Mayor Smith's Report

The Financial Condition of the city is lot just what t ought to beor as I would lke to have it, but I am not to blame for t. Last year the trewurer used up about orty-four hundred and some odd dollar, which hls bondsnien made good to the ;ity. Since tlie firft of April he u?ed wenty-one hundred and odd dollars. Flie city holds a mortgatfe on real estáte, jne lot of whlch it is the flrst mortirage, ind second on the balance of the property. It inoludes hls and his mother'H Interest In the sald property. There is also ibout four hundred dollars now In the Uourt which, If declded in favor of the city, we shall iret out nearly whole. KUetric Lighit have been tried a little over one year. Through the central and niMricss part of the city it is well lighted. In the outskirts of the city there is need f more lights, then the whole city would be well lighted throughout, but owing to the great cost of the liffht, th city has lad to (jo very Blow. If the expense eould, by gome nieans, be reduced so tliat wecouldadd thirty or forty more lights in the city, it would be very desirable. Then, I think, tuat tliey should be lighted until about half-past thrte o'clock a. m. To do all of tbis it will require more money than is at the disposul of the council for this purpose. Water Works. Owlng to the great drought for the past two yeare tliev were a little short in the supply of water. The cotnpany have added one new boiler in their engine room, an Improvement which was very much needed. Mr. Hamilton informs me that they are going to put in new pumps next season. This will be a very desirable improvement, as it will protect ub In case of an accident to any part of the pumps now in use. But everything considered, tliey have done very well indeed, when you consider the magnitude and extent of the drought. Fire Department. There ehould be a general over-hauling of this department as there is plently of room for Improvement. We can have a paid department with thrce new hose carta to be drawn with horse power, tobe man ned with four or five men to each. Could dispense with the fire engine and a large number of men. The whole expense would not be more thatthreeor tive hundred dollars mote than at present. With the hook and ladder company, we would then have a more efficiënt fire department. The department does as well as it is possible with that with which they have to do. The tire departmer.t Is composed of as good men as you can find iu any fire department in the country. They have been very much neglected by the Council In not belnjr given more and better supplies. If you want a real good fire department you raust pay some one for doing the work and to look after its wants. Charter Cluinges. There are many iinprovemente that could be made in our charter. First, the Mayor and Recorder should be deprived of the right to vote. The Recorder should be only a recordlng officer, should be clerk for all ot the itandliiK committees, should have an office in the Fireman's Hall, should keep all the papers and records of the city, should devote his whole time to the ofBce, and should be paid a salary sulHcient to secure the best men for the oftice. As it is now, the city loses hundreds of dollars aiinuully by its papers uot being cared for. The Hecorder is not to blame, as you furnish liini ouly one email desk fo the storing of all the archives of the city The result is, that the city's papers are scattered all over the city in boxes nui cellars. Second, You elect a mayor and glve liiin no power and then you elect a ('min cil with him that will remove an office quicker for dolng iiis duty than for the ueglect of it. Ynu tben start off uu blame the mayor and thlnk tbatyou have done your whole duty as citien. The Mayor sliould have the reto power. Tlie appointing of the Treasurer, Marshal and Patrollmen, wilh power to removí at will. You tlicn tix the responsibilit; n pon one man. As it is now, it Is 01 foiirteen men and It is utmost impnasibli to remove au officer, as it is a very eas; ni'itter to manufacture sympathy uiiiou, tliat number whicli prevent their belni removed. Under this change when the Mayor called on the Treasurer for a mnntlily statement he would not neglec niaking it for months and so with all o the ofiicers, they would all be on time. You elect men for Aldermen tliat yoi would nut trust to expend a thousam dollars for you but you are willing tha they shouiii expend over tweuty-five thousand dollars for the city annually Even the Council that you elect Uil spring may be the very one that will ex pcnd one hundred thousand dollars. Sewerage. One of the great wants o this cily lo-day is a proper and complete systeni of 6ewerage. It wants the bes men and bil of the best wisdom of Hiel men to adopt a plan that will not prove a total failure after you have expendí thousands of dollars in its constructioo It the system of using two sewer pipes one for reffuse and the olher to carry of the surface water of the street9, shouli be adopted for the whole city, it is mj opinión that It will prove a failure. Too inany sewers fail on account of being too small to carry off the amount that U thrown into thein. If this is not toon at tended to and a complete system of sewerage put into this city, It will only be a few years at the most when this city wil have lost the honor of beiug the healthiest city of its sie in the country. I tueans a debt of about one hundrei thousand dollars. It will take 11 01 nearly all of this amount to put in a gooc and complete system of sewerage. It is a hard ciiy to scwer, as the main sewer must extend through the ,cily and down below soiue distance, say to the Bunker dam. There must be no mlstake as to the tlM of the main sewer. It had bttter be a little too large than too small. This is a matter tliat nveds attention. If neglected too long, the city will suffer by Sisease that will make great havoc am strike terror to its inhiibitauts when it Is too late. For this reason alone it becomes doubly important for you to elect the best men for the Council. I am afraid of debt and belleve In keeping down the taxes as much as aiij one in tlie city, but I do heliere In doing whatever the city does, thoroughly If a good and complete system of sewerage is put Into this city it will do more to improve the health and more to boom the town than any one thlng alone that can