergrast. and Sargeants certain individuals or Sets OI iuu . ,,,., ..1 r(t ri,.. n:j t. ..... Prnetm- falo nnrt Wnnfloll arp p-Iv. What is this "system" that is truilty nue proviuea oy ia. aecuuu. ms of so many crimes and misdemea- burse revenue for the public good. ,.e n i immvn ajs the "aldermanic When your letter first appeared, 1 system." The "aldermanic system is that system by which the people, through their chosen representative! administer the functions of govern inent. The primary unit of local gov- ernjment is the priecinct. In the state iiis tl Yff si the county and in the nation it is state. The county aammisiers ii "affairs through the chosen rcpre- negatives of the people and likewise 1 he'-' same rule applies to state and nation. "The aldermanic system" is, :,i fehort. the "representative sys- Imih" and upon this the whole fabric of American civilization rests. It is the 'same "system" that received Us luDtism of fire at Bunker Hill and iK "baptism o freedom" at York- town. It is the same "system" that Hancock and Jefferson and Washing- ton. and Franklin, and Monroe wrought into the constitution of the Vr.ited States and forever made it . 1,.. Hn- nf mir American republic, Stlien did tl-is "system" first go Raleish has not had commission gov f v. rong? How long has it been worn eminent for four years, po I will i-ou- vt and uead and who first niscov- end its corpse? Cue of the fundamental doctrines of the representative system is that each unit of jrcvernnieiit should have r. voice, in order to keep the govern - lueul close to thp p'-op'e. There ait1 t icht units or precincts in the city of Durham. Is there any good rea- son why any of these units should be n wns. Good Government a Matter of Selecting Good Men, Not a Matter of Charter. ignored , or denied representation? Certain men have frequently int.ro- duced 'bills in tne congress or me United States providing for the re- duction, of representation in some o. the southern states. These bills have always kindled the fires of pro- test and so effective has been t,he op- position tjhat their proinioters have been unable to succeed; and yet the new charter will reduce represcnta- tion fifty per cent. But I apprehend that the champion, v.. . '"r" what they say when they assort that ji"u "'5 "-'"" i am sure tnat me majority ot tnem wasteful a Tin mcfnoifriT nirmrvi tha ' Bent charter an Z ,ood eeon - . - - u- mlc and efficient under the same kind of charter just because it has the i .. 1 X' 1 . I 1 J 1 i 1 i1.. i "vv ia cue. uy me imu ion nlatp of Davton or Morzahton or - . - Kalelgh. Doubtless the friends of the charter mean that the affairs of the city are not properly administered. If Ha io then tha nnoctinn vornlu.io -" ""-. i .- itself into a question of the right kind of men, and therefore, the adoption of a new charter is not even an issue, hut 'the election of competent men is and always should be the chiei is- sue. If there is anything wrong in Durham it cannot, be corrected by a charter. It must he corrected by men. In this aspect of the cese we are running up steam for a campaign and are about ready to pull hair over a form rather than a reality, chasing a shadovv and losing sight of the re.il abiding issue. But there is another argument that I wish to call to your attention. It ha,s suggested that money haj been wasted and that the adminlstru. me neau ol uie raaun u.JC!, uui .u. "' "'"f" a ter will not relieve this pain. Has Durham, then, -been a - poorly managed city from a business stand- point? . If you will call the roll of the men whn have served it as aldermen ior . , . the past fifteen or twenty years, tne ... ... 1 1 to do his duty when he was on the board. I do not believe that a single one ol tnem wouia nave counienauc- PU waste ur ruiaiajajnr in puunv matters. it cannot l-.e saia mat waste went on and they did not know it or did not have opportunity to discover it It was their business, to know or resign. But you can lay aside the sentimental argument and come down to the cold, hard iacts. The business function of govern ment is two-fold. First Gather reve- had not thought very seriously upon the questions involved. I began to in- vestigate. I requested that telegiams be sent to various cities in North Carolina, soliciting information relat- ing to tneir Dusmess proncienc.. Some or these telegrams nae not ueen answereu, ui 1 sec i'"- result from answers I nave, aow iei us examine the facts as to the cath- ering of revenue.. Is Durham reasou- ably business-like in this particular. The gross amount of the tax list charged to J. It. Patton for collec lion for the last fiscal year was $222,2 tf. 79. He failed to collect $2.J37.7. ilis insolvent list or uncollected taxes for 1910. il 1. 