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■ ui' § f; ,. r * V mmm ■ •• Ai^ . - Jk jc Opportunities Declares Mayor (Continued From Page One) countying /the proportionate msion which 'growth makes try in the whole system, the city’s operations depend ent upon receiving $4,500 per month from the profits of the utilities and with the profits hav ing to be used for capital expan sion to take on these new cus tomers, it can easily be seen that from the cash standpoint the sit uation is becoming rapidly criti cal. ’ “In this the city is in the posi tion of a man on a salary just sufficient to support his growing family but at the same time build ing a substantial addition to his house to care for a large family and trying to pay for it from his salary. That man will obviously either have to increase his income some way or cut down his family living costs or go to the building and loan association and get the capital cost of his addition and then pay for it over a period of years. Our bond issue is in the nature of the last and we think, the only sensible solution to the situation in which he and our city find ourselves. “Nevertheless several objections have been leveled at our pro posals and some persons are ac tively working to defeat them.’* “One group of objectors is made up of those people with whom unfortun ately every community is saddled -those who are “agtn everything.’’ They are against all progress, even against all changes, good or bad. Many of them have all they want in an economic way and regard with apprehension every change for fear that their own Uttle boat may be rocked. They are not will ing to risk anything to gdin any thing for they are complacent with what they have already gained. They are the same ones conspicu ous by their absence from the board of every civic organisation. Their opposition to our proposal to welcome if the people only recog nise their brand of public spirit. 1 “Then there are those who sin cerely contend 'that our proposal to too large. I think most of them would not think it too large If they could see our problem In Us right proportion sad- knew all Hie available tacts. “Compared to what we have for years and years been ▼ away through failure to move ahead with the competing com munities who hare taken our young people from us $901,000 to a drop fh the bucket Neverthe less, we know that $904,000 is a lot of money. But it to nothing like as much for the Camden of today as it would hare been for the Camden of only 4 few years sgo. For example: The total Intake of the city, Including its utilities in 1941 was $272,000. Wjth only about $35,000 represented by Increased tax revenues, and In spite of a small reduction in electric ratee the city’s total Intake has grown to $570,000 for this year. Practi cally all that Increase to the re sult of more people and more- business, calling for more city ser vices. Assuming that the entire bond Issue is spent over a four year program city council will have'tless than 50% more available funds per annum, but all of whit^ increase to to go to improvements. “Consider again the number of new electric customers > the city “1 am In favor of selling about $900,900 of the bonds now to take advantage of the present very low interest rates and not te issue any more until we see that the need for the additional bonds to going to be definite. Personally, while 1 recognise Its necessity at tUnas, I hate debt I do not want any part In putting upon the people of Camden a single cent of debt for an unnecessary or unwise purpose. And I 'certainly do not want to ever be faced with the harden of living down any charge of reckless of the city to make. In the first place, I don’t like the idea back ing out on n good faith contract even if It were illegal. But before concluding that this contract to il legal l suggest that the critics of it look into the law on the mbjeet. They will find that the utility con tracts of the city have the same force and latitude as they would hare if the utilities were privately owned. While we never expected to please everyone with all feat- those ures of our proposals, we did net expect that anyone would oppose spending, or erf having dons thostqtbe whole because of objections to things which ought not to have been done. ’In further answer to those who think we have proposed too large an Issue let me direct their atten tion to the fact that there are ab solutely no frills in our proposals It would be nice to have a new city hall and a small auditorium, but It Isn’t essential so 1$ Isn’t In cluded. Curbs, gutters and side- walk, are nhSe u> have but not!that if we vote the bond toss, our absolutely essential, so, except tor (taxes will double? It would be one block, they are not In the much nearer the truth to say that plans. Idore ground level water if we don’t vote the bond tosne our storage capacity and a heating taxes will have to be drastically minor feature