Newspapers / New Berne Weekly Journal … / Dec. 19, 1913, edition 1 / Page 4
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REMIT 01 THE til DEPT. Mr. Kintfly Sfuiblih the following report on the Water and Light Department: CHAPTER VI. Light Anil Water Department Ac- counts. i "Before dealing with each department specifically, we call attention in a gen eral way to the books and records gov erning the income. "The collector, Mr. J. C. Thomas, Jr., seems to have entire charge of the billing aid collection. Mr. F. T. Pat terson, City Clerk, entered the col lections' from the stubs of the Collector's receipt! 'into separate Cash Book one for I.tcht Collections and one for water collections, and in trrn posted such credits to the Consumer's Accounts in a ledger provided- either Light or Water, as the case might be. "Inasmuch as Mr. Thomas did not furnish Air ratterson with a copy of the tol for service in fact, no re cord WatMade of ,-nch bills sent out Mr. Patterson had no way of knowing in a large number of cases without consulting the collector, what the par ticular payn ents covered, the inlorma tion on the stubs being often indefinite or misleading in other wprds, instead of the. charge for services being posted to a IjfcViger Account and governing the amount paid, the amount paid went to the Ledger first and from it to debit or charge entry .:s set up and if no collection w.is made, ver frequently no change appeared, though the consumer was 'indebted to the city for service and in the rase oi tin old ledger used up to July. 1012, no ch.irire In auv instance v made against the consumer. J he result of si rli preceilure was .1 set of accounts in a dep'orable and chaotifc condition which Mr. fhonlut could' not satisfactorily explain and finally?'ftused to assist in straightening out. Henlso stated that he had nothing to do with the ledgers and did not know the condition thev were in, but this statement is not bourne out In inform ation jurnismfl us thai the attention of Mr. JiloCart h , V . .1- well as Mr. Thomas, w.: directed to it by the Auditing Committee ami in addition to this, the manner in which the accounts were collected from mic who had not paid for seven! months-, necessitated reference b the Collector to the Ledgers. "The same condition as we I" md during tlje period under audit existed prior to April' 1st, 1911, ind we fail to understand why mention was not made in the report of Mr. Leslie Abbott as the bound ledger in use at that tinv was more of a memorandum hooJc thai a ledger, nor was this condition men tioned in the report of May 1st, 1913. rendered hy Mr. T. B. Kehoe. Lis rcgardiiqf these special audits, I liaptei 22, Section 5, of the City Ordinances is very definite in specifying the dutic of the collector: Section S. " 'The Board shall annually elec a collector lor the water, .sewerage and electric fight phnts for one year He shall give a goodfand suffirien Donu in me s;;m 01 two I honsanr Dollars which sh ill be approved by th Board of Aldermen. Said bond to be payable to the city of New Bern and conditioned for the due collection payment and settlement of all money due to the City A New Hern by the patrons of the mtf. s( ;1 crags and light plants. Ha JpV Jf'"c weekly with Ike Treasurrr. Jmx shall rendir a Statemen to th' IMtm ef Aldermen at the regular meei:rn MM month, showing, amount coHtcilt ami amount due and unpaid lit 40 famisk Ike Board of Aldermen S sssjjflilt list in detail cf every user t Hater, ttver and lights and when a R it- added, ref-ort thf, same to the $iart. The Board of Aid crmen may at any time, upon notice in meeting after giving twenty days' notice, require, the collector to give ad ditional sureties when required, the Board may then declare the office vacnat and proceed to elect his suc cessor. All accounts due Ike water, sewer and light plants shall be placed in his hands fvr collection and if said collector shall fail to collect same in a reasonable time and pay oier to the Treasurer alt sums due, then his fail ure to do so shall be sufficient cause for his removal and the Board may at once proceed to remove him and elect his successor.' "and it was the duty of the Mayor and Boa-d of Aldermen to know why the above was not being complied with and why the collector was not giving full attention ta the duties of his office "The city paitf for a duplicate form y to bo given to the xar.t copy to remain proper entry, yet, 1 t universal practice 