1912. 1913. amounts 10 5S9.11 for the last four fiscal years, Raleuih is a commission Kovernnient city. During the same four years the uncollected taxefj in Raleigh amount - rd to over fortv thousand dollars lint fine the facts to the last fiscal year in all the towns and cities heard from, Raleigh failed to collect last" yeai $ln.711: Wilmington. ?14iiHi; " Ashe- ville. $3,119: Creonsboro. t-VVii; Hickorv. $1..ViO; Morcanton. $1,011. Morcanton and Hic kory are small towns and have city managers: Ral- eigh, Wilmington ' and Greensboro UI tlieill tllat U1U itui nuuoiij -coi; nail, wiiiu, i lUVIUflUJf, i. is. 0. . tews '-w-tl-iu'';i"tii'ftM:Bj:n'f?iJ'V"vii have the commission form of govern- ment. Now tell us whether or not tnere is business efficiency in Dur- ham? If poor old Durham is inefii- cient in the application of business principles, may the Lord have mercy on the other cities in North Carolina, In other words, we lose .about one per cent on bad accounts. Let the business men, the merchants of Dur- ham, say whether or not this is good business or poor business. - Now let us examine the disburse- ments and consider the second bust- nes3 fmi government. Hav e we spent .money extravagantly ? It is a fact that salaries, upon an average, are lower in Durham than in other cities of the same class, Practically 2 per cent of the total revenue of the city is appropriated by law, and this constitutes what is own as fixed charges. This loaves omy auoui uo per cent ot tne torai pensation. The new1 . charter dele revenue that can .be spent by the rates tremenrinna nnwer n iha man. board of aldermen. I cannot under- ... .. . " . 1 h k h 1 o f vp nn nnuivcu rt ,n ,t inese items You can get ail of this information from the budget. The bulk of the complaint against of alder cost of the ni lu -UL Ol M6 pi men centers abou police and fire de - partments and the street department, The total cost of police and fire departments for the last fiscal year was $.73,735.27. Hydrant rental amounting to $10,0(10 is charged to this, department, so the actual cost of these departments was $4 "1,7:'. 5.2 7 During the last fiscal year, Raleigh Wilmington,, jAsheville tind Greens- boro spent on their police and lire departments the sum of $LSf.,9nn. ihj average therefore, in these cities is $46,749, ami Durham, therefore is below the average in' this item of cost. Now let us examine the cost ot street construction. nous pavement in We lay bitumi Durham. I re ne suos ciues in lm nil- The average total cost uc ctit-irte ioiai cosi including grading in these. 99 cities S1.3S per square yard The average cost of street, construction without grading in these 99 cities was $1.02 per square yard. Curb and gutter is not included in anv of these ar-ernees. L . as that item is usually fixed. I as ,waukee. Wis.; Danville, Va Union. S. C; Houston, Texas. Houston has a commission iorm ot government, emu me nvuias cost in mat City was sz.ui per square yard as against .17 per square yard in Durham, Who, then, is prepared to'sav that Durham has wasted money in street construction? Durham had in cash . in ban it on June I, 191), the sum of $25-l.n7n.2'j as a sinking fund to retire her bond ed indebtedness and this is more than any ether city in North Carolina: Winston -Salem comes second with $130,000; Charlotte has none, and.Kal- eigh has only $03,000. But are any changes necessary .' 1 think so. But I do not mean by that to imply that the new charter is nec- essary. In May, 191 !, 1 read a com munication to the board 01 alderni?i.. calling their attention to certain piiases oi uie Business ena ot ma government. I said in that artn-1'! that many people felt that the admin istration of public affairs was "te dious, cumbrous and local." but that I did not think "this criticism was al together just." I pointed out some things which I thought would expe dite business and diminish tost. On November 17. 