The Aspermont Star (Aspermont, Tex.), Vol. 10, No. 35, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 5, 1908 Page: 8 of 8
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PAST AND PRESENT.
The Financial Condition of
Stonewall County 8 Years
ago and at Present.
By request I herewith present
a statement for the consideration
of our citizens and tax-payers,
showing the Financial conditions
of our county 8 years ago, and its
condition today. When Judge
Forrester was elected nearly
eight years ago, he found the
county in a state of Bankruptcy,
her treasury without funds, and
in debt between $(>0,000.00 and
$65,000.00 and her jury warrants
going at a discount of 70 cents on
the $1.00 and the General fund
warranss going at a discount of
50centsonthe$l. During Judge
Forrester's term of four years in
office, he reduced the county in-
debtedness and refunded her out-
standing Bonds, which were then
drawing Syí an$i 6 per cent in-
terest, and now 4 per cent and 5 K>,
saving to our people 2 per cent in-
terest annually on these bonds;
he adopted a sound policy that is
the revenue must exceed the ex-
penses, and the fruits of his sow-
ing has proven to be the salvation
of our county; had he not adopted
the policy that he did, in all pro-
bability our county would have
been plunged in debt to such an
extent that it would yet take
years to get out of debt and on a
cash basis, as we stand today.
Nearly four years ago, our re-
cords show that we were in debt
to the amount of about $64,000.00
as follows:
Outstanding bonds (5)4 and 4
per cent interest bearing) $38,000
Outstanding jury cer-
tificates the amount of 6,000
Outstanding general fund
warrants to the amount of 18,000
Total, $64,000
And nothing in the treasury
with which to meet this indebt-
edness, the proceeds derived from
the collection of taxes, having
been exhausted in the payment
of old debts, and rnnning expen-
ses, other funds being out of debt,
but very little in treasury to their
credit. At that time our Jury
scrip was worth only 30 or 35
cents on the $1.00, and our Gen.
fund warrants worth only 60c on
the $1.00. At present our in-
debtedness stands as follows:
Bonds outstanding, $36,500
Outstanding Jury cert. .00
Outstanding Gen. fund, .00
We have today to'the credit of
Jury fund, $1,200
Credit of Gen. fund. 1,800
Credit of R & B fund, 2,000
Cridit sinking fund about 2,000
Credit C H & J fund about 500
Credit of 6th class fund " 1,000
Total, (approximately) $8,500
Besides keeping our current
expenses up, which amounted to
about $3,500 per year, and ex-
pending besides this, about $1500
per year on roads and bridges,
aggregating amounts expended
for three years past about $15000
including exofficio salaries of offi-
cers, pay of jurors, paying for
right-of-way for roads, road dam-
ages, judgments against the
count}\ court dockets, deed rec-
ords, books and stationery of ev-
ery kind, printing, repairing
clerk's office, court house and
jail, etc., today our county war-
rants are at par, wortth 100 cents
on the $1.00, and we are now
able to pay as we go. We can
now reduce our tax rate to 40c
on the $100.00, which has hereto-
fore, for the past 8 years, been
65c on the $100.00; on every
$1000.00 worth of taxable proper-
ty 3'ou have heretofre been pay-
ing into the county's treasury
$6.50 for the use and benefit of
the county for all purposes above
mentioned. Some people think
that all the taxes paid in by them
are used for the benefit of the
county and are disbursed by the
orders of the commissioners'
court; this is an erroneous idea,
and an injustice to the court.
Let's see how our taxes have
been applied for the past two or
three years: For the year 1905
the state advalorem tax fixed by
the Legislators at 16 2-3 cents on
the $100.00, making $1.62 2-3c on
the $1000.00, which the county
commissioners have nothing to do
with; also for that year you paid
18c on the $100.00 for state school
purposes, making $1.80 on the
$1000.00 for state school purposes
voted on the people by your-
selves, and not levied by the com-
missioners court, making a total
on the $1000 worth of taxable
property of $5.42 2-3 that the
county gets no part of. For the
year 1906 state advalorem run to
$2 on the $1000; state school $1.-
80; county school $2, entire coun-
ty tax $6.50. For 1907 state ad-
valorem run down to 12 1-2 cents
on the $100,' or $1.12 1-2 on the
$1000 and state school raised to
$2 on the $1000, county school
remaining as voted by the people
$2 on the $1000; entire county
remaining the same $6.50 on the
$1000. So a man owning $1000
worth of property pays a total
tax of $11.62/^, the county getr
ting $6.50 of this amount, the
state and school the balance.
