The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1888-11-28
State Aid to Towns.

The following facts respecting state
aid for highways and bridges, and rela-
tive taxation, may be interesting to our
readers and shed some light on matters
recently before the legislature. In Addi-
son county, Goshen has had 81 900, Rip
ton, 81 800; New Haven, $1,000; total,
81 500. In Bennington, Sunderland,
$1,646.7S; Peru, $512; total, 50 1878.
In Chittenden, Shelburne, $500; South
Burlington, 81, 800; total, 1890. In
Essex, Norton, $4,000. In Franklin
county, Sheldon, $l2 1857; Highgate,
$40 $500; total, S23,367. In Lamoille,
Johnson, $500. In Rutland, Mendon,
81 800; Mt. Tabor, 81, 900; total, SO, 800.
In Windham, Jamaica, 1876. In Grand
Isle county, S37 900, and, adding the
late appropriation, a total of $57 900.
With the 1923, 900 given to Sheldon and
Highgate, here is $4,000 of state aid
given to the northwest corner of the
state, and S9l 500 to the counties on
the west side, not including the annual
subsidy to the Burlington college
against 1876 to the counties on the
east side. The extent of the aid given
is generally in inverse relation to the
tax rate. New Haven, with an aver
age tax rate of about sixty cents year
for all purposes, on a list of SS,5S7,
gets $4,000. South Burlington, with
tax rate of seventy-five cents on list
of 1854, gets 81 800. Shelburn, tax
rate sixty-three cents, list S6,112, gets
$780, In Sheldon, with a list of
81 ,039, and Highgate, with a list of
81 SOS, the tax rate is only somewhat
above the average for the state. In
Grand Isle county, the average is
about eighty-fve cents. There are
some ninety-five towns in the state in
which the tax rate is in excess of S1.25,
the average for the state at large; in
fifty-seven towns the rate is in excess
of Sl.j0; in thirty-one it is in excess
of S1.75; in eighteen, in excess of $500;
in ten, in excess of $3.50; in four, in
excess of $500.
In the light of these facts and the
facts which have already been given
respecting the amounts for which towns
have been bonded to aid in building
railways. read the following from the
st. Adams Messenger, the representa-
tive of locality and interests that have
received over $4,000 of state aid.
We advocated state aid for bridges for
the farmers and people of Grand Isle
county for good and wholesome reasons,
the same as would be recognized in any
other section of the state. Their burdens
[sic] are excessively heavy, and under these
circumstances it was proper that the state,
under its own well-settled policy should
come to their aid; and it has come.
Two bridges, to our knowledge, have been
assisted in this county-one in Sheldon and
and one in Highgate. One word as
regards the JOURNALS other scarecrow, that
the rendering of state aid to building high
ways and bridges implies like obligations to
towns TO pay their bonded Indebtedness
for railroads. There is nothing analogous
in the terms AS well might the
JOURNAL say that the state should take up
| the bonds of town issued for building tele-
phone lines street cars, theaters, grist mills
or any other private enterprise in which its
funds might be invested.
There's logic for you! TO build a
railway is, forsooth, in its relation to
the welfare of the state at large analo-
gous to building theaters and grist-mills,
and it is as reasonable to expect state
aid for the latter as for the former! 1t
looks very much as if the bonded towns
that went avoiding to help through this
bridge scheme have returned heeced.