19H, I wrote a letur to Capt., S. C. Chambers, w hich WilS published a few days ago. The da'e and heading of the letter was left ll ana it appealed as addressed. lit the Kditor." was not niadt This error, however, by ('apt. Chambers, oi1 even suggested by him. Mr. t'o'iu- f I. of the .Morning Herald Stat). toH ine that it was his mistake. If you will read the letter you will find that I favored two changes. First, that one-half of the board should bo ex perieneed men. Second, that the board of aMeiiiitn should appoint iifcessuri- miittiiissiiiners. inaiiaeer-t or heads of departments. PRF-SCRIMt-: ' THICIK Dt'TIKS i.d fix their com pensation. The new chatter provid for tvk.i Soariz aldermen for two years and t wo for four years. , This will always insure experienced men on the board. In my opinion this is a wise provision and decidedly the best fcature in the whole document. But in my opinion this good feature- is outweighed by the fact , that representation on th-i board is cut from eight men to four .men or to put it in different language, that 50 per cent of our units of gov- eminent is denied direct representa- tion- I believe that the appointment of a city manager would be a wise di-o- vision, and vet at the same time. I do not think the adoption of a new charter is necessary to secure this change. There is ample power, in my opinion, in sections 33 ami :J4 and of the present charter for the board ol aldermen to annnint a mnnnpr to prescribe- his duties and fix his com ager. If he should be a good man, ,. . . . lle wouia use u wisely, it lie was a bad man he would usp if fm- kpIHkIi ends. And( then under the new charter a part of the power is dele- gated to the board of aldermen and . the balance to the manager. "No man can serve two masters." The board governs one set of men and "the manager governs the others. Two governors in the same jurisdiction, one, likely to create confusion and waste, ir matters should go vron the board would try to hide behind the manager and the manager would say: "The board temptde me and 1 did eat." "Fixed responsibility" would be an iridescent dream 1111- der such conditions. There are (IS men to be appointed to carry on the work of the city, jiot including, of course, the health board or city schools, or any of the laborers. Is there any good reason why the whole board or a majority of them should concur in the selection of only five of them and the manager, without the niaining C3? There is one argument foe the new charter to which I shall, refer in con clusion, and that is that "somebody ought to give his entire time to the city." The answer to this is that there are "ew over 70 ,110n gi'inS tneir entire tune to t lie city., Wo have Mr. ihyon, a purchasing agent, giving his entire time to -the pur chasing of supplies and preparing P3 rolls. We have Mr. Christian, chief, and Mr. Cannadi an assistant chief of the fire department, giving in their entire time to the super- v'sion of their department. Mr. Dur ham and Mr. Kueffner and Mr. Hop son and Mr. Thompson give their ""if huiibx vision 01 men department. Mr. Still gives his en ,ire time to the inspection of huild ins' Plumbing and opening of streets. Mr. Holmes gives his entire time to the .'supervision of the market and Mr. Billings to the cemetery, and Mr. Jernigan to the blacksmith work and repair work of the city, and Mr. Byrd and Mrs. Dixon, Dr. Cheatham and others to the sanitary and health de partment. Are these men incompe tent? If so, they should be removed It ought not to require the adoption of a new charter in order to correct any inefficiency that may exi.it in these departments. My answer to your question, is that I shall stand by the old charter in the present election. It, has brought us from a flag station to a city. 'ii der it our tax rate is lower than my other citv in North ( arouna in tne same class, with the possible excep tion of Winston-Salem. . I'nder it our pinking fund or savings account i. larger than any other city in tb state. I'nder it our bonded indebted ness is smaller than any other city in the state, in the same class. I'n der it we have built more streets ou of our current income than any oth er city in North Carolina. Its re sources are not yet eOiaust'ed. I"ii der it we can :iipoint a manager and prescribe his duties. I'nder it v. '""v utnuein. munmn so as to avoid delay ii.eetmus ! lie' board of aldermen a:: 1 piomo'e ilie dispatch of business. 1 do not IuiiIa (his campaign should be based upon prejudice or upon suu srestioiis of wron- iuoties. It is 1 straight, clean-cut i-sue lh.it vnzh 1,e decided upon its merit and l the unclouded iitelig n - and jinl-c ment of all our ' itiett.