We now find ourselves out of
debt, (excepting bonded indebt-
edness). We can and will re-
duce our county rate to 40c on
the $100, and maybe as low as 30c
on the $100. Under the full ren-
dition law and a 20c tax on the
$100 for local school purposes,
each and every school district in
the county will have a surplus in
the treasury after closing of the
scholastic year, and this surplus
will accumulate each year, and
under these conditions in a few
years will pile up like our indebt-
edness just paid off. We will
have more school funds than we
can use. Under the present cir-
cumstances I think it best to dis-
pose of our county's school land
and apply the interest received
from the deferred payments and
supplemeht the state school fund,
which will give us as good schools
as we now have, and let the peo-
ple vote oif the 20c tax that they
are now paying for local school
purposes, and by so doing our
entire county tax will be between
$3.50 and $4.00 on the $1000.00
worth of property, instead of
$8.50 as it has heretofore been.
Now, that we are out of debt and
can paj* as we go, my policy will
be, (and I hope the next court)
pay as you go, and if you can't
pay don't go. Never let the
county get balled up in debt, as
in the days of its infancy. When
she was organized and dressed in
her long swaddling clothes her
"Dads" were proud of her and
turned her loose. She run wild,
soiled and tore her clothes; they
did not provide for her reckless-
ness and permitted her to go fur-
ther and further in debt, until
finally she had to be re-dressed
and cleaned up at the expense of
those who visited her later, you
and I. Forbid that she should
ever go back into the mire and
bog from which we have just
lifted her at such a sacrifice to
ourselves. We have been severe-
ly censured by some of our con-
stituents for our actions; we
have done the best that we could;
we are human and subject to er-
ror. Should we look for perfec-
tion. we must penetrate the blue
skies, and look l'ar beyond into
• •
WE ASK YOU
To examine our statement of
condition
People who intrust their
money to a bank should know
something of its financial
strength. The annexed state-
ment speaks for itself—on its
strength we solicit your bus
1Í16SS.
"THE
OLD
RELIABLE"
1
«The..
FIRST NATIONAL
..BANK.,
of Aspermont
No. 5786.
REPORT OF THE CONDITION OP
The First National Bank
OF ASPERMONT,
at Aspermont, in the State of Texas,
at the close of business, Feb. 14, 1908.
RESOURCES. ,
Loans and Discounts $ (>8,009.71
Overdrafts, secured and un-
secured • 4,587.12
U. S. Bonds to secure cir-
culation 7,300.00.
Banking house, furniture.
and fixtures 2,800.00
Due from National Banks
(not reserve agents) 4,199.9"
Due from approved reserve
agents 16,037.33
Checks and other cash items 1,294.98
Notes of other National
Banks 2,325.00
Fractional paper currency,
nickels, and cents 88.80
Lawful money reserve in bank viz: '
Specie $5,895
Legal-tender notes.. $2,000 $ 7,895.00 ¿pi
Redemption fund with U. S.
Treasurer (5 per cent of
circulation) $ ^^375^00
Total $115,112.91
LIABILITIES. I
Capital stock paid $ 25,000.00
Surplus fund 5,200.00
Undivided profits, less ex-
penses and taxes paid 9,159.99
National Bank notes out-
standing 7,500.00
Individual deposits subject I
to check * 68,247.92
Cashier's checks outstanding, 5.00 i
Total $115,112.91
State of Texas, County of Stonewall, ,
I, P, Brady, Cashier of the above- j
named bank, do solemnly swear that
the above statement is true to the best ]
of my knowledge and belief.
P. Brady, Cashier.
Subscribed and sworn to before me
this 24th day of Feb. 1908.
(Seal.) Ernest Herring, v
Notary Public. ; ,
Correct—Attesti
Wm. Jordan, j
D. R. Couch, v n
S. B. Pierson,
Directors.
the portals of Glory where the
streets are paved with gold.
