Show TEE PAYING LAW The new law confers upon cities of the first and second class the power to obtain money for the paving of streets by the sale of bonds These are to be known as paving pav-ing bonds and they are redeemable in ten annual payments the interest being payable paya-ble semiannually The bonds are to be alien a-lien on the property abutting on the street paved If the land owner does not like to have this mortgage hanging over his property prop-erty and if ho wants to avoid the payment of interest he can pay the pavement assessment assess-ment at tho outset or he can take up and cancel the bond at any time In many respects the law is a good one The great obstacle in the way of paving our wide streets is the immense cost Comparatively few of the property owners can meet the cost without saddling themselves with an onerous burden of debt If there were to be anything like a general paving of the streets and the assessments had to be paid down the recorder would need to increase his clerical force to make record of the mortgages that would be presented so many people finding it necessary to put plasters on their lots in order to obtain the money The time of payment being extended over ten years and the interest being low paving will not be such a serious seri-ous matter When the proposition is presented pre-sented the landowner will not conclude that the end will be the last of his property He can in most instances see his way clear and when he understands that the increased value of his property by reason of the paved street running in front will help him to meet the expense the improvement will have in it fewer terrors than it bas heretofore borne And yet while the city has this new power and a way has been opened to the paving of the streets without inflicting great distress the authority should be exercised ex-ercised with caution In this as in sidewalk side-walk improvements tho propertyowners should have the privilege of deciding by majority vote Every street should decide for itself If this rule shall be followed little hardship will be inflicted The majority ma-jority of the lotowners along given street are usually agreed as to what will be best for their property and they may be relied to act upon the proposition wisely If paving districts shall be made large and to include streets which cannot afford the improvement with those that are eager for it and in good condition to pay the pavement may bo defeated against the best interest of certain propertyowners or it may bo carried to the injury and oppression op-pression of poor people By adopting the single street plan a rivalry will be stimulated stimu-lated and the paving will be more general than otherwise The city council will act wisely by proceeding pro-ceeding cautiously in this matter and letting let-ting the propertyowners who must pay thebills say whether or not they want to to pave |