-;. W. J. BKOGDKN. New Haven, Conn.. March He side holding an autopsy o determine if there were any reason why Lil lian May Cook, of Brooklyn, should have committed suicide, the authori ties will conduct a rigid investiga tion -of all phases of the affair, to clear up the mystery which shrouds it. Virginiusi J. Mayo, president of the Mayo Rp.diator company, where Miss Crook was employed as stenog UIDTO REST Hundreds of Friends At tended the Last Services at West Durham l STILL i CLUES Police Are Working on the Same Clues They Had Tuesday Night The funeral services of the late Bulkhead N. Mann were conducted from the West Durham Methodist church yesterday afternoon and the remains of this good man. who was so mysteriously murdered on Mon day evening, were iaid to rest with the honors of the Masons a::d the Junior Order. The church was filled with sorrow ing friends of the dead man and his family, and the hanks of flowers wen mute tokens of regard in which this ouiet ami unassuming merchant was held. Rev. J. H. Met racket!, a form, r pastor, ottered prayer. Rev. J. A Dailey. his present pastor, read the scriptural lessons, and Bishop John C Kilgo spoke the eulogy over tin dead body. The bishop said that the quiet men. wMlc not ottett Known, ami hardly ever in tin" limelight, wen the real makers of his'ory. if they were not the recorders. He told of the tine- character of Mr. Maim and of his friendship for all people. NO DKVKI.OI'MKN'TS There have been Absolutely no de velopments in the attempts of the police to solve the mystery surroiind- ii.g the di-ath of, Mr .ann. Since t'ie night of li- murder they have made evcrv c.Torl p.issibl" to g.-l hold of a I lie t.at would lead ir the (!'s ni ry ot' t'i'- man or men who struck the fatal blow. They have followed many lues but iiost of them have been blind ones. pioiiusinc little in the Leguienm. and ess as liiey were worked out. They have iiia l'' an inve st iat ion I cery ciinmal ill the city on the iiil.t ol tl murder. 1 hey Lave bronchi a irn. lier of n to the I' li e station, and pal ft. em through the most r.tid ex-.n-iina.: ion. but all of this work has been in vain. The story of the rue sihk. car ried in yestenlav morning s paper. has I.e.'n grealiv magnified. H Ihc Uioulhfc and minds of people, till . 'Jerdav afternoon i was -heme talked MR. 1 MS MAY I ' 1 rapher, has refused to say anything further regarding the case unless he is compelled to. So far, the suicide has revealed to the world Mayos double life for although his wife is living here he has maintained Mis.-s Lois Waterbury, formerly a stenogra. pher in his oiiice, in a private house in Brooklyn where she lives with her two children. on the streets that the butt end of the cue was covered with blood. "There never was a bigger lie than that." saiil one of the officers last night. "I don't know where such a rumor got afloat, but the end of that cue stick was as clean as this club l am carrying." he continued, show ing the shining and polished ejid of his hilly. As o.i Tuesday night, so tonight the 'lie stick still remains the sole and only cine that the pol:ce have to work on. It is believed that after the murderer hit Mr. Mann with the stick he ran off down Peabody street towards the wholesale district. From there he could have come up street or gone into the soutriern part of the city. Or he may have kept straight on up the railroad and caught the first train which came along. The cause for the belief that the murderer ran west from the scene of his crime is based cm the fact that one e nd of the stick which was broken, was found over behind a billboard on . hat street. There was considerable talk of re wards for the capture of the murderer, and It is probable that a very sub stantial reward will be offered for the apprehension of the man who killed the merchant on Monday evening. Mis Groth Says War Has Released French Modistes of Domination by German Stylemakers. lT.Y' ' i ' M - Nt-w lork. March :. AIlss l'ath rine l. (iroth has just returned to the Fniteel states iiler spending several months in 1'aiis. "The war will re sult in more subdued and mod-'st styles, f think," she said. "The French modistes and cosluuieis long hae been dominated by the risque and ... ' .t I t'-f' ;?" 