We can all look back, and see
our mistakes after they are made
but it is not so easy to look into
the future and know just what is
best to do; we sometimes handle
our individual affairs, and in busi-
ness transactions lose heavily; we
back our judgment in all trans-
actions of our individual affairs;
sometimes we make fatal mis-
takes with our own affairs. Did
you ever make a mistake in the
management of your own affairs?
If not, you have never had any
affairs of your own to manage,
and if you have ever made a mis-
take in the management of your
own business, you would be very
likely to make a mistake in the
management of every body's busi-
ness, or at least if you had every-
body's business and your business
to attend to, somebody would be
sure to complain at how you man-
aged their business, and, at the
same time in your honest judg-
ment, you might feel conscious of
the fact that you had done all
things for the best, or thought so
at the time. I don't make this
statement by way of an apology
for any thing that we have done
as a court; neither do I make it in
order to get in a left handed blow
on the jaw of those who have seen
fit to criticise the actions of the
court, but make it in order that
you may know more about your
county affairs and especially how
your taxes have been prorated,
and how wre have managed same
for the past three years; no man
should be afraid of his record
even though it be criticised by
his constituents. "Be sure that
you are right, and then go ahead,"
was the motto of David Crocket,
a motto that we should all follow,
but who can always say that "I
am absolutely right"? Not I. can
you.'
Your humble servant,
W. J. Arrington.
Citation by Publication.
THE STATE OF TEXAS.
To the Sheriff or any Constable
of Stonewall Co., Greeting:
You Are Hereby Commanded
to summon R. P. Garrett, by
making publication of this Cita-
tion once in each week for four
successive weeks previous to the
return day hereof, in some news-
paper plished in your County, if
there be a newspaper
published therein, but if
not, then in any newspaper pub-
lished in the 39th Judicial Dis-
trict; but if there be no news-
paper published in said Judicial
District, then in a newspaper
published in the nearest District
to said 39th Judicial District, to
appear at the next regular term
of the County Court °f Stonewall
County, to be hold en at the Court
House thereof, in Aspermont
on the 1st Monday in April A. I),
1908, the same being the 6th day
of April, A. D. 1908, to answer a
petition filed in said Court on the
4th day of February A. D. 1908
in a suit, numbered on the docket
of said Court No. 106, wherein
Hugh Metcalfe is plaintifi, and
R. P. Garrett is Defendant, said
petition alleging that on Oct. 21,
1907, defendant for a valuable
consideration made, execucted
and delivered to plaintiff his cer-
tain promissory note of date Oct.
21, 1907, due one day after date,
bearing interest from due date at
10 per cent, for sum of Seven
Hundred Dollars, and providing
for attorney fees of 10 per cent if
placed in hands of attorney for
collection. That there has been
paid on this note and credits al-
lowed the sum of $225.00 leaving
a balance of $425.00 yet due
plaintiff on principal of said note.
Plaintiff alleges that he is the
legal holder and owner of said
note and though often requested
defendant has failed a n d
refused to pay balance due
on same to plaintiffs damage in
sum of $500.00. Plaintiff
that said note is secured
chattel mortgage on 20 head
horses and 15 head of steers
wherefore plaintiff prays fot*,
judgment against said R.
Garrett for said sum of $4:
interest, attorneys fees and
costs of suit, and foreclo6uee of.
his chattel mortgage lien on 1
live stock.
Herein fail not, but have
fore said Court, at its afor
next regular term, this writ,
your return thereon, sha
how you have executed the
Witness, R. S. Tillotson,
of the County Court of Stofife*-
wall County.
Given Under My Hand aiHl
the Seal of said Court, at office ill
Aspermont this the 2nd day of
March, A. D. 1908.
(seal) R. S. Tillotson, Clerk*
County Court, Stonewall County
%
Bass'Best Liniment is recom-
mended by farmers and stockmen
who have used it. 50c bottle.
CARRIAGE
BOW SUPPORTER
Bet t Thing On The Market
ONLY $1.50 PER PAIS
Satisfaction
Guaranteed or your
J
Money Back.
For sale by J. A. Carroll, at
Keen's market.
R.C.LEDBETTER
Patentee.
Aspermont, Texas.
m
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Thomas, S. W. The Aspermont Star (Aspermont, Tex.), Vol. 10, No. 35, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 5, 1908, newspaper, March 5, 1908; Aspermont, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth168354/m1/8/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Stonewall County Library.