Pleasantville weekly press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1890-1911, 1897-09-01
A Letter FROM THE
CITY BY THE SEA.
Closing of August Marks the
End of a Great Season.
PRAISE FOR mayor s10r AND The POLICE
THE TAX RATE AND vALUATIONs-THE
NEWSPAPER WAR BETWEEN THE REVIEW
AND THE PRESs-POLITICAL POINTERS.

AND THE PREss-POLITICAL POINTERS.
The month closing this week marks
what is commonly called the "close of
the season." although thousands will
remain during the always pleasant
month of September. The crowds here
during August have never been surpassed
in numbers, and the popularity of At
lantic City is q fact more firmly fixed
than ever before. The result will be to
continue business on larger scale than
ever before, for all realize that the liberal
provisions made for the entertainment of
guests is what has given this place it's
enduring popularity and prosperity.
People come here and 60 away, but they
are pretty sure to come back again and
some of them become citizens in every
thing except remaining here all the year
and voting. Some contracts are being
given out now for new cottages, | hear,
from this class of visitors who desire to
come here every season.
hear much praise for Mayor Stoy.
The excellent order maintained by the
police during the summer has been the
the season here and is highly creditable
to the department and to the Mayor,
who has labored hard, against many
difficulties, to bring the force up to
higher standard of efficiency, and is still
working in that direction. There are a
few connected with the Department who
might be spared without overthrowing
the universe, and unless they take drop
to the situation there are likely to be
some vacancies. The words spoken by
the Mayor over the attempted removal
of Sergeant Leeds were very suggestive
and those to whom bis language had
special application will do well to take
heed. The attempt to remove Leeds was
a cold-blooded conspiracy planned to
get rid of an honorable man and one of
the very best officers on the force. He
took no part in the sale of books such as
the Lives of Great Men and in no other
way compromised himself This drew
the fire of some who did speculate just
little, in literature relating to the lives of
our statesmen, and Leeds was to be
made the victim, and probably would
have been but for the manliness of the
Mayor. am in position to know, and
positively assert, that it was not owing
to any "pull' or "iDfuence" brought to
bear upon the Mayor that caused him to
reinstate Officer Leeds, but solely to his
sense of fairness. 1t was also a notice
that he could not be used to pull other
peoples chestnuts out of the fire. From
what have heard and know l take it for
granted that any police officer, who
does his duty and deports himself like a
gentleman, is safe from any or all of the
cliques and clans both inside and outside
of the police station. As a whole the
people endorse the Mayors position and
independence and many who opposed
his nomination for q second term will
gladly support him for third. l think
it may be safely said that the Mayor can
be nominated and elected for another
term if be wants to be.
wish | could write in this pleasant
strain of some other departments of the
City government, for it is much pleasant
er to bestow praise than censure. A
public writer, however, is obliged to
write of things as he finds them, and
sometimes he is sure to make enemies by
telling the Gospel truth. There is a
general "growl' concerning the manage
ment of the Water Department, and few
why it is that the Woods could give
them water at so much less cost than the
city charges, and they point to the fact
that the City authorities themselves
were always in a wrangle with them
over this very matter. But yet no
sooner does the City obtain control than
up goes the price of our one indispensable
fluid. Some say that the Department is
being made a refuge for decayed poll
ticians-but don't know much about
that part of it. am informed, however,
that responsible parties stand ready to
take the present water plant, either on
lease or by purchase, and pledge them
selves to furnish ater away below the
present cost. If that is so, and if it is true
that the City is losing money all the
time by selling us something to drink
would it not be better to sell out ? l
think under such conditions a nearly un-
animous verdict would be rendered in
favor of selling.
The tax rate on real estate is another
source of complaint. The contemplated
rise is unpopular, and yet there seems to
be no help for it. The expenses of the
City necessarily increases with the pop
ulation, and to not increase the tax rate
it is necessary to put an increased valu-
alton upon real estate. Has this been
done? Have the Assessors advanced
valuation in proportion to the valuation
put upon it by the owners, or to it's
selling price in the open market ? 1t is
safe to say they have not. personally
know dozen valuable properties that
have doubled OF trebled in cash value,
but the Assessors do not seem to have
discovered any ything of the kind and the
properties are still assessed at a figure
away below what they should be
assessed. The controversy over this
subject between the Review and the
Press has not brought out many facts
not already known. Neither of these
difficulty, and both manage to keep a
safe distance from the true condition
of affairs-one by attack and the other
by defence. There seems to be no denial
of the fact that the City must have more
money than in years past to meet the
expenses caused by public improvements
and the natural growth Of the City.
This being known and conceded by
everybody, it seems to me the proper
thing to do is to look about and see in
what way it will be least burdensome'to
those who pay the taxes. Council is
obliged to do this, hence there no cap
tious fault-fnding merely for the pur-
pose OF finding fault. If there has been
system of stealing going on-as GER
tain newspaper intimates-make the
charge openly and "go" for the thieves.
If it is found, however, that it is only a
neglect of duty on the part of officials
who are paid to look after the City's in
terest, then see to it that the facts in the
case are brought out and those indi-
viduals who are derilict in their duty
are brought up with q round turn. 1t