1 write up his collec only, discarding the of rerci ' on -inn in the we find for the tion 01 use of "In t dition book by them ordered to be placed in the Ledgers. ' "The statements were made in du plicate and one copy mailed to each consumer, concerned, with the requests that they check up the account and return to us certifying as to its correct ness. The attitude of the consumers was very disappointing to us; while some took the trouble to look up their receipts and bills, the majority paid no attention to the request, yet in some instances, we know there were errors in the accounts. "We found accounts where the.Dail inventory had been entered in which certain light or water service had been noted "Out," we understand at Mr. Thomas's instructions, and no charge made, and yet investigation at our request found the service being used and that it had been used for the entire term, and we consequently, in making the new accounts, charged for all such items. "Taking the Ledgers as we found them, the accounts to the average person would appear to have been pro perly kept and promptly collected, yet this was far from the actual con dition of which the accounts themselves are the best evidence. In many cases, parties had moved and the account or address had not been changed in the ledger, though other people were occupying the premises. "The meter reading sheets were found to be so crudely gotten up that a great deal of time had to be spent in ascer taining just whose account was indi cated by some of the reading and it was necessary to make a complete index of all the readings for the twenty seven months, after which the informa tion was found to be extremely value ble, not only as a foundation for service charges which had not been made against the consumer, but also in proving the correctness of many of the items for which payment had not been received. From the condition of the accounts, it is evident that no regular effort was made to render and collect the electric light bills monthly except in some isolated casts, as after com piling the statements, and reconciling the charges with the cash payments, where possible, we find only about fifty accounts that were kept up in the regular manner, while we have over three hundred accounts in which no collections were made for periods ranging from three to thirty months which are fully stated on pages 87 1 to 6, inclusive, and to which attcn tion is especially directed "One party who came in to check up his account said that he had always considered his electric light account as contra to Mr. Thomas' personal account, and onlv settled oil the differ ent e. By reason of the fact that so fe consumers came in to check up their accounts or return the statements, it is impossible for us to evenapproxi mate the total d't repancy and loss t.o the city beca M of the accounts not being propmtly cofle ted. However 1 of 1 he se ntjr-fi e fir eighty Who did cone to the office. fifteen were able to produce receipts given by Mr. Thoma sor others collecting for him covering items that there not record id on the Cish Book and in most uses, had never been charged to the consumer on the ledger, the total of these items being $.?8.08, ranging from rents to $10.00 each, itemized as follows:" (Statement on file at City Hall.) "We are therefore making Exhibit C, under separate cover, a part of this report, which states the accounts due from the light consumers with the recommendation that you place these accounts in the hands of your Light and Water Committee, they in turn, from time to time, to request a certain number of the consumers to appear lefoe the Committee on specified dates to explain why they should not pay the balances as stated, and after a recovery has been made in all res possible accounts proceed against the bond of Mr. Thomas for whatever balance is still unpaid and due the city as a result of his neglect of the duties of his office. It is only fair to those who made settlement of their old ac counts as covered by our statements, that all other parties should be compel led to pay any just balances. "During the last week of July, 191 J, a special inventory was taken of the lights in use by consumers throughout the city, and in many cases, it was found that the number exceeded that which was supposed to be in use as stated on the consumers account. "The condition in the water consu mers accounts were on a parallel with those of the light consumers