or features. If many adopted that attitude we would never get very far. “Filially, there are these who ob ject to the bond tosne because they tear higher taxes will result. For anyone to say that the bond Issue wUl double <tor taxes to just plain silly. After all property taxes now constitute less than one-fifth of the city’s income. Why plant at the waterworks would be nice, but not being essential, wef omitted them, so alpo s swimming took on last year. Multiply these 300 new customers by the number in the average family and one can get an idea how fast our commun ity is growing. And we have just begun to grow. Our great reslden- property owners, tial growth will be over the next pool would be nice, but not tial. All these were eliminated In cutting onr proposals to include on ly those Items we sincerely think soon are immediately essential or will be essential. Other persons have objected to our paving proposals because we do not plan to assess the adjacent The argument few years. » “Those who object to the'stoe of our proposals say quite correct ly that it will not require $909,000 to do everything wthteh is now necessary to bring our city up to scratch. We have repeatedly and frankly explained that this is true. Our answer to that to lay out a four year program on the assump tion that Camden was going to im mediately cease to grow—that the duPont plant will bring no more people to our utilities area, would be folly. Unless we plan with a reasonable consideration of the future we are doing mighty poor planning. As a matter of fact, I am afraid thyit in this respect our bond tosde proposals are too mod est. Allowance is made in them for 300 new utility customers in the next four years which is the same number we added last year akrasi. “Frankly, I think $900,000 or $950,000 would bring Camden up to scratch if it doesn't grow any more from this day forth. Would e hhvB us plati that n't grow any more from this day forth? for the,assessment method is bas ed upon the ‘eye for an eye’ view that, because the existing pave- . meats were partly financed through fall behind paving asaeasments so should all las it was fifty years ago it would future paving. There are several have fallen disgracefully behind xatoed. For there are many things which cost money that must be done, bond issue or no bond Issue. We must provide the facilities, as best we can to supply service to new residents and the money wHl have to be gotten from every pos sible source to meet the resulting capital demands. , “A4poet half of the proposed bpnd Issue to for revenue produc- ing improvements. The rest is to keep Camden a good place in which to live by comparison with other cities. Being a good town Is pure ly relative. To stand still to to If Camden was Just jm •yMi like its real value, ly, nevertheless, so tax Income will steadily Increase. ’•However, thw real major source Mm of the funds to pay <** these bonds -to our electric revenues. The av erage profit per customer to about $$.00 per month. By simple mi ca iation it can bp eeen that if last year’s record of now electric cus tomers keep# up for four years, and then stops, thb profit from new customers atom will, over a peeled of twenty year*, be almost sufficient.to pay the entire principal 'of the proposed bond to- •oe. ’Titos bond issue win mean mdre work to be dO»e hy all of us In your city > government. We have nothing to gain from,it but the feeling of satisfaction of hating done our Job na we see it We hope everyone hy supporting us in qnr efforts in this direction may share that feeling With US. , “To this end I urge all property owners who have not signed the election petition to promptly sign snd return H so that the electio may bo held and we can get on with the big job we have to do. “To each.and every cittoqn and S 3 petty owner of Camden I say, us unitedly and wholeheartedly accept the challenge which to of fered ns. Let us fearlessly - fate the future and do those things which ought to be done. , “Life Is too short to waste In critic peep of cynic hart, “Up, mind thine own aim, and Ood speed thy mark " Karachi, Paki&tary will buy a sheet-glass plant to tur nout 10 tons a day. How do you like our new shingle? i We’re your new headquarters for General Becftic Automatic Heating Equipment. Our new appointment is a big event for yum It meaas that General Electric Heating Equipment is avaHtble—right aow—right hare la your own community. It means met •yon now have our organization at band m install G-E equipment-end keep it serviced. We welcome the chance of telling you pet tonally just why G-E besting It “just right'* There ere s lot of things you will want to know about coat installation, how the equip- mcm worn, mqq wny u world Dvttcf. A phone call or s poet card will bring ybu the ^aswets. MOODY HEATING 411 Hampton Ave. DEALER CAMDEN, S. C. 311 answers to this objection. In the first place most of those who paid peving