Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1895-04-20
That Cumberland Hand.

land NeUS to assail the JOURNAL per-
sonally must, of course, moderate ma
terially the substance and tone Of our
contention for the right of Frostburg
fremen to hold their reunion undated
by any counter-attraction elsewhere
within their fraternal domain.
The most ordinary sense Of justice
debating Frostburg rights in the prem
Uses, we have not, however, over
stepped the bounds of fair defence to i'm
pute "meanness" to an individual.
Such tactics are usually the last resort Of
defeated desperation-a predicament
to which we have not been pressed by
any weakness of our cause.
AS far as possible, therefore, we
shall ignore every imputation as not
only undeserved, but foreign to the
subject in hand.
1t is our purpose now. in reply to
the following clipping, to establish the
truth of an allegation made last week:
What has Cumberland ever grabbed from
the people of Frostburg? What have you to
grab" anyway? The assertion that the
Cumberland hand is forever in this regions
pocket under some pretext OF other" is an
infamous libel of which you ought to feel
ashamed, if you are not dead to that sense.
There is a publication annually cur
rent in this county known as 1.-The
Levy List" 1t is mostly paper of
Cumberland architecture and construc
ton, each differing from the preceding
issue mainly in increased totals and
aggregate.
The list for 1894 indicates that the
city and environs of Cumberland are
charged with $50, 920.06 taxes.
The same list charges the three dis
tricts'of this region with $l09, 56l.l 10
nearly twice as much as Cumberland :.
The same list shows that of the
$4,000 paid by Cumberland for coun-
ty purposes not one solitary dollar ever
gets out of Cumberland
Moreover, that of $4,000 that can
not be exactly distributed, Cumber-
land gets more than her share, and the
same IS probably true Of about $4,000
which our want of acquaintance with
names disables us from locating at all.
But we can assume that the lower
end Of the county, not yet alluded to
on the credit side, keeps all of the
$23,S59.55 paid in taxes there, and
divide the remaining $1ll,000 by 3,
take two thirds ourselves-which is
very far too liberal to this region-give
Cumberland the other third and she
will then have, not only her own
$4,000, but $37 900 Of or money!
Getting closer, we believe that a
critical review Of the levy list, item
after item, will prove that if Cumber-
land can be said to contribute any
thing oia taxation to the county it is
an exchange Of $50, 900 for $109 900.
1t is not, therefore, a contribution, but
an investment, the whole principal of
which goes back to Cumberland every
year, accompanied by interest at the
rate of nearly 100 per cent. per- amman!
One would imagine after this show
ing that a community so fortunate in
possessing satrapy so rich would
hasten to make its investment. Not
so. 1t is the last to pay. At this
moment, while the people who pay the
100000 owe only $5,5l2.S3, those who
pay $4,000 owe $l3, 567 .50-o0e1 teoice
as much! In other words, the region
owes 5 per cent. of its Indebtedness,
Cumberland % per cent. To the ex-
tent, therefore, of $l3, 900 Cumberland
is collecting nearly 100 per cent. per
dnnum upon an investment she has
never made
JOURNAL readers will be prepared, of
course, for general and atfectedly in
dlgnant denial Of the facts given, but if
anybody, even in Cumberland, does not
believe "the Cumberland hand is in
this regions pocket" let him look at
the item of "City Election Expenses"
charged to the county. Of the $542 .46
levied to provide for that bill 1907 80
is paid by this region! If there is
another town in the world, advancing
any pretensions whatever, that per-
mits its affected self-respect to remain
so open to popular dersion, as in this
typical instance, the JOURNAL has
never heard of it. AS Sam Jones said
of some church, if the JOURNAL lived
in city that permitted the poorer
country to pay directly any portion of
its expenses so that fact so humiH-
ating would have to be advertised to
the world, it wouldn't stay in that
place long enough to get its hat. 1t
would run out bare headed.n
There is still another important ele-
ment IN this matter 20 be considered.
A petition for re, assessment, recently
filed i'll the Office of the County Com
misSioners, alleges that taxable bases
are too high in the county and too
low in the city. For instance, a
city property whose rental indicates
value of $2l 900 is assessed at Sl4 $50.
Another is assessed at $50, 100 whose