and therefore it is necessary for u to submit the accounts in detail as shown by Exhibit B under separate cover in order that the committee mav pursue the same course as with the Light accounts. "In this report, we have omitted all charges for water service to schools and churches as we were advised that such service was given free by the form er light and water Commissioners, and later confirmed by the Board of Alder- mun, but we were unable to find any record of such action in the Clerk's minutes of the Board of Aldermen Many of the consumers accounts were charged for less than the number of fixtures noted on the account, it fre quently occurring that certain fixtures were noted 'cut off,' but in many of the cases investigated we found that these fiatures were apparently in daily use or else in such condition that they might be used aa needed. Owing to tilt fact that prior to October 1st, 1912, the iwater charges were against the consumers and after that were made against the property owners, it was lections'seem tojhave been made from thejsame property, yet the old balance remained open and are still open, in many cases, so far as we are able to verify. "A great deal of difficulty was ex perienced in locating the particular property covered by many of the ac counts, and it was necessary to obtain information from the city directory, the telephone book, day of inventory and the city employees before the act ual party to be charged was arrived at. With the new cut in and cut out order instalWed Which required written notice to the city on the part of the consumer there should be no confusion from this source hereafter. The loss to the city by being deprived of this revenue his bei considerable, for which there does not seem to be any reasonable excuse, as for instance, one account for the quarter ending Oct. 1st. 1912, amounting to $24.25 was paid in a few days after the party received the state ment mailed by us; that of the United States Government for water service at the Post Office covering the peiod July 1st, 1911 to July 1st, 1913, amounting to S350.00 was paid in a short time after we rendered the account. "Besides these, there were numerous accounts which were allowed to run for long terms, and which were collected just prior to the change in the ad ministration. The collections made since the first of the year, by Mr. Thomas from consumers other than the city, exceeded those of any like te.-m during the twenty-seven months under audit, and it is a noticeable fact that the col lections were larger at those periods just prior to a special investigation. "In such, of the water accounts as we ' are able to obtain verification, we' found receipts covering payments which had not been credited amounting to $29.84, as follow: (Statement on File at City Hall.) "Whatever the city recovers from this amount will rest largely with the action taken by you or the committee to whom you refer the matter. "In these balances there are items which will undoubtedly be hard to collect but which we have not set aside as doubtful accounts, as we take the view that had the Collector exercised due diligence, few, if any, such accounts would have been lost to the city. With the protection afforded by the follow ing city Ordinance, only the charges for June, 1913, electric bills should have been owing to the city, ptus such ac counts as were actually uncollectable at that time for both light and water service. The collector had had a nple time to make full return for the water charges bills in advance on April 1st for the quarter ending June 30th. Chap. 22, Sec. I. Par. 4 and 5 of the City Ordinances reads as follows: " 'Fourth: All bills shall be paid at the officeofthe Collector at the City Hall five per cent, discount shall be allowed on bills paid within ten days. If bills are not paid by the 25th of the month, lights in arrears shall be cut off at once.' " 'Fifth: No lights cut off on account of non-patyment of bills shall be turned on aglin until the bill is paid and also a charge of fifty cents for cutting the lights on and off.' "We would also call attention in connection with the itemized lists of Electric Consumers' accounts irregu larly collected, that the service was not discontinued as required by the City Ordinances when the bills were not promptly paid. We did not find in the accounts that any elnf-ge had been made to cover the fifth cents re: tired r cut off 1 nd cut in service when such