1 A -X?,: CHARTER CLUB I Will Be Organized at the,! -Armory on Next Fridays? Evening r t rri ALL ARE INVITED About Fifty People Heardf Speaking at Dry Bridge J Last Night . i A letter is being sent out . to the?" younger men of the city calling for a meeting in the armory on Friday evening at 7:30 o'clock at which timo.j a Young Men's Charter club will be organized. A committee composed ot, Mr. L. S. Sasser, W. G. Sheppard and others have been at work on thla,, proposition for the past few days, and? they want every young man in town. to come out to thi3 meeting on Fri day evening. 4 Not a' few men will vote for their first time in this election, and in a number of other cases this will be the"1 first city election in which the young; men have had an opportunity to cast a ballot. These and all other young men of the city are invited t'" attend this meeting on Friday evening. In addition to the organization of -the club, in which all young men are invited to join, there will be a num ber of short speeches on the new charter. It will be explained in detail and all of those interested will have an opportunity to ask as many questions ' as they desire about the proposed new system of government. HAD GOOD MEETING. The charter meeting which was held at O'Briant's store near the dry bridge ' on Holloway street was attended by ., about fifty people last night. The speeches were made by Mr. R. P. Reade and Mr. J. L. Morehead. Mr. Reade is a member of the charter-".' committee and Mr. Morehead is a former alderman of the city. ; ' These gentlemen went into the de tails of the new charter. They told of what they believed to be the defects in the old charter and explained wherein it was believed the new char- ; ter would bring about a better system of government for the city. Mr. ' Morehead told of the obvious delaya that must result in the transaction of '' the city's business under the present system. He explained why it was that the present form of government caus ed inefficiency In the disbursing of . money. He explained that the dty; was now facing nearly a million dol lar bond issue, $500,000 for the water works which has already been vottjd on. $84,000 for bonding present debt, " and $300,000 for streets, both of which latter propositions are yet to he -voted " on. Mr. Morehead said that it was best to have this money spent fcy smaller body of men under the direc- .; tion of an expert. Mr. Reade incidentally referred to the letter of Mayor Brogden's which was printed in a page advertisement in which he came out against the new '' charter. It was pointed out that that the adoption of the new 1 cient system of tax collection and tho other good things of the present gov- Ji etrnment which the mayor praised, r But in the disbursement of this money the new charter, dividing the city government into the 'various depart- ments with a head for each depart- , ment, who was a part and a parcel of the board of aldermen, who have final and absolute jurisdiction in tho .., disbursement of money, would enablo 1 the city to get a hundred cents worth j uor every dollar that was spent MUWTING iFOR TUUAl. Today at 1 o'clock there will be a charter meeting at Tally's store. Mr. , Sidney C. Chambers and Mr. T. B. ' Fuller will talk about the charter at this hour. All people in that section of the town a3 well as those from oth er sections are invited to hear these j talks. The speeches will be short and to the point. .'- The meeting place for tonight will be at Sorndl & Stone's store on Alston avenue. Mr. J. A. Giles, Mr. J. H. Southgate and Mr. R. P. Reade will do the speaking at this store tonight Tho meeting will begin about 7:30. daring demands from Berlin. Now I ( believe that styles will be more con- servative when the war is ended and France turns her attention to hats and millinery again." NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATION. Having qualified as executor of th last will and testament of tha estate of Jane C. Latta. deceased, this la to notify all persons having claims against her estate to present the Earn to the undersigned at his residence la the county ot Durham, or at the office of Fuller & Reade, attorney-at -law. Durham, N. C, on or before February 26. 1916. or this noUce will be pleadai in bar of their recovery. All persons Indebted to aald estat are requested to make Immediate Ml Dement with tha undersigned. Tkia February 25, 1J1S. .... , J. G. LATTA. EzecvM. i 3 1 t
The Herald-Sun (Durham, N.C.)
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March 11, 1915, edition 1
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