assessments for paving did so more than 25 years ago. Twen ty-five years to supposed to be the full life of that paving. In other words those who paid their assess ments for that paving have gotten their full money’s worth in the years they have had it while oth ers continued to swallow dust and slide through mud. The paving program of about ten years ago also involved a rather liberal WPA aid allowance eo the owners’ as sessments were comparatively small. Also, there is less reason for a property assessment in our program than there was under th<- first program by reason of the dif ference In tha amount Involved. The paving put down in Camden in the 1920’s cost about $49,090 per mile, while that we are plan- to put dowa will coat about $10,000 per mile. We could not poesiMy get more than $40,000 to ward our paving program from pav ing assessments. If that were money saved the community that yvould be one thing, bnt It is not. It still costs the community as a whole. By assessing we would be simply shifting to a special group of the city part of the load, the benefits of which all of us will en joy. It will coat the people Of Cam den not over 40 cents per person per year tor 20 years not to put a proportionately much larger bur den on some of onr people In the 'form Of peving assessments. This sum to much lees that the people will save In street maintenance through having those streets pav ed. Also, to Impose paving ssssss ments we most have petitions from the majority of the adjacent owners on any street If a major ity fall to petition we cannot prop erly Integrate any logical street system. Also, the bookkeeping, of fice work and engineering involv ed in making paving assessment over twelve miles of streets would eat up a considerable portion of any savings to the city, which might result from assessing abut ting properties.. This to an eco nomic waste. Finally, with the State Highway department paving some streets the inequity of a pav ing assessment becomes glaring. If the City Council can designate certain streets to be paved by the Skate Highway department with out assessment and others to be paved by the city with assessment, we think the injustice of assess ments becomes obvious. Then there are those who ob ject to the whole program because there are minor features which they dislike. Typical of this arw those who object to the provision in the proposal tor the completion of the work agreed to be done in the contract with the Jaclyn Hos iery Mills, when the need is shown They would have the city welch on its contract on the ground that the contract was beyond tbb right and could not by any measure be considered to be a good town in. which to live and raise one’s fami ly today. “Finally, there are the inquiries as to how we plan to pay the inter est on these bonds and pay the bonds off. This very proper and important question comes from some who are simply fearful and from others who are seeking in formation on this very important potato To those who are simply if earful the answer to that we will pay the bonds off just as all the bonds which were Issued, in the past for all of our existing facili ties were paid off. Relatively, both in relation to population on wealth the bond issue we propose Is not nearly/so large as some which-have been" made lit Camden tn the 4 past “For those who ask this ques tion to get the facts here are our Jdmai. .We halfcva that to take advantage of the prevailing low interest rates a substantial por tion of the bonds should be sold as soon as possible and the money not he need in the (Current year’s program should be invested in U. 8. Government bonds, the interes' on which will largely offset our interest charges Those funds which are spent Hill for the most part tin mediately start .producing either revenue, from utilities, or savings, on street paving and wa ter operations. “Meanwhile Camden to now building at the rate of $1,099,000 per year. This bnfldtng tends to ip our tax base; true at nothing IIEllllllHlil COMING ATTRACTIONS Hllli !! H Broad and Ruiledgs Sis CAMDEN. S. a FrL-SaJL June $-4 Ambush! Follow “Rocky” to new Thrills and Danger! Allan "Rocky” Lane—in -SUNDOWN IN 8ANTE FE~ Also: Chapter 2 of “King of the Jungleland” and Comedies* Mon.-TueSw Jims 9-7 SPECIAL! First showing in Camden! Spine-chilling Thrills the bottom of the sea! -18 FATHOMS DEEP- Filmed in Vivid Ansco Color! Alsot Nsws and Coussdiss Wsd.-Thura M June 8-1 A Killer Stalks His Prey! starring—Jane Frazee Warren Douglas jg. Also: News and Comedies Bank Nile Every Wednesday! SPECIAL FRIDAY AND SATURDAY i •• ? ,-e. -•» . Petunias... Scarlet Sage... Verbena.,. Coleus... Marigolds in pots mamaaeaBamsaamkguuaaaaam I 1 if \ a Lx V# & o Once you TRY you'll always if 4 . $!.N per dozen plants »■' i a 9 j if ^ CAMDEN FLORAL CO., *11 I* iff •w. i * I; •* *•$ L'a*. A • / % 9 * mI dtfYti iW#« J v Meet A.S, UWIENQE- (TONE Ft* s* L s Wi'*'' ■ jjf. ■hM- - 1