lapses had been made "The final result will affect th- net earnings of the Light and Water Department stated on Page 76, as hav ing been $15,215.98 for the twenty seven months from April 1st, 1911, to June 30th, 1912. "The system in this department has been remodeled in every way and is now complete, so that the record can be kept with a minimum amount of work commensurate with proper pro tection to the city's interests, and those who purchase light and water services. Incidentally we would note that the report of audit made by Mr. Abbott shows the amount due from Water and Light Consumers April lit, 1911, to be $8,125.42, with the nottion that this amount is partly estimated. We find the amount should be $10,827.49. "As the city is endeavoring to supply light and water service to the consume. at cost, it is very necessary that no low from bad accounts should ac crue. "The department is now requiring a deposit in advance from such, con sumers as have no local attachments or credit, and this policy should be supported and continued aa it ha been found necessary with public service corporation generally, who aim to sell their service at a profit; it b therefore more incumbent upon the municipality supplying such service at Cost to see that the income i safe guarded to the greatest degree possible." Adv. SOME REMARKS ON INCOMES Hrtlnent Jut New When Mm sebjeel m Matter of KEEPS WATCH OVER SILVER are now being taxed. It therefore, desirable that something shooM be known abont them. An in com la anything which you cannot lire upon expressed la term of law ful money, lawful money In anything which will be accepted by the mem ber ot ft etate legislature, or n police captain, or your wife. Income wore created for two purposes; to lie about nnd to live beyond. Many people who will not have to pay any are complain ing to their friend and neighbors about the way they an oppressed by the income tax. This U on of those natural phenomena which ho scientist has boon able to explain. Incomes vary In sine according to bow many people have worked (or yon in the nasi or are working tor yon at present No Income is without honor somewhere, except in the family It is vninly attempting to support. Hers It Is generally despised and looked down An Income tax is sat etort on the part of the government to make yon tool that yon are wealthy. Ante to support the government la it mala basin la life, namely, living beyond Its Income. Th government, which receive a larger Income than any on else, should be taxed npen it The pro ceed might so toward relieving mil lionaire in distress. very income is known by the com pany It keens. Ufa PROVED HE WAS ELIGIBLE Effective Demonstration Convinced Jayhawker That He Had a Val uable Recruit Robert Thorpe, an old Missouri stage driver, who recently died la Texas, used to tall x story of bow Anderson. the Jayhawker, got one of his recruits, The Anderson boys held up Thorpe's stage nenr Glasgow one day. Among the passengers was a raw-boned young Missourian who looked about a tough as the Jayhawker themselves. "Give m yer ral'ables," Anderson demanded of the youth aa ha went down the line. "Ain't got none," answered the yonng squirrel hunter. "Where y o' going' " To Jino Anderson's Jayhawker." The rebel leader sined him up.. "Kin yo swim the Missoury riverT" he asked him. "Reckon so," the young ewered. "Could ye kill a manr "Reckon so." Anderson stepped forward and spat In the youngster's face. The youth bounded at the Jayhawker like ft cat, caught him full la the toco with a right swing and went down on top of him. kicking and clawing. The Jayhawker pulled the young demon oft nnd their lender got up "You belong," he said. "Boys, give him a hawse." mat an CM just com down from Ski bo castle, where she bad been stay in with th bat a Loodon corres- ot th Kaunas City Star. -They are th kindest people hi th to vlxt," ftba sett, "mere was only on thing I dad not Uke there, that waa the porridge. It seems to be an affront to th family if you don't oat your porridge off the lovely silver platter oa which It la served. I did so want to pat on of thai plat ter in my pocket" she added. "They Queen Anna. "Th id sliver at the castle Mr Carnegie fatten. She Is quite craay over PL About t:M la the evening she will nnp out of the drawing room and teal down to toe housekeeper's room to count It before It is locked la Its special sate for the night She is the moat bona proud chat alarm la all th that's saying a lot Th housekeeper has been with her tar years, yet Mr. Carnegie Is not to tet her count these trass- Bat probably It hi lust a labor af tor and a Joy to bar to annate tha rare old things." Thar Is no vestige of snobbery about the Carnegie; they dont pin a bit tor th society of royalty or oven titled folk, but they are anxious for the companionship of brainy indtvid- CK htte Andrew has taken to be ing a raconteur nnd does It a wittily weiL Ha ones hi friend to correct him if he repeat himself. It would be ig it other story tellers did likewise. The gardens ot gkfbo are looking gorgeous tost now, especially the old Bngtteh garden which Is a mass ot flowers, with fruit tree around the waste, and eahbages to give it th true air af a century ago! The walls, of all seat-respecting Bag- re mellow ted what. covered wtth fliitafl foliage. Everybody knows there are no rain bows In the world like those of Boot- When one appears In the sky at Skfbo a bell rings sad nil the bouse party fly to the lawn to admire It Not Nature Faker. Lover, th soo keeper, was feeding filleted plaice to a pair of robust young kingfishers. "Ton can't give s kingfisher in cap tivity its natural food." he said. "Its natural food Is minnows, aunnles and sticklebacks. It eats the fish, whan living Its wUd life in th woods, be side th streams, without any diffi culty, and yet to eat such fish, you know, Is like eating so many papers of pins. "How can it eat such bony flahf wish to speak with all delicacy it throws up all the bones afterward Tee, It throw up th bone niter the meal in a little ball. Nature bona Its flsh for It. "But a kingfisher la captivity gets litU exercise and loses Its ability to threw ap bones. In captivity its nat ami food would kill it "Nature, la a word, refuses to bone flsh for caput kingfishers, and there fore we. taking nature's place, feed the birds filleted sea food." ectric itters w Man Of Him. Win from nets. Pa . :daod back "writes H. , lUlelp KC-ftodl my kidncvsdMr.otwoAriaht, b .tUsof Kleotste Mttets tmmS Ilka . mmmrn PJeTSTIgdftJpBJ For txttessl Use Only. Mrs. Wheeler, a fashionable woman, neat for her physician morning. "Doctor," she said. T want you to give me a prescription which will our me ot a most Irritating trouble. The jester bowed sad waited for her to go oa. "Ahmet eleven o'clock every ntugV eonttened Mrs. Wheeler, 1 asn with a feeling of aleepful- ao matter where I em at the at a dinner party, wherever may be, this dreadful sensation "Oh, I can aire yoa a prescription that will prevent It from overcoming aid the doctor. radiant but when at the slip of paper Che gav her, her face clouded. He "Bed next 1 at night till 1 shipTte ohrfcmsly rsspsasfbte foTttto as hi Now York, the paste ar Bhangs I wtth the task af dot ending the public treat the rssHtmn hamorsMty that harks ha art auncs Um faturistahav sdys. knr proved quit neqnal to to bimIt Task Evening Past WmwmoemmammmmmmmBimmam V j I aTaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" 1 2Z 1 J Guardian of of the The Standard Shoe Co. New Bern, N. G Low Heel English Shoes Button and Lace Boudoir Hugo de Wattville, Mon-about-Town "Watty" says he's sav ing cab and taxi fares since he swung te Cro netts. CrossetU certainly make a maa feel like walking. v "And I'm more stylish than aver," he chuckled. This season's most ionable day boot is shown below. Upper of gray doth. Style No, 107.- Slippers STANDARD WITH CHOCOLATES AND TAFFY James Squirmed Neatly Out of Situ ation That Would Have Been Trytej to Average Man. The conversation turned to the now r ot flattery at a recent historic so cial swains when Miss Billy BurKe, the suli ssa. was reminded of an inci dent along that line. Some time ago, said Miss Bill: . certain young man got rather neg ligent In his courting duty, and It was not until after aa absence of nearly a ek that he finally presented himself at the home of his heart's desire. 1 wonder you cams at all!" she petulantly exclaimed, ot deigning to aottce the five pounce of chocolates. and keeping to the piano stool where there wasn't room tor two. "Of course, yoa were celled away en a business trip, sad the wires ail being oown. yoa couldn't notify me" "No dear," b answered, m nia ten- derest tones. "I haven't been away. have been sick with dyspepsia, and the doctor told me not to coma" What!" ah cried in scornful amazement "Ton bad dyspepsia and the doctor told you not come because of thatr It amounted to the same thing. dear," be ooofully responded. "Ho told me to keep away from all sweets." COMPANY H H 19 1 annan! Bafl'll bbubbV 1b" GROSSETT tttSM tvtrywktrt lyewi A. Crossett. lac., Maktrs North Abiniton, Mass. There's a special Crossett last for people with arch croon. Ask our agents aoout iu Great Winter Sale Needed a Chang. Mr. Mason cam from her city home to spend a few weeks in the country town where sh had lived whan s girl. On morning, while out for a walk, she met a man who in former day bad been a school-mate, sad stopped tor a chat "Why, Charlie." sh said, "your fa ther must be getting well on In years Tea," replied th man, "he's ctos on to elghsy-nlne. And does be enjoy good health T Inquired the woman. "No," said the maa, "be hasn't been light pert for some time." "What seem to be the trouble with r sh asked. "WeM, I dunno," was the answer. T guess farmia' don't agree with him aay more" T Now On fflrtiplfn mv tnrp'anii savp mnnpv onfyour Xnias purchases AlsoTmany Bargainsinrevcryltdiy of Clothing- iFor these eold days. 63 1-2 MIDDLE STREET l ook lor the red and black sign over the window COTTON SEED I For Sale. White's Extra Early prolif Cot ic big Boll improved ton Seed 'from last years seleciionprice $1.00 per bushel, f. o. b. Orien tal N. C. Orders must ac company checks or money orders. Pipe CUTTING lam now In a position o fit any size pipe that you might desire. My outfit ten for this work is complete la . . Jt IJ According to Statistic. In London they tell of a man wtth a serious disease of th throat, who con sulted s specialist The surgeon rec ommended th renwTsl ot th larynx, aa operation which the patient feared might prove dangerous. The surgeon, howver, smiled reas suringly, sad said: "Oh, no! Ton are quite sure to re ooTar." "Bat," persisted the patient. 1 un derstand that this sort of operation is very serious indeed." "sty reason," continued th aurgeoh, "for sayiag that yoa era sure to ro se Is thht Th mortality hi nine teen oat of twenty, and I'to bad nine ana deaths already.' Qrestset Chicken Farm. Mooches tan. Poole, Sngland, Is aid to he th greatest chicken farm tm the world. Expert menu mad there tat the forcing of th growth of chick ens by slsstrical influences ar re ported as ahowlag remarkable result. Ia are weeks electrically treated chicken bar attained the normal weight of chickens three months old. The experiments may bar possible corollaries la the treat meet of sah ohlldrsn Th Outlook. To Farmer Union Members Our stockps the mtt complete in town and our prices are the tame to you as always . F ARRIS NASSEF Department Store Carl Daniels Av.-tney and Counsellor At Law . Practices wherever services arelrequired. Office in MasoniciBuilding. BAYBORO, N. 0 v h eevidence of Confident: An inspection of our pre scription flies shows that we are regularly filling pre scriptions for every phy sician in this locality. We also furnish' many of these physicians with personal supplies. This is an evi dence of confidence in our goods and in our skill as pharmacists. ASK YOUR DOCTOR about us. We are willing to have you judge us by his opinion. The filling of prescriptions is our special ty, and when you have in every detail and I would be pleased to fill your or der. Can do an variety of repair work. Bicylces sold and repaired. Sun dries of all descriptions G. L. MOORE A H. BARNWELL of patients. MISS MAMIE, FA1RV1EW SANATORIUM NEW BERN, N. C. A thoroughly Modern Steam Heated institution for the care of all non con tagious Medical and Sur gical diseases. A special diet kitchen is maintained for the benefit O' KELLY Supt G. A. Caton, II. M.'Bonner M. D. M.D. E. J. WHITE, ORIENTAL, N. C. There is no blite in thi cotton and have raised two bales to the acre for thj past two years. Order ear as stock is limited. .Phone II a K!Fl"r8han There'sa Diff r. . :y r. . ask your do service is ine x nine; ftth. erencs CUf) Bradham Drug Company No. Six-Sixty-Six This ic a prMcripUost prop red ILL a. New Bern, N. C MBMClslW lor MALARIA or CHILLS ft VCR. Five or sis doses win break any cast, and if taken then ss s tonic ike Perer will sol fit acts en lbs liver better thsa sod does set grip or sicken. x Pepsi-Cola .For Thirst Thinke s SAVE THE CROWNS they are valuable. Write fot catalog Pepsi-Cola Co., Sew Bern$NC.
New Berne Weekly Journal (New Bern, N.C.)
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Dec. 19, 1913, edition 1
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