The Portland daily press., 1898-01-07

would 0rlVe me.ouG OF 1nysiuinu wv &c
lieve."
(To be continued.)
THE ANNEXATION OF DEERING.
To the Editor of the Press:
The report of the commission to inves-
tigate and formulate the terms upon
which Deering may be annexed to Port
land was published in full in all OF the
Portland daily papers on New Years
Day; and suppose that, by this time,
the public have had time to peruse its
terms, and now fully appreciate how ex-
cellent document it is. That my Deer
ing fellow citizens, who are opposed to
the proposition, have likewise had time
to analyze 1T, in spirit of hostility. and
to criticize the commissioners. and eX-
press disappointment because the report
does not contain a large number OF
specific provisions for the benefit of Deer
ing, I am very certain from observation.
Some are frank enough to say that they
had hoped the report would be less favor
abIe as it would then have been easier to
defeat. This was to be expected. Moth
would have pleased these persons, and SO
the better the report, the less satisfactory
it would be. But he who is without
prejudice can not fail to recognize its ex-
cellenoe, no small part of which is due to
this very simplicity and freedom from
| lettering provisions, the very presence OF
which must, at the outset, have provoked
feelings of mistrust and antagonism. AS
l have noted heretofore. Deering, by
being made into two wards, acquires
represen tation almost double what her
population and more than double what
| her taxable valuation would require. The
rapid growth of Deering. and it's varied
interests are the only justification of this
| favor. No fair-minded man can ask for
more. and this certainly ought to prove
suffic lent guaranty of attention to the
Deering section on the part of the greater
, city. The people of Deering have never
| been slow in making their wants known,
nor have they been lacking in persis
tenoy, or independence at the polls when
the occasion called for rebuke. More
I over, upon any arrangement, Deering is
too considerable section to be ignored
| by the government of the greater city,
especially if its growth and prosperity as
a residential section shall continue.
The citizens of Dee1ing are too impor-
| tant factor also in Portland business
circles to be neglected and the frequency
0 the electrics the telephone, and the
large amount OF travel through Deering
to and from the outlying community, ali
| tend to make Deering more homogene-
GUS part Of Portland than are the islands
or any Of it present suburbs.
| The report provides that there shall be
l n fof<.
pecially that our high school shall be
maintained, and SO this much discussed
apprehension is removed. Provisions of
special nature quite often prove to be
fetters and Obstacles; and in this case
might be regarded as exclusive, II enum
Grated by law; whereas, in their absence.
direct appeal issrnade to the eternal fitness
| of things, and the responsibility is with
| city government ms tead OF the law. All
| this, however, does not appear to have
| been tho purpose of the commissioners,
| for they carefully Investigated the COM
parative conditions and needs of every
department. and branch of the two cities,
patiently listening to the details as they
were told by the heads of the various
departmental, and by those citizens who
take sufficient interest in their respective
cities to inform themselves about public
affairs. All were agreed upon the facts,
which were what the commission needed
to learn but each had his own idea about
what ought to be done, which WIS a
problem properly assigned to the COM
missioners for solution. For this reason
1t was impossible to please ALL But the
time for annexation is SO nearly ripe, and
the conditions and finances OF the two
cities so nearly equal that the commits
sioners three OF whom were not interest
ed in either city, and one, prominent
and honored public official Of Deering
could not find q reasonable opportunity
for eny unusual stipulations.
I cannot refrain from again referring to
the question Of finances. 1t has played
so important q role in the discussion here
tofore, that it's present aspects should re-
ceive special emphasis. Three out of four
anti in spite OF the annual
reports Of the cities and this report of
the commission. will still meet one with
the old assertion: 'Oh Portland is SO
do not appear to know that, while Port
land has been rapidly paying her debts,
Deering has been lust as industriously
contracting more debts
NV friends, do you realize, that after
the new school house is paid for, there
will be only about $4,000 between the
debt OF Deering and her five per cent
limit, and that it will take a large part,
at least q third, of this to complete Forest
avenue? How long will this provide for
improvements? And after it is gone,
what about our tax rate, andsour future?
Note another fact. A loan of S45, GOO
would raise the percentage OF debt in
Deeriug one, in the greater Portland only
one tenth of one; likewise an extra ap-
preparation of $45 900 would raise the
Deering tax rate ten dollars on thous-
and. while in the greater Portland it
would raise the rate but one dollar. In