Morning journal and courier., 1889-03-20
DENOMINATION.

Citizens Interested-Judge StOddard, Henry 0. White and Others Argue In Favor of the Biil-MaDy New Ha- veners In nAttendnnce-TheR Railroad HearinS-The Secret Ballot-Other Legislative Matters.
 HARTFORD, March 19. Especial Correspondence of the JOURNAL AND CoUR- IER.l New Haven's great consolidation fight was begun before the committee on cities and boroughs this afternoon at 2 o'clock. Att torneys John w. filling and John O. Gal lagher appeared in favor of the bill to con- solidate, which is already familiar to the people. Attorney W. 0. Case, Judge Dem ing, W. P. Niles and Hobart Hotchkiss ap- peared for the opponents, the former repre- | senting he selectmen of New Haven. The ! following well known citizens of city and town were present to take a hand in the | fight: Selectmen Klenke, Sternberg, Cooper, Beecher, Town Agent Todd, Joel A. Sperry, | Detective John Leete, Francis G. Anthony, president Beecher of the Diamond Match I company, John T. Sloan, Hon. Joseph Shell | don, Charles A. Bray, Fred B. Farnsworth, Registrar E.. T. Merrill, Hon. James Gal | lagher, James D. Dewell, O. G. Kimberly, | Livingston W. Cleveland, Frank D. Pavey, E. G. Stoddard, Nathan Easterbrook, jr., | l. dard, John Ruff, Attorney Henry c. White, Eli Whitney, jr., W. J. Atwater, Eli Whit | ney, Superintendent of Schools Dutton, Hon. ! Joseph D. Plunkett, Frank H. Sperry, E. Henry Barnes, James M. Townsend, Alderman Richard M. Sheridan.
 Senator Mead, chairman of the committee, \ said that the eutire week would be given up to this matter, and if necessary the commit
 tee would sit nights, but the contestants
 \ must settle the battle during the week, as ! the committee had load of other business ' to attend to.
 | Attorney filling opened the case by an ex- planation of the consolidation bill and with the statement that the voting population of \ the districts annexed is as follows: West \ vile 426, Fourteenth ward 412, Fifteenth | ward 225; of which 468 are employed in the ! city.
 Ex-Judge Henry Stoddard was the first | witness. He was corporation counsel for | New Haven in 1881, when part of Fair Ha- ! ven was annexed to the town, He was put on the stand to prove that there never was any agreement that the annexed part should not become 8 part of the city until it agreed to. Judge Stoddard testified that when an- nexation occurred in 1881 there never was any such agreement, express or implied, and that the matter was brought about almost entirely by the people of Fair Haven east and | the people of the city were very little inter- \ ested in it.
 
 annexation to the city government, filed with | the legislature in 1881, which represented \ that social and business relations demanded | it. Judge Deming was attorney for the pe- \ titioners at this time. MT. Case objected to | the reading of the bill as immaterial, and Judge Deming said it would only necessitate ! an explanation by him.
 Judge Stoddard continuing his testimony
 said that he was strongly of the opinion that consolidation should come about. He uns derstood the present bill to relieve from the selectmen work they were unqualified to bear. The bill abolishes useless offices and ! ia in his opinion wise legislation which must come sooner or later. In town where there
 are 18, ,000 voters, as in New Haven, it is an ut ter farce. It is necessarily so that in New Haven the question of relief to outside poor, is very much mixed up with politics, and | Judge Stoddard holds that a town pauper should be a town pauper and not politician. He took occasion to say that no reflection
 was cast upon town officials, but the present system was very unnecessarily expensive ! Witness said it was absurd that two corporations representing the same territory and interests should be continually in con hict with each other or that there should be corporation counsel and another lawyer hired by the town at an extra expense of $1 800 or more year. One form of govern
 ment would be much more economical. Judge Stoddard was not cross-examined. Henry c. White was the next witness. He said that the experience of all cities had been that the selectmen could not care for the de- pendent poor in an economical way. "When- ever," said MT. White, 'fany attempt is made to change the order of things for the better, the old conservative element rises up in op- position. It was just so when the first at tempt was made to sewer the city. The present system is not well enough to let alone"
 Attention was called by the witness to the fact that recently the police picked up @ woman with contagious disease and the town authorities refused to take charge of her. and she was allowed to wander about the city spreading disease. Ills produced the newspaper comments on this case when Q re- form in the system was demanded. MT. White said Weetville is opposed to consoli- dation, as it has been for twenty years. The place has never made concession, though often asked to confer with 8 view to an un- derstanding. The present bill provided that
 the tax to the annexed portion should not be
 over five mills, as at present, and which is
 lower than most of the other towns of the
 State. MT. White continued as follows:
 "The town meeting has already been packed
 on more than one occasion in the interest of
 particular schemes and in case it misuses it's
 power no one can be held responsible. Perhaps the best test of the efficiency and excellence of government Is the result of it's financial administration. A comparison of some of the figures from the reports of the city auditor with those from the reports of the town agent will tend to show the rela- tive merits of the city and town methods of business, as tested side by side in the same community.
 The average rate of town taxation for the fifteen years ending with 1883 was 3-10 mills The average rate for the five years end ing with 1885 was 6-10 mills, an increase of 30 per cent. During the nine years ending 1SSS the towns income from liquor licenses paid over by the county commissioners also
 increased from $63, ,433 55 to $109, ,S72, or 72 per cent. The reduction in the rate of State taxation, included in the town rate, should also be taken into account.
 The average rate of the city tax for the 13 years ending with 1883, was 9 9-10 mills. For the five years ending with 1888, II 1-10 mills, an increase of little over 12 per cent. In 1870 the town debt was $214, ,000, of which considerable part was made up of war loans. In 1871 town meeting increased
 the debt to S714,O00 by voting $50O,0OO to
 aid railroad company, the Air Line, prac
 tice since prohibited by constitutional
 amendment. In 1881, "by annexation of a
 portion of the town of East Haven to the town of New Haven the bonded indebtedness of the town of East Haven, amounting to $16O, ,00O, at 6 per cent. per annum, was as- stunned by the town of New Haven" bringing the debt up to $903, ,295.
 The floating debt of the town, considera- ble portion of which seems to have been incurred for current expenses, now amounts to $241 ,564.09, bringing the total up to $995, ,961.O9.
 In 1880 the annual interest charge paid by the town was $44, ,036.74 in 1888 it was $53,- 688. .92, an increase of $9, ,652 IS.
 In 1880 the annual interest charge of the city was $71, ,011. .45 in 1887 it was $54, ESQ., 83, decrease of SIG, 62. $14, 750 of this decrease is due to the Derby settlement. It will thus be seen that in the matter of taxation, debt and interest the city makes a better showing than the town.
 The real explanation for the opposition from Westville and the Annex is to be found
 in the fear of increased taxation, and in
 somewhat unreasonable objection to city government as such.
 The principle of consolidation is not an experiment. It has been thoroughly tested,
 with satisfactory results in nearly all the
 large towns of Massachusetts, in Providence,
 in Burlington, Vermont, and in New Lon don, in